So. I did it - I put my wallet where my mouth is and I joined Weight Watchers!

[Mom-mom]

Just realized that I haven't posted since January. I am still doing the WW program and have now lost 18+ pounds - down 2 sizes. It feels really good to be healthier. My goal is to loose 7 more pounds and then see if loosing a few more will be doable. I have stopped tracking a few months ago and have chosen to stick to power up foods. I don't loose as quickly that route but it has helped me to make different food choices. We don't have much 'junk' food in the house anymore. We eat lots of fruit and veggies, less breads and more wholesome/less processed foods.
My last weigh in will be March 24. I probably won't join up for another session as I think that I have been provided with the tools to make this a life committment. I am thankful that my husband is also on board with eating differently - we can support each other to get and keep the weight off.
If not, then I would definitely go back to WW because it is worth it to be healthier.

[wendymac]

Wow. 18 lbs. Congrats!
wendymac

[FallenPixels]

So after reading this thread and talking to a few friends who have been through the program I finally joined WW this past Thursday. It's very overwhelming though, I have to completely change my fast-food junky eating habits and I have noooooo idea how to replace them with healthy meals bc I've never cooked. I've looked through some of the recipes in the e-tools but even those seem to have too many ingredients I've never heard of lol. Scallions?! Fennel?!

I don't even know how to mince garlic lol, I don't have a clue how to make low point recipes and I'm worried that if I don't figure it out soon I'm setting myself up for either starvation or failure.

Did any of you feel like this at the beginning? I'm trying to plan some meals and cook them ahead of time to be prepared but it's like I don't even know where to start :-S

I enjoy cooking (a little too much lol) so I have a lot of the tools and gadgets, garlic, you can buy jars of minced (they are in some oil though, so count them as points), but you can mince it with a knife (its basically just finely chopped), scallions are spring onions, and fennel is fennel - its an acquired taste, I wouldn't use it if you are not a big veggie person

I personally am not a fan of many of the WW recipes on the site, I use it for tracking and the community pages and that's about it - I get most of my recipes from skinnytaste.com since they are typically more what I want to eat (she does lighter versions of her families favourites) and just swap a lot of lighter foods for the bad ones (instead of mashed potatoes, do half potato, half pureed cauliflower and its creamy enough you can skip milk/cream or whatever you use for mashing etc)

[Zonny]

On the mincing garlic front, I have this little thing from Amazon and I love it! Free from my Swagbucks of course!

Glad you're all doing so well! I'm kind of on a break, not going wild or anything, but not following the program at all. I'll probably get back to it eventually. You're doing great folks!

[FallenPixels]

I have a gadget from Amazon too!

[FallenPixels]

I have a gadget from Amazon too!

[sweet sparrow]

I must find this gadget......

[Zonny]

I meant to post a link to said gadget!

http://www.amazon.ca/Chefn-Rolling-C...1850983&sr=8-1

[Kyles_Mama]

Thanks so much for the advice! I'll definitely check out that website. And despite some fast food failures, after my very first week I lost 3.6 ! So excited!

I enjoy cooking (a little too much lol) so I have a lot of the tools and gadgets, garlic, you can buy jars of minced (they are in some oil though, so count them as points), but you can mince it with a knife (its basically just finely chopped), scallions are spring onions, and fennel is fennel - its an acquired taste, I wouldn't use it if you are not a big veggie person

I personally am not a fan of many of the WW recipes on the site, I use it for tracking and the community pages and that's about it - I get most of my recipes from skinnytaste.com since they are typically more what I want to eat (she does lighter versions of her families favourites) and just swap a lot of lighter foods for the bad ones (instead of mashed potatoes, do half potato, half pureed cauliflower and its creamy enough you can skip milk/cream or whatever you use for mashing etc)

[FallenPixels]

Congrats, I was up a little this week - life has sucked lately but am trying to get back on track

[Kyles_Mama]

After 3 complete weeks of ww I have lost 8.2 lbs. It's pretty exciting for me bc I didn't believe it would actually work! It barely feels like I'm eating healthier too, I'm sure there's a lot more I could be doing to take the weight off faster but I don't want to feel like I'm on a diet. It's really easy now to calculate the points and all that too. For anyone reading this and considering joining, go for it! It's so flexible because you don't have to eat foods you don't like, or stick to a rigid meal plan. I'm loving it so far, hoping to acheive 10 lbs lost for next week!

[AmberLab]

After 3 complete weeks of ww I have lost 8.2 lbs. It's pretty exciting for me bc I didn't believe it would actually work! It barely feels like I'm eating healthier too, I'm sure there's a lot more I could be doing to take the weight off faster but I don't want to feel like I'm on a diet. It's really easy now to calculate the points and all that too. For anyone reading this and considering joining, go for it! It's so flexible because you don't have to eat foods you don't like, or stick to a rigid meal plan. I'm loving it so far, hoping to acheive 10 lbs lost for next week!

That's awesome! All this time later, I am still of the same mind frame you are..how in the world did it come off eating all the stuff I still ate before? LOL It definitely does not feel like a diet.

I am still around and still on the program. I had a bit of a plateau the past month, nothing was budging no matter what I did, but the scale finally moved down 1.2 last week. I'm still at the 30lbs loss mark - as far as I'm concerned, it is time for that number to go higher!

[FallenPixels]

I am at the same point Amberlab, a friend lost 5lbs last week on the Mediterranean diet, so i was thinking of cutting out some carbs for a week or two and loosely following that to see if I can get past the plateau (minus the wine etc)

[Kyles_Mama]

That's awesome! All this time later, I am still of the same mind frame you are..how in the world did it come off eating all the stuff I still ate before? LOL It definitely does not feel like a diet.

I am still around and still on the program. I had a bit of a plateau the past month, nothing was budging no matter what I did, but the scale finally moved down 1.2 last week. I'm still at the 30lbs loss mark - as far as I'm concerned, it is time for that number to go higher!

30 lbs is amazing!! I can't wait till i can say I've lost that much, it seems so far away but I figure the months are going to come and go anyway, I might as well take it one day at a time and try not to think too far ahead, it's overwhelming to aim for such a high number. I am going to set little 5 lb rewards for myself so I don't get discouraged. I'm thinking when I get to 10 lbs lost, I'm going to treat myself to a new hair colour. Then when I lose 15 I will get a new pair of strappy sandals or something. I need all the motivation I can get lol. Good luck this week ladies!

[AmberLab]

Kyles_Mama..don't think ahead too far! You've got the right mindset. You will demotivate yourself if you think too big too fast. Small goals does it. I did my 5% and 10% and am doing it again, another 5%, later another 10%. It works for me.

Fallen - I found that stopping using my weeklies (and activities) gave me the the boost I needed. I guess I'm at the point that the weeklies are a "nice to have", and I should not use them unless it's a really special occasion or a few of them(just not the entire 49 anymore).