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dr.com "Fit For Summer" Challenge


bilrus

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NB - we're almost a week into this thing now. If you're having trouble getting jumpstarted, please PM bilrus (or me).

Don's right. Time flies. :P

If you have updates on your progress let me (or Don) know via PM. I'm going to post regular updates as people get me their results - I've already gotten a few in.

You can also post your results in your own thread if you want. But keep in mind that if you post in your own thread you will be "outing" yourself and revealing your codename. I'll be posting the results in your individual threads as well, but will keep your identity as secret unless you tell me otherwise.

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Gosh, I can see how it would be difficult to consistently add exercise into such a long work week. I think JPW has some good ideas in terms of "in office" exercises. I would add a couple of lower body exercises such as lunges and squats. I don't know how much you are talking during these three hour calls, but you could also do some ab exercises as well.

If you have a couple short breaks during the day, studies have shown that short bursts of exercise are just as beneficial as one long workout (maybe even more so). If you could take three, 10-minute walks during the day, it would really add up.

One last thing that I always emphasize is to find something you enjoy. I know there are very few weirdos like me who truly look forward to exercise, but if you HATE what you are doing, you will never stick with it. Find something that you derive some sort of pleasure from.

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Any suggestions for things I can do during my interminable 3 hours conference calls each day would be great! (I can lock my door, so no one sees me doing lunges while pontificating on Power Point slides.)
Thankfully, my conference calls are generally only in the 1-1.5 hours. I find myself getting drawn to email and getting distracted so during the quiet period over the holidays I rearranged my office so now I can pace. I tested it today and it was great (although the staffer I was speaking to asked why my voice kept shifting :P ). Hmmm...maybe I need to bring a pedometer and see how far I can walk without ever leaving my office.
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The WW plan is pretty much the same as it was four years ago - counting points based on fat, fiber and calories. But they have added a new plan called the Core plan. It allows unlimited (or at least nearly unlimited) amounts of certain foods that are completely unprocessed and less counting of points.

I had heard that they may be making some adaptations to the plan in the last few months though.

The manner in which points are calculated has not changed. What has changed is that they now do a better job of taking metabolic differences due to age, gender, and everyday level of activity into account when determining one's appropriate point count. So for instance, a desk jockey and a UPS driver would now have different point levels, even if they were the same weight, height and gender.
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As mentioned earlier, I am not planning to make significant changes in the things I eat. I average about 10 servings of fruits and vegetables each day and I'm happy with brown rice when the meal calls for it, otherwise I am not giving up white for risotto, nor switching to whole wheat pasta for more than one or two dishes that call for it. Instead of spritzing a pan with olive oil spray, I simply let the pan get hot first, let the olive oil get hot, and find that, for example, 1 T will do when 2 are called for in a recipe, but I won't convert to 1 t instead.

I'm happy with half a glass of wine from time to time at dinner, rarely drink beer, and until I tasted a friend's martini at Dino, was convinced I didn't like cocktails.

The changes I do need to make:

More protein

Fewer dairy fats (weaknesses: cheese, cream & butter)

Wine primarily for cooking

Not deriving pleasure from baking real desserts (holiday thing)

We'll see whether more exercise and smaller portions help.

Meanwhile, here is one VERY modest change at breakfast:

Instead of drinking a glass of orange or grapefruit juice, something I haven't been without for decades, I am eating an orange or half of a grapefruit. 100 calories difference. Not much, but it's 1 1/2 teaspoons-worth of EVOO.

(Feel free to move this to Meal Ideas, but since it's neither a menu nor a recipe...)

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Instead of drinking a glass of orange or grapefruit juice, something I haven't been without for decades, I am eating an orange or half of a grapefruit. 100 calories difference. Not much, but it's 1 1/2 teaspoons-worth of EVOO.

100 calories a day is 10+ pounds per year.

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One last thing that I always emphasize is to find something you enjoy. I know there are very few weirdos like me who truly look forward to exercise, but if you HATE what you are doing, you will never stick with it. Find something that you derive some sort of pleasure from.
I totally agree with this. I've had weight issues most of my life, which have been more easily controlled since we moved here and I walk more and cook at home more. As far as workouts, and rather in keeping with the earlier Richard Simmons references, I've found that I really like Jazzercise. I've stayed with it for well over a year. It's cardio and weights, all in one hour, which is perfect for me. A friend from my office teaches a class four days a week at the gym in the building across the street from our office in Southwest, so it's very convenient too -- hop across the street, work out, grab the Metro home.
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Don made a good point in one of the other topics - don't expect weight loss to be linear - the your body quickly adapts to the initial shock of a new diet, and you could slide backwards (and will certainly level off some) even though you're not cheating. Especially if you're exercising.

