Weight Watchers (Part 1)

[Marlene]

A number of members are current WW watcher members or want to try it or know more about it. Consider this thread a WW support thread. Use this thread to post your questions, successes and setbacks (no failures here). If anyone wants me to, I'll track weight on a spreadsheet . Please note, that since I am not an official WW Leader, I'll add the disclaimer that we are not running an official WW program here. (If you are not a member of WW, perhaps this thread will encourage you to join. They have some great tools that I don't have access to.) We are simply supporting each other and discovering great healthy food at the same time. If Vengroff will do it, I will get him to add a Low Cal or some such other name category to the archive so that special recipes can be posted there.

I have a couple of websites that I can post later that will allow you to download a list of a great variety of restaurants and the points for the various menu items to your palm pilot. I also have the older points catalogue and the food journal in my palm pilot, but as these items are copywrighted WW threatened the person with legal action so they had to stop doing that.

Come on in and share your journey!

Edited June 13, 2003 by Marlene (log)

[bilrus]

Thanks for taking the initiative. And thanks to Varmint who put this idea in my head of making my efforts public.

Just to be the first one to start things off - I am planning on weighing in tomorrow morning and starting up anew after a lull in my efforts. I lost 113 pounds in 2001-2002, but I am a political consultant who gets VERY busy in the fall of even numbered years, so my cooking weel and eating right habits went out the window. I had put back on about 40 of the pounds in the last nine months.

I am planning on posting my losses and what I have been eating. I hope other will do the same and we can encourage each other while maintaing that sarcastic, edgy eGullet sense of humor that is so lacking at the regular weight watchers meetings.

[Marlene]

I think it's a requirement to not have a sense of humour at WW meetings or their leaders. Which is why I chose to decline being one You go Bill. We're all going to have wonderful meals, and still lose weight. It's all about choices

[Fat Guy]

A quick question: What does Weight Watchers really offer besides the meetings? Isn't the rest of the information just a glorified version of the same diet info you could get from any number of books? And do they actually provide any information at the meetings, or is it just that you weigh in and listen to somebody say the same stuff you could read elsewhere? If we are to have virtual weight-loss meetings on eGullet, why should we care about the WW brand? If WW leaders are humorless, let's have an eG program that encourages individuality and wisecracking.

I remember looking at WW rules from way back and they seemed simple and sensible. I've looked at some of the materials they use today and the information has been so heavily repackaged and gussied up that it's just silly. We can make our own rules. Screw the Heinz corporation or whomever owns WW these days.

I'll make this offer: if somebody designs an eGullet Diet that is nutritionally sound, flexible, compatible with a gourmet lifestyle, includes exercise as part of the program, doesn't advocate chemically unsound artificial diet-foods, and doesn't buy into any bullshit fad-diet trends, and assembles online source material such that we can track our points easily, and arranges for virtual meetings with all the requisite weigh-ins and pep-talks, I'll create a special user group and closed password-protected forum for those who want to go on the diet, and I will be the first one to go on it.

[Varmint]

Hey, isn't that what I'm doing? Except for the points, that is.

[rstarobi]

Lets see - I think the first component of the Egullet diet is that flavor cannot be sacrificed. Perhaps an emphasis on quality ingredients would offset a loss of quantity?

One aspect of extended dieting is that it decreases the amount of food you need to be 'full'. A graduated decrease in the amount of food you are allowed to have that is related to your weight is one of the nicer features of the WW system.

[Marlene]

A quick question: What does Weight Watchers really offer besides the meetings? Isn't the rest of the information just a glorified version of the same diet info you could get from any number of books? And do they actually provide any information at the meetings, or is it just that you weigh in and listen to somebody say the same stuff you could read elsewhere? If we are to have virtual weight-loss meetings on eGullet, why should we care about the WW brand? If WW leaders are humorless, let's have an eG program that encourages individuality and wisecracking.

I remember looking at WW rules from way back and they seemed simple and sensible. I've looked at some of the materials they use today and the information has been so heavily repackaged and gussied up that it's just silly. We can make our own rules. Screw the Heinz corporation or whomever owns WW these days.

