Totally obsessed with HungryGirl

[Susan Otcenas]

1) I own the Nancy Clark book. It's excellent.
2) I lost 36 pounds on WW and am now at goal. I subscribed to Hungry Girl to see what all the fuss was about. I would not eat 99% of the junk (which seems like paid placement to me) that she promotes via the email.
3) WW, like any "diet" or "program", is all about what YOU make of it. I've never bought a WW product, and eat virtually no processed foods. My diet is whole grains, lean proteins and piles of fresh fruits and veggies. What WW provides for *me* and for most people who have been successful at it, is a structure inside which we can learn how to eat healthfully and exercise portion control. For life.
4) Sporty Sam, as you said - your old leader is a crackpot. Our bodies require FUEL to exercise. Food does not make us fat. Carbohydrates do not make us fat. Heck, FAT does not make us fat. What makes us fat is an excess of calories in over calories out. Period. Consistently consume fewer calories than you burn and you WILL lose weight.

Susan

[jobob]

Well said Susan.

[GLC1968]

I totally agree with Susan.

The problem I had with WW when I did it the first time was that I joined in part for the comraderie - yeah, big mistake. While I do agree that WW is what you make of it, it can be difficult to find like-minded individuals when so many people are so points driven. When I would mention difficulty getting appropriate protein with only XX points because of my weight training, I got a lot of sharp intakes of breath... "why would you life weights? That's only going to make you heavier!" Recipes were so points-focused/fake-food-full that I couldn't really share with them...and I too was encouraged to only EARN 4 AP's per day (never mind eating those points). It was so difficult to go in there as an athlete that needed to lose weight and find support among sedentary people who just wanted a 'diet'.

I would think that doing it online and using your own best judgement and education makes a lot more sense than going to meetings to find support. The forums over there seem to have a much larger variety of people, so I'm sure it would be possible to connect with other athletes, you know?

[Susan Otcenas]

...and I too was encouraged to only EARN 4 AP's per day (never mind eating those points). It was so difficult to go in there as an athlete that needed to lose weight and find support among sedentary people who just wanted a 'diet'.

I would think that doing it online and using your own best judgement and education makes a lot more sense than going to meetings to find support.

I consistently earn around 60 APs per week. Last week I earned 97. And ya know what? I ate every single one of them. And successfully maintained the same weight.

I use WW online. No meetings for me. I've only recently started exploring the WW recipe database online, but what I've found is that the recipes are mostly all-natural foods. Maybe it's just the kind of recipes I look at (for example, I don't try to find dessert recipes) but they have used predominantly healthful ingredients, with little reliance on processed foods.

Perhaps the key here is that I'm not trying to maintain an old way of eating. What I mean is, I'm not trying to create a menu plan that includes lots of desserts and appetizers and fried foods. For example, the HG email I received today was full of recipes for Fudge, Onion Rings, Burgers, Chicken Fingers, milkshakes, etc. I think this is why people fail on WW or any other "diet". Rather than re-orienting their menus to include healthful items like fruits, veggies and lean proteins, they try to find ways to still have all the types of foods that made them fat in the first place.

[GLC1968]

You earned 97 AP last week? That's amazing! (how many did you earn last night - just out of curiosity )

I should mention that my biggest beefs with WW were from the first time I did it - before the days of the idea of filling foods or even before the core concept was introduced. Back then, it was calories, calories, calories - keep them low however you can even if it means splurging on a dessert and then only eating iceberg lettuce wedges for lunch.

I will say that the whole core plan and now the filling-foods idea is so much more in line with what I think of when I think "healthy" eating. And the online recipe database is a HUGE improvement over old newsletters and things. There are tons of very healthy 'real food' recipes available now. In fact, I almost kept my membership JUST to keep my access to the recipe database. WW as a whole has absolutely made some major improvements in the past few years.

[Susan Otcenas]

You earned 97 AP last week? That's amazing! (how many did you earn last night - just out of curiosity )

Between my morning run and my evening bike ride, I earned 13 points yesterday. I ate 12 of them. (mostly in post-ride sushi. )

Last week's 97 points included just over 20 hours of exercise at an average of 4.85 points earned per hour of exercise. That exercise included lots of cycling and some swim & run workouts.