From fitness.gov: "People who exercise appropriately increase lean body mass while decreasing their overall fat level. Depending on the amount of fat loss, this can result in a loss of inches without a loss of weight, since muscle weighs more than fat. However, with the proper combination of diet and exercise, both body fat and overall weight can be reduced."

I actually saw this a couple of years back. I started hitting the gym almost every day, and after several weeks of steady weight loss, I saw a weight INCREASE for the next few weeks, even though I was clearly getting thinner. Once my muscle gain leveled off, the weight came off even faster, as muscle burns more calories than fat. So my resting metabolism was much higher. That to me was an amazing discovery - I could add more "bad" foods back in, and still lose weight, because my exercise and metabolism were making up for it! Of course, when I stopped going to the gym, it was very very bad...

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If everyone who is ready could PM me (or Don if you don't want me to know your secret identity) your progress (or even lack thereof) by lunchtime tomorrow, I'd like to post our first update of everyone's progress tomorrow afternoon.

I've already gotten some good reports including one person who is already 43% of their way to their goal.

Of course, this is a marathon, not a sprint, but good starts are a good start.

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I've already gotten some good reports including one person who is already 43% of their way to their goal.

Not to burst bubbles but make sure and take several readings at different times of day and average it if you are able. Scales and even your own body weight can fluctuate drastically throughout the day. My weight typically shifts around within a 5-7 pound range. And I know this sounds REALLY OCD but you may even want to put two pieces of tape (one vertical and one horizontal) for each foot to line up where you should put them on your scale. Some can change 4-5 pounds just based on where you stand. This is probably not a big deal for most but for some of you ladies whose goal might be smaller that could be a big difference.

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Not to burst bubbles but make sure and take several readings at different times of day and average it if you are able. Scales and even your own body weight can fluctuate drastically throughout the day. My weight typically shifts around within a 5-7 pound range.

If you can't do several readings, I suggest doing it first thing in the morning. It's probably the most consistent in terms of your body's behavior. Also... excuse me for being gross, but I know for ladies... there are certain times when one's weight tends to increase, and I know I've had five lb. fluctuations around then.

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If you can't do several readings, I suggest doing it first thing in the morning. It's probably the most consistent in terms of your body's behavior. Also... excuse me for being gross, but I know for ladies... there are certain times when one's weight tends to increase, and I know I've had five lb. fluctuations around then.

You mean like after eating a box of bon-bons or a quart of ice cream while lounging on the sofa watching the Oxygen channel?

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Not to burst bubbles but make sure and take several readings at different times of day and average it if you are able. Scales and even your own body weight can fluctuate drastically throughout the day. My weight typically shifts around within a 5-7 pound range. And I know this sounds REALLY OCD but you may even want to put two pieces of tape (one vertical and one horizontal) for each foot to line up where you should put them on your scale. Some can change 4-5 pounds just based on where you stand. This is probably not a big deal for most but for some of you ladies whose goal might be smaller that could be a big difference.

This is exactly right. I'm typically 3-5 pounds heavier in the evening than the morning. I've settled on a weigh-in routine every 3-4 days and it's always in the morning after a workout when my hydration is at an ebb (not dehydrated, just not as hydrated as I normally am) and I haven't had breakfast yet. In fact when I first started this routine and was getting on the scale every day I could count on the mornings after a swim workout to be 1/2 pound or so heavier on average than run or bike days, I'm guessing because you tend to sweat less in the water. Off to out myself and check in ...

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You mean like after eating a box of bon-bons or a quart of ice cream while lounging on the sofa watching the Oxygen channel?

'zactly. As for me, I've been walking during lunch every day and I've even drafted a few coworkers on occasion. Next week I'll be in Houston on business travel and I've learned that there's a fitness center in the hotel and that the hotel is a short walk from the Galleria mall. It will come down to the lesser of the evils: food or shopping.

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And I know this sounds REALLY OCD but you may even want to put two pieces of tape (one vertical and one horizontal) for each foot to line up where you should put them on your scale. Some can change 4-5 pounds just based on where you stand. This is probably not a big deal for most but for some of you ladies whose goal might be smaller that could be a big difference.

