[sellickbhoy]

i'm on a diet - got to shed a stone of so for the big day next summer.

So doing weight watchers points.

Now i used to be quite good about getting my 5 a day before the diet, but as fruit, fruit juice and spuds have more points in them that diet fizzy drinks & some cereal bars i find o'm struggling to get to my 5 a day - really only eating fruit or veg with my main meal

I can't help but thinking that's not right and surely i'd be better having fruit and fruit juice instead of cereal bars (regardless of the points)

hmmmmm

on the plus side, eating a lot more home made soup. Made a gorgeous roasted red papper, garlic, tomato and herbs soup yesterday - will be having that for lunch all week. Will post the recipe later for you all - well worth a try!

[Rosemary]

THis shows the conflicts around food - eating healthily and losing weight might not be the same.

Disapointing that Weight Watchers don't support healthy eating and losing weight - it can't be that difficult.

[kazschow]

Is the weightwatchers diet a low glycemic index one?  If so I live by that, I'm a diet controlled diabetic, and lowGI is a way of life, it is very healthy, and you will eat loads of veggies, just some are very quickly converted by the body to sugar, so for me bad, for you increases your chances of weight gain.  The principal of my diet is on your plate, 50% sould be veggies - salad, greens, peppers etc, the more colourful the better for you as a rule of thumb. 25% protien - be that meat or pulses etc, 25% carboydrate - pasta, potatoes, rice bread etc.  Complex carbydrates are better so look for whole grains, brown rice, oh and if you're a bread fan, burgen bread is low GI

Low Gi is a great weight loss plan, and if followed well, very good for you, because you're limiting blood sugar spikes, it leaves you feeling pretty full for longer, however, I personally find eatng more smaller meals works best for me, rather than a couple of big ones. FWIW, I'm completely controlled on this diet, with no need for medication now, which I had at the begining... It gets much easier sticking to it as time goes on too, though in the begining I would have mugged small children for their chocolate buttons LOL.

[Troubled Waters]

I didn't get on with WW, too much weighing and counting. On Slimming World now and you can have so much more fruit and veg (although fruit juice is limited).  I follow low GI principles on this too.  No probs at all with the 5 a day!

Hope u get on ok with it tho.

[doganjo]

I am a lifetime member of WW, have also tried all the other diets.  And I am still 4 stones overweight!
The only diet that really works is don't eat between meals, don't eat cakes and pastrys, not too much bread, or sweet stuff, no chocolate or sweet fizzy drinks - in fact best thing is just to get your mouth sewn up

[HappyHippy]

This one may be slightly contraversial 
As someone who comes from a 'big' family and has battled with her weight her entire life, I have to say it's all about using more calories than you put in !
I've done WW, Scottish slimmers diets through doctors - probably spent 70% of my life on a diet ! The one and only time I succesfully lost weight (6 and a half stone - so I DO know what I'm talking about  ) I stuck to a healthy eating plan and went to the gym three times a week. It's not rocket science - Here's a link to show what % of food it's 'recommended' at each meal, and a portion should be roughly equal to a handfull. http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/eatwellplatelarge.pdf the slimming clubs are cashing in on making it easy - branded cereal bars that are better than a piece of fruit ? I don't think so ! You'll lose pounds SB, but it'll be considerably more than 14 !
But, that said, I do understand that it's good to have the support and the weekly weigh in's at the meetings. For me, and it's a totally personal thing, I have to be really selfish and just totally commit to it - something that's not so easy when you've got 3 kids, hence the ever expanding size of my bottom LOL !
Good luck SB - and if all else fails kilts are very flattering when you're carrying a little excess weight 

[kazschow]

Fruit and fruit juice is what I used to really miss when I went on my diabetc lifestyle change ( I say lifestyle change cause that's what it is, I can't eviate, it's not short term it's forever!!!).  I now find I can eat fruits that bleed, so red berries etc without spiking. Getting your 5 a day is most definitely not a problem LOL

[doganjo]

Have you kept that weight off, HappyHippy?  I lost a lot on various occasions and have put it back on again as soon as I stop going to class or have a crisis in my life.

