Advice pls: CC vs WW

[wannabslim]

Hi guys,

I have been on a 'diet' for the past two years (on and off - when i'm on, i'm very on, when i'm off, i'm very off, if u get my drift - hence its taken me 2 years!!), and I am needing to move forward.

I did CC for a month in January and lost about 8lbs, but then hit a plateau and gave up, then started chopping and changing diets all through the year.

I was thinking that although I am on WW at the moment, maybe going back to CC would be better?

If you could give me your thoughts on the pros and cons of CC compared with WW and also tell me about your successes and losses on CC, maybe it would help me work out what I need to do now?

I don't really know where to start with CC to be honest as I'm in such a weird 'diet' mentality, that it would be so simple I would be worried I'd gain, so your experiences would be VERY helpful!!!

Thanks in advance xxxx

 

[dani_doot]

id say try a combination of the two. most people dont find just one diet that works for them, but often a few points of different diets work better for them rather than one rigid diet.

eg. im doing a bit of calorie counting/diabetic diet/rosemary conley and it works. plus it doesnt even feel like im dieting, its just about healthy choices and if i go to eat or drink something bad, i look at my bulging tummy and think.......2minutes of pleasure or lose some of that tummy??

youve done so well so far, and i think you will continue to do so with whatever u decide. good luck hun. x

 

[picnic...]

I don't like WW diet. I like counting points, but WW use sat fat and calories to calculate points, which means that anything high in good fats, like avocados, are v. high in points, but anything high in sugar (despite being very addictive), can be low in points. Therefore, they would prefer me to eat a whole packet of pink n whites (crappy low fat wafer biscuits with no nutritional value at all), than one avocado.

At least with calorie counting, you can choose what to spend your calories on. I choose to cut out sugar, but don't buy low fat / diet things as they tend to be full of cr*p.

On the other hand, I loved the fact veg are free on WW, so you can have soups and other healthy things without getting obsessed with 6 kcal here etc.

I can't report my successes with calorie counting here, because I've only been doing it 3 days, but I've done WW on and off for years (was a leader for a few months, but hated pushing people into WW, when quite frankly, any diet works, it's whether its right for you at that time). I lost 4 stone with WW once. Put it all back on again tho.

You can change between WW and CC without any problems, so you could do a couple of weeks of each and compare the weight loss (a month may be more accurate but less motivating!). One way to keep you motivated!

Good luck - you've done so well already! - and congratulations on your wedding!

 

[wannabslim]

Thanks guys

I've just signed up to Food Focus, it seems very much like the WW online points and weight tracker which to be honest held most of the appeal of the diet for me when I started and is the one thing I dont think I could keep track of what I eat without!!! So the fact there is something out there that does the same for cal counting, and is free, is brill!!

I agree that WW use of sat fats does mean that you can't have things with good fats in, and for me it also encourages me to choose low fat versions of everything, which usually means extra junk is added to make up for it and it tastes yucky!! It will be good to be able to decide for myself whether to go low fat or not.

According to the FF site I would need just under 1200 calories each day to lose 2lb a week. I have had a look at how many I've been eating on WW, and because I choose low fat stuff I have actually been eating well over that on WW!! No wonder I struggle to lose weight most weeks!!

So, think cal counting may be just what I need to give my metabolism a chance to get back to normal and I plan to up my exercise to an hour a day 5 days a week as I have a gym membership and actually enjoy going!! I do aquafit x2 a week, pilates x1, so will need to add an hour twice a week doing cardio and weights in the actual gym to make sure I reach that target... either that or a workout DVD at home if I cant be bothered/dont have time to go the gym!!

Thanks so much for your thoughts, much appreciated! Think I will continue going to WW WIs for now but will stop when my membership runs out in December and then just use CC and Food Focus to go from there.

xxxx

 

[IrishMum]

Thanks guys

According to the FF site I would need just under 1200 calories each day to lose 2lb a week. I have had a look at how many I've been eating on WW, and because I choose low fat stuff I have actually been eating well over that on WW!! No wonder I struggle to lose weight most weeks!!