I'll make this offer: if somebody designs an eGullet Diet that is nutritionally sound, flexible, compatible with a gourmet lifestyle, includes exercise as part of the program, doesn't advocate chemically unsound artificial diet-foods, and doesn't buy into any bullshit fad-diet trends, and assembles online source material such that we can track our points easily, and arranges for virtual meetings with all the requisite weigh-ins and pep-talks, I'll create a special user group and closed password-protected forum for those who want to go on the diet, and I will be the first one to go on it.

I can do much of that. Let me work on it.

[nerissa]

I would be happy to submit recipes for the egullet diet. Nutrition is sort of a hobby of mine.

[Fat Guy]

Hey, isn't that what I'm doing?  Except for the points, that is.

Did I hear a volunteer?

[Marlene]

A quick question: What does Weight Watchers really offer besides the meetings? Isn't the rest of the information just a glorified version of the same diet info you could get from any number of books? And do they actually provide any information at the meetings, or is it just that you weigh in and listen to somebody say the same stuff you could read elsewhere? If we are to have virtual weight-loss meetings on eGullet, why should we care about the WW brand? If WW leaders are humorless, let's have an eG program that encourages individuality and wisecracking.

I remember looking at WW rules from way back and they seemed simple and sensible. I've looked at some of the materials they use today and the information has been so heavily repackaged and gussied up that it's just silly. We can make our own rules. Screw the Heinz corporation or whomever owns WW these days.

I'll make this offer: if somebody designs an eGullet Diet that is nutritionally sound, flexible, compatible with a gourmet lifestyle, includes exercise as part of the program, doesn't advocate chemically unsound artificial diet-foods, and doesn't buy into any bullshit fad-diet trends, and assembles online source material such that we can track our points easily, and arranges for virtual meetings with all the requisite weigh-ins and pep-talks, I'll create a special user group and closed password-protected forum for those who want to go on the diet, and I will be the first one to go on it.

We don't care about the branding so much, but the system they have works. I was being careful because they are very touchy about their branded items. The points system, the food journal (although I can design one of those) and the books are of course all copywrighted. A few years ago, someone put all the point values for foods into a downloadable format for palm pilots and the journal as well. He had offered to work with WW (he was a member) to sell it/ get it to the membership. You could download it on his site for free. For some weird reason, WW decided to play hardball, and threatened to sue him if he didn't cease and desist immediately. So I was just being careful. I don't believe in diets so I can draft something as a guideline to follow and we can certainly use the point system. A closed forum password protected place would help.

[Marlene]

Hey, isn't that what I'm doing?  Except for the points, that is.

Varmint, we can co chair it! I'm there already, and you're well on your way!

[Marlene]

First rule. The word diet is not allowed. Think lifestyle choice people

[Fat Guy]

A few years ago, someone put all the point values for foods into a downloadable format for palm pilots and the journal as well.

Well that's stealing a bunch of work that WW took the trouble to assemble. But you should be able to go to one of the government sources or a nutrition department of a university and get a public-domain list of point values that isn't copyrighted and is totally usable as a starting point.

Is anybody on eGullet an actual nutritionist?

[Marlene]

Well I know that! BUt WW did have a golden opportunity to make money here and they didn't have to do the development. I still think they were a little short sighted in turning the guy down.

[Marlene]

A few years ago, someone put all the point values for foods into a downloadable format for palm pilots and the journal as well.

Well that's stealing a bunch of work that WW took the trouble to assemble. But you should be able to go to one of the government sources or a nutrition department of a university and get a public-domain list of point values that isn't copyrighted and is totally usable as a starting point.

Is anybody on eGullet an actual nutritionist?

Do we have to use an actual point value? What Varmint is doing is certainly in the right direction, we just need to structure it a bit more.

[bilrus]

Varmint, that is exactly what you are doing. I just want to get in on the action too. As I said your thread has helped motivate me to get back into the swing of things. Besides anybody who loves pork like you do and can succeed is an inspiration.

Fat Guy, the one thing I do like about the WW diet is the points system. It makes it easy to track your intake, although in the end it is all about making sensible choices and choosing between quantity to fill you up and quality to satisfy you.

