Weight Watchers - Columbia Station,OH

Updated on January 12, 2011
R.P. asks from Columbia Station, OH
19 answers

Okay I have been thinking about joining weight watchers and really start to get serious about losing weight. I was wondering if any of you moms have done it and if it actually worked. the thing with me is i do not know how to "portion" my meals out through out the day and what exactly to eat and everything. if any of you moms have had anything work well for you please let me know you can message meif you want also

we have a treadmill so i plan on getting on that a few times a day for like 20-30 mins like in the morning in the afternoon and at night.

I need to lose about 70 lbs or more to be healthy, I am 5'8 and last time i was weighed i was 240. I need to get the weight off for my health. I have cronic back pain and i think it is because of my weight

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B..

answers from Dallas on

You can be very successful with Weight Watchers. The new plan teaches you good eating habits. The real key to loosing a lot of weight and more importantly keeping it off...is exercise. You can loose some weight just on diet alone, but not large amounts and it's more difficult to keep off. Even if it's just walking every day with weight watchers the weight will melt off much more quickly.

2 moms found this helpful

S.D.

answers from Phoenix on

I was very successful on this program. there is another posting on this subject two days ago if you want to flip through. It is a new program now. I think it really teaches you a life style and not a diet plan.

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S.D.

answers from Dothan on

What you can hold in the palm of your hand is a serving. Well thats the best to tell without going to WW. However I never been to them but anyone I have ever known in numerous years has shown great results with them. They teach you a better lifestyle not "dieting" Make sure when ya hit that treadmill to raise the levels or if it doesnt raise at all, run for a min then walk then run then walk again. intervals is key to not plateuing

1 mom found this helpful

M.3.

answers from St. Louis on

I lost over 40 lbs if baby fat on ww. I love it. I went from 156 to 112. I cant wait to do it again when Im not preggo. Hopefully I wont gain that much this time! ;)

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J.M.

answers from Cleveland on

I have done Weight Watchers in the past after the birth of my daughter and am currently on it again following the birth of my son. It really does work, I promise you. If you follow it and are honest with yourself about your points, you will lose weight. For me, it was pretty fast. WW teaches you how to be a better eater overall - you learn what foods are better than others and it becomes somewhat of a lifestyle, even when you're not strictly following the plan. Working out earns you extra points. The WW books teach you how to determine portions and the classes do so as well. You can always purchase a food scale if you're still not sure - you can get one at Target for like $10. Whatever you decide, good luck to you! You'll feel so much better overall as you begin to lose weight.

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S.M.

answers from Cincinnati on

Though I am not on Weight Watchers my husband is and he has lost a little over 40 lbs. It does work. He doesn't go to meetings or anything like that he does it all online. They have tons of recipes you can make and they tell you pretty much what a "portion" will be with the meals. Plus, anything you eat you enter it online to keep track of what you are eating and it will tell you how many "points" it is. You have so many "points" you use during each day. When he signed up he took this kind of questionnaire and that is how they determined his point system. It is under $20 bucks a month. Hope that helps a little. You could also look into Jennie Craig or even Nutrasystem. I don't know much about those but I think they both have their own food that would help with portions. Plus you buy your own fruits and veggies and dairy items. Good Luck!

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K.H.

answers from Cincinnati on

I am a former Weight Watchers client - they will teach you portion size and control and when to eat throughout the day. I've seen Weight Watchers work for a lot of my friends but unfortunately it didn't work for me. At the time I only had about 20 pounds of fat to lose but I also has a substantial muscle mass which made my weight higher. So my point value starting in was 19 - The first week I was starving the entire time but my friends say that is normal cause your caloric intake decreases. Well after 5 weeks I was still starving all the time and had a continous gain and loss of the same 4 pounds. I decided to actually count the calories I ate in a day going by their point value and it came out to be around 900-950 a day. No wonder I was always hungry. To maintain you need to have at least 1200 calories. I went to a dietician (who happens to be a friend) and through some tests she gave me found that my muscle mass causes me to burn more calories which also means I need about 1900 calories a day. Plus my body needs more protein instead of carbs and fats. So that was another issue. I KNOW Weight Watchers works I've seen it with my friends but I just wanted to let you know it isn't always for everyone, cause everyone's body is different. But I wish you all the best of luck!!

