Hello to everyone - this site is amazing! I have done the WW plan in the past and been successful. Over the last 2 years, I have gained an extra 30-40 lbs that I am READY to lose! I have been doing the South Beach Diet for the last couple weeks and am not too impressed with the diet so far. I lost 8 lbs quickly, but haven't lost since the first week and constantly feel crappy.

My question is, do you think I should make the switch and do WW instead? Obviously you all think WW is the way to go since you are on the program, but after reading about good carbs and bad carbs, I'm scared of bread and pasta!!

I guess I'm looking for a little motivation or words of wisdom. Any help would be appreciated!!

Hi Tryin2Lose!

It looks we both had the same idea at the exact same time (see my WW and SB thread) - LOL! Good to see you here. Maybe we will have some success with this .

I think a mixture of both would be good, but can you really live with a limited amount of carbs? I cant haha!

One of the reasons I switched from WW in the first place is because I was sick of measuring and counting everything I put in my mouth. I figured with south beach, it would just be a limited food list, but no set amount of food I could or couldn't eat. Well, not only do I miss bread dearly and HATE 100% whole wheat pasta, but I feel like I'm trapped by reading labels for hidden sugars and other south beach "no-no's"! Dieting is suck work!! Maybe I'll just start counting my points but keeping the carbs to a limited amount. If only I were born skinny :-)

I think that no matter what the program, a person will have to account for SOMETHING. If it is, say, low-carb, then you are measuring the amounts of carbs that you have. If it is, say, vegan, then you are monitoring the ingredients of everything you eat. If it is WW, you are accounting for points. If it is calorie counting, you are counting calories.
I really don't see any way around it.
I pick WW because I LIKE my rice, darn it, and my pasta, and my potatoes. But I have to learn to eat them like a "normal person", so I have to count points. I DO find that using the WW recipes make it easy, because you don't have to calculate points in the sense that if you make a recipe, 1/4 of the recipe = x points. They give this to you. So I'm not obsessing with recipe calculation. I just have to wrestle with the rest (fruit, milk, snacks, etc.).
I personally limit the amount of pasta and rice I have, but this is by choice only. And I like having options.
And the best diet is the one that works with your lifestyle and only you know what you can and can't live with!
Kira

I have done both.Personally what works for me is calorie counting.I know this is similar principal as WW.You will still have to estimate occasionally when eating out if nutrition info is not available.But its really easy.

Hey there Tryin2Lose

What do you say we make an experiment of this WW/SB combo? Our stats are pretty close, maybe we have similar body types and it will work for both of us! I'm going to post my plan here and maybe you can tell me yours...then we'll go from there.

My plan:

1 - Eat within my point range, which I just calculated as 21 pts per day

2 - Stick with SB principles by eating nutritous, natural, whole foods - not pacakged or greasy or sugar laden ones

3 - Swim 2x per week, walk 2x per week, yoga 1x per week

If this doesn't help me lose these last 15 I don't know what will !

PM me if you want - I'd love a buddy

Hi,

I just switched from SB to WW. I started SB back in November, and I lost 8 lbs really quickly, and then I ended up gaining them back. The diet helped me to focus on whole grains, but I miss too much of my other food. It really stunk to go to a restaurant and avoid the biscuits. I got really tired of not being able to eat carbs, especially fruit.

This is my second time doing WW- I did it 3 years ago to get ready for my wedding. The first time, I had great results. This time, I guess we'll wait and see. However, it is a lot more pleasing to be able to have fruits and to deal with your cravings without ruining the diet.

Hey Wish4Fit - you're on! I went to my first meeting (for this round of dieting!) today. I weighed in slightly more than I wanted to, but hopefully next week I'll finally get below that 180 mark I've been hovering at for a year!

My plan is to...

1. Stay in points range! I get 24 points for now, hopefully only 23 next week if I can lose a pound or two!

2. Limit my sugar and processed foods as much as I can. I do LOVE potatoes though, so I think I'm going to enjoy those! I'm just avoiding heavily processed/sugar filled foods. And... potatoes only once or twice a week!

3. Exercise at least 20 minutes everyday. This is the hardest part for me with working full time. When I get home, I am so tired the last thing I want to do is work out. I'm working on it though...

4. Limit my beer drinking to weekends - this is very hard for me as I love my beer like I LOVE my potatoes!

Congrats on the 35 lost btw! That's awesome - hopefully one day I will be there too. One day at a time, right??