Of course, you really have to trust yourself to estimate accurately. I rode my bike 225 miles with more than 15000 feet of elevation gain over memorial day weekend. At the end of each riding day I knew how much time I'd ridden (actual ride time, not time elapsed) and then I needed to estimate how much was at "hard" effort, how much "moderate" etc. I try to be very honest in my estimates, so that I don't fall into the trap of overeating points.

[uforgot]

GLC- Your post was so true! Points driven, I like that terminology. That's what I'm seeing in my meetings too. The people who have reached goal don't even really look healthy to me. They aren't interested in lifting weights, yet they complain about saggy arms. And they are walking 2-3 miles per week, and think that's great! it's all about the food, not the exercise. Last week I lost 2 lbs, didn't have as many AP as I usually have so the leader says "There you go! Now you know not to exercise so much!". Holy Cow, something's wrong with this. I think the reason I finally lost was taking out processed food.

There is a filling foods plan that is like the old Core plan, and you eat healthy non-processed food, yet it's hard to find this plan. My leader wasn't even aware of it, but it's online. (She's too busy sharing her Angel Food Cake, FF Cool Whip and FF pudding recipe)

I remembered Susan saying she did it online, and I think that's the way I'm going to go. I'm finding more encouragement and healthy guidelines here, than I can at the meeting. Should I just send you guys my $40 per month?

Edit: I do recall at one of my first meetings, the leader put something in her water and started shaking it. She demonstrated that we could get some exercise that way. Let's see, I rode my bike to the meeting, but I can get exercise jiggling my arm???

[Susan Otcenas]

Should I just send you guys my $40 per month?

It only costs me $16.95 per month. But sure, send some of the "extra" to GLC and me. We'll spend it on sushi.

[Running Mommy]

From a girl who gained 50- yes 50 lbs in the last year from new biz life stress-

SUSAN YOU ARE MY HERO!!!!

I'm back on track now, and feeling so much better. Doing my own healthy eating thing, and back to training, but finally LOSING!!!

I love hearing about your experiences Susan, so thanks for sharing.

[gnat23]

I consistently earn around 60 APs per week. Last week I earned 97. And ya know what? I ate every single one of them. And successfully maintained the same weight.

This is super encouraging. For some reason, when I first did WW, they put a cap on how many exercise points you could earn. So while it did a lot of ladies good to go from couch-potato to walking a half-hour three-times-a-week, it did nuffin for any long endurance motivation like us crazies.

Susan, do you eat your AP the same day you earn them, or do you spread them out? I think part of my hiccup was eating 30 points one day and 20 the next... Hard to plan!

-- gnat!

[uforgot]

And Susan, do you use your weekly 35 points? I've noticed with the new system you have to use those before you use your activity points. Thanks!

[jobob]

I joined WW online earlier this week.

While scanning the message boards I came across this link, which explains how helpful it is for active women to try to eat all of their accumulated WW points (daily, weekly and activity):

Eat More/Lose More

An excerpt:
"On WW eating APs is optional, but for folks who exercise a lot, it seems that failing to eat those APs can bring weight loss to a screeching halt. "

[Susan Otcenas]

And Susan, do you use your weekly 35 points?

Yes, I eat most if not all of these too. In fact, the more I've lost, the more likely I've been to eat them all. These 35 points are mostly "splurge" points for me.

So, my base 21 points are all totally healthy foods - fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins. My APs I eat same day as earned, foods that will appropriately fuel my athletic activities for the day. The remaining 35 I use for days when I'm extra hungry, for eating out with friends, for a glass of wine with dinner, etc.

[Susan Otcenas]

Susan, do you eat your AP the same day you earn them, or do you spread them out?

I eat them the same day. Your body needs fuel DURING any kind of sustained exercise. You simply can not convert stored fat to usable calories at a fast enough pace to meet your needs for sustained or intense exercise.

Nancy Clark addresses this in her book. It really is an excellent resource which I would highly recommend folks read if they are truly serious about propoerly fueling their bodies. I can't recall all the exact figures off the top of my head, but our bodies store a certain amount of glycogen in our liver and muscles. Once this is depleted, it MUST be replaced, or you will bonk. Most of that replacement has to come from foods we eat during exercise, not from our stored fat.

I'll try to remember to look up all the specifics this weekend, and transcribe some of them here.

Susan