I've been doing a program that is similar to Jenny Craig for 10 weeks now and the program is 13 weeks. I'm planning on finishing up, but what they like people to do is to go into the "Ongoing" group or "Encore" (I'm in Core right now). Ongoing is basically you're doing the same thing and Encore is maintenance for those who are close to or at their goal weight.
I can understand that sticking with this program could be very helpful for me, but I'm also looking at the cost. I'm spending close to $150 on THEIR food alone, a week and then classes cost $90 or so a month. That's $690 dollars a month! The food is expensive and I have to eat extra to give myself enough energy for the amount of exercise I do.
I've been thinking of using Fitday and counting calories. This would help my pocketbook greatly. I just know that if I say this though that the health educators are going to be disappointed and try to convince me to stay. I would like to, but I would also like to be able to eat "real world" food and make this a LIFESTYLE...not a diet anymore.
What do you think? I would LOVE some opinions!!! Thanks guys!!
yeah, I already have the gym membership, but there are so many things I could be spending the money on. And then there are the fruits and veggies and things like that that I buy every week...I eat at least 50 cups of fruits and veggies weekly. I don't know...I'm not supposed to eat off plan, which off plan is anything other than the food we buy and fruits and veggies. Last night I got a craving for chocolate so I counted out 16 chocolate chips (80 calores) and ate them nice and slowly and realized that I'm being made to feel guilty even when I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing for a healthy lifestyle. I NATURALLY counted those chips and put the bag away and didn't crave anymore after eating them. I was satisfied. Thanks to this plan though, I've been able to change the way I think about food.
I think I would have an easier time counting calories than counting points. I don't know...guess I've never done it so I wouldn't know.
The other day I put 1/4 cup FF cottage cheese on my salad and it was soooo good, but off plan. I'm allowed FF salad dressings though so I didn't feel SO bad. In actuality the cottage cheese was better for me because it gave me extra protein for the same amount of calories as salad dressing.
For me, personally, I had to make changes I could sustain for my lifestyle over the long term. I do find I can do that counting calories and paying attention to nutrition. I was able to read and learn a LOT about nutrition and work that into a workable plan for me.
I spend my money on a trainer, because when I started, the reading wasn't helping me come up with a plan that evolved with my abilities. Also, I wanted to learn good "form" and struggled with doing that on my own. I have never been athletic, so a lot of what I've been learning may have come easier to someone else, but I really struggled trying to learn about making my body do stuff it has never done before.
All this to say, it's not that it's bad to spend money on a new lifestyle, but most of us have to think carefully about how to best maximize the money we're spending. If you feel you are getting a lot from your program you couldn't do on you own, then continuing might be the best. If you feel you can eat healthy and all on your own, then you might be able to put your money to use elsewhere.
I think that because you're super-motivated and pretty darn self-disciplined, calorie counting would be perfect for you. The plan you're on has worked pretty well so far--42lb!!!--but I agree that moving to 'real world' conditions will put you in training for maintaining your weight and maintaining a life-long healthy lifestyle as well as saving you oodles of money. I see no reason why you shouldn't continue to lose successfully without prepackaged food and all the rest of it. If you like the support group thing that comes with your plan, you could check out weight watchers or...(what's that other group I've seen mentioned, the one with the meetings and the very, very low cost???? Lola? Tola?).
Anyway, I think you're doing a fantastic job and are ready to take your diet into your own hands.
If you live near a Weight Watchers facility that uses the monthly pass, the monthly pass costs $39.95 per month. You get all the online utilities with that as well. You also get to attend a session at the facility once a week. And you are not required to buy any special food
I tried Jenny Craig for one week back in the day. By day three I was pretty angry that I was spending so much money on food that I knew I could be getting the equivelent of much cheaper in the supermarket. Basically, I felt like I was spending 3X the cost of the food for someone to hold my hand and tell me what I was allowed to eat. Maybe I would have felt differently if I weren't so poor, I dunno.