Sometimes I get a different number depending on which foot I place on the scale first. Seriously. A pound or two of difference, sometimes. So I alternate feet until I get two numbers that match.

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This is something that people may need to be careful of (especially us OCD types). A pound or two difference each day could drive you nuts. At least it drove me nuts.

(For the record, back before I even knew what a message board was I had a medicinally induced weight gain of about 30 pounds. At 5'2, that was a ton of weight, so I have been there. It was the only time I have excersized regularly without a coach making me.)

I have a question. What about those of us who don't need to loose weight but would like to make an effort to eat better and excersize more? Being thin doesn't necessarily mean one is healthy.

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I have a question. What about those of us who don't need to loose weight but would like to make an effort to eat better and excersize more? Being thin doesn't necessarily mean one is healthy.

Good question. You could track fitness goals if people wanted to be included in the Great Nickname Fitness Challenge, say running X number of miles by May. Man, you people would have it good; you'd need to eat more food just to stay at the same weight!

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I have a question. What about those of us who don't need to loose weight but would like to make an effort to eat better and excersize more? Being thin doesn't necessarily mean one is healthy.

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Take your weight, divide it by 8, and that should be your resting heart rate by Memorial Day. :lol:

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I have a question. What about those of us who don't need to loose weight but would like to make an effort to eat better and excersize more? Being thin doesn't necessarily mean one is healthy.

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Why don't you make a battery of tests, 3 mile time, 400 meter time, # of pushups, number of pullups, number of situps in 60 seconds. We could start a seperate thread so this doesn't get bogged down with both groups.

And what about adding on to that a cholesterol check to go with the food AND fitness theme? I haven't ever had one but I figure I should start getting checks at some point. (That might be a little TOO involved though)

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This is something that people may need to be careful of (especially us OCD types). A pound or two difference each day could drive you nuts. At least it drove me nuts.

This is why Weight Watchers suggests that you don't weigh yourself in between your weekly weigh-ins. I like doing it on a weekly basis because it gives me a goal to shoot for. I guess I work best under a deadline.

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If everyone who is ready could PM me (or Don if you don't want me to know your secret identity) your progress (or even lack thereof) by lunchtime tomorrow, I'd like to post our first update of everyone's progress tomorrow afternoon.

I've already gotten some good reports including one person who is already 43% of their way to their goal.

Of course, this is a marathon, not a sprint, but good starts are a good start.

:lol::unsure:

I just started 9 days ago. You wanna weekly report?

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Why don't you make a battery of tests, 3 mile time, 400 meter time, # of pushups, number of pullups, number of situps in 60 seconds. We could start a seperate thread so this doesn't get bogged down with both groups.
Some folks are required to demonstrate their fitness twice a year at work. Here is their personal fitness test with three events. The site has a calculator for age/gender scores and a downloadable training schedule.
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Okay. Because, so far I am losing and gaining the same four pounds that I normally do during the course of a week, despite curbing portions and ignoring the one dark chocolate truffle left over from Christmas. Still not increasing exercise, though I may very well have to change diet more radically than intended.

Meanwhile: two more sites that might be of interest. One is Harvard's School of Public Heath on protein, though there is lots more here, obviously.

Here's one on 15 foods to help you lose weight, exactly the kind of thing and source (Good Housekeeping) that made me vow not to diet, wear false eyelashes, dye my hair... :lol:

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I too am going with a (modified) WW program (don't count alcohol and 2 meals a week - if that doesn't work, then maybe I will unmodify).
I have been encouraged (dared) to post my modified modified weight loss plan that I have developed over the past week after watching the fluctuations in my progress. Some say it is too restrictive, but I am really going to try to adhere to it. Same rules as above, but one further restriction: No meals over 5 courses (even in the two "free" meals!).
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I have been encouraged (dared) to post my modified modified weight loss plan that I have developed over the past week after watching the fluctuations in my progress. Some say it is too restrictive, but I am really going to try to adhere to it. Same rules as above, but one further restriction: No meals over 5 courses (even in the two "free" meals!).

When I lost weight on Weight Watchers, I did a similar "modified" program. Instead of two free meals, I gave myself one free day of not counting points (normally Saturday after weighing in in the morning) and instead of not counting points for alcohol, I didn't count points for fruit. This encouraged me to eat more fruit, rather than some other more empty calories.

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This is something that people may need to be careful of (especially us OCD types). A pound or two difference each day could drive you nuts. At least it drove me nuts.

