Kathy13118

Unfortunately, I have yet to find a DIET that guarantees you won't regain weight once you lose it. I have found the regaining tendency in every diet I've ever been on - and so I guess it must be me. It really is my focus and commitment that keeps me going to meetings and paying attention to what the scale is telling me.

If I do attain my goal weight at WW, I can continue to go to meetings as a lifetime member. All the more support, which is all good - for me. It all comes down to - me. If the support of WW didn't help, I wouldn't go.

As far as WW being a business... meh, so what. If someone told me that I could lose all the weight I want when I drink a magic potion or they wave a magic wand, all for the low, low price of $10,000, I'd come up with that money somehow. THEY would be in the business of changing lives. I'd be a willing customer. Too bad there aren't magic potions (some would argue that Slimfast fits that description) or magic wands. Until then, I have to reduce my calories.

Kathy13118

'I go to WW and use their online tools (the website). But I've been using fitday for years - and this means my custom foods list is HUGE! I wish that when you searched for a food, the search brought up everything including your custom food.'

I want to add to this: you don't get all foods to include custom foods. But the search for a food works fine when you put the food in the search box and THEN tab over using the tabs below that and choose 'CUSTOM.' It will search your custom foods, which is an extra step but not that difficult. I was recently searching for 'seaweed' and got a lot of results when using the 'all' tab. When I used the 'custom' tab, I did get the Trader Joe's seaweed snack from my custom foods. That was great!

minamu

I did WW twice, and both times lost plenty of weight, but both times regained it. I am now trying the Dukan diet, which, if followed, is supposed to "cure" you of being overweight because of the stabilization and consolidation phases. It has 4 phases, attack, where you just eat lean protein and no fat dairy. This is a short phase, from 2-10 days, that just kind of gets you started and motivated. The second phase is the "cruise" phase, where you alternate days of lean proteins only with days of lean proteins and certain veggies. I should mention that in all of these days, you can eat everything in unlimited amounts except for a few listed items. The cruise phase takes you to your ideal weight, or "true weight," which is a healthy weight that your body can actually maintain. Next comes the "stabilization" phase. In this phase, you can add most fruits and I believe starchy vegetables twice a week, and 2 slices of bread per day. The number of days you stay in this phase is determined by how many pounds you lost overall. Finally there is the consolidation phase, which is the final phase. I get the last two phases mixed up (I'm not there yet), but basically by one of those two phases you start introducing "celebration" meals, at which you can eat whatever you want for the meal, including wine appetizer, and dessert, as long as you just have one serving, and you commit to eat nothing but lean protein on one day per week. In one of the last two phases you also reintroduce cheese in a limited quantity. You also swear not to take escalators or elevators ever again if stairs are available. And you are supposed to exercise from 20-35 minutes per day, depending on the phase. Brisk walking is recommended but you can choose.

I think the diet is kind of ingenius in theory because it strips you down to the essential, lean protein, and then builds you back up gradually, but showing you how much of each you can eat, and finally leading you to what is a healthy way to eat. Thus, its much more about the process over time and showing you how to eat right step by step.

This is the last day of my 5 day attack phase. I have lost 8.6 pounds. I'll get my final attack tally tomorrow morning. It has not been hard in that I have never once been hungry, but I do miss variety, as in attack you only eat lean protein and no fat dairy. Tomorrow I will be able to add veggies! I am very much looking forward to the process, and think it is something I can actually live with, at least once you get to the celebration meals, which is either 1 or 2 per week, have to check. Who can't do that if they know how to limit themselves (1 serving) and how to get things back on track (regular lean protein days). I HOPE I have finally found a winner, meaning something by which it STAYS off. I liked WW while doing it, but got totally sick of counting points. That restriction made me feel like I was in jail. On Dukan, you don't count calories or points or anything, it just basically forces you into a different way of eating, and through the time calculations for each phase, which are calculated for you personally, it engrains this into your head.

Kathy13118

Sounds interesting. If it works permanently, as you say, then that's great!

Katydidtoo

Or, Protein Power by Michael and Mary Eades!!!

Kathy13118

I've never eaten so many veggies as on the WW Points Plus plan. And fruit. Still losing weight.