[sellickbhoy]

8 pounds off in 4 weeks

to be honest i'm finding the WW diet pretty easy to stick to.

I used to graze with food as i'd regularly "forget" to eat - i.e. i wouldn't have breakfast or lunch - i'm also a terrible fidget and i would buy a bag of sweets and if they were in arms reach, i'd eat them.

When i sat down for a meal, i'd struggle to eat it all - and basically all i was doing was eating too much throughout the day. in the last month i've been pretty good at making time for breakfast and lunch and I now don't keep snacky stuff in the house. So when i sit down to a meal, it all gets eaten - and then i'm full.

However, have to agree that you need your exercise - seems giving the dog 3 walks a day isn't enough. the new stables now has some gym equpiment and a sauna in it - and even 20 minutes a day on the treadmill and 30 mins in the sauna is helping.

to be honest, i'm generally well under my daily points allowance, maybe i should just have some friut and be happier in myself that i'm eating well and not eating too much.

honestly, this wedding is turning into more hassle than i'd imagined!! 

[kazschow]

Have you kept that weight off, HappyHippy?  I lost a lot on various occasions and have put it back on again as soon as I stop going to class or have a crisis in my life.

I've lost more than HH over the years and never put it back on Doganjo   With my curent reigime, I defy anyone to not lose weight LOL  I'm never hungry, but do exercise  a fair bit, walkng the dogs seperately 4 times a day, so 8 walks and currently livng on the top floor help LOL Add to that much digging of holes, and general destruction on the farm at weekends heheheee

[doganjo]

Well if I had any energy I'd do the same but being so overweight I don't know where to start - my age is against me too.

[HappyHippy]

Have you kept that weight off, HappyHippy?  I lost a lot on various occasions and have put it back on again as soon as I stop going to class or have a crisis in my life.

Nope, most of it's gone back on I'm afraid !
After losing all the weight and turning into a vision of much gorgousness   I landed myself a good man who spoiled me with nights out, dinners & drinking and happened to be diabetic (he ate LOTS of carbs - carbs are NOT my friend !) going to the gym kind of fell by the wayside (though I did get plenty of OTHER excersise  ) and slowly but surely the weight has crept back on over the last 11 years, though it has to be said mainly since the kids came along, oh and the fact that I'm a !

I think everyone has a predetermined size - you can spend all your time trying to fight nature but as soon as you take your eye off the ball you're back to where you started  
My dad was a BIG man, (but healthy ? with it - no high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes or other weight related illnesses, nor any in the family history)  he underwent a gastric bypass (where they remove a portion of stomach and part of your bowel) he lost a lot of weight but now, 6 years on from the operation he's slowly gaining, my mum jokes that he'll be the only person who needs a second one !
I think we need to accept what we are and as long as you eat healthily (most of the time) and get plenty of exercise you can't go far wrong - don't shoot me down in flames  

[kazschow]

I think you're right you do have a healthy body size for You. Personally I was a size 32, I got my first mutt and started to lose weight, then got my second and lost more, then became diabetic, changed my diet and lost more!!! I'm a size 16 jeans now, and don;t see myself going down any further.

Diabetes runs strongly through my family, both my brothers have it, and have been big six foot plus skinnies all their days, my dad had it and was similar build.  Luckily mine is very controlable on a low GI diet.

So long as you eat healthily, keep well and are happy within yourself, does bodyshape really matter

[HappyHippy]

So long as you eat healthily, keep well and are happy within yourself, does bodyshape really matter

If only everybody had the same view ! 

[Unicorn]

I am a lifetime member of WW, have also tried all the other diets.  And I am still 4 stones overweight!
The only diet that really works is don't eat between meals, don't eat cakes and pastrys, not too much bread, or sweet stuff, no chocolate or sweet fizzy drinks - in fact best thing is just to get your mouth sewn up

Agree - None of them work - Whoever invented Calories wants shooting