Anyone following the "Heavin Formula" (aka: Curves) diet?
 

I just joined up with Curves last week. Things are still new for me. I am curious as to how many of you are doing the Curves diet called "The Heavin Formula". It is low carb, but the big difference I can see with this approach to LCing compared to other LC approaches is that they believe that eventually (when you are at your goal weight) you really only need to 'diet' (ugh ...there's that word) for maybe 2 -3 days a month. I'm not sure if I'm understanding everything their booklet says re: LCing, your "prevailing metabolism while dieting / eating, stimulating / suppressing starvation hormones, etc, etc ...I'd like to have input from all of you as to what this approach is really all about, what it's success rate is like for you (or those you know), if you've found all that this approach claims is pretty well on track, etc. I know the ads are spectacular promoting this WOE / WOL, but what does the 'average' person experience? Any info is appreciated ...I'd like to get as educated as much as possible before trying something like this.

Sorry i know nothing about it...but why would you want to do anything but low carb? Is it not working for you?

Hi Baconbabe:

This Heavin Formula is a Low Carb plan that I am curious about. There are many similarities between Heavin Formula to other LC plans like Atkins, Protein Power, etc. However, it has some theories that differ from these 'mainline' eating plans that make me wonder how effective it compared to the mainliners. Hence my asking the LC 'family' what they know about Heavin. I posted my intial question with the General Excercise forum as well to see if it would draw another group of people to possibly help me with my quest & only one person has replied. She didn't know anything about this Heavin Formula either, but my post has caused her to look into it at her local 'Curves for Women' gym & she is willing to experiment with it. I haven't tried it yet ...but I am interested in doing so. I've got my mind 'programmed' to start this 'new' plan on Monday ....I just wanted some added information.

If anyone is able to help me in my quest for info re: the Heavin Formula (person experience on it's effectiveness, etc), I'd be most appreciative of your help.

What exactly are the differences? I'm just curious..I'm following atkins..what will you be doing differently?

Hi there,

I started Curves and the Heavin low-carb plan Wednesday. I've lost the 4 lbs. of water weight that I had gained last weekend when I went out of town. :p

His plan starts out (phase 1)with 1 or 2 weeks of under 20 g carbs a day, or 1200 calories with a max of 60 carbs per day. After the initial week or two, it moves up a little, (phase 2) either calories or carbs. That is similar enough with other plans. You stay on this until you reach goal OR hit a plateau. Here is were he diverges. Maybe other ones do this, but I have read several books, and haven't seen it.

I'm very intrigued with his plan to reset the number of calories you start gaining weight on. Did that make sense? :confused: It's kind of difficult, maybe because I haven't done it yet. You have to watch things day by day.

I will be updating my journal, probably tonight, and will tell what I am doing, although it may be a while before I move into phase 3. We'll see! That is when the experiment begins!

I want to try this because I was looking at eating less than I'm comfortable with, to MAINTAIN, because my metabolism is slowed.

Have to go for now.

Amy

You count carbs OR you count calories?? I still don't understand at all sorry

Yes, you can choose to follow either a low-calorie (which still limits carbs to 60) or a low-carb plan. He probably realized that some of his Curves people wouldn't take to a traditional low-carb plan so he made an allowance for that. Remember, this was for an exercise studio primarily, he wasn't just writing a low-carb book.

I'm eating <20 g carbs a day, and staying at 1500 calories, because I have found I don't lose above that. I sure wish there were some Heavin experts here. They don't have a forum. I will go to the first meeting at Curves that discusses his plan and report any info I get in my journal. I guess for now, Schwarz and I are the guinea pigs!

Amy

I am doing it now also !!
 

I have been going to Curves for 6 mos now and I decided to try the diet as well I started Monday and I have lost 7 lbs so far...I too had posted a message about anyone that had actually done it all the way to the end...

Good Luck !!!

Welcome to our thread, Mjsturg1 ! You may be able to help us a little more as we struggle through understanding what we've gotten ourselves into here.

You said you had also posted a thread re: Heavin Formula. Did you get much response from the LC family? Any information you can direct us to or even 'copy & paste' onto this thread?