So, think cal counting may be just what I need to give my metabolism a chance to get back to normal and I plan to up my exercise to an hour a day 5 days a week as I have a gym membership and actually enjoy going!! I do aquafit x2 a week, pilates x1, so will need to add an hour twice a week doing cardio and weights in the actual gym to make sure I reach that target... either that or a workout DVD at home if I cant be bothered/dont have time to go the gym!!


xxxx

I'm a foodfocus user for over a year now, but my only 'gripe' with it is that it's daily cal recommendations tend to be on the low side. I know you probably entered '2lb per week loss', but the fact its given you less than 1200cals suggest this rate of loss is too fast for you- i.e.it may be unsustainable, and may lead to plateaus (as happened before). I recommend you google BMR calculators and see how many calories your body needs each day to function. Now, this will be a lot higher than 1200cals, but in order to avoid doing your system/metabolism any harm, its necessary to eat this amount. To lose the weight, calculate your daily 'burn' and take 500/1000cals away from this. If this figure is less than your BMR- then use your exercise calories to 'up' your daily burn, thus increasing your deficit. This way you won't be 'starving', and it'll be much easier to sustain any weight loss? I hope that wasn't too confusing? LOL!
I also use *link removed* to help answer any queries I have about cc. Good luck!

 

[wannabslim]

Ok I'm a bit confused. Apparently my BMR is 1583... so what do I need to do now to lose? The link you posted was removed... can you PM me the name of the site??

How do I calculate my daily "burn" - is that the 2100 food focus came up with? If so, that's a difference of 600 cals so if I cut those 600 out, ate 1500 a day, that would be 4200 undereaten each week which is going to be just over a lb off....

does that sound right/healthy/ok to you? xxx

 

[IrishMum]

A rough guide is if you're sedentary, take your BMR and multiply it by 1.2- that gives you 1899. But if you're as active as you say then your burn will be much more than that (hence ff figure of 2100 probably?) There are a few online calculators that'll give you an idea (google 'how many calories do I burn in a day?' and see the calculators that come up?)
Theres also another calculator that I'll pm you that'll give you a better breakdown of what you need/burn. But its all trial & error a bit at the beginning as everyone really is different. Theres no harm in giving it a go- I mean who doesn't want to eat 1500cals a day and lose weight!

 

[preetone]

some great info there, i aint looseing any weight, and i have only gone over my target cals on one day this week
but im so sad about my weight and wanting to loose it, it seems like ill always be this size and unhappy. i want it to work this time, which is y i aint bingeing like i usually do when the scales are not moving. any tips for kick starting a weight lose? any detox foods maybe?

 

[wannabslim]

my only tip would be avoid carbs in the evening - follow the rule: breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen, dine like a pauper... eat your main cal intake across breakfast and lunch, so your body has plenty of time to burn off the energy, then stick with veggies/protein at tea time.

I find that helps me to keep going during the day, cut down on snacking, and I don't feel tired and sluggish in the evening so I have energy to exercise. That'd be my tip.

My BMR is around 1500 cals so I'm aiming not to go over that and seeing what happens. Interestingly enough I'm logging everything I eat using the WW points system and I haven;'t gone over my points once since starting cal counting! Think its just cos its easier to work out what I'm eating at the time on CC, no need to calculate points, so I'm making better decisions. When I use points I often eat something then calculate the points, and it turns out much higher than I expected so pushes me over my points allowance (mainly due to the sat fat content methinks), but on CC I always know roughly how many cals is in that food so if its high I dont even think about eating it!!!!

Makes sense to me anyway! Now we just need to see if it works! x

 

[preetone]

thats really good advice. i usally split my cals into 3 an pace myself. but makes sense to eat more during day as u have more time to burn it, an usually am more active, however after 7ish i get very lazy.

my birthday week, so will be having a few treats, hope i dont go to crazy lol

 

[dani_doot]

i wish i could split my calories up that way, but i cant do it, due to time. im at work all day, so i dont have enough time at lunch time to cook a larger meal, and i really enjoy coming home and cooking my fiance a really nice dinner.
But u definatley have a point, now i know why the greek/spanish etc are so thin. they have there siestas, and make a big fuss over there lunch.

 

[small-to-be]

hey Wannabeslim
I think we all have the same problem with diets, as it means we need to sacrifice our appetite and go on a starvation period for sum time.
I have tried many diets and they all did the same to me - yo-yo effect after I completed them (I did complete a few LOL).
Have you ever tried abs diet?
It's healthy, doesn't leave you hungry, speeds up your metabolism, you don't need to count calories or watch portions and it's really tasty, I've found it really easy to stick on it. I did stop, because I started academic year, and the stress together with sum financial issues created a barrier and I threw myself on cheap junk, but being on it in the summer I have lost 20 lbs and gained sum nice lean muscles.
Anyways I have posted new thread on 'Other diets' forum, please go and have a look, it may be sth for you

xx