(For the record, back before I even knew what a message board was I had a medicinally induced weight gain of about 30 pounds. At 5'2, that was a ton of weight, so I have been there. It was the only time I have excersized regularly without a coach making me.)

I have a question. What about those of us who don't need to loose weight but would like to make an effort to eat better and excersize more? Being thin doesn't necessarily mean one is healthy.

The Lean Plate Club on The Washington Post site has a lot of tools (scroll down and look on the bottom left-hand side of the page) that might be useful for any and all of us. They have a weight chart, a daily meal chart, an activity log, AND (perhaps most useful :lol: ) an alcoholic beverage calorie count chart.
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The Lean Plate Club on The Washington Post site has a lot of tools (scroll down and look on the bottom left-hand side of the page) that might be useful for any and all of us. They have a weight chart, a daily meal chart, an activity log, AND (perhaps most useful :lol: ) an alcoholic beverage calorie count chart.

If I didn't drink alcohol I'd weigh 36 pounds.

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They have a weight chart, a daily meal chart, an activity log, AND (perhaps most useful :unsure: ) an alcoholic beverage calorie count chart.
Well, beer doesn't have as many calories as I imagined. 150 isn't all that bad. On the other hand, I either have to give up drinking or eating.

Hmmmm. Decisions, decisions. :lol:

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Since we are so called self professed lovers of food and on a fitness and diet challenge, WHY THE HELL DID WE START THIS THE WEEK BEFORE RW. I suggest that NEXT time we do this we start the week AFTER RW and end the week BEFORE the summer RW. I am not confessing to overindulging, but after four RW meals, a Rockville Pike lunch, and too many drinks at Corduroy, it can sap your will power. TOM POWER I LOVE YOUR BEEFY CHEEKS!

Order the salad, order the fish, order the fresh fruit, beg for a taste of the soup, steal a bit of cheese, stay away from the kit kat bars.

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How do you account for the way the scale climbs and falls when gobs of butter, pork belly or a tall bottle of booze are not involved?

This morning, I got up to discover that I gained 1 pound yesterday after eating two meals and walking briskly for 50 minutes.

Weighed myself early in the morning again. 1 pound heavier than yesterday. Wasn't all that hungry so after a clementine, coffee (whole milk), then yogurt with 2 T of cranberry sauce (don't judge; it's a phase) and granola around noon, it would seem I have gained another 1 1/2 pounds. Have been drinking water, but, not gallons.

I've been keeping a detailed food diary since the 2nd, but I figure it's about as interesting as a dream log in iambic pentameter.

Suffice to say that most days I have been eating three meals plus 1-2 healthful snacks involving raw produce or a handful of raw unsalted nuts if breakfast lacked non-dairy protein. Yesterday, I delayed the weekend's blueberry buttermilk pancakes until noon after grapefruit and coffee, but went easy on the maple syrup and had less than a T of butter, including the amount in the batter (thin coat of canola since using a cast iron skillet). Dinner involved a little roasted chicken skin, but otherwise brown rice, a mound of greens (2 t EVOO), a large uncooked pear and just water to drink. Not exactly broiled cod with lemon and cabbage soup, but...

So, now I'm back to one pound over my baseline weight, starting the day at 1/2 pound under, and as I've said, I've been going up and down for what will have been a full two weeks tomorrow, the range not exceeding 1 1/2 pounds lower than base, but climbing up as much as 3.

I also have been tracking physical activity. Since I did little the first two weeks (less than 2 hours walking for the week), I have made a concerted effort to amp up activity on a daily basis, if only during the past few days. Initially, saw a pound come off each day.

This has been typical of my experience. I am no longer biking for miles up and down hills from my graduate school digs out on a dirt road in the country to get to the T.A. session on campus, but after around the age of 31-32, I've seen my weight rise at an annual rate that concerns me.

If you go to the path at the National Zoo where you're supposed to test your running speed against that of a cheetah, you can weigh yourself to determine what kind of prey you most resemble to feline predators in Africa. I'm a whole nother beast since when I first moved to this town; I'd feed a larger pack, too.

So, I've given up the real olive-oil packed tuna (rare anyway), bought me some tofu and short-grain brown rice (which I actually like). I'm not about to throw out the modest chunk of aged gouda on principle (I paid for it, I'm not Marie Antoinette...), though I will restrict my cheese purchases henceforth to Parm & Romano for grating.

