Fat Bastards - Weight Watchers Thread

[NoRegrets78]

This thread will probably die a slow and painful death but whatever.

I'm really excited about this. The wife and I joined weight watchers last Monday.

In 1 week she's down 4lbs and me almost 7.

It's definitely an eye opener when you see what you used to eat on a daily basis and how bad it was for you.

www.exercise4weightloss.com has been pivotal for our success as we tend to eat out pretty often while we prepare to move into our new home.

The etools and iphone tracker/scanner apps are incredible. Would like to see them combine the two but maybe some day soon.

So anyway, just wondering who's been on the program, still is on, any success stories and tips. Stuff like that.

 

[chrisisnapping]

I've known a lot of people to do weight watchers. Some were very successful (like dropping 100lbs+), some stuck to the program to a T and were losing =<1lb a week and got discouraged and stopped, some just do it consistently over a few years as long as at the end of the month their weigh in is lower than the last.

I personally never did it, I did the following instead:
1. Limited my net-carbs to about 40-50g/day.
2. drank nothing with sugar - water, unsweetened green/iced tea, etc.
3. Tried to do 2k+ steps a day (taking the LONG way to the bathroom from your desk can add up quickly)

Dropped 70lbs on this from 1/1/11 to 5/1/11, and I've managed to keep it off since. Since than I don't count calories/carbs, but I do keep note of it and if something is way to full of calories or carbs I use my judgement and skip, I also run (or at least try to, i haven't consistently done it since november) 2-3 miles a few times a week.

I wish you luck in whatever you choose to do, just don't get discouraged. One thing to note is that the first few weeks you are going to see a decent amount of weight loss as your body adjusts, but eventually dropping 7lbs a week turns into 1lb or "7oz" or something, just stick with it.

 

[NoRegrets78]

I've known a lot of people to do weight watchers. Some were very successful (like dropping 100lbs+), some stuck to the program to a T and were losing =<1lb a week and got discouraged and stopped, some just do it consistently over a few years as long as at the end of the month their weigh in is lower than the last.

I personally never did it, I did the following instead:
1. Limited my net-carbs to about 40-50g/day.
2. drank nothing with sugar - water, unsweetened green/iced tea, etc.
3. Tried to do 2k+ steps a day (taking the LONG way to the bathroom from your desk can add up quickly)

Dropped 70lbs on this from 1/1/11 to 5/1/11, and I've managed to keep it off since. Since than I don't count calories/carbs, but I do keep note of it and if something is way to full of calories or carbs I use my judgement and skip, I also run (or at least try to, i haven't consistently done it since november) 2-3 miles a few times a week.

I wish you luck in whatever you choose to do, just don't get discouraged. One thing to note is that the first few weeks you are going to see a decent amount of weight loss as your body adjusts, but eventually dropping 7lbs a week turns into 1lb or "7oz" or something, just stick with it.

Understood. I've been told the same that the weight loss will slow down.

I don't expect it to go too slow though, if you knew what I ate for breakfast/lunch/dinner on a regular basis, you'd understand lol.

 

[GTIMKV20]

congrats on your new challenge and I wish you luck with sustaining it. Seems to be the hardest part for people losing weight.

I figured in the VW community more weight = free drop in the GTI = more free "low"..

 

[Djmikeyd]

congrats on your new challenge and I wish you luck with sustaining it. Seems to be the hardest part for people losing weight.

I figured in the VW community more weight = free drop in the GTI = more free "low"..

I agree, but also less weight = moar fast

 

[Hilfloskind]

I don't do weight watchers but I have been aggressively working toward improving my body composition since January 24th. On that day, I stopped smoking, quit fast food, changed my overall diet and began working out. I use Livestrong's daily plate application to track my food intake and exercise, along with Gym Buddy for tracking strength training gains. I work out 7 days a week (cardio one day, full body weight training the next) and eat a restricted caloric intake diet that is scaled based on my weight (right now, my average intake goal is mid-1600s).

Since starting on January 24th (also a Tuesday), I have lost exactly 35 pounds. I had a bit of a speed bump in my progress at the end of March when I had a ventral hernia repaired which was caused by an old incision on my stomach. That put me out of commission at the gym for a good 3 week outright and I've only really started lifting heavier in the past week or two.

My goal is not just scale based but more of a "when I look this way" thing. I am estimating based on the progress toward that goal so far that I will need to lose about 30-35 more to reach my goal. I'm 6'3" and started out at 260 pounds...sitting at 225 today and hoping to be no more than 200 lbs when I'm done losing weight...from there, I may gain back 10 lbs or so but only in muscle mass.

 

[NoRegrets78]

I don't do weight watchers but I have been aggressively working toward improving my body composition since January 24th. On that day, I stopped smoking, quit fast food, changed my overall diet and began working out. I use Livestrong's daily plate application to track my food intake and exercise, along with Gym Buddy for tracking strength training gains. I work out 7 days a week (cardio one day, full body weight training the next) and eat a restricted caloric intake diet that is scaled based on my weight (right now, my average intake goal is mid-1600s).

Since starting on January 24th (also a Tuesday), I have lost exactly 35 pounds. I had a bit of a speed bump in my progress at the end of March when I had a ventral hernia repaired which was caused by an old incision on my stomach. That put me out of commission at the gym for a good 3 week outright and I've only really started lifting heavier in the past week or two.

My goal is not just scale based but more of a "when I look this way" thing. I am estimating based on the progress toward that goal so far that I will need to lose about 30-35 more to reach my goal. I'm 6'3" and started out at 260 pounds...sitting at 225 today and hoping to be no more than 200 lbs when I'm done losing weight...from there, I may gain back 10 lbs or so but only in muscle mass.

