Curves, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers; etc

[FierceKiten]

Did any of the these programs work for you or did they fail you ?

[stargazer]

Unforch, I've never tried any of these myself but I have several acquaintances who were successful with Weight Watchers.

[FierceKiten]

I saw how Fergie the "x royal princess", limboed with her weight while with she was with it. I wanna know which program really stays on top of their game

[SVZ]

i think it's up to the person, not really the program.

[A*O]

They all basically do the same thing - educate people about healthy eating and lifestyle but dress it up like it's something new, different, unique (and often expensive). If you are well-informed about these things you should not need to go and be patronised by a smug size 8, formerly size 20 airhead (well that was my experience with Weight Watchers). HOWEVER, I think WW works for people who are motivated by the 'competitive' element of turning up each week to compare how much they have lost with the others in the group.

[tasha_c]

the previous poster had it right: it's definitely up the person to make the program work.

I lost 35lbs this year due to exercise & changing up what I ate. When I hit a plateau in June, I turned to weight watchers to give me more accountability for what i was eating (ie. group meetings, weekly weigh-ins, etc). If you had to do a program, I believe weight watchers would be the cheapest one at $14/week (depends where you live though & they do have the occassional specials).

If you are serious about losing weight, it's common sense: take in less calories & excercise. Use a food journal to keep you honest; that makes a world of difference

sorry if i sounded like a know-it-all

[Barbara]

My sister and a good friend of mine lost weight with WW. Basically they were taught to eat in a healthier way and to choose the right kind of between-meals-snacks, it would hurt me to have to pay money for that

[moomies]

How much did you have to pay monthly for the food and their services?

[DisruptiveHair]

My mom goes to a Curves gym in Dallas and she loves it.

I have never used any of them but when my sister actually followed the WW program she invariably lost weight. She has done WW off and on for 20 years. Now she does online meetings and has a board there for support.

[Rambie]

I always heard wonderful things about weight watchers I want to try it. But I agree with the fact that it is all up to the person and each diet is basically teh same only with a different name, the key I think is portion size, excercise, and eating lots of fiber, protein, and low sugar and carbs.

[tulip]

I am on Weight Watchers right now. I don't go to meetings -- I do it online. I've tried going to meetings before, and I couldn't handle the competitive nature -- I wouldn't want to go if I didn't lose something that week. On-line, I still get the program materials and the support I need through the boards and online resources, but I don't have to hear someone go on and on about their "journey" if I don't want to listen to it.

I love the program. It stresses making healthy choices. You get a number of points you can spend per day/week and the tools to figure out how many points certain foods have (very easy to do). Basically, healthy foods are lower in points. Nothing is off limits. You can eat anything you want to, as long as you budget for it. I've lost 10 lbs in my first three weeks. I am hoping to lose 1-2 lbs a week from now on. I've enjoyed meals out. Since no food is "bad" I don't seem to crave things like I did before. I honestly don't feel like I've given up anything.

The bottom line is that whatever program you choose has to work for you and your lifestyle...and you need to commit to living this way for the rest of your life. Instead of looking at it as a diet, you must commit to permanent lifestyle changes. You need to look at exercise as something you do like brushing your teeth -- it's part of your health routine.

Both my OB-GYN and family dr. recommend WW for their patients. Good luck whatever you decide to try!!!

[marvel]

I have tried weight watchers and it does work. I lost close to 20 pounds in about 3 months. I was trying to lose my baby stomach but of course I lost it everywhere else and just a little bit in my stomach. It's easy to get used to. If you know someone who attends meetings have them get the beginner packet. I think that still runs $25 and it gives you all the info you need to figure out the points for every food there is. So I guess it's not bad considering I really didn't exercise and most people I know on weight watchers don't exercise too much and still lose weight. Good luck with whatever you choose.

[DisruptiveHair]

My grandmother did TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) after she packed on the pounds in the 1970s. She has kept the weight off for 30 years. She attended TOPS/KOPS meetings well into the 1980s. It worked for her.

[A*O]

My mother is a WW Life Member or somesuch because she joined and reached her goal weight (she lost about 25lbs) a few years ago and she has kept it off, more or less. She found the weekly meetings essential to keep her focussed and 'accountable', plus she's a fairly competitive person so that element helped her.

However, she now has this annoying habit of reciting the carb/cal/fat counts of any food she eats and spends WAY too long planning meals, carefully working out the 'points', deciding what 'treat' to have, etc etc. It's almost like a ritual. Food plays a very central role in her life and she tends to live to eat (albeit healthily) insteading of eating to live. She will also get a bit preachy and say things like "oh, carrot cake, that's very fattening you know". Yes, mother, I know. But hey, it works for her so good luck.