Maintenance - other diet clubs

thinfor30

Full Member
Hi all, looking for some advice about maintenance

I have just over a stone left to lose and am already thinking about maintenance as it is my usual weakness. I am going to join another slimming club as I believe it will keep me focused and help me stick to my goal. I have never been in another club aside from Weight Watchers (when I was about 18) but know a little about all the plans (I'm your classic yo-yo dieter!) and wanted some advice on which one to choose? I will complete Cambridge through the plans before I move on. I have noted a few ideas down, I may be wrong. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

Slimming World

Pros - Popular, lots of info, lots of people at work following it with success, unlimited foods for my big appetite, lots of classes to choose from, helpful eating out guides
Cons - Scared of that 'unlimited' foods section, worried about the high carb content of green days, slightly complicated food combining, no calorie limit

Weight Watchers

Pros - Points system easy to follow, good selection of own brand food, lots of classes, proven diet
Cons - Worried about lack of food and heavily processed food

Rosemary Connelly Low GI Diet classes

Pros - Exercise class included with weekly price, Cambridge advocates low GI, lots of whole grains
Cons - Worried about calorie counting, not sure exactly what I will be able to eat, will portions suffice?

Me on my own

Pros - Chocolate
Cons - Chocolate

Any other suggestions or advice? I'd like to be able to attend a session ideally, and get weighed weekly.
 
Me on my own

Pros - Chocolate
Cons - Chocolate

:D:D:D Love it!!

It's such a personal choice that it's going to be hard to recommend one thing over another.

Personally I don't like group sessions - it's the stuff of nightmares for me. That's why I love Minimins so much. I get the support I need from here without having to sit in a circle on plastic chairs in a hall somwhere!

I have done WW, SW and RC both group membership and online / postal. Out of the 3 I preferred SW but as far as weight loss was concerned WW was more successful. I'm not sure whether that had anything to do with the diet or whether it was due to it being before I had children...

I found SW got me into some really weird and bad habits. Generally I'm a healthy eater who simply eats a lot of junk at night in front of the TV. Before I'd joined SW I had never even considered trying Pasta n' Sauce or mugshots. I started eating them regularly because they were "free" and I didn't even like them!! I would also go through record numbers of Muller light yoghurts and even now, years later I can't eat them. I used to love them pre-SW.

RC was OK - especially as it had exercises included, but I found it really hard to stick to the fat % allowed (can't remember what it was now).

WW was also OK and I know it has changed a lot since I last did it. I lost quite a lot of weight wiht WW and maintained for a couple of years, but found the quantities you could eat were meagre, especially if you did a lot of exercise (as I think you can only "earn" a maximum number of fitness points per day).

I use a diet diary type website to calculate my calorie intake. It costs me £7 per month and it's great. I worked up the CD plan and now have my calorie allowance set at 1500 and this allows me to maintain the weight despite regular blips.

Really all these different plans are just different ways of restricting your calories so it doesn't really matter how you do it as long as it works for you. I prefer to simply count calories as worrying about points or syns is just another layer of stuff to figure out and try to remember, but each to their own.

Good Luck with whatever plan you choose! Oh and set up a diary on here - it really helps!
 
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:D:D:D
Personally I don't like group sessions - it's the stuff of nightmares for me. That's why I love Minimins so much. I get the support I need from here without having to sit in a circle on plastic chairs in a hall somwhere!

Oh me too, just thinking about it makes my toes curl up.

Both these posts are great and I second Alli's advice - particularly about the diary on here. Good luck with whatever you decide and congratulations on all you have achieved so far!!
 
Thanks for the responses! I just it all boils down to the fact that I don't trust myself yet. I love the control of CD, I'm a real advocate for it. I like 'plans'. I'm wary of SW because of the amount of crap you're allowed to eat (I would eat for eating's sake too). I'll look over the daily plans of each and think which one is best for me. I like ones that include info on eating out, because that's the thing I miss most with SSing.

I love the daily diary idea and will definitely be contributing towards the maintenance thread. If anyone else has any advice re: diet clubs please contribute!

Thanks, Katie.
 
Echo the SW disadvantages - given the 'free' food, I could happily eat several packs of noodles and a washing-up bowl size of pasta as well as tins of sweetcorn, cup a soups, Muller Yogs until they came out of my ears. Having been told that they are 'free' did me no favours as I would bend the rules until they creaked.
 
