Any ex-weight watchers out there?
 

I have been playing with this weight loss thing for the past couple of months. I keep jumping between weight watchers and Atkins (total polar opposites!). When I find one of the plans tough, I make excuses and jump to the other plan. Needless to say, it hasn't been very successful. Does anybody out there have previous experience with weight watchers? If so, why is Atkins better than weight watchers?

Kim.

What I can remember
 

I have always been too fat since I was a child. I remember doing Weight Watchers with my mother when I was about 13 (I'm 30 now).

As with a lot of other FAD diets, Weight Watchers makes the assumption that if you remove fat, you can eat twice the volume of low-fat foods and lose weight (because Fat has twice the calories of sugar). While theoritically correct, without much fat, you are extremely hungry; interestingly enough, most nutritionists will admit to the fact.

So, I didn't understand meal composition back then, but I surely did understand not having enough food to eat even though I seemed to be eating a lot of food. I would eat and still be hungry, go to bed hungry, wake up hungry and after eating breakfast be hungry some more. Didn't last too long.

For me at least, that is the difference.

Later,
wsgts

I was on Weight Watchers for a spell, about 10 years ago. And it worked--for awhile. Lost the weight, but was always thinking about food, and usually hungry. Then I played the "count the calories" game and ended up trying to eat as little as possible. Naturally that backfired. The weight came back, with a vengeance. I wasn't terribly heavy, but it all came back as body fat.

This WOE (I'm on Protein Power, mainly) is a delight, because you eat tasty and healthful foods and you're satiated. There's no hunger. And no craving, once the first few days have "dried you out", so to speak. :) I find this much easier to stick with, because it addresses the core issues of carb addiction. And once that's gone--or at least under control--it's a piece of cake to stay on the plan. :p

Low fat diets are losing their good press. Even an authority like Jane Brody, who is one of the smartest medical writers out there, has conceded that the low fat approach is a mistake. And WW is a low fat plan. One of the better ones, IMHO--hubby has lost 50 pounds on it--but still a low fat plan.

I was on Weight Watchers with my husband from 3/03 - 7/15/03. My husband was diagnosed with diabetes, and the doctor said the weight has to come off. We tried Weight Watchers first. I lost 15 lbs in 17 weeks, however, I was always hungry (probably because I filled my stomach with pasta, potatoes and low-fat bread). My husband lost 6 lbs total, and was miserable. He craved protein something fierce.

Since we have to find a lifestyle that we both can live with, he asked me to switch gears and try Atkins. He was a good sport and lived with Weight Watchers for 17 weeks, I agreed to try Atkins for the same amount of time. Have to tell you, Atkins seem much easier to me. I'm not hungry all the time. I feel like I'm eating more. I have more energy. I'm exercising for the first time in a looooong time. My husband has lost 9 lbs so far (in two weeks!) and I've lost 4, and we haven't suffered. My husband is thrilled.

The only downfall (?) is that I find I am focusing on food too much. Much like Weight Watchers, I've found that in order to be completely honest to the program, I have to journal every day. My husband doesn't do this though, and he's doing fine (probably because I make all the meals!). Once I learn all the carb values, perhaps I'll be able to make a mental tally and stop journalling, but until then, I'll happily journal as long as the weight continues to drop!

Hope this helps.
Nancy

I've been on Weight Watchers on and off for practically my whole adult life except for the year I went on NutriSystems and lost 50 pounds. For me, WW is too hard to stick to because you can have anything you want as long as you count the points. That doesn't work for me. I keep having want I want...and more and more and more. Atkins seems to be better for me because 1) I can have the things I really want - butter, mayonnaise, cream cheese, etc. 2) It's definite - you can only have certain foods at first and only a certain number of carbs. There are no questions - go over your carb limit or eat something you're not supposed to and you may throw yourself out of ketosis.

My advice - pick one or the other. I have a feeling that going back and forth could really be bad for you. Either one will work if you stick to it. It's just a lot harder to stick to WW (low fat) in my opinion.

I am a lifetime member of WW. Not that I plan on going back to it mind you. I lost 50 lbs., got tired of being hungry ALL time and gained it back plus a few. I am not hungry on Atkins and feel like I can make this a way of life instead of a temporary diet fix. That is the big difference to me. You have to have something that not only lets you lose the pounds but that you can stay on as a lifestyle change where you can keep it off.