How exciting that you just started you the HF plan just this past Monday & have already lost 7 lbs. I don't expect to loose that fast since I'm hypothyroid. But, hey...any amount will do for me.

Are you going to do phase I for 1 or 2 weeks? I'll need to do it for 2 since I have a long way to go before I am a healthy weight.

I am a little unsure about this 'Prevailing Metabolism" stuff. If I haven't been watching out what I've been eating for the last while, my metobolism should be raised enough that I could go right to starting the diet, right? (see pg 73 in book).

I sure like the throught of his statement of being able to eat reasonably well for most of my month and only have to restrict myself for a few days per month. Like he says ...its a reasonable hope & means to control my weight. But it almost sounds too good to be true.

Mjsturg1, are there other women in your Curves group doing this WOE with you? How are they doing? Could you share with us bits of their testimony of how their journey is going? Pitfalls? Adjustments to the plan they made to help them on their way? etc, etc.

Amy ...do Curves have special meetings for all those who want to do the diet? I hadn't heard of that. I'll inquire at my place when I go on Monday.

Baconbabe ...I don't know if any of us were able to help your curiosity out any, but the book "Permanent Results without Permanent Dieting" is easily available at any Curves for Women gym near you. I don't know how much the book is because a friend of mine lent me hers. It can't be too much ...$10ish maybe? I think the biggest difference between this weight loss method compared to the mainline LC methods is that Heavin doesn't suggest a 'maintenance diet' at the end of the journey. He feels that you should only need to diet for a few days every month to keep your weight down. Also, which is different from other LC books I've read, is that through his little tests he gets you to take, you can determine if you are carbohydrate intolerant or calorie sensitive. This is how you can determine your best method of loosing weight & he offers weight loss methods for both types of body chemistries. (boy ...I hope I don't sound too confusing. It's best that you read it for yourself).

Anyway, I sure hope we can hear from other HF'ers out there to find out how they are doing.

Bye for now.

Yippee! We're growing!
 

Welcome, Mjsturg1!

Your the resident expert with 5 full days on the plan! 7 lbs is great! How were you eating before that? I've lost 4 since Wed, but I was bloated from a wild weekend. I expected to lose that much by just getting back into ketosis.

Schwarz, they told me that they meet once a month to discuss the eating plan, give tips, etc. They had just met, so I guess it will be a month before I can see what's up with that. I don't know how helpful it will be, but I'll be sure to let you know!

You explained things very well, I also suggest other interested peoples read the book, it is only $10.

The biggest problem I'm having is eating a lower percentage of fat than protein. I finally did it today, but it was tough! And I ate more than I really wanted. (But only 1236 calories-I can't bear the thought of eating another bite. I still have to down 2 scoops of vanilla whey protein shake :( ) I'm going to go through the book again to see if there is a reason for that. So far, that has been the hardest part for me. I wonder if it is really so necessary.

I have been feeling great!

Amy

Is that the Weight Loss Shake that Heavin talks about in his book or is that just any ol' vanilla whey protein you picked up off the shelf?

Just wondering if any of you gals opted for the Curves Complete multivitamin or the Curves Integrated for joint support, or the Curves Essential calcium suppliment? Are Curves brand products expensive? Did you ever get the impression that a person is bound for failure if you don't use their brand of products? Hmmm....things could get rather costly, eh?
Are you able to figure out (or did anyone tell you other than what Heavin says in his book) if these products really are better formulated than other brands? I haven't asked too many questions about the diet program or the supplements at my gym yet for fear of the 'attack-the-unsuspecting-victim' salesperson approach. I was hoping to find answers to these kind of questions via the LC forum.

I've been going to Curves for 3 weeks now (the minute one opened in my neighbourhood); I got the book that's been mentioned for free as part of a promotion. I read through it and thought the best aspect of it was the part about readjusting your metabolism.

I know I have a big problem with that because there seems to be a very fine line where if I'm eating too little... I manage to gain weight. I haven't started following the book yet, but I probably will soon as I seem to have plateaued again.

I didn't realize that some of the centres hold meetings about the eating part of it, I should ask and see if that will be starting up in mine soon.

Glad to join in with this group!

