?? About Switching to Weight Watchers

[ddhawks]

Hi everyone! I've been on Atkins for almost two years. I'm only about 10 pounds away from goal, but I've been at that point for over a year. I've tried upping carbs, lowering carbs, increasing exercise, etc, but nothing seems to help get those last 10 pounds off.

A lot of my co-workers have been doing Weight Watchers and have been very successful. Has anyone gone from Atkins to Weight Watchers? What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance!
Darleen

[jedswife]

w/in 10 lbs of goal you will probably also have to watch calories and carbs - i would not suggest going to ww with only 10 lbs to go - they will be the hardest to lose because you are so close . with ww you run the risk of readdicting yourself to carbs dont do it.

[Paty]

My mom is in the same boat as you (been on Atkins 3 years and would like to lose 10 more lbs) and she has tried doing WW and finds that she is always hungry so she couldn't stay on it. WW is a very balanced diet (traditionnally speaking) so I think it is worth a try.

[Charski]

My DH has recently rejoined WW, but only for the accountability factor - he still eats a la Atkins but now tracks every bite. He's been going for 5 weeks and is down 15 pounds...but he has some weight to lose so not sure if that would work for you. Might be worth a try though!

[hhhmom74]

I had the same problem as you, Darleen. I had reached goal back in July 05. I kept bouncing from 120 to 130 from July 05 till May 06. That is when I finally decided something had to give. I started Zabby's Plan (found it here) on May 1st and I reached goal this past Saturday. It is a lower calorie/lower carb plan.

[Dakini]

I think the switch might actually cause you to gain weight instead of lose, at least initially. It's a good plan, but switching to low fat/low cal after low carbing might not give you the results you want right away.


For me, after being in "free fall" eating pattern for about 8 months I recently tried ww. For two weeks I lost and gained back the same two pounds, during which time I joined ww and tracked everything I ate and kept it within my point range. Started induction and have already lost 5 pounds.

LC gives me good results, especially the more clean I keep my diet.

[Dakini]

Darleen, I love the pic of the baby next to the Buddha! The round belly & head is just too cute!

[Paty]

Dakini, I just had to switch from low carb to low cal (not health related just want to see the difference on mood swings) and I am doing fine. I have lost weight normally and I am quite content with the results. I will be back to low carbing in a few months though because I like the foods we can have on Atkins.

[Dakini]

Paty, I wish it would have worked for me! (I'm out the $65 to join ww) I'm happy you have had good results.

[Denise85]

I stopped Atkins several years ago and went back to WW. I gained a pound or two the first week and stalled for the second but then I started losing again. It's a great program and you could definately lose those last 10 pounds on WW.

[Dakini]

Paty, I just looked at your stats and we are the same height and similar goal! I'm shooting for 159 and have 19 pounds to go.

(sorry to threadjack)

btw, I am still using the weight tracker on ww, I'll take all the encouragement I can get!

[lvmom24]

Originally Posted by jedswife

w/in 10 lbs of goal you will probably also have to watch calories and carbs - i would not suggest going to ww with only 10 lbs to go - they will be the hardest to lose because you are so close . with ww you run the risk of readdicting yourself to carbs dont do it.

exactly what happened to me. I did a month long rollercoaster of binging (eating all alloted points plus the bonus ones that were supposed to be used during the week in a day) and then trying to be good the rest of the week to lose what i would gain. I am back on atkins and feel better, have more control, and the scale is going in the right direction again.

[pixiegirl01]

Another here who is close to goal. I tried WW in the beginning, and think it's very balanced ... BUT because you get to eat "junk" (carbs, sugar, whatever you want on the Flex Plan, just as long as you stay within your points), I was always hungry and losing/gaining the same 5 lbs. So, I got serious about LC and lost 8 more lbs. Now that I'm getting closer to goal though, I know calories are counting too. I think if you were to tweak WW to keep it relatively low/moderate carb with veggies still being your highest source of carbs (forget the WW snacks, cakes, muffins, starchy foods, etc.), it could work great. Doing that, it would be pretty similar to the Zabby Plan, if you want to check out the details of that plan, it's here on the Challenges boards:

Zabby Pals ..Over here!!!!!!!

(There's also a WW group on the Challenges board)

Good luck!

[Paty]

Dakini,

I don't go to the weigh ins because I don't want to put money on that. I am doing a low cal program that is similar to ww only I prefer the other one.

I was originally shooting for 160 but as I am getting closer to goal I want to give myself a 5 lbs buffer.

[Topazz]

WW has another plan called CORE. Very low carb, but fruit is allowed as well as some whole wheat products. It is very similar to Atkins OWL except you can use lower fat products to monitor calories and fat which seems to be the culprit for many who are close to goal.

[Michael]

Originally Posted by Paty

Dakini, I just had to switch from low carb to low cal (not health related just want to see the difference on mood swings) and I am doing fine. I have lost weight normally and I am quite content with the results. I will be back to low carbing in a few months though because I like the foods we can have on Atkins.

Just curious- where are you getting your carbs from on WW? How many carbs a day? How many calories?


Thanks,
Michael

[unFLABulous]

I know it is controversial, but have you given any thought to Kimmer's plan...Kimkins? I bet you would lose that last 10 in no time!