Anyways, if you still want to do the structed meals thing but at supermarket prices, you can check out http://plussizenow.com/ns/. It list the grocery store eqivelents to Nutrisystem foods, and gives sample diets and recipes. Might be a real penny saver, if you know that this sort of thing is your cup of tea.
If the link gets deleted, pm me and I'll pm anyone back with it. But as far as I can tell it's a non-commercial link, so I think it should be fine under the 3FC TOS.
And whatever you choose, you have made a great jump start on your weight loss by losing over 40 lbs. already. I personally love calorie counting, but maybe you could calorie count and still find a way to have support and accountability -- weight watchers meetings are good for that and not too expensive.
Thanks so much guys...really some helpful words here.
I think what's motivated me the most is my boyfriend (soon to be fiance). Not that he's saying he wants me a certain way, but I know that I want him to fit his arms around me PLUS some, and I want a piggy back ride once in a while, I want to be swept off my feet. These things aren't important to him, but they're important for me. I want to be his "little wifey".
I also go in for testing for PCOS, and that's a big motivator for me as well because I want to keep myself away from the risks of PCOS such as heart attacks and high cholesterol and IR.
WW might be a good idea then. This forum actually gives me more support than my support group. I think it's a fantastic program, especially for those who have never even tried a diet in their life. It teaches portion control and the importance of 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day. Filling up on those nice fiberfull veggies keeps you away from a lot of the bad things because you fill yourself up.
It's almost like I wish the nutrtionist and my group leader would tell me "I think you could do well on your own", but I know she won't. At least I have a couple of weeks to make my decision. I'm in the class with my mom and we've both been talking about the cost of it.
Oh also, I find that having a big bag of the Ghiradelli (sp?) bittersweet chocolate chips in the house is better than candy bars because I eat them slower, and that kind of chocolate is actually good for you because of the amount of cocoa in it as opposed to milk chocolate, peanuts and carmel (all the stuff I never crave). That little bit of dark chocolate hits the spot. Dove is another good dark chocolate that I like, but usually don't buy because it has pretty high calories.
I have never joined a weight-loss program or group like that, and now I see why! That is a LOT of money!!!! I am a broke 20-something, so cheap is the route for me. I use thedailyplate.com for calorie counting, and use the road, a pair of tennis shoes, and my legs for walking. It has worked for me in some ways...such as I had a wake up call and realized how much I was consuming in a day, cut that down, and now have a pretty good idea of how to keep my calories down. I have also become more aware of my cholesterol and sodium intake, and have improved that, also. And all-in-all, I have been relatively successful. But in other ways, it is pretty hard. Temptation is always there, and I don't have any meetings or meals or anything to help keep me on track and going in the right direction. I have to rely on me. But luckily, I have a lovely bunch of people right here to help me out. So if you think you can go from having a group to doing it all on your own, then go for it. If you think you will do better with meetings and whatnot to keep you on track, maybe find somewhere that is a little easier on the wallet. You know you better than anyone!
Hey! Here's my 2 cents on it. The biggest mistake I made when I was younger, in my 20s, was that I lost 30 pounds on Weight Watcher and then didn't follow through on the Maintenance part of the program. As a result, I regained all the weight I lost--and more. And more!
So I'm not saying you HAVE to stay with your current program, but I would encourage you to stay with SOME program. If not the one you have now, then join WW and get going with them.
Doing it on one's own isn't for everyone. Some people do better and learn more about eating with some guidance, of the sort that WW or other such programs provide. It's where you get tools for the lifestyle change.
BTW, I'm also a fan of Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chocolate chips.
that is WAY too much money to be spending on "advice" that you could just as readily get here for free!!! forget that encore program---DON'T do it, girl! rely on yourself and your friends here---and you have all the power you need.
I used to use fitday, but now I switched to another free site called The Daily Plate (www.thedailyplate.com) which I LOVE a lot more. it helps maintain my eating so so much-----without me paying some company hundreds of dollars!
To "Diet" or Not to "Diet"?