Sandra

Schwarz, I just buy whatever is available, I think the brand is EAS, from Wal-Mart. Not my favorite stuff. The staff at Curves have not mentioned the supplements to me yet. I asked about the shake mixes and the only thing the girl said was that she had heard the vanilla was better than the chocolate. I kind of watch, if many people recommend a particular brand, I would be more inclined to buy it, otherwise, I just try to get a name brand. I'm guessing there are some that are better than others, but that's not a journey I care to travel right now.

Sandra, welcome aboard! Not sure if the meetings are at all locations or not. Certainly would be nice if they were! Let us know what you find out.

ps, I couldn't bring myself to down those scoops. :( I opted for 10 almonds, instead. I'll have to change my journal...

Amy

Yippee !!!
 

I am proud of myself for actually sticking to this diet, I had tryed twice before and last about 4 days and quit. I don't use any of the Curves supplements but have heard that the liquid vitamins they sell are superb (pricey though) . I just take a plain old vitamin.
I had problem getting my calories up but yesterday I had 1200 and about 30 total carbs and still lost 1.5 lbs...for a total of 8.5 so far. (I had a lite beer and one vanilla wafer)

I need to figure out how to post my fit day journal???


I worked out 3x this week too !!

So glad you're joining us, Sandra. It's nice to have a few of us try this thing together ...it's more exciting to experiment with a bunch of other ladies.

Did any of you read the thread on Curves? It has to do more with the exercise than the dieting part of the program. I put in a request on that thread asking if any of them could help us out with info on the Heavin program. Maybe some of them have tried it out together with the exercise routine. We'll see what kind of response comes out of that. I've asked that anyone who has any info on the diet to please put their reply into this thread so that we can keep the diet issues a little more separate from the exercise issues.

If you haven't already looked into that thread about Curves gym, here's the shortcut:
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...30&pagenumber=1

Mjsturg1: looking at your profile, I noticed you've read Atkins & CAD. Had you tried those programs too? When you say you've tried twice before, does that mean you've tried these diets before the Heavin one & they didn't work for you? It may be too early to tell yet, but do you find the Heavin Formula easier to follow? ...more in tune with your chemistry? ...more results? ...whatever.... compared to the programs you followed before? Or do you just find there's more hope for success knowing that Heavin's theory assures us that we won't need to be on maintenance for the rest of our life? Just curious.
Congrads on getting down in your weight!

I plan to start this Monday ...the countdown is on. I'm trying to get things out of (& into) my house this weekend so that I have a fighting chance at all of this.

I have read those books but never started them because I thought I couldnt stick to them...I have tried he Curves diet twice before and after losing 4 lbs I fell off the wagon...LOL but I am in for the long haul this time. I am not having as many cravings or anything, everything in moderation..like I ate on vanilla wafer and that was a "treat" for me.
The other night I made this concoction...1 tbsp peanut butter, 2 tbsp cool whip and 2 tbsp cream cheese and dipped some plain pork rinds in it and it satisfied my need for peanut butter :)
I froze the remaining mixture in a shot glass---I wonder how that will turn out..??
Anyway, I highly recommend using fitday.com to track your foods etc.. and these forums have been extremely helpful..They keep me motivated too!!!

We dont have any classes going on in our Curves yet,but I think I January they will start.

Good Luck to all...Happy LC'ing :)

Thanks for the welcome. One thing I was wondering while reading the book from Curves was that if the original book he wrote is still available somehow... has anyone tried looking for through their local library or anything like that?

It's just that to me the book from Curves kinda feels like a "Readers Digest" version of what to do, it would be interesting to read the complete book.

Sandra

Wow!!!
 

Mjsturg1, you're kickin' tookus!

:cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

I got messed up yesterday. Woke up at 3:00 am & couldn't get back to sleep this morning & had to eat earlier than normal. Uh-oh, it's only 12:15 and I've already had almost 1,000 calories! :eek: Oh well, maybe it will even out over the 2 days?

Mj, you've been on it since 11-4, right? Schwarz, you start 11-11, I started 11-6 (I've always got to be different :( ). That's good, that means we'll be cruizin' phase 2 together. I have a feeling I will stall pretty quick, though. Hopefully not, I'd rather start phase 3 after I've reached my goal.

