WW vs Keto (on WW website)

(Mike Nightingale) #41

I’d call it barefaced. lying. commercial. propaganda!
And good call on the coat wearing woman!
(Former Type 2 Diabetes, 43kg lost :slight_smile: )
Mike

(Joey) #42

I was particularly amused to see Weight Watcher’s assertion of trademark protection:

WW Freestyle™ Program

… When an organization seeks to protect dietary/nutritional guidance - raw information that is inherently in the public domain if it is indeed based on open science - well, then you just know that it can’t be the right answer. :thinking:

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #43

Oprah owns @10% of WW. She is also a carb addict and just won’t give up the bread and grains. She will continue to yoyo and be hungry all the time.

As an ex lifetimer of WW. I know how it all works. They want you coming back again and again. You always have a home with WW when you regain. Of course it is all your fault for not logging every bite, every day, for every meal, etc.

So glad to be off that freakin’ merrygoround.

(Jane) #44

Me TOO!!!

(PJ) #45

Come on that’s just a tax break for someone like her. :slight_smile:

I’m glad when people are helped by “team spirit” … but the modern “starve yourself of nutrients while stuffing yourself with sugars/starches then hate yourself for being starving, cold, angry, lowering your metabolism and gaining back what you lose before you’re even done losing it” – that part’s a real drag.

(Susan) #46

We are all blessed to have this for free without weekly fees here on the forum!!

(Jenn) #47

This might not be the right place for this post but giving it a shot as opposed to starting a new thread.

My closest friend was inspired by my weight loss journey and decided to try to lose weight herself. However, she was adamant that keto would not work for her because she liked to still have some breads and pastas and other items not allowed on keto. So she went to weight watchers and fell in love with the program. I’ve been holding my tongue for a year because she seems so happy.

She has lost the same amount of weight as I have (80 pounds) in half the time it took me on keto. She takes every opportunity to rub it in my face (not maliciously but in the hardy har sense). I’m genuinely concerned though now because I see what she eats and it’s rabbit food. I’d be shocked if she had over 1000 calories a day in the last 6 months. She’s terrified to eat because of the weekly weigh ins and wants to keep her progress on the constant downgrade. She’s become quite obsessive in my opinion. She looks gaunt and I can see her bones sticking out in places they shouldn’t be. She met her goal weight 7 weeks ago and is still working out several times a day and sticking to her “maintenance” meal plan and continues to drop on the scale.

This has to be wreaking havoc on her metabolism, right?

Has anyone here had success in a similar situation? I’m really trying to help a friend without seeming like I’m judging them or telling them they are wrong.

(Failed) #48

I have noticed that people who lose weight on low fat diets look like they’ve been ill, but people who lose weight on keto look healthy.

I know you want what’s best for your friend, but you really can’t help her, except by being a good example. People won’t/can’t listen until they’re ready.

(Jack Bennett) #49

I would say, just push back gently with something like: “I’m glad that it’s working for you and that you’re dropping the unwanted weight, without any hunger, just like me”. But only say that if you can do it genuinely, without any snark.

(Jenn) #50

That’s a nice segway into a conversation about it. She can either just smile and nod or admit she’s always hungry… Thanks!

(Susan) #51

Been there, done that, and I gained it all back after I couldn’t survive any more on their plan --it is not healthy or sustainable. That is how they make so much money – they get repeat business --it is really sad =(.

This is so true. I lost over 100 pounds doing Susan Powter’s Stop The Insanity program from 2002-2003 in about 8 months! but by 2004 I was back up over 120 pounds. These diets work; sure, but only for the short term. Keto might be more like the turtle over the hare, but it is sustainable, we don’t feel like we are starving, and it is a life changing WOE.

This is awesome, Jack, I really like that.

I wish you success, it must be difficult but Jack’s suggestion is actually very good – it is not being rude, and if she says she feels hungry you can explain on Keto that you are not, etc. without sounding like you are being judgemental or preaching at her, just sharing your own way of eating. Best wishes and please tell us how it goes.

(Jack Bennett) #52

Thanks for your compliment. :smile:

Yeah, that’s the goal, to agree pleasantly and nicely and also mention one of the potential advantages of keto. If she’s truly not hungry on 1000 kcal of high-carb eating, then more power to her - her way of eating is working for her N=1 effort and that’s what matters.