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D.K.

answers from Cleveland on

I did weight watchers and love it. I was only successful when I did the points versus the core plan. Once you get started, it is so easy working with the points. I don't even need the book anymore, I just know how many points things are. I think it is important to have the support of the meetings as well. I found that if I didn't go to the meetings, my weight loss came to a halt, but that is just me. I needed that extra umph to keep me going. I highly recommend it. I would suggest starting slow on the treadmill. Start out maybe only doing 1/2 hour twice a day. If you push yourself too much at the beginning, you will get burned out and stop. After a few weeks if you want to add another session do it then.

Good luck and don't get discouraged. If you have a bad day, just remember tomorrow is another day and you can start again.

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D.G.

answers from Dallas on

I am currently on it right now (just finished my first week). It seems to be a great program because it's not a diet - it teaches you how to eat correctly. What I also like is that there is nothing off limits - just count your points. I did lose a pretty good amount last week so I am pleased so far.

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E.E.

answers from Cincinnati on

Try http://sparkpeople.com it's FREE!

I think you will find if you just make yourself walk 30-40 min. a day at one time, drink lots of water, write down what you eat, stick to lots of fruits and veggies and eat lean protein you will feel your pants get looser. You will feel so much better! The walking will help your back so much! Talk to your MD about visiting a physical therapist to get some good stretching exercises that will help with the back pain. :) good luck

P.W.

answers from Dallas on

I have a great and healthy diet that really helps keep the pounds off after you go off the diet because you lose fat instead of muscle, which is a problem with most diets. Contact me for a link if you are interested. My husband is on it right now and feels great.

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C.H.

answers from Cleveland on

I currently following weight watchers. We have an at work program! It is great. I started in September and went through the holidays and have lost 12 1/2 lbs so far. We are starting a new session this Thursday. I would like to lose 15-20 lbs more. It is a great program that teaches you to eat the correct portions and it works. Everyone in our group has lost weight and there is nothing that you can't have, you just have to track each item and how many points it is. Good Luck!!!!

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D.S.

answers from Fort Wayne on

GO FOR IT!!!! I joined WW last April and have lost 37lbs without exercising. My friend lost 110lbs on WW without exercising. Not that I'm promoting no exercise because I know I need to start, but it can be done. I thought I would be totally overwhelmed by the counting points and measuring food, but I wasn't at all. The program teaches you what food to eat and how much of it to eat, but best of all you can still have the treats you like so you don't have to deprive yourself...just save some points for it. You get so many points per day (I get 29 on the new Points Plus program) and then 49 weekly points to use how ever you want...split them up and use some each day or save them for a special event where you know there will be lots of "bad" foods (birthday party, holiday party, cookout etc). Personally I find it helpful to actually go weigh in with a live person...it holds me more accountable, and the meetings are really helpful becuase you get lots of good ideas and help from other members. It's more expensive than the online program, but I think it's worth it. Plus you're worth it :o)
Good luck!!!!!!

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D.K.

answers from Indianapolis on

The easiest way to think of a portion, as a general rule, is that it fits in the palm of your hand, i.e. chicken breast, etc. Vegetables vary depending on the vegetable.......most are 1/2 cup is a serving, peas 2/3 c is s serving (lots of space between the peas, I guess), look at LABELS. They will tell you how much a serving is....4 crackers, etc. You need to also read labels for CONTENT.......total calories, sodium, fat (SAT FAT is the most important thing to look at, not necessarily total fat), carbs, sugar, fiber and protein.

When you're looking at fat, you may see that it has 9 gms of fat and only 1 gram of sat fat. THAT is a good thing. As a rule, NOTHING should be more than 30% fat. In other words, if something has 210 calories, no more than 70 calories should come from fat. There are good and bad fats. It takes good fats to break down carbs AND are essential for the skin, organs, etc.

7 calories /gram of alcohol, 4 calories/gm of carbs, 4 calories / gm of protein and 9 calories per gm of fat. (THATS why you watch your fat intake. They have more than double the calories per gram of carbs and protein.

Make SURE to get plenty of protein. You won't be as hungry and it keeps your from craving sweets. If you crave sweets, you're not getting enough protein.

Eat at least 4-5 x during the day - mini meals/grazing. If you eat 250 calories 5 x a day, that's still only 1250 calories. Try to get protein and fruit or vegetable at EACH of the 4 or 5 times. For example, boiled egg and grapefruit for breakfast, apple and almonds for snack, 1/2 turkey sandwich and raw veggies for lunch, 1/2 large banana w/ almond or peanut butter for a snack, soup and salad for dinner, making sure you have kidney beans, black beans, nuts, peas, etc in the salad if the soup doesn't have any meat. Even if it does, it will just add more protein.

