Okay - I wasn't sure where to put this post, but here goes:

I started the South Beach Diet 3 days ago - after telling my husband that I was going to change the way we eat... which I didn't think would be so drastic... because 1. I'm not really a huge fruit eater and 2. I can live without carbs... or so I thought. I have never felt so unsatisfied after finishing a meal than on the plan. I literally just ate my last bite of salad with boiled shrimp... and am dying for something else: cookies, muffin, toast, chocolate??? My husbands in the same boat - he was so hungry last night at work (after I packed large portions of all meals) that he ended up going to McDonalds. This isn't going to have us lose weight, especially if all we want to do is break down and eat everything in site.

Now, the reason I'm posting on the WW page, is because I've been curious about the WW program. I just don't understand it. How do I count the points?? Is it like counting calories? I don't want to count calories for the rest of my life? Is there a book that explains all of this? The only books I can find on the website are cookbooks...and to get any real information, I have to sign up. I don't want to pay for something I'm not entirely sure I want to do. I chose the SBD because I didn't want to have to count anything... but I think I'd rather weigh my food and get good portions just to eat the food I want... that has the flavors I like.

Can someone give me a brief explanation of where I can find information on this diet... or tell me about it yourself. And what would you guys recommend?? I would love to hear recommendations.

I'll let someone more knowledgable answer your questions about WW, but I wanted to respond to your comment "I don't want to count calories for the rest of my life?" ..... I had some of the same reservations when I started. I thought it would sorta overtake my life and I would never to able to just eat normally. (In my case, I wasn't exactly eating normally anyways! ) I've been keeping a food journal with calorie counts for 7 months and while it was work at first, now it's just second nature. It becomes less effort because you start to learn automatically what things are worth. Also, once I retrained my habits, I'm finding that I'm satisfied with less. I can now imagine a time when I won't have to track calories, as long as I'm listening to my hunger levels and making good food choices. I'm not there yet, but at least I can see that it might be feasible! Good luck on whatever program you decide on. I think you're on the right track... For me, any diet that severely restricts what I'm allowed to eat won't work long term. I focused instead on eating for health with well-balanced meals of proper portions. WW isn't so different from just counting calories and that's worked wonders for me!

Just a disclaimer: I've only been on WW for a month now.

Depending on your WW plan, you get a set daily points based on your gender, age, weight and height- the points go down gradually as you lose weight and age like calories do. However on the PointsPlus, you cannot go below 29 points. You get 35 (flex/momentum) to 49 (PointsPlus) weekly points and you do earn activity points for workouts/etc. You can do whatever you want with the weekly points, save it for one special day or eat a little extra. I lose more if I don't use all of my weekly points but I still lose even if I do use all of it so it is nice! To calculate points, you either buy a WW calculator or go online- they have a few free online calculators for PointsPlus and old plans.

I am on the Flex plan, I don't go to meetings, I write my points down in a homemade tracking journal and I love it! I used to count calories for a year, just couldn't get the hang of it. This plan feels just right and much easier. I think it is because of the weekly points, there is way less guilt if you happen to overeat, you know? It will become second nature once you get the hang of it. GL in deciding what works for you!

To add to the post before mine. The Points Plus of an item are based upon the grams of fat, carbs, protein and fiber. Sounds complicated but not really. You can get a calculator from WW or can use the online calculator once you have etools. Basically after awhile you know how many points the foods you eat often are. So I know that if I have 3 cups of Popcorn Indiana cinnamon sugar popcorn that is 4 points, or that the Tyson chicken breast fillet is 3 points, etc.

I track online using etools which is really easy to do. Some people track in a weekly paper planner.

Some foods though are zero points. Basically non-starchy veggies and fruit are zero points. Exceptions are things like potatoes, corn, and avocado. You can eat a reasonable amount of veggies and fruit and they are zero points.

You can, btw, follow South Beach or lots of other eating plans and follow WW. WW has some mild guidelines for what to eat but really it is mostly up to you as long as you stay within your points.

The minimum points a woman will get is 29 and I think 35 for a man. Everyone gets 49 weekly points that you can choose to use during the week or not use. You can also earn more points through activity.

As to whether you count points or calories for the rest of your life...well it just depends. Whenever I stop counting points then I get out of track on portion control and gain weight. It would be nice if I didn't but I do. So I suspect I will be counting points for the rest of my life. But I know there are people who learn good portion control and can do that without actually counting every point. And that's fine...for them. I just can't do it.

Well, that sounds pretty easy. I guess once I get use to it, it would come more naturally. Would you recommend me going to a WW meeting.. or a few, just to understand it.. and then use the support that's on here? Or is it pretty much a requirement to go to meetings? I mean, since I'll need the e-tools with the calculator until I use the program long enough.

See - my thing is. I'm not interested in giving up anything. I want to have pasta when I want to.. and occasionally, I'd like to have icecream. I don't want to be on a plan/diet that restricts so much. I mean, I've lost two pounds in the past 3 days... but I feel as though I'm starving myself. I'm so hungry all of the time.

This was my eating for today. Why am I so hungryy??

Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, with mushrooms, aspargus and low-fat mozz cheese
Snack : Low-fat mozz cheese stick
Lunch: Salad of romain lettuce, mushrooms and tomatoes, topped with boiled shrimp and a salad dressing I made with vinegar + olive oil
Snack : 2 lettuce wraps with a slice of ham, red pepper and green onion with light miracle whip + a snack pack of sugar free jell-o
Dinner : A broiled piece of steak, a broiled tomato, steamed broccoli + mashed califlower (a mock-mashed potatoes... pretty good, actually)
Dessert : haven't eaten this yet, I'm going to have a chocolate espresso custard

After all this, I'm still not satisfied. So, I repeat - why am I so hungry?

I can live with portion control. I guess I'll learn counting calories or points.. but to feel like I'm starving? I'll pass.

So - now how do I learn how many points I can have - and my husband... and how do I go about calculating?? Or will I need to learn this at a meeting? Or is there some type of book that will help me like the SBD books?

And that's the beauty of WW! You can still eat those things when you want to, WW just teaches you how to eat it all in moderation and still have a little room to splurge a bit.

It might help to go to a meeting, just to sort of understand how the program works but it's not necessary to keep attending. I do WW Online which doesn't require meetings and there are plenty of people on 3FC who do WW without attending meetings.

The WW plan recently changed and I don't think much of the new information is available online without being a WW member, like how to calculate points for food and how many daily points you'll have. On the old plan there was a little questionnaire that would give you your points, which amandie mentioned, and you could find all sorts of information online for free, including points calculators. I did WW that way for about 6 months without attending a meeting or paying anything, I just wrote it down in a notebook.

Somehow who has the new PointsPlus calculator might be willing to help you figure out how many points you'd get every day and then if you look through the different WW forums here it could give you an idea of what that amount of points looks like in terms of food.

I hope this all makes sense!

You are still hungry because you cut out carbs really fast instead of cutting down. Also a lot of veg are really low in calories so you have to eat a TON to get the same amount of calories you used to eat or close to what you need for the day. South beach isnt a bad diet. It just isn't for everyone

Yeah, that makes sense.

So - about the dessert that I was talking about - I definitely did not eat it. That might have been the worst thing I had ever put in my mouth. It was so disgusting. That's probably because I tried making something myself and added chocolate baking powder - although I didn't know how much to add or if it would turn out correctly. It didn't.

But yeah, I couldn't make it through the entire third day, I was so hungry. So my husband brought me home a taco. I'm going to do my research on WW now, and hopefully I'll have better success with that (since I won't deprive myself of the stuff I really enjoy).

Thank you guys for all your responses... and if you have any more information on WW it would help greatly! That way I can find out ways you guys keep yourself in check... or learn on your own, so hopefully I could do the same.

Removed post - Seems I have upset people by what I said.

I actually use both South Beach and add WW points plus for portion control. Just to clarify South Beach does not preach anything negative about carbs. It's actually inline with the current WW guidelines - lots of veggies (those that are free on WW); portion controlled grains, fruits, and carby vegetables; beans and dairy are strongly encouraged. SBD separates whole foods from processed foods, so yes, white flour, sugar, and processed carbs are eliminated.

I've never believed there is one magic program that works for everyone. IMO it's important to figure out how foods affect my body and what will work for me long-term. So far I'm really enjoying the mix of SBD and WW. I find it easier than calorie counting, the method I used to use for portion control.

You might as well make up your mind at the outset that what you do to lose weight is what you will have to do the rest of your life to maintain your lose. Embrace WW as a time to learn to eat healthy - there are the 9 Healthy Guidelines we plan our meals around. You can work in your favorite foods in moderation and that is a plus but you won't be having fast food very often. The purpose of SBD Phase 1 is to get rid of cravings. Simple Carbs are our worst enemy.

WW information is copyrighted and it is illegal for us to give it to you. You need to sign up for online or go to meetings. Etools are a part of online and the monthly pass for meetings.

Unless I've missed something we don't know how much you weigh right now so we don't know how much you should be eating in order to lose weight gradually and not starve while dieting. Your menu looks pretty good but I can tell you that I'd be starving too! As a WW there probably aren't enough points in your day. I have no idea how much boiled shrimp you ate and I don't see a lot of fat either. Protein and fat are what keep me from craving carbs -- especially refined carbs.

If you are just starting out in WW, going to the meetings is an easier way to get all the info that you need. I've been a WW on and off for a while and I now do the online Points Plus program.

Just a comment on the meetings...I did WW ten years ago, lost weight, and then slowly gained it back. I tried for 3 years to lose it on my own, and was unsucessful. I am generally not a group type of person, but I find that going to the meetings makes the difference for me. It is not so much the weigh-in, it is having the opportunity once a week to be around other people that are struggling with the same thing--trying to change eating habits in a world that is obessesed with food. We get the message to be thin, yet television, online, and magazines are always featuring fattening food. WW meetings give you a place to talk about "dieting" issues that would bore non-dieters to tears.
Give it a chance. It really isn't that expensive when you compare it to the cost of what you would spend at McDonalds or on pizza....

This exactly. I've been a lifetime member for 20 years. Alas, not at goal weight currently. And mostly not at goal weight because of not going to meetings. Awhile back I went back as an online member. I didn't think I needed the meeting since I rarely hear anything new in meetings. However, I found that I didn't do as well doing it on my own without the meeting. I know that many people do fine on their own, but I didn't start making progress until I committed to going to meetings.