PS I'm from Indiana orginally!

hello.... im currently on the southbeach... ive lost some weight but i still have a way to go..... i just find myself not being able to stay away from the "bad" foods... my sis in law has started WW and she talked me into trying it.... it certainly cant hurt! the worst that could happen is i lose weight lol.... so shes gonna email me the points sheet and im going to start 2moro.... least this way i dont have to feel guilty about having a french vanilla coffee, i just have to account for it. and im fine with that. i have 6 kids, i need to have a treat at least once a day to feel normal lol. she says that she gets 25 points a day and that its now the same for everyone. can anyone help me with this? she weighs 155 her friend is 180 and they both get 25 points daily. i cannot afford to join it online or in person, so this is the only way i can do it. i started at 235,and im currently down to 207. any help would be appreciated. thanks in advance... stacy xxx

The only question you have to ask yourself is "how do I intend to maintain my weight loss?". If you feel you can do it with South Beach, then go for it. I've done both, and I can't sustain an eating plan in line with what South Beach requires. This isn't the fault of the diet, it is because I just. can't. do. it. So I'm on WW and am much happier.
I've also decided that the number created by the electronic random number generator that I use each week is mostly irrelevant to me. That is, I measure my success now by being 100% On Plan, and getting in my exercise. If I do this, then the weight will come off. Maybe not as quickly as I want it to, but it will come off. And I can't control that.
So, for ME, WW is sustainable and that is why I've chosen it, as the question of maintenance huge for me. After all, if I lose it (like I've done before) but can't maintain the weight loss, what is the point???
Kira

Stacy -

Everyone on WW doesn't get the same # of points. It depends on your age, your weight, your height, your lifestyle, etc. If you google "weight watchers points formula" you can easily get the formula and plug in your numbers to get your daily points allowance. Everyone also gets 35 flex points per week. You can use these however you choose throughout the week, or all in one day if you want. If you need any other tips, let me know. I might not lose weight well, but I know the program well!!

I've done both SB and WW, and I find WW is more flexible and easier. Plus, I lose weight faster. But I find that I do best when I skip the convenience foods and eat whole foods. Plus, SB doesn't teach portion control, which is a big part of WW. And the new Momentum plan, with its emphasis on filling foods, is a step closer to SB than WW used to be. And a big improvement, IMO.

trying2lose... i did what you said and i get 28 points a day... okay do far so good... this is gonna be a bit of a transition for me, because like someone said, SB doesnt really focus on protion control. so now i have to take the time to write down what i eat, and do the points... whats the easiest way to do this?? tell me what ya'll do daily so i can get a handle on it lol... i down loaded a calculator to my blackberry, so that helps.. but some of the points are conflicting with each other.... like a site i checked out said a tim hortens french vanilla is 5 points.... but when i put it in the cal it said 8 points... so... im counting it as 7 and calling it a day till i see otherwise lol... should i divide the points up so that some are for breakfast, lunch and supper and snacks?? tell me what ya'll do and i figure out the best to suit me.. like i said i have 6 kids, and my house is crazy on its best day so i need simplicity lol... thank you for the advice so far... i think i can make this work. least i can eat normal foods, just count it. now do i have to use the 35 flex points? ahhh alot of questions lol sorry... take care... stacy xxx

OK...my take on diet programs is that they are supposed to be a guide to help you lose weight. Of course, the people behind these programs like you to think that you will burn in perpetual diet purgatory if you stray or customize the plan to work for you. Ya, well phooey on that!

It took me quite a while to find out what works for me, my body and my tastes. My core diet is South Beach as I really like their basic healthy eating principles. I need to watch my carbs so it provided a basic healthy way to do that.

Maybe because I HATE whole wheat pasta and not a fan of just whole wheat bread, I looked to other programs such as The Biggest Loser, YOAD and the Whole Foods threads here on 3FC. Throw in a little BFL when I get up to heavier, longer workouts and I'm good to go. I've taken the best of the best that would work for me and will continue to do so.

I think WW is an excellent program although I think some people doing the points thing can get into trouble. Momentum/Core seem much better and they do allow a wider range of convenience foods and other goodies. If South Beach isn't working for you then switch over to WW and try it. Re: the good vs. bad carbs, we all know that Wonder bread is vacuous calories. I just don't think anyone will burst into flames if they have some once in a while. Good luck with whatever you decide.