Discussion Board

Good-bye Weight Watchers, hello McDougall.

I was following a plant-based way of eating following Weight Watchers, but now I am done with them. Still too many options for too many fats I've now figured.

I really need to keep my fats as low as possible. Past experience has taught me that is the only way of eating that really worked for me. That is really key for me.

I'm in.

I too kicked WW to the curb. I always felt like an outsider at meetings. I felt like they had too many packaged foods that contained milk products. I feel so much better loosing dairy, not bloated anymore. Big plus, no more arthritis in my thumbs!!! Pain was gone in 1 week. My mom has minimal use of her thumbs and my sister has shots every so often for her pain. I'm not going down that path! Love McDougalling! All the best to you!!

My company pays for WW. I may join just for the weigh ins (can do the at-home program). All I have to do is check in once a month. This ties into the incentive of getting points for other healthy activities, which in turn reduced my medical premiums by $1800 this year.

Each year, we have to do more incentives (such as pledging to not smoke, get our bloodwork done, etc.) to keep the premiums down (or pay more per month). I really think they are going to make weight an additional condition for lower premiums.

I'm all for it. Then I'm paying for healthy habits and have a safety net for emergencies (such as when I sliced my finger on a mandoline slicer back in October).

I'll never go back to Weight Watchers again, but I can understand the health pay incentive thing. I don't blame you. I'd probably do that if I had that kind of health plan.

The closest plan to McDougall I ever found is a book called the 20/30 Fat and Fiber Diet Plan by Gabe Mirkin, M.D. I just found my copy from 2000, and it's interesting reading. It's easily vegan, and I think the author is mostly vegetarian. It's a 10-20% fat eating plan that recommends at least 30 grams fiber a day. Absolutely ALL of the recipes (except for a few fish) fit the McDougall plan. Actually now that I'm thinking about it, this plan can be totally McDougall, depending on how strict you want to be.

I'll continue to follow the McDougall guidelines, not the WW program. Glad I can do the online at home program and not listen to the dairy/protein/"healthy" fat drivel. And let's not forget all that nasty packaged food like substance they push on you. The ingredient list on those things scared me away a long time ago!

VeggieLover, I have arthritis in my thumbs also and that is how I discovered McD. I was researching diet's effects on arthritis because I wanted to stop taking meds for the pain. I was taking Meloxicam (Mobic.)

I stopped taking the meds the same day I started McD, and have only had very few, minor incidences of pain.

I have the 20/30 Fat/Fiber Diet book, too. Some great recipes in that book. I often recommend it to those who won't go completely vegan. Dr. Mirkin has his Good Food book free online at:

http://www.drmirkin.com/goodfood/index.html

Kate

nom, I'll never actually follow the WW plan again either - but I'd go for the free weigh-ins like you are if I had those benefits.

Katy, thank you for the link, but I actually have all of Dr. Gabe Mirkin's books...they are so totally on the Mcdougall path...it's a shame he/his books aren't popular anymore. He was Larry King's physician, and Larry King never suffered another heart attack after following his diet. In fact, Dr. Gabe's eating plan is totally more in sync with McDougall than Dr. Fuhrman's for sure. Dr. Gabe is a big believer in lots of healthy whole grains.

I think Dr. Gabe must be retired by now, but his books live on although not popular anymore. One of his recipe books I'm looking through - so totally McDougall (sans fish and small amount of non fat dairy) it's not funny!

I remember listening to Dr. Gabe Mirkin's show a lot in the car. Send in a question once to his show and he called me back and answered it, that was very impressive that he took the time.
And I also remember his recipes, very much like our WOE here!

Yes Mountain, that shows us a lot about his character. But low fat diets are thought of as passe' now. What a shame. I think that's changing a little though. I hope so.

I know this is an old topic, hoping I can bump it up and get some input.

As I've mentioned, I've been an on again/off again WW-er for many years, and obviously I'm not a success story or I wouldn't be sitting here 40 lbs overweight. Still, I'm having a tough time giving up the program, afraid that if I stop counting Points, calories, fat, etc that I'm going to continue to gain instead of lose. The "portion control" rant has been drilled into my head, as well as the need for accountability.

Has anyone else been on WW or another similar program who could chime in and offer some support/encouragement?

Thanks in advance!

I'll admit that I wasn't on WW for very long, but I did try it a few years ago. A lot of my coworkers were on it, and we were all obsessed with counting our points. Anyone who lost any weight quickly gained it back, and we were all starving all the time. I remember adding it up at the time, and if I ate perfectly (got the maximum calories per point), the diet only allowed me 1200 calories. No way was that enough, since I was young and active. It led to epic binges on terrible junk, so I abandoned it quickly. Went back to the SAD and didn't gain a pound.

I think the portion control and counting everything aspect of the diet is actually its biggest weakness. You can only starve for so long. IMHO, any diet that leaves you hungry just sets you up for failure. As does anything that feels restrictive.

Throw out those awful books and point counters and have some mashed 'taters!

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WW also has a vegetarian board.

http://www.weightwatchers.com/community ... forum_id=1

They also have a program where you don't need to count points. It's called Simply Filling.

"the Simply Filling Technique.[9] On the Simply Filling Technique, participants are intended to eat from a designated list of foods without the requirement to track.[9] Categories of foods on the list include: most fruits and vegetables, whole grains, non-fat dairy and dairy substitutes, lean proteins,and a handful of other items.[9] For items that a person eats that are not on the list, a weekly points allowance of PointsPlus points is available to be used and the value of that item must be tracked.[9] Because the plan does not require tracking, participants must be mindful to "[e]at portions that feel right for [them]. Not so much that [they] feel too full, and not too little that [they] still feel hungry."[9]"
Wikipedia

I lost 35 pounds by attending WW meetings, but I never did count points (a waste of time, I thought) or strictly follow their program. For me, weigh-ins were the key to staying "accountable," and the group support is a nice thing to have, if you're oriented that way. There are little incentives, applause and awards that encourage you along the way.

Once I lost the weight and saw "Forks Over Knives," I couldn't attend the meetings anymore, because the dietary advice was so bad (meat, dairy, "protein," portion control, "healthy fats"). The program has moved in the right direction by emphasizing fiber and making fruits and most vegetables "zero points" -- but I'm sure the WW corporation could never sell millions of consumers on a vegan diet.

..nodding..thanks so much for the input! I'm still on the fence, do enjoy the comraderie of the meetings but sometimes feel like a "fake" since I'm not following their nutritional guidelines and I have to resist the urge to protest when they push "healthy fats" and processed snacks.