Weight Watcher or South Beach

ajcarloz

ajcarloz

New member
Anyone tried them and feel like sharing the pros/cons of which ever they did? I was just trying to cut food intake and cut out junk and stuff, and believe me I will keep doing this, but I think I need something a little stricter just to start.

I am worried that it will be too hard to figure out the points for everything, but I am also worried that there will be some things on south beach that I wont be able to give up (alcohol :eek:)...

Any advice?
 
In my opinion South Beach is a lot healthier of a diet and it works much better, at least for me.

You wont completely give up alchohol, only for the first 2 weeks, then you're able to have it, though not the fruit mixed drinks, but say a rum and diet coke is fine.

South Beach Pros:

The 2 week diet, though hard cuts out almost all cravings... the second phase is a lot easier and you have a lot more food to choose from.

You learn to eat truly healthy foods for your body

Its very easy to stick with (at least for me)

because of the whole grains and very minimal processed foods, you stay full longer

SB Cons:

Can be pricey at first because you throw out youre white flour and get whole grain, etc.

The first phase is really hard at first if youre not used to restricting.




Weight Watchers Pros (I was only on this for a short amount of time)

You can still eat the way everyone else eats


Weight Watchers Cons

WW Did not work for me at all, I know it definitley has helped a lot of people including a lot of my friends but I couldnt stick with it.

One of those reasons are I was still able to eat white flour, sugar, etc and white flour foods are actually lower in points so id eat more of that and skip the much healthier whole grained foods, because I wanted to stay low on points. I was always hungry on ww, because of this as well.

Its a pain to count points all day

I hardly lost any weight



Again I know WW has helped some people, it just didnt work for me :)
 
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Hey thanks so much for your input! I appreciate the advice. Yea i was losing weight on south beach. I just hope i can do it as a life style. Thanks for the help!
 
Your welcome! :) I still incorporate things Ive learned through it, you really do learn a lot about what is good for you and why, etc. Anyways, Good Luck!!
 
Why do either?

Loosing weight comes down to cals in vs cals out...figure out how many cals you eat on a typical day, then decrease that amt by 3500 a week for a one pound loss, or 7000 cals for a 2 pd a week loss. Are you excersizing??

WW are basically counting calories..nothing new there, not worth the price. SB is not something you can keep to for the rest of your life. A lifestyle change is totally the way to go!
 
I beg to differ actually SB is something you can keep for life. The third phase is not extreme in any way, basically the emphasis is that you should stick to whole grains, still eat pizza, still eat pasta, anything you want as long as its whole wheat, or whole grain and even regular sugar phases back into your diet in the last phase as well. Its a healthier way of eating, in my opinion. I think its more for people who do not have the direction, as I didnt at first, and teaches you why things are good and why they arent. I wouldnt try it for the longest time bc I thought it was a fad as well, but its really not a fad diet at all.
 
They have products, but I hardly bought them and it isnt pushed on you at all in the books that you have to buy their products either. Its not that youre supposed to buy them, they are just there if you want to buy them for convenience and they are all food. I mostly stuck to the rules and made wiser decisions from what I learned. Its not for everyone, but it worked for me, though I do not strictly follow it anymore, i still go by the same principles I learned from it.

and no you dont have to buy the food that has SBD stamp on them. they are just to let people know that the product is compatible to make it easier, you can certainly buy a different brand as long as its the same guidelines. For instance: For cheese, you can have cheese you just have to make sure its 2%, it doesnt matter if it has the SBD logo on it or not as long as its 2%.

BTW just for the record, the SBD pizza's are really good, but the only frozen dinner I liked from them was the kung pao chicken, the other frozen dinners... not so much lol
 
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Hi. Weight Watchers is not just about counting points (which is much easier than counting calories). When you weigh-in weekly with a lot of other people who are there for the same reason as you are, it keeps you motivated to come back next week. So what do you do for that week? You stick to your points because you know that everyone around you is going to be doing the same thing (not to mention the gold stars you get!)