I am not someone who has to become inured to days without Coke, chips, cupcakes or steak frites. Yet it seems that my resolve to not modify my normal diet is going to get me nowhere unless I am willing to spend more than 2 hours a day involved in strenuous physical activity.

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I am not someone who has to become inured to days without Coke, chips, cupcakes or steak frites. Yet it seems that my resolve to not modify my normal diet is going to get me nowhere unless I am willing to spend more than 2 hours a day involved in strenuous physical activity.
It doesn't sounds like the problem is with the lack of exercise. There is no need to give up everything that you enjoy, but it might be a good idea to track it in some sort of systematized way, such as through weight watchers or similar systems that make you record and account for each thing you eat. Even if you don't follow the system exactly and limit yourself to the points (or calories) allocated in the plan, it might be beneficial to track everything so that you can make more conscious decisions. Without such a system, it is often hard to tell how much all of the little extras add up.
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Cf. reference to detailed food diary. I am recording every single thing I've eaten for the past two weeks, though definitely not weighing portions. I don't know if I could do the WW point thing.

I just don't cook many of the kinds of dishes that are bound to appear on those pages, though there would be overlaps in most ingredients and in raw foods.

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You may have to wait longer for results -- a couple pounds up or down can always be retention from salt, alcohol, or other influences, or just natural fluctuation. Don't give up yet. If you've only been particularly active the past few days it is probably too early to see a direct drop in weight from activity. Keep an eye on portions, too, as nuts are healthful but packed with fat, and even good fat has a lot of calories in it. Granola is also surprisingly calorie-packed.

All in all, though, it sounds like you're taking the right steps, and patience may be all you need to see success. Although it doesn't work for me personally, a lot of people recommend only weighing yourself once a week so you don't get too caught up in the ups and downs. And definitely make sure you're getting on the scale at the same time each day. According to my scale I weighed four pounds more last night than I did this morning.

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I am hoping it's just the need to wait for results. I make my own granola, in part, to control calories (but mostly since I don't like overly sweet things) and I alternate this with regular oatmeal. I wouldn't be having it all, except I finally figured out how to make the best yogurt ever and 1/4-1/2 cup of granola sprinkled on top makes it even better, though fresh fruit beats even 2-3 T of cranberry sauce. As soon as the weather shifts back to winter again, I'll be happy with plain old oatmeal.

I know about the nuts, fat and calories, too, it's just that I am not a big protein eater, either, and I find about 200 calories of almonds more satisfying than spraying a pan with Pam and turning a flattened chicken breast over in it without coating the thing with egg, fresh breadcrumbs, Parmesan and then, squeezing lemon juice on top.

Getting on my scale same time every day, so you're right to imply that the extra pounds at the end of the day probably started somewhere.

Just hoping for some magic words or magic beans from you all... For now, I think "patience" is it.

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Yet it seems that my resolve to not modify my normal diet is going to get me nowhere unless I am willing to spend more than 2 hours a day involved in strenuous physical activity.

Stay with it. I've been on this rollercoaster several times, and it is a rollercoaster. You might go a week or two with little or no change in either direction, then suddenly drop 5 pounds, even though your intake/ouput remains consistent.

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Cf. reference to detailed food diary. I am recording every single thing I've eaten for the past two weeks, though definitely not weighing portions. I don't know if I could do the WW point thing.

I just don't cook many of the kinds of dishes that are bound to appear on those pages, though there would be overlaps in most ingredients and in raw foods.

I also, generally, eschew most of the sorts of foods associated with WW (e.g. I don't believe in faux foods like fat free sour cream). But, WW worked really well for me. What I found was that there was an initial ramp up that is pretty painful, as you 'point out' recipes that you use regularly. But, once you've calculated the points and the serving size on many of the foods/recipes that you regularly eat, it's pretty well a no brainer (and you end up discovering there isn't as much variety in your diet as you thought!). You also develop (through the process of pointing things out) an intuition for portion sizes. Once you've been through the process of pointing out a lot of recipes, you start to memorize the number of points in commonly used items (e.g. a TB of butter is 3 pts.) and it makes it quicker/easier to point out new recipes.

I try not to prosletyze (sp?) the WW thing, but it really doesn't require you to eat weird foods that you wouldn't eat (whether some prepackaged item they sell or their recipes). Yes, that is by far the simplest way of tracking your points. But IF you have the time to sort out the points on things (which can be a big if--the +1 and I spent an incredible amount of time thinking about/planning home meals when we were doing a strict point plan), you really can eat (for most people) what you ate before with some modifications. If you were eating a decent sized portion of cake everyday, then you probably won't be able to continue doing that. But if that were the case, you wouldn't be wondering why you weren't losing weight!

