I need help!! Weight Loss Programs??

Question

I am 5'9" and a little over 200 pounds, 21 years old. For most of my youth 13-19, I grew up with my dad forcing me to exercise with him and do the atkins diet on and off. Throughout this period of yo-yo dieting, my weight gradually increased from about 140 to 180. I just got married in January and my husband says he wants me to lose weight but that he is not going to be invasive the way my father was. After 8 months of marriage and several little attempts at dieting, I am now up to around 210.

I have finally decided for myself that I need to lose weight. My husband says he is willing to pay for any weight loss program I want. My question is: What weight loss programs have any of you tried? Weight Watchers? Nutrisystem. etc? What are the pros and cons? How effective are they? Did you gain any weight back afterwards?

Thank you so much!! I really need some advice!

Please help!

I live in southern California.

Answer 1

There are many different weight loss programs to try.  You need to find one that's right for you.  Every program you read about-some people will like it, some people won't.  That's because no diet is right for everybody.  

Are you looking for convenience and minimal food preparation?  Then you might want to try one of the meal delivery programs like Medifast or Nutrisystem.  They are pretty expensive, though, because you have to pay for the food up front.  

A lot of people are successful with Weight Watchers, but you have to count points and stay within a certain range.  It's a good diet, if you don't mind doing that.  It is about $5 per week.

There is another good one that is becoming more popular.  It is called the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet.  You just follow a menu for 11 days, based on foods that you choose.  Then you get 3 cheat days.  You are eating healthy foods, there is minimal food preparation, and it is only a one time fee of $39.

South Beach Diet is a good one too, if you can handle the restrictive 1st phase.  The cost is about $5 week.  

So, there are many different ones to choose, you just have to find what is important for you, and what you think will be best for you to stick with.

Good luck!

Answer 2

the first thing to do is STOP LOOKING AT THE SCALE, muscle weighs more than fat.  When people start to work out the weight themselves and see the weight go up and give up.  Pay attention to the way your clothes fit.  Then do some sort of exercise to gain muscle and cardio to loose fat.

Answer 3

Go to Spark People.com. To me it is the best website ever for help in losing weight. It is chock full of recipes, exercise programs, and motivational tips. Good luck with it.

Answer 4

Hello.

I had struggled with my weight for many, many years.  Yes, I have tried many diets, Weight Watchers, Slimming World, The Special K diet, Atkins etc.  I did manage to lose considerable amounts of weight on the various diets.  But unfortunately, as soon as I stopped dieting and went back to my normal way of eating.  All the weight would pile back on, plus more.  So I have to say that none of them were effective in the long-term.

So just over 2 years ago I came to the conclusion that I would change my lifestyle.  I decided to eat a healthy sensible diet and embark on regular exercise.  Two things I had never done before. The results were absolutely amazing.  I managed to lose 48lbs in just over 6 months. I dropped 4 dress sizes.  As I say I have now for over 2 years been able to maintain my weight with ease.

This is how I did it.

I kept all junk foods, ready made processed meals, alcohol, sugared fizzy drinks, and takeaway meals to an absolute minimum.  They are full of refined sugar and full of saturated fat.  The two main ingredients which are responsible for those extra pounds.  Junk food is just what it says - JUNK.  With one added ingredient in - FAT.

I included more wholefoods into my diet.  Such as brown bread, brown rice, brown pasta, beans & pulses.  These are high in fiber and will keep you feeling fuller for longer.

I keep to a low fat diet of:-

Lean meats (no fat on) poultry (no skin on), fish with scales on (no batter), eggs, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables (including potatoes - but make sure you keep them plain and simple, low fat dairy products, skimmed milk, non sugary cereals, sugar free beverages.

Drink plenty of water, snack on fresh fruit in between meals, try to cut your portion sizes down, and stop eating when you feel full.

Yes, I do have a few biscuits, a couple glasses of wine, a small bar of chocolate.  But I have these foods in MODERATION ONLY.  This is the KEY to  KEEPING THE WEIGHT OFF.

But really importantly.  Try to MOVE as MUCH as YOU CAN.  EXERCISE will really help to acelerate your weigh loss.  I took up running.  Obviously, I had to start of very slowly and gradually built up to it.  I now run on a regular basis, also ride my bike regularly, and walk whenever I can instead of jumping in the car or getting on the bus.

There is an exercise that suits everyone.  The benefits of exercise far outweigh the effort it takes.  The body is designed to MOVE.

It really is possible to lose weight and keep it off.  But you need to make a committment to change your lifestyle.  Just by making the right choice in foods you will be surprised how much food you can eat and not feel hungry all the time.  

As long as you burn more calories than you consume you will manage to lose weight.  Consume more calories then you burn and you won't be able to.  You have to be patient though. The weight did not go on overnight and it won't come off overnight.

  

Good luck and take care of yourself.

I live in London.

Answer 5

My sister has been losing a TON of weight on Weight Watchers.  She barely exercises, but she keeps an eye on her portions and makes healthier choices now.  She doesn't follow the points exactly, but she does use what she learned with the point system to figure out what and how much she should be eating.  Give it a shot!