Mj, have you decided how long you will stay in phase 1? You don't have that much to lose.

You guys have any ideas for getting more protein/less fat? What are your percentages? I've been eating shrimp, ham thought about tuna but I can't stomach it w/out Miracle Whip! I really don't like the shakes. :p BUT, I guess I can suffer for a while!

Hope you all are doing great and staying motivated!

Amy

Hi Sandra,

We must have posted about the same time...

I searched Amazon and several used book sites to no avail. Only his current book shows up. I was wondering about it myself. I'll ask at Curves Monday to see if anyone there knows about it.

See ya,

Amy

I'll ask out my way about a possible 'original' book too. I sent a message through the Curves website inquiring about an 'original' version of the present-day book also. We'll see what comments come back. ...I'll keep you posted.

Sorry ... it's me again....
 

I'm in the midst of making my grocery list to get things ready for next week. Are you girls following the diet plan directly from Heavin's book, or are you following just any LC plan but using Heavin's guidelines?

Question: I'm just looking at Monday's menu for the High Protein menu. What size of portions should I be going by for things like cottage cheese & strawberries, or salad, etc. It's fine to give an idea of the food you're supposed to eat, but how much of it should we really be taking in? Or am I supposed to be following the 1200 cal plan even though I'm going for a high protein diet?
I'm a bit confused here! :confused:

I am assuming that you did the test in the book to see if you were carb intolerant or affected by calories...

As far as the low carb part , you can have UNLIMITED protein and 20g of carbs so for me... I eat cantaloupe for breakfast which is normally a big chunk of my carbs for the day (usually like 10)
I have tuna w/some hardboiled eggs for lunch and some sort of meat/cheese and green beans for dinner for snack I eat a sugar free jello w/cool whip.
Also I might snack on pork rinds or sunflower seeds...

Really the only portion control you need is when carbs are involved...ex// fruit and veggies etc..

I will only stay on the first phase for a week,the Monday I will increase my carbs to 40g...:)

Hey gals!
 

I am doing the <20g carb plan, but limiting it to 1500 calories a day. I found before that I can't lose above that. I'm hoping with the exercise, that will change.

For protein, I've been eating low-fat cottage cheese, cold shrimp, skinless chicken thighs (don't like white meat), ham, and I had a few rib eye steaks that I finished up. Can't do THAT for a while, too much fat for this plan. I still don't know if he's recommending more protein grams than fat grams, or if it's a percentage of calories for the day. BIG difference. Any thoughts on that? With the other LC plans I did, fat was always the highest percentage. Hmmm.

For carbs, I try to eat low-carb veggies, like those red peppers and spinach! Does anyone know how many carbs in a VERY well cleaned out potato skin? That's the best part, anyway!

I also like homemade chicken soup w/no noodles, just broth and chicken. Especially this time of the year!

Hey Mj, do you know your calorie counts for the day? I always wanted to think calories didn't matter, but I've found they do for me. :( That's why I hope Heavin knows what he's talking about. I don't want to eat like a pig, but some days I would like to be able to get up around 2000 without falling apart! Well, actually, I just want to be able to NOT worry about it at all, ya know?

See ya later!

Amy

I went through the little tests in the book & yes ...I'm carb intolerant. I've known this for a while being hypothyroid ...has similar symptoms to hypoglycemia.

I guess what I get hung up on is the fat thing (having been on Atkins who allows unlimited fats). If I have to limit my fats now, how should I look at something like ie: cottage cheese. The higher the fat content, the lower the carbs are. Yet if I now have to lower my fats & go for the low-fat cottage cheese, it is automatically higher in carbs (even though low-fat cottage cheese is lower in calories than regular cottage cheese). So ...which is the better of the 2 evils??? :confused:

Regarding the low fat vs low carb debate and which is the better way to go. I think it comes down again to what your body can tolerate and what your taste preference might be.

The program I've had the best results on is a clinical program here in Canada - Dr. Bernstein which is both low carb, and low fat - so when it comes to specific products he will take the low fat road - ultra low fat cream cheese, ultra low fat miracle whip etc. I don't mind the cream cheese so I've stuck with it, but I found the miracle whip absorbs into the product (ie tuna fish) I mix it with, so I've gone back to just the "light" version.