Nice job boss!

I've had 2 hernia repairs due to my motorcycle accident incision, they aren't fun.

I haven't hit the point of working out or exercising per say, but I do tend to do as much as possible around the house, constantly working on the car, and am about to pick up the biggest loser wii game that my friend swears by.

You get activity points with weight watchers, and believe it or not washing the car and changing your oil both give you points!

 

[troyguitar]

I am not on any official program, but my diet for the past few months has been: eat whatever the hell I want, but limited to 1200 calories per day. One meal a week is whatever I want with no restrictions. So far I've lost 20 lbs from 175 to 155 with a goal of 135 before I start working out to gain some muscle mass back up to 140 or so. I also started running a couple weeks ago with a sub 20 minute 5k time as a goal, currently I'm on 25 minute pace but stopping at about 4km.

I don't really believe in strict or complex programs or keeping detailed logs of everything, that seems like a pain in the ass that I would not be able to stick to in the long run. For example today I ate some chicken tenders and fries with a mocha shake at Arby's, which is horrible if you eat something like it 3 times a day but I will not be eating anything else the entire day. Yesterday I had a big plate of lasagna and 2 glasses of wine, again with no other food all day.

A bonus side effect of hardly eating anything is that it only takes 1-2 drinks to feel quite good!

 

[NoRegrets78]

I am not on any official program, but my diet for the past few months has been: eat whatever the hell I want, but limited to 1200 calories per day. One meal a week is whatever I want with no restrictions. So far I've lost 20 lbs from 175 to 155 with a goal of 135 before I start working out to gain some muscle mass back up to 140 or so. I also started running a couple weeks ago with a sub 20 minute 5k time as a goal, currently I'm on 25 minute pace but stopping at about 4km.

I don't really believe in strict or complex programs or keeping detailed logs of everything, that seems like a pain in the ass that I would not be able to stick to in the long run. For example today I ate some chicken tenders and fries with a mocha shake at Arby's, which is horrible if you eat something like it 3 times a day but I will not be eating anything else the entire day. Yesterday I had a big plate of lasagna and 2 glasses of wine, again with no other food all day.

A bonus side effect of hardly eating anything is that it only takes 1-2 drinks to feel quite good!

I'm not an expert but not eating anything except one big meal a day doesn't sound right.

 

[Hilfloskind]

Puts you in starvation mode/slows your metabolism. Just like not eating breakfast...it's paradoxical. Skipping that first meal actually results in weight gain because your metabolism never gets started off right in the AM.

Personally, I eat 5-6 times a day:

Breakfast: protein smoothie with fruit and a hard boiled egg
Morning snack: either strawberries or two raw carrots
Light lunch: usually a basic salad with a can of v8 and a soup or sandwich
Afternoon snack: greek yogurt (try Yoplait Greek Yogurt Coconut Flavor...it's incredible)
Dinner: fish, chicken, red meat along with two vegetables or one and a starch
After dinner snack (optional): typically reduced fat wheat thins and two tablespoons of natural peanut butter

Never go to bed starving, never leave the house without breakfast.

My only remaining thing which is holding back my full weight loss potential is that I drink 2-3 times a week (weekends). It's anything from a sixer of good beer to a bottle of red wine. I really enjoy having my weekend adult beverages. I feel like I shouldn't give up EVERYTHING I enjoy.

 

[troyguitar]

1000 or so calories is not that big of a meal. That's a regular fast food combo meal.

 

[troyguitar]

Puts you in starvation mode/slows your metabolism. Just like not eating breakfast...it's paradoxical. Skipping that first meal actually results in weight gain because your metabolism never gets started off right in the AM.

Personally, I eat 5-6 times a day:

Breakfast: protein smoothie with fruit and a hard boiled egg
Morning snack: either strawberries or two raw carrots
Light lunch: usually a basic salad with a can of v8 and a soup or sandwich
Afternoon snack: greek yogurt (try Yoplait Greek Yogurt Coconut Flavor...it's incredible)
Dinner: fish, chicken, red meat along with two vegetables or one and a starch
After dinner snack (optional): typically reduced fat wheat thins and two tablespoons of natural peanut butter

Never go to bed starving, never leave the house without breakfast.

My only remaining thing which is holding back my full weight loss potential is that I drink 2-3 times a week (weekends). It's anything from a sixer of good beer to a bottle of red wine. I really enjoy having my weekend adult beverages. I feel like I shouldn't give up EVERYTHING I enjoy.

The guys who write and follow things like Leangains and Eat Stop Eat disagree with you entirely, as does the fact that I have lost 20 lbs...

 

[Hilfloskind]

The guys who write and follow things like Leangains and Eat Stop Eat disagree with you entirely, as does the fact that I have lost 20 lbs...

You can lose weight in more than one way: water weight, lean muscle weight, fat weight...just losing it doesn't mean it's healthy loss. I understand intermittent fasting as well (eat stop eat methods) but you're talking about a daily regiment of eating literally whatever you want but only once a day. You may lose something but what was it you lost and will it be sustainable?

 

[troyguitar]

It is usually 2-3 smaller meals, but I'm not about to eat more on days where I've felt like having a big meal when I'm not even hungry for the rest of the day anyway. How would that be better?

The whole point is that it IS sustainable because I always get to eat what I want. It's not a short term diet, it is merely portion control. I can keep it up for the rest of my life without missing anything except the pile of fat I've lost :lol:

 

[Hilfloskind]

That's not what I understood your previous post to mean...yeah, doing that occassionally (aka intermittent fasting) is Ok and brings on autophagic processes. I was under the impression you were eating one huge (and sometimes unhealthy) meal only each and every day as your weight loss plan.