I have always been overweight. I tried Atkins, South Beach, The Lemonaid Diet, everything! Weight Watchers has been the only program has worked for me! I started weight watchers in 2005. At that time, I weighed in at 235. With weight watchers I was able to lose 85 lbs! Yes, I have unfortunately gained almost half of the weight back, but I am back on track and counting points daily. Since August 2008, I have lost 21 lbs. I am losing weight weekly and I am getting the motivation and accountabilty that I need to continue to lose weight! So for me weight watchers is definitely the way to go. The points are not as difficult as they sound! After you count your points for a month or so, it becomes very simple. Most people eat the same things over and over, so once you count the points for yogurt every week you know that they have 1 pt!
 
well, everyones different...so i expect people to disagree w/ me.....but, when I attended WW, I got turned off fast from those meetings. I felt the info they were 'teaching' about was too general and vague. Also the whole "YAY US!!!" and clapping for every member weither they lost or maintained...i dunno...it just felt too cheesy for me.
 
i just joined up with the satisfaction program at weight watchers. my aunt swears by them so i am confident i will see results.
 
i like weight watchers too...but you have to be careful cuz once the program is done, it is very easy to put on the weight again without counting the points
 
diva96 said:
i like weight watchers too...but you have to be careful cuz once the program is done, it is very easy to put on the weight again without counting the points
Click to expand...

yea that is kinda what I am worried about. I know a lot of people who have great success but i know i am not going to be counting points for my whole life.
 
I did forget to say that if there is anyone who wants to try the SBD You dont have to buy the books either just look up SBD Phase 1 2 & 3 and youll get the guidelines free off the net
 
Any diet should be about learning to eat healthier, not to trick your body into losing weight then going back to the way you use to eat.

If I had to chose I would go with weight watchers, but it costs money. You can achieve good results just by changing the way you eat.

For example

Learn to eat smaller meals 5 or 6 times a day and watch the calories try to stay below 2000 or 1500.

Eat fruit and less red meat, bread is ok just don't go crazy.

Once you get the metabolism up you will be surprised how much weight you can lose.

Don't forget to exercise and oh ya cheat every once and awhile.
 
Hi all ! I'm new to this site but not new to weight loss issues. I had always been a little heavy but not by much. Then I slowly crept up to 245 during and after my pregnancy. I joined Weight Watchers in 1991 and lost 113 lbs. Since then I have had to go back for "refreshers" 3 times. Each time I got up to my panic weight ( 20 lbs over my desired weight ) and after living with it for a while I made myself go back. I'm currently maintaining my goal weight but it is and will always be an effort for me. I don't really find a lot of need for the support at the meetings, although it is definitely there if you're one who desires it. I mainly need the accountability of having to drag my fanny in there and get on the scales. Yes, I can and do weigh at home once a week but there's something about having someone WRITE IT DOWN. For that reason I think WW is the way to go if you lack willpower or if you need companionship while you lose.

To be fair I have never tried any other diets or programs unless you count some of the OTC pills, which did not work for me. I did count calories one summer when I was a teenager and had pretty good results.
 
Another vote for for South Beach! I've lost 120lbs on South Beach. I do feel that I have learned how to eat for life by doing this diet.
 
i have tried weight watchers and it worked and made me more aware of the portions of food i should be eating. it is a good plan to go on if you eat out alot because it to me made more sense that way, like when i would have a total of 35 points i could have for a day and a meal i used to eat @ one of my favorite restaurants was 29 points. Also the support you get from the meetings is great, and it's inspiring to see real life before & afters. Another thing they promote is drinking a lot of water & taking your multivitamin, making sure you get your good fat & oils in. I did the online program the last go around at it which was when i first started losing weight, it was good to get me back on track to getting in a healthy mindset as far as losing weight. One thing I wouldn't recommend is the Smart Ones by weight watchers..they are good for a meal & not the worse thing you can eat for sure but they are loaded with carbs for the size of meal they are. Good Luck!! Haven't tried south beach before to really compare but weight watchers is a good stepping stone to weight loss.
 
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