I think sometimes we can get too focused on toeing the line with a specific program. I've decided if I prefer something one level away in order to be able to eat something - then that's what I'm going to do. For example I'd never get any tuna eaten if I didn't have a good whallop of miracle whip in it, and I just don't believe those 2 or 3 extra tbsp are going to put me over the edge. I've still had amazing weeks of 4 lb losses.

Trust yourself and your body!
Sandra

Thanx Sandra ...now I've got a bit of an idea to go by. So ...I guess the low-fat road will be the preferred way if my taste buds can handle it.

I'm right there with you, Schwarz. I was struggling a bit with the fat thing myself. You know what though, he doesn't make a big deal about the fat content, and I don't think he ever says 'low-fat', he says 'lower fat', so, makes me wonder if we're stressing over nothing. Although I still don't know if he would go by actual grams or % of calories.

I have 2 cartons of cottage cheese right now; 4% fat which has 4g carb per 1/2 cup and 1% fat which has 5g carb per 1/2 cup. Not much of a difference. They were 2 different brands.

I HATE most low-fat things, such as cheese. I'd rather not eat it at all! Sandra, I'm the same way with tuna! Gotta have the Miracle Whip (light is fine). I'm really going to pin down the owner of the local Curves this week. They were at a Curves conference in Florida last week. I'd like to hear what they have to say. It's too bad Curves doesn't have a forum.

Amy

Hi Everyone
 

I am also following the Curves diet. I started Oct. 28, and have lost 5 lbs so far. I had lost 2 lbs the 2 wks before when I started the atkins diet. But I think that I need to limit my calorie intake also so that is why I decided to follow the curves method. I started going to Curves 1 yr ago with very little results. Tried lowering my calorie intake. I lost inches but could not seem to shake the lbs. I had to stop the curve classes because of back problems, but am now following the diet. My husband & I are going to Punta Cana in Jan. and I really want to lose weight before I go. The plan says if you have more than 20 lbs to lose then you should follow phase 1 for at least 2 wks. I am doing 20 g of carbs & 1200 cal for 2 or 3 weeks then will go to phase 2.

Have a good day...

Welcome Angel! Glad to have you join us & work through this WOE. Let me initiate you to our thread by bombing you with lots of questions. :D

Are you doing your diet under the supervision of Curves or are you doing it on your own? You started out with the Atkins diet but are now doing Heavin' diet? Are you noticing a big difference between the 2 diets? Are you really supposed to do Phase I longer than 2 weeks? How have you found the last almost 2 weeks being on Heavin's diet? (has it been difficult to stick with it? makes you crabby? etc) How do you do the 20 g of carbs & 1200 cal together? ...do you just follow the 1200 cal plan & substitute any carbie things (Melba toast, carrots, etc) with protein? Do you drink the shakes? (do you get the Curves brand?) What supplements are you taking? Is your 5 lb weight loss in addition to the 2 lbs you lost while on Atkins?

Way to go on loosing the 5 lbs!! :thup:

Geez Schwarzie....
 

are you trying to scare her off?!? :D Just kidding, those are great questions. As Nat posted on another thread, it's VERY hard to do both low-carb AND low-fat. It's not something I want to do forever!

Welcome, Bonnie, you're braver or more disciplined than I am. 1200 calories with low-fat would leave me hungry all the time. I'm chicken, aiming for 1500.

Well, I gained a lb after my 'foo-pah' (as my hubby would say) yesterday (68g carbs-even though that was way too high, it was still way over 20). But I'm sure it's water, so back to the grindstone today.

I'm going to ask the following questions at Curves tomorrow, would you gals like to add to the list & then we can all ask and compare notes? I'll probably have to wait for someone to call me later in the day as the morning staff doesn't seem to know much about the eating plan.

1. Can you give me a guide as to how much fat I should be eating, either percentage-wise, or gram-wise?
2. How long should I go without losing any weight before I move to phase 3 to jump-start my metabolism?
3. Is Gary Heavin's first book, The Sweet Joy of Sugar Free Living, available?


Amy