For me, the overall difference between weight watchers and Atkins is that with WW I was always looking forward to the day when I could eat "normally" again, but with Atkins I've been eating "normally" from day one.

judy

Lori- I feel the same as you! I am a lifetime member after losing 35 pounds 5 years ago. I gained it all back and now I'm losing on Atkins, but I don't feel like I did when I was on WW. I hated the feeling of knowing I was hungry, but I'd already eaten all my points! This is the way I plan to eat for the rest of my life!!
I liked the WW meetings for the support and recipe ideas, but I'm finding even more support and recipe ideas plus aticles and research now on a few different LC boards that I've found on-line! Even better... there's no weekly fee when you're not at your Goal Weight!:Party:

MommyMo
189/168/150
Started Akins on 5-4-03

I started Weight Watchers in April of 1997 and attended meetings on and off until April of this year. Each year, I would lose 12-14 pounds during the fall and winter months and then gain it back in the spring and summer. (I own an art gallery in a busy resort town and when the tourist season began, I had a difficult time "counting points" and staying on top of things in my gallery. It's a lame excuse, but I truly was too busy to concentrate on what I was eating during the "in season.")

Not to mention I was hungry and often tired on Weight Watchers.

Surprisingly, I would have continued to attend Weight Watchers meetings this fall, but they were cancelled in my area. WHOOPEE!! It's the best thing that could have ever happened in my life!! That's the reason I started Atkins....

I've been doing Atkins since May 16th, 2003 and I have lost 21 pounds. And guess what....I am doing it during my busy tourist season. I don't have to tally up what I eat everyday; I don't have to write it down in a journal; I don't have to pay $12 a week; I don't have to attend meetings and stand on a scale in front of 30 other folks.

I am full of energy. I am happy, happy, happy. I don't crave McDonald's like I once did; I can be just inches away from cookies, cake, and ice cream and it doesn't phase me one bit. People are complimenting me...family members are telling me how proud they are of my dedication to this WOE.

I enjoyed the comraderie of the Weight Watchers meetings, I admit. I looked forward to sharing and laughing with my Weight Watchers friends every Monday night.

But I feel a similiar sense of fulfillment when I log onto this forum. I may not always respond to threads, but it is so very comforting to read the posts and realize that I am not alone in this journey. This is such an amazing, supportive group of interesting and enlightened people.

Weight Watchers was O.K. when I didn't know (or care about) the
lo-carb way of life. But once I educated myself by reading Atkins book, and had a taste of success, I realized that I could never go back to WW. For me, there is no comparison......lo-carbing is the only way!

April

I tried weight watchers for a week after hitting a stall on Atkins and I hated it. Then I hit 170 the lowest I can remember doing atkins. I will never change!

Another WW Lifetime Member here--I lost the same 30 lbs on WW until I rebounded and gained 70!
I echo what everyone has said about not having to be hungry all the time. This LC WOL solves my core insulin surge problem, and I feel great!

you lose faster low carbing also, dateline did a study where they took 6 people and put them on 6 different diet plans, one of em was WW and one was atkins, the guy on atkins lost more than anyone else in 6 months by far-81 pounds- the WW person I think lost like 21 or 23 or somethin
stick to this plan and dedicate yourself to it and I guarentee the pounds will come off
just got to stick to it through the frustrating times and it'll pay off

Hello i am also a lifetime member of Weight Watchers I reached my goal and maintained my 6 weeks and got my pin then wheww...it was over. I gained my weight back...I had been so good and just holding on for the day when I would be able to eat normal...I also hated getting to the end of the day and being hungry and having nothing I could eat without cheating. In retrospect now I realize all the high carb low fat food like cereal...makes me ravishingly hungry about 1 hour after eating I was starving..........and I HATE fat free sour cream, mayo, cheese, salad dressing so Low carb is the way for me...and now I am a Lifetime member again here.

I also liked the support of the weight watchers meetings and the accountablity of weigh-in's helped keep me "legal"...but this site has really helped me with the support and my journal is my weigh in!!!

I have done WW at least 4 times in the past few years. I never made it to my actual goal weight before I lost interest/motivation and started to gain it back. I was hungry a lot and always craving high carb food. I didn't understand then how eating low fat/high carb foods would make me hungry faster and just make me crave them more. I'm happier with Atkins so far, although I do miss eating fruit.

i was on weight watchers earlier this year and lost about 10 lbs in 15 weeks. i went on vacation for 2 weeks and gained 5 back. i was so frustrated i wanted to scream. i decided to try atkins to see how fast i could get rid of the 5 lbs. 3 days after i started atkins, i was weighed in at my ww meeting and had lost 3.5 of the 5 i gained! i stayed with it and in the 3.5 weeks i've been on atkins i lost 8.5 lbs and i'm not hungry at all, have no cravings. although the weight isn't "falling off" like it does with some people, it's coming off steadier than weight watchers, i feel better and am not tempted by anything people are eating around me. it has made me hopeful that i can live like this, so no matter how long it takes it will be worth it.