Hello all!

I am a 22-yr old grad student that has given up on simply "trying to eat healthy" to go back to actually keeping track of my food intake. Over Christmas/New Year's I got to my heaviest ever. It's been difficult to find motivation to really keep track of points because I have never *looked* too badly with extra weight on. I'm the type that my friends would agree could lose weight, but they are all surprised when I tell them the number on the scale. I have always carried the extra weight well, and it doesn't help that my boyfriend seemed blissfully unaware of my weight until I set up a Wii Fit avatar (awkward!).

Nevertheless, I know I am not healthy, can't wear all the clothes I'd like to, and don't feel as well as I do when I'm in a good weight range. I am aiming to lose 50 pounds, and my doctor would agree that I could even lose a few more at my height.

So here I am! I last did Weight Watchers in high school with my mother, but I found that I could eat white bread and cookies and still lose weight each week. The last time I dieted, I did South Beach and felt great being forced to choose the better foods while losing even more weight. Now it's my goal to somewhat combine the two. As a grad student, my time is not my own. In addition to my regular academic classes, I teach two labs, attend conferences, do field work for weeks at a time, have weekly meetings/seminars, and conduct my own research. Some days I may be at my office from 8 am until 10 pm. I think combining South Beach foods with Weight Watchers' Points system will make it easiest to stick to a healthy eating plan in my situation.

I really enjoyed the last (SB) forum I was a part of! This is my first time on 3FC, so I'm hoping to meet some good people on here! Please let me know any advice you have.

~SSS12

P.S. I will be doing this without attending meetings. Poor graduate student = no money for weekly meetings. I do, however, have an excellent app on my phone that's a food journal with the WW Points Calculator on it!

P.P.S. Posting this in two areas since I'm not sure about the appropriate place. Sorry!

Welcome! Like you, I did WW way back when (I was in college) and am now doing it again, and I also don't have the money to go to any of the meetings but just use other resources to calculate points and such. And this forum is great -- it's LIKE going to a meeting, but I can do it from the comfort of my apartment and pjs, haha.

Hi there!
I'm 22 as well, and I too am a student (taking my Dental Hygiene course) and know exactly how you feel about the previous diet attempts and losing so easily but then it packing back on..
I did WW in high school and lost 50 lbs (in b/w Nov to June, going from 199 to 149) I went to university and college and packed on the weight and my boyfriend (whom Ive been with for 4 years) hadn't realized how much I had actually gained. I started up with WW again in November and I'm really trying this time to pack good snacks and lunches for school so I'm not tempted... contrary to popular belief we Dental Hygiene students loooooove our sweets!! haha!
I'm really trying to make a whole lifestyle change and concentrating on my hunger cues.
I've never been on the southbeach diet but I know for different tips for the lunches (according to WW) I try to get whole grain bread *or english muffins* and make a sandwich with extra lean smoked turkey, a pickle, mustard, and a bit of grated cheese) it comes out to being about 4 of 5 pts (depending on how much cheese and turkey you put on) which is awesome! And then I bring raw veggies, pretzel sticks, and other little things like that for snacks. i'm still adjusting to being back on WW but I hope my small tips help!
Have a great week!

Thank you both! I appreciate your tips and stories. Funny how many times we have to through this process that should be a one-time thing.