As far as the back pain goes.........go to the EGOSCUE website and pull off some e-cises for back pain. Getting the weight off will help, but you're probably out of alignment. you don't necessarily need to go to the chiro, just get the muscles re-educated to bring you back into proper alignment and out of pain. Might also want to get a copy of PAIN FREE by Pete Egoscue. VERY user friendly!!

hope this helps!

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A.R.

answers from Columbus on

Yes. It works. I lost 32 pounds in in 5 months. Go to meetings because it makes you feel accountable.

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M.J.

answers from Sacramento on

I just reached my weight goal on Weight Watchers last fall. It's awesome! I had tried the free SparkPeople.com before that and they put me on such a low calorie count I was starving constantly and my body went into starvation mode (literallly) and I lost no weight.

I then decided it was worth investing in a real program. I've known a lot of people successful with Weight Watchers, so I signed up for their online only program (our WW office is the other side of town and between working, a workaholic husband and two kids, I knew I'd never make it there for meetings). The hardest part was just keeping track of all I ate. But that was so critical! And I learned a lot about portion size, healthy and satisfying eating, and the importance of exercise. I never went hungry and I liked that I could still eat my weakness items, just in smaller amounts. I could still go out to eat. It was just relearning what to eat to stay healthy. I even LOST weight on a cruise!

I've maintained my weight no problem since then. I've heard the new program is even better than what I went on with them, allowing for more protein and fruits.

Best of luck! Hope you're as successful on it as I was!

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A.J.

answers from Portland on

Ok....so I'm going to sound like a total mom (lol) but if you are having back pain or any other pains I think you should talk to your doctor about what kinds of exercises are best so as to not aggrivate the pain or cause possible injury. Plus, there's nothing worse than just getting into the groove with exercising, maybe even LIKING it, and have an injury derail you.

I don't know about weight watchers but, unfortunately, have experienced losing the ability to exercise due to an injury and it's sort of depressing.

Anyways, best wishes! :)

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D.S.

answers from Memphis on

I copied this from another question I answered with a few modifications:

I joined the meetings at first and then went to the online program. I like the meetings starting out because they give you a lot of help and encouragement. I lost 60 lbs before my first child and I lost all I gained plus 15 more lbs after I had her. I am now pregnant with my second child and I plan to do it again after I have him. I was at goal when I got pregnant with him.

People at my work could not believe the difference in me and all wanted to know what I had done. I have helped tons of people that I work with loose weight by telling them about WW and giving them ideas and encouragement. Now they are all doing WW and I know I will get the same encouragement from them when I return from maternity leave. I have let myself go and have a long way to get back to where I was before.

You can contact me more if you would like to. It is a great weight loss plan because it teaches you to eat healty. You can start by just altering your current recipes a little and making them healthier.

Good luck!

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L.W.

answers from Kokomo on

First off I want to say that I did not read all your posts.

I am on Weight Watchers now. Everything that Weight Watchers did last before Dec. 1, 2010 has changed.
Most of the Weight Watcher foods you buy in the stores are still for the old program as far as point values go.

Fresh fruit is now 0 points for up to 5 servings. A serving depends on what the food you are eating says a serving size is. For example most (not all) cans of soup are 2 servings.
You learn at Weight Watchers that you can eat anything that you want to eat just in moderation. For example I have not nor will I give up chocolate or ice cream. I eat the Weight Watchers chocolate ice cream in the little cups it is all ready figured out for me as to how much is in the cup and I do not have to do that. I eat some of the snack cakes. I eat what I want I just have to write it all down and face the points for what I want to eat. They only have points now. You have to buy a caluculater to figure out how many points most foods are. There is no slider too keep up with any more. They now look at total fat grams, carbs, protien, and fiber. You get more points and extra points then the old programs but I think that for someone who has never done Weight Watchers before it will be easy for you to follow the program.
I do sudjest that you go to meetings. I do not do much in the way of excersising during the winter so I do not loose it as fast but I do not like the cold and just do not have any place to walk inside where we live now.
However this summer I will be walking in our pool or around the edge every day that I can.
Weight Watchers is not about dieting it is about changing your life style and the way that you eat.
They understand that you have a birthday party to go to and instead of watching everyone else eat cake and everthing that you can have a piece of cake.

Good luck no matter what you decide to try. If you have more questions email me if you want.
L.
____@____.com

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