Weight Watchers

[obsessed]

I am fat. I knew I was getting fatter but I ignored it. I have always been a chubby girl but after the last two kids and the seditary job. I am very fat. I am also getting older and starting to feel my age and the weight.


I have decided to go to weight watchers. My first meeting will be this week. I need to learn what and how to eat/cook. I grew up in an inner city ghetto with a mother on welfare. So the food stamps needed to last and that didn't include fruits or veggies. And I don't even know how to use or cook most veggies and herbs baffle me. but If I do this maybe I can influence my family and they can learn healthy eating habits as well. I am nervous and wonder if it will work or will my fam fight me as I change their eating habits. My husband grew up like me and is not fond of anything green.

So which me luck I have a lot of weight to lose.

 

[wifezilla]

I lost a lot of weight by cutting my carbohydrates.

 

[vfem]

I've been dieting AND working out. I lost 3 lbs, and then gained it back a few weeks later. I weight exactly 20lbs more then I did when I got pregnant. And in 3 years I couldn't get rid of it.

I give!

I hear good things about WW, so keep us updated on how you feel about it.

 

[obsessed]

I know some stuff about how to eat right and work out. But I have no no no motivation. I am hoping WW can help with that as well.

 

[digitS']

I gain 15 to 20 pounds every winter.

I lose 10 to 15 pounds every summer. You can see the problem with this. Twenty years ago, I would be 170 pounds at my best. Now, I'm 205 pounds at my worst. Last October, I was down 20 pounds from April's top weight.

I have mobility problems so every extra pound adds to the difficulty of getting around. But, I just can't deal with sitting around with food on hand. I think I know how to eat well but I've got to keep the bad stuff away from me. I loooove cookies! I have to get out and be active AWAY from food!!

It is all about us as individuals and what we put in our mouths. (See how I shift this from "I" to "we" . . ? I'll blame it on "y'all" next !)

High density vegetables, especially, tend to be low in calories by weight. So, we can fill up on them. Of course, they also tend to be low in protein. That may be an issue with children and even with people putting out a lot of hard physical work. Probably, it is more of an excuse for the "where's the beef" guys, tho'.

The fat in our food stays with us quite awhile. Really, it has as many calories as refined sugar.

When I was a single parent for my son and even as my daughter was growing up, I did a fair amount of cooking. I made a lot of pizzas for my son but never with fat meats. DS is now a vegetarian and has been for years, LOL!

I made lots of sauces and covered veggies with my daughter. Cheese sauces seem to be especially favored by kids. As a busy college student (with a job), she is a real fast-food person now. Her boyfriend doesn't help much at all with this, except that he appreciates the home-cooked food she will sometimes make. I think she may be able to get a handle on their diets. Her cooking interests seem to be good ones but she is one very busy person (who graduates next week ).

Mom was in WW for years and years. She never was especially fat. Her interest in nutritious food probably had more to do with all of that than anything. She lived to be 87 and 92 year-old Dad is still around, no doubt, because of Mom !

O, Here's Wishing You (& all of us) the Best of Luck!

Steve

 

[wifezilla]

The fat in our food stays with us quite awhile. Really, it has as many calories as refined sugar.

Fat doesn't make you fat. Carbohydrates do. It all has to do with insulin and blood sugar. Insulin is a fat storage hormone. Stimulate insulin, stimulate fat storage.

Here is some research. Note: most of what has been taught about weight loss over the past 30 years is completely wrong.

"A high glycemic index is known to increase the concentration of triglycerides and lower the concentration of HDL cholesterol, the good kind," explained Victoria J. Drake, director of the Micronutrient Information Center at the Linus Pauling Institute of Oregon State University, who has studied the subject. "Those adverse effects make it a stronger risk factor for heart disease."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-04-16-carbs-women_N.htm

"lthough saturated fat boosts blood levels of bad LDL cholesterol, it also increases good HDL cholesterol. In 2008 Stampfer co-authored a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that followed 322 moderately obese individuals for two years as they adopted one of three diets: a low-fat, calorie-restricted diet based on American Heart Association guidelines; a Mediterranean, restricted-calorie diet rich in vegetables and low in red meat; and a low-carbohydrate, nonrestricted-calorie diet. Although the subjects on the low-carb diet ate the most saturated fat, they ended up with the healthiest ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterol and lost twice as much weight as their low-fat-eating counterparts.

Stampfers findings do not merely suggest that saturated fats are not so bad; they indicate that carbohydrates could be worse."
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=carbs-against-cardio

If you really want to understand the history of dietary recommendations, what the actual science says, and where it all went wrong, get Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. It is well sourced.

 

[digitS']

I came a little too close to saying that fat makes you fat for your comfort, wifezilla, didn't I? I was attempting to dodge provoking you to respond with a blanket "Fat doesn't make you fat" statement.

Well, let's look at the first study that you cited, on simple carbs increasing heart disease risk. The article notes that simple carbs are those with a high glycemic index and "include corn flakes, white bread and white rice."

Now, let's look at the person quoted in the article, Victoria J. Drake, at the Linus Pauling Institute of Oregon State University. Here is Dr. Drake on the importance of a higher fiber diet in reducing the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and in controlling weight. Meat contains no fiber.

Here is Dr. Drake on the importance of legumes in the diet : "Substituting beans, peas, and lentils for foods that are high in saturated fat or refined carbohydrates is likely to help lower the risk of type 2 DM (Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus) and cardiovascular disease. . . . beans, peas, and lentils, soy foods are also excellent substitutes for protein sources that are high in saturated fat like red meat or cheese."

Finally, here is Dr. Drake on diets and heart disease; she recommends the DASH diet: "Compared to a typical American diet, the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) eating plan has been shown to significantly lower blood pressure in individuals with hypertension, as well as in those with normal blood pressure. The DASH diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, poultry, fish, nuts, and low-fat dairy products, and compared to the usual American diet, it is markedly higher in potassium and calcium, modestly higher in protein, and lower in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol."

The DASH diet has 2 or fewer servings of meat, poultry and fish each day. One serving of meat, poultry and fish equals 1 ounce of cooked lean meat. So, Dr. Drake is recommending only 1 or 2 ounces of meat each day.

Here is information on the DASH diet from the Women's Heart Foundation. It isn't a weight loss diet but this is what a dietitian at Ohio State University says, "DASH is far from a fad diet. Its an eating plan that can significantly reduce health risks, and help you lose weight along the way."

I'm not really recommending this diet for weight loss but perhaps Dr. Drake would think it appropriate for both reducing weight and heart disease risk.

Steve

 

[wifezilla]

All the info on the history of the fiber recommendation is in that book I quoted. It too is based on assumption and not backed up by research.
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/fiber/a-cautionary-tale-of-mucus-fore-and-aft/
http://www.westonaprice.org/Fiber-Menace-by-Konstantin-Monastyrsky.html

There is a metabolic ward study on an all meat diet on record

http://www.biblelife.org/stefansson1.htm

 

[jjparke]

Good choice with WW. It is a proven program that helps you reprogram everything you know about food and eating. It will slowly help you completely overhaul all your bad habits. It was successful for me when I did it. Best of luck to you!!

 

[obsessed]

JJ - How long did you do it? How hard was it for you to make the transition? Any words of advice?


I am DEFINITELY trying to AVOID AVOID AVOID Type 2 diabetes. My mom and granny and brother have it and it is horrid. My mom especially she really struggles and eats horribly and i don't want to end up like her. No not for me. So i know i have to start now that i am pre diabetic.