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What I found was that there was an initial ramp up that is pretty painful, as you 'point out' recipes that you use regularly.
The first week or so sucks. It really seems impossible to keep within your limits and it is very difficult to figure out (WW online helps a lot though). But, strangely, it becomes fairly easy to follow after that. It's all about choices. You can have whatever you want, but you can't have all of whatever you want all the time. Very quickly your tastes change a little, and you don't find yourself wanting the heavier foods as much. Then, it becomes much easier.

I don't mean to go on and on about the benefits of Weight Watchers; it is not for everyone. But, for me, it has done wonders. I have been on WW in some way or another for about 8 years. At first, I went on it to lose some weight. Then, I was on it to maintain my weight. During the maintenance (which lasted about 7 years), I did not count points regularly; I merely used it as a reference occasionally to weigh my choices. And, about every 4-6 months, I would actually count for a week or two to lose the couple pounds that inevitably creeped up. During that time, however, I certainly did not feel deprived: I eat quite a lot.

Over the past few months, however, I have - for various reasons - let myself get to the point where I really do need to follow the program for a while. And, already it is working for me.

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If you go to the path at the National Zoo where you're supposed to test your running speed against that of a cheetah, you can weigh yourself to determine what kind of prey you most resemble to feline predators in Africa. I'm a whole nother beast since when I first moved to this town; I'd feed a larger pack, too.

That scale is totally off, BTW - I've seen it with nothing on it and it registered 4.0 pounds.

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I know chains are a pretty touchy subject around here, but if anyone is looking for nutritional info (including WW points) for pretty much any chain under the sun, you can find it at Dotti's Weight Loss Zone. It is a pretty good resource, especially for those of us working in suburban chain world. And much better and more complete than the Weight Watchers books.

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It is a pretty good resource, especially for those of us working in suburban chain world. And much better and more complete than the Weight Watchers books.
It may be more complete than the WW books, but she also obtains a lot of copyrighted information from Weight Watchers and then posts it on her site in one form or another, because she's stated her belief that all of that information should be available to everyone in the world for "free," never mind that it actually cost WW time and money to develop it... or that she herself is making money off the site.
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It may be more complete than the WW books, but she also obtains a lot of copyrighted information from Weight Watchers and then posts it on her site in one form or another, because she's stated her belief that all of that information should be available to everyone in the world for "free," never mind that it actually cost WW time and money to develop it... or that she herself is making money off the site.

Well, there is that...

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It may be more complete than the WW books, but she also obtains a lot of copyrighted information from Weight Watchers and then posts it on her site in one form or another, because she's stated her belief that all of that information should be available to everyone in the world for "free," never mind that it actually cost WW time and money to develop it... or that she herself is making money off the site.
eGullett has a very long thread on Weight Watchers - over 2,200 posts (!) starting here. The WW point counting formula is patented, and as such is public information. It can be located on the U.S. Patent Office website (the patent number is 6040531). Although I can barely handle simple addition and subtraction myself, the relevant page containing the equation is here. A similar version is:img002.gif

p = Points

c = Calories

f = Fat Grams

r = Dietary fiber Grams (min{r, 4} equals the number of grams of dietary fiber or 4, whichever is smaller. In other words, only the first 4 grams of fiber "count.")

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p = Points

c = Calories

f = Fat Grams

r = Dietary fiber Grams (min{r, 4} equals the number of grams of dietary fiber or 4, whichever is smaller. In other words, only the first 4 grams of fiber "count.")

Here's my formula:

Pounds Lost = (Calories Burned - Calories Consumed) / 3500

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Here's my formula:

Pounds Lost = (Calories Burned - Calories Consumed) / 3500

What is the basis of "3500"?

* * *

For the people I know who have embraced WW and achieved long-term success, the major factors have been:

1) weighing and measuring food to change their concept of the size of a portion

2) a route towards self-discipline

3) an incentive to exercise on a regular basis

4) support from peers; pride and guilt in being held accountable at meetings

I think the point system is both too restrictive and too complicated for my purposes right now, though I respect how it helps others. It simply highlights the aspects of dieting that repel me. However, I know that if I tried to calculate the number of points that went into the scalloped potatoes I made last week, I would hang my head in shame, sooo point taken. No more of that kind of dish.

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