[Dabbadooey]

The Core program is not low carb.

[Denise85]

Originally Posted by Topazz

WW has another plan called CORE. Very low carb, but fruit is allowed as well as some whole wheat products. It is very similar to Atkins OWL except you can use lower fat products to monitor calories and fat which seems to be the culprit for many who are close to goal.

CORE is not very low carb at all. You can have whatever (and however) much fruit you want, cereal and milk for breakfast, all of the coucous you want, you can have a potato, brown rice and other whole grains every day, all veggies are free (accept potatoes which is limited to 1 a day). Ff yogurt is allowed too. This is not lc at all but focuses on healthy carbs.

[seattlemomto2]

I combine WW and low carb. I eat low carb, but I count WW points to keep my calorie intake under control. It's worked really well for me. I've lost 96 lbs. since August 2005 and will be making lifetime at WW tomorrow. I have some info about it on my Website.

http://www.freewebs.com/seattlemomto2

[pixiegirl01]

Originally Posted by seattlemomto2

I combine WW and low carb. I eat low carb, but I count WW points to keep my calorie intake under control. It's worked really well for me. I've lost 96 lbs. since August 2005 and will be making lifetime at WW tomorrow. I have some info about it on my Website.

http://www.freewebs.com/seattlemomto2

FANTASTIC job, seattlemomto2!!! Very inspiring!

[sallyT]

Originally Posted by unFLABulous

I know it is controversial, but have you given any thought to Kimmer's plan...Kimkins? I bet you would lose that last 10 in no time!

I agree on this, on Kimkims your doing low carb/low calorie, I think you would lose those last 10 pounds pretty quick, if your interested go to the other plans options, you'll find plenty of Kimkins info there.

[KajunDC]

You tried exercise and varying carbs but have you tried lowering fat intake and/or overall calories?

When you are this close to goal calories can really become important. I would try getting very specific with Fitday now, if you haven't already, and see if tweaking areas you haven't yet will get you the final lap.

Of course there is nothing at all wrong with doing WW. The point system could take care of the calorie issue for you. Just be aware that upping your carbs more will cause your muscle glycogen levels to build back up, which can cause the regaining of the initial water weight loss, which can run anywhere from 5-15 lbs. This is not a bad thing and may not happen to you at all (A water weight gain, I mean) but if you do experience an initial increase from the switch, this is probably the reason.

Good luck on your final leg.

[Topazz]

If a person is following the WW plans, using their 8 healthy guidelines and THEN eating from the additional food lists, the CORE plan is low carb. So no, It's not induction levels but it's definately not close to the average person's foods that can be 500g of carbs a day.

No matter what you CAN have on any diet plan... it's what you CHOOSE that makes a difference. Core, Flex or whatever it is, can all be successfully done if you work the plan instead of using it as a food crutch.

[Dabbadooey]

Seattlemomto2, I enjoyed your inspiring site!

[Paty]

Originally Posted by Michael

Just curious- where are you getting your carbs from on WW? How many carbs a day? How many calories?


Thanks,
Michael

As I said, I am not on ww but on a lower cal program that is only available in Eastern Canada. This program puts me at around 1400 cals per day which is not super low cal (I don't believe very low cal gives good long term results). The maintenance phase of this program increases the calorie intake by 50 cal each week and lasts for 8 weeks so when I finish their 8 steps maintenance program I will be at 1800 cals per day and have to stay there if I don't want to regain the weight.

I must be at around 200g of carbs per day but carbs are not the focus of this plan obviously.

I eat 3 servings of lean proteins a day (3-4 oz or 1oz for breakfast). Proteins include cheese.
3 fruit servings
3 bread servings (a serving is 1 slice of whole wheat bread, 1/2 c of rice or pasta, 1/2 c of potato or corn)
At least 2 servings of vegetables (I shoot for 6)
1 oz cereal
2 servings of low fat dairy (1 cup of skim milk, 2 100g low fat yogurts)
4 servings of fat (1 teaspoon of oil, mayo or margarine).

These are the guidelines but it is a bit more detailed than that (for instance, I can't have more than 4oz of cheese per week and 4 eggs per week to increase the variety of what I eat).

I am trying a new program that will cycle between this program here and Atkins doing each one for 3 months and than switching. The main reason I switched now was to see if it would control my mood swings better but as I started, I realized that there are some foods on this low cal program that I enjoy, that I can't have on Atkins OWL (legumes, bread, fruits (esp. bananas)) that feel like treats to me and I know that when I get back on Atkins I will be delighted to eat cream cheese, bacon, sour cream, real cream in my coffee and so on. I also think that it will keep my motivation higher overall because of the variety it will bring on my diet. I haven't figured out at which Atkins phase I will pick up because it is very likely I will be at goal when I switch in september. I will probably do induction and than climb the carb ladder pretty quickly.

Overall, I am trying to find a way to make this weigth loss permanent. I have never been this close to goal. I can almost touch it and that is very motivating.

[ddhawks]

Thanks for all of your great ideas, input and suggestions. I really appreciate it!

[sugarfreedee]

Wow, Paty that sounds like a good plan too - well balanced! Almost like Atkins maintenance.