Man Who Lost 80 Pounds Using Weight Watchers- Got Some Detail On His Experience

Ok- I mentioned a few days ago that a friend knew a guy who lost 80 pounds on Weight Watchers and that we were going to get his story. We got it and here are the questions we asked. I also have some thoughts, and they are not so PC and totally generalizing, but I think probably true. Questions in bold, answers short and sweet.

1) Did he do the meetings or just do ww online? -- went to meetings 

2) Who recommended the diet to him -- wife 

3) Did he find the online tools helpful -- somewhat, the tools were not conveniently available 

4) how did he perceive the cost vs the result -- I thought the cost was reasonable but that may be because the result was good 

5) How hard was it and how long did it take? -- not too hard; my eating habits were so poor that small changes made a big difference. it took about 8 months 

6) Has he made permanent changes in his diet and how hard is he finding it to keep it off? --Yes changes are permanent. I pay a lot of attention to what I eat and what is in what I eat. Never did that before. Keeping it off has not been difficult. But I still have more to lose.

So this really got me thinking on something totally controversial, but I have to say it. 

Controversial Comment #1--Men are from Mars, Women Are From Venus.  Men are more logical and women are more emotional. As you see in these comments there is no major drama in his story. It is very simple- he was overweight because his "habits were so poor." Weight Watchers said- ok, try these new habits. He did. Problem solved. 

This is brings me to Controversial Comment #2-- this guy had no excuses and took total responsibility. His weight was nobody's fault but his, it was not a result of some external force. There was no going on about he gained weight because of things being hard at work or really any excuse at all.

If you are a guy and need to lose weight, think about the controversial comments. Can you follow directions? Do you understand the concept that you are responsible for your actions? Can you follow through and persist with a plan?

You might be like the guy who could only lose weight on Nutrisystem, where they just sent you the food. No shame in that. Just think about what kind of person you are right now. As you become the person you want to be, then your diet will change. You will incorporate concepts of The Zone Diet. Lots of professional athletes do btw. You will get to know Joel Fuhrman and embark on a path of nutritional excellence.

Maybe you will even make so much progress that you will run a marathon.

But.....If you are a guy and you need to lose weight and you can follow directions start right now. Go to this link and take some quick tests put out by Weight Watchers to help you get ready to lose weight.

If you want to just find a local meeting you can find one here and sign up. Just do it. If you want to do the program online that is fine too. Those links both take you to Weight Watchers and they will find a way of getting you to sign up for the program you want and getting you to pay for it. If you think you can follow directions the cost will be insignificant.

I have also created a video for this:

Comments

[Heidi]

Weight Watchers is not a diet. It teaches you how to eat healthy and the proper proportion of food that should be in every day.

It also makes you conscious of what you're doing, not just stuffing empty food into your head.

And I'm a logical woman, if that matters!

LOL

[Claudine]

Hi, I guess I'm a logical woman too. I've actually lost 172 lbs on WW. 125 of that took a year. The rest came slower and I'm still trying to lose the last 20. I don't think the position that their "Momentum" program is what makes them a bonafide healthy choice now is appropriate. While WW always espoused a healthy lifestyle (8 glasses of water a day, 2 tsp healthy oils, low fat or non-fat dairy daily, 5-6 fruits/veggie srvings daily and activity!) under the Points and Core systems, the blending of the two just makes things easier and healthier for those who may have abused the Points system. No meeting leader, to my knowledge, has ever said - go ahead and eat your daily points in WW cakes. No. I was always told to eat healthy portions, fill up my salad plate (not dinner sized plate) with 1/2 veggies, 1/4 lean protein, 1/4 complex carb. There's really not much new to the Momentum plan IMHO. They're just telling you outright that filling up on veggies will keep you full at a low cost calorie and point wise. That's something the Core plan always taught. When I'd get hungry I'd make a big huge salad with romaine, celery, tomatoes, onions, and sometimes avocado with oil/vinegar. They've always said to cut restaurant portions in (at least) half and put it away "doggie bag" immediately when served so it's not a temptation. Start with a salad or broth based soup so you eat less of your entree. Stop BEFORE you're stuffed. Just eat until you're not hungry anymore. For me, moving more (I now go to the gym 5 days a week for an hour and do more fun stuff on weekends), and changing to more home cooked meals and less take out did a lot. I know what's in my food now. I just don't think there was anything wrong with WW to begin with. If you followed their plan, you didn't have room to eat your points in junk. Those that did only wasted their own time and monthy fee.

[Mary Kaye Shackelford]

A few years back my husband went to Weight Watchers and I coat tailed onto his program. Using the point system, he lost 90 pounds over the course of a year and I lost 30 pounds. He has regained some of his weight (enough to need to lose some again) and I gained back the original 30 plus 20 more. I had consistantly weighed 204 pounds for probably 10 years. I wish I had never dieted. I was happy at 204. (I'm 55, 5'7', like to kayak, dance, cross country ski, garden, swim and am very healthy). Some of my current weight is stress related, I'm overseeing the care of my 90 year old parents who need lots of my time and attention.
When trying to lose weight, new eating habits must be adopted and used for a lifetime. There really is no such thing as "dieting", it really has to be a life style change.
(P.S. It was really frustrating to see my husband be able to eat more than I did on the points system, and then see him drop more than 5 pounds a week compared to my 1/2 - 1 pound)

[Bette Moe]

I think WW is an excellent program. I have been doing it for sixteen weeks and have lost about 21 lbs. I still have about sixty to lose. I am 52 years old, 5'7'', and I now weigh 190.
About two years ago I decided that I was done eating sugar, preservatives, and other crap, and I went on a whole foods diet, eating only fresh foods. I was very good about it, though I would occasionally indulge in something off-diet.
Even though I felt better, I didn't begin to lose until I started with WW. WW helped me with portion control and being accountable for everything I put into my mouth. Weight Watchers does encourage us to eat healthy foods, but it also sells a lot of crap in their packaged snacks and foods. I would just ignore the packaged crap and stick to counting points with my healthy choices.
It feels really good to be losing, and I hope to reach my goal and stay slim for life.
My favorite indulgence since cutting out the crap is Endangered Species 72% dark chocolate bars (my favorite is the wolf, with almonds and cranberries). It has a minimal amount of Beet Sugar, and is totally delicious. It's also blissful when combined with a nice red wine.
Here's to losing!