Oooh Bw you've just reminded me of couscous cake!! Couscous, toffee muller yoghurt, eggs and sweetener - cooked in the microwave until "cake like" - Free on green :D:eek: YEEEUURRRGGGHH!!:yuk:

:D:D:D more memories of evil SW tweaks - ferrero rochers made with all bran...

Quiche - pasta n Sauce pack mixed with eggs and baked - not a tweak but still yuk

Tortilla Chips - Cooked lasagne sheets cut up into triangles, sprinkled with salt and paprika and baked in the oven

hmmmm....no wonder my weight losses copletely stopped after the first stone...:rolleyes:

Then again - I have a friend who lost lots of weight on SW eating really healthily so it's not the diet's fault that I will go to great lengths to bend the rules!
 
Hello i think i can answer this i did ww back in March slow weight loss joined CD in May lost my weight reached goal.

then went back to ww to maintain instead of moving up the plans,mainly cuz of the CD Costs.! i never gained once from cd onto ww in 4 weeks. I stuck to my points and weighed my foods, last week i booked a hoilday to the Algarve for christmas so rang my CDC if i could come back for 2 weeks for a final push to loose 10 lbs.!

So im back on CD since last week thursday i have wi tomorrow and looks like ive lost 8.5 already.! dead chuffed as it wasnt easy coming back on CD but hay! the diet works does'nt it.!

I plan to return to ww and maintain using the points because i know im in control of my foods/ and positions.! i dont snack during the day on rubbish foods.

Im more strong minded about the rubbish food im putting into my body now and that will never change.!
I HAVENT LOST 3STONES FOR NOTHING.!! That's how i see it anyway.! you say WW processed foods??? It doesnt have to be at all im 27 not a big fan of cooking. But when i do i do big batches of it.!

SW you have alot of free foods I would go mad on it and eat loads hahaha.!

Everyone is different really but for me ww is the one and im happy STS each week now.!

Good luck xx
 
I'm sure KD wrote something about this a while ago if my memory serves me right...something about switching for maintenance, about why do it? Your CDC should still let you go and see her every week/2 weeks even for a weigh in, and that CD has a maintenance plan with it too - every diet has a plan right up to 'living' and that basically when we get there it's adapting all that we have learnt to 'live' with all that we have learnt.

There was a lot more to the post - but for the life of me I can't find it - I will try to keep looking though. I don't say don't go, as it's personal choice, and I was thinking of moving a while back, but I am so glad I didn't and so pleased I discussed with my cdc about maintenance and I now know for certain that she will definitely see me even at maintenance :)

Good luck whatever you decide xx
 
Just been reading this thread - as when I get to goal, people think i should join a "slimming" club (use the term extremely loosely) to keep my weight down...

but, i thought I could just go back to my CDC to weigh... maybe weekly or fortnightly... surely I'll be allowed to do that? My CDC runs a class, so I won't be taking up precious appointments/her time... is that allowed? KD - can you advise (font of all knowledge!!).

I really should just ask my CDC when I see her tomorrow!!

Lynne
x
 
but, i thought I could just go back to my CDC to weigh... maybe weekly or fortnightly... surely I'll be allowed to do that? My CDC runs a class, so I won't be taking up precious appointments/her time... is that allowed? KD - can you advise

No reason why not, but it is up to the CDC. Remember they are self employed and if you aren't buying products, they aren't getting paid, so many CDCs will charge a small weighing in fee.

I would be surprised if a CDC wasn't prepared to continue to weigh their maintainers, either for a small fee, or for free.
 
Thanks KD. I weigh tomorrow, i think i'll just ask her!

I don't think i'll ever be able to kick my addiction to CD bars anyway... so i'm sure I'll still be buying stuff from her!!

Cheers,
Lynne
x
 
I am a gold member at WW, so will maintain with them as its free, but I will still be in touch with my CD councillor, I cant live without the bars!!!!!
I intend to still have them cut up small every evening as I do now, and they work out to be 3and half points each, not toooooo bad really! would rather have that knowing its full of vitamins etc, than normal chocolate that I cant trust myself with!
Im sure my CD councillor weighs people at target weight for free, and people do tend to buy the odd bar or shake and use them after a 'bad' day to keep the weight down, so I think keeping in touch with the CD councillor is a must!
 
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