As for the materials, etc from WW, as was mentioned on another thread they are really geared to the "Mother on the Go" which is about as far from what I am as you can get. The points tracking information is good, but the recipes are mostly of the English Muffin + Tomato Paste = Pizza variety. Although there is a cookbook developed in conjunction with the CIA that isn't too bad.

[KNorthrup]

I'll create a special user group and closed password-protected forum for those who want to go on the diet, and I will be the first one to go on it.

Um, I'm not sure ex-Fat Guy has the same ring to it.

[Marlene]

Varmint, that is exactly what you are doing.  I just want to get in on the action too.  As I said your thread has helped motivate me to get back into the swing of things.  Besides anybody who loves pork like you do and can succeed is an inspiration. 

Fat Guy, the one thing I do like about the WW diet is the points system.  It makes it easy to track your intake, although in the end it is all about making sensible choices and choosing between quantity to fill you up and quality to satisfy you. 

As for the materials, etc from WW, as was mentioned on another thread they are really geared to the "Mother on the Go" which is about as far from what I am as you can get.  The points tracking information is good, but the recipes are mostly of the English Muffin + Tomato Paste = Pizza variety.  Although there is a cookbook developed in conjunction with the CIA that isn't too bad.

No kidding. I have the cookbook and it gathers dust on my shelf. I love sauces, and fatty stuff and salty stuff. I manage to have all that and still stay at or below my goal weight. We could have a tracking system though. Points aside, the value of writing down everything (I mean everything foodwise) that goes into your mouth makes you realize what you're really eating and why you're eating it.

Edit to add, it took a while for me to get used to the points system. The old WW system the "freedom plan" had the different food groups in it and the amounts you were allowed to have from it : i.e. 3 breads a day, 2 proteins etc. That way you covered all the food groups. I could design a system like that

Edited June 13, 2003 by Marlene (log)

[Fat Guy]

Don't worry, it won't likely make me thin -- but I sure could stand to lose a few pounds in order to go from "morbidly obese" to just "obese" or maybe even just "overweight." But if it does for some reason work, having a skinny Fat Guy should be quite funny.

For me the critical issue would be a way to accommodate fine-dining restaurant meals on a very frequent basis.

If we are serious about this effort, we should assemble a development team. Varm, Marlene, who else?

[Marlene]

For me the critical issue would be a way to accommodate fine-dining restaurant meals on a very frequent basis.

Are you kidding? We dine out at least twice a week, sometimes more. I can stay at my weight, so you can lose a few pounds. Really.

[Monica Bhide]

I would like to join the group. I lost 20 pounds on weight watchers the first time I joined. Could afford to loose more.

[bilrus]

A few years ago, someone put all the point values for foods into a downloadable format for palm pilots and the journal as well.

I had a copy of that but switched to pocket PC and found nothing. I did develop my own excel spreadsheet for keeping track of my point - replacing the journal, but I couldn't find the points calculation formula.

[ruthcooks]

Here's why I will never "do" weight watchers.

Many years ago, their magazine featured on its cover the grand prize winner of a recipe contest. The recipe consisted of:

frozen French cut green beans cooked until mushy

saccharin

extracts of pineapple, coconut and other tropical flavors

This was chilled and called a DESSERT.

Now if this was the best they had to offer, what discriminating palate could ever trust them?

Bleccchh!

[Varmint]

Folks, I'll be a supporter of this, but I don't know how much I'll contribute. Sorry to let you down, but I do have to spend time with Mrs. Varmint, the 4 L'il Varmints, plus bill my 2000 hours each year. Oh, plus exercise. Sleeping is optional.

Anyone may feel free to contribute their own experiences on my silly thread, but I don't think that's what you're looking for here.

[Marlene]

Here's why I will never "do" weight watchers.

Many years ago, their magazine featured on its cover the grand prize winner of a recipe contest.  The recipe consisted of:

frozen French cut green beans cooked until mushy

saccharin

extracts of pineapple, coconut and other tropical flavors

This was chilled and called a DESSERT.

Now if this was the best they had to offer, what discriminating palate could ever trust them?

Bleccchh!

Ick!!!!!!!I pretty much took their theorys and converted it to my own use