And if she’s miserable and hungry, then maybe it plants a seed that she can explore later on, in her own time. No need to get into a big argument and make her wrong about her choices.

(Edith) #53

You can point out that everyone is different and that is is great that she lost weight so fast, but that your body is not hers.

You could point out how calm you are on your plan compared to how she is on her plan.

(Jane) #54

The reason WW meetings are so packed in January is most people go “off plan” in late November and can’t face the scale so they wait until after New Years to start over.

Will be interesting if your friend manages to keep going every week through the holidays.

It can be tough to stick to keto also during the holidays! But at least we aren’t paying to step on a scale every week (lifetime WW member here)

(Jane) #55

I got so obsessed with the weekly weigh ins that I weighed my clothes and dry fasted all day the day of weigh-in so I wasn’t weighing water or food consumed during the day. I had a very unhealthy relationship with food!

(Jenn) #56

Yikes! That’s pretty much how obsessed my friend is about the weigh ins too. Anxiety all day about not being “up” on that scale.

Don’t get me wrong I get frustrated too when my home scale goes up a couple pounds but over a 30 day period it is steadily down. Consistency is key. I just think she’s making unhealthy choices all to prove a point. I recently went out to dinner with her and she ate half a salad without dressing because it wasn’t fat free. I really don’t think she’s eating much at all any day. Everyone is different and I understand that I’ll just keep an eye on it and try to chime in when I can to educate her of other options. Thank you, everyone, for your input.

(Jane) #57

What did she watch you eat?

Back in 1989 I got to goal on WW and maintained for 6 weeks to get my lifetime membership. Then you only have to weigh in once a month but I stopped going and eventually gained it all back and more.

I really saw it as a diet not a lifestyle change, unlike keto.

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #58

I get what you are saying, but I did see WW as a lifestyle change, and I kept the weight off a couple years before it crept back on. And that was once I moved across the planet and changed from a physical job to a… I won’t say teaching is sedentary, but less active than window cleaning. And before window cleaning I worked at a health food store which meant 50% off a nice big salad every day for lunch. And a boss who understood that a little unofficial walk around the block when collecting the mail was good for my sanity and therefore everyone at the store’s good. This is what happens when one of the people you trust most with a busy store’s worth of daily cash also has ADD and can’t abide by the little office one is put in to count money. And input invoices. :scream:

Anyhoo, WW was very successful for me as long as I stayed in a carefully controlled environment.

The difference I see with keto is, environment means very little. If I can do it in China, rice capital of the world, I can do it anywhere, anytime. That is huge. I am not. Anymore.

(Heather Meyer) #59

Its truly unfortunate… I was put on WW at the age of 14. My Mother(an anorexic) had to ask the WW people for special permission since it is there policy not to take a person under the age of 18. So i was the only 14 year old.

Well… my Aunt who wasnt anorexic…was cery supportive of me regardless of my weight and believed that my happiness would improve if she went to with WW with me so she joined as well. To be honest, i cant say if it worked or didnt work because at the age of 14, i wasnt disciplined to abode ny the rules or log all my points. I did remember losing 20 lb but i quit after 3 months.

My poor Aunt persisted with it. It was truly sad because though she followed it for life, she continued to try and lose weight. They wanted her to be at an extremely unhealthy weight range for her BMI which IMO is too low because she is quite tall like me. But my Aunt formed a horrible addiction to drinking diet coke and living off of Hershey kisses from her freezer. Her belief was that as long as she stayed within her points…it was okay to have chocolate for breakfast. Sadly it was all she ate for breakfast and then followed it with a lunch of fat free pretzel sticks and rice cakes along with a “instant carnation chocolate shake”…now that my friends is like dumping 8 tbsp of pure sugar in a glass of powdered milk with cocoa powder. Dont forget the alluminium!

I have always wondered if it is actually possible to follow Keto while doing WW?? Can you combine the two? I guess my thought is… probably not…given the higher fat foods we eat? But if someone did low carb low fat maybe?

(Heather Meyer) #60

Also since we are talking about WW… i once tried Ideal Protein with much success… I lost 50lbs on it. Problem was- most of it was full of soy and gluten and i cant have gluten and i stay away from most soy. Plus…i was starving and sick of living off of shakes and powdered meals.

So thankful for Keto! Hallelujah for amazing food!