One WW clarification–I eat core foods, but tracked points at first, because I was used to the flexplan and had, shall we say, a portion issue.

I’m deeply jealous of your cleaning person acquisition. If I have to thanklessly vacuum one more time this week, I may go off the deep end.

My best friend has struggled with her weight for years. I’ve watched her have some success with WW, but never huge success, and never anything that sticks. I, on the other hand, didn’t struggle with my weight as a teenager or in my early 20s. In my late 20s I started putting on weight, and when my friend suggested we do a diet together, I decided to suck it up and do a “diet.” We used the Schwarzbein Principle (I think that’s what it’s called; we always called it the Schwarzenegger dieat). The book could use some editing, but I found it transformational because it answered many questions I’d had about the way the body breaks down carbs, fats, and proteins, and had suggestions for how to eat in a way that optimized the body’s use of food.

I usually refer to this as a “moderate carb” diet. she was a diabetes doctor who observed that the old high-carb diet for diabetes wasn’t working well for her patients, and set out to devise something new. Anyhoo, I’ve always avoided no-carb situations because she points out that if your carb level gets too low, you can start to feel depressed. What you do is gauge your activity level, and then limit your carb intake based on how much your body will be able to use.

Other than that, you eat lots of veggies (and fiber, in general, because it helps your metabolism fire up, if I’m remembering correctly) and avoid processed foods as much as possible, especially refined flour and sugar.

Personally, I have found that I can only get my body to begin burning fat when I a) stop my sugar intake, b) stop my caffeine intake (both a and b mess with your body’s natural cues as to what it needs), c) increased raw vegetable consumption, and d) exercised first thing in the morning to get my metabolism going.

I lost 30 pounds this way; my friend lost maybe 15, but it was always a much bigger struggle for her. We have different relationships with food, and we have different experience with weight gain and weight loss. All I can do is suggest that when you do find a weight loss program, you look at how it will help you change your eating habits post-diet.

Hm, I should add in one more: e) this was easiest when I was sharing the food burden with my roommate (aforementioned best friend). We each only had to devise 3 dinners apiece, instead of 6 (7th day was eating out). We checked in with each other, and encouraged and commiserated with each other. Again, this might be something you will find helpful, or it might be irrelevant for your case.

I admire people who can be successful on Weight Watchers, because it does work. It backfired with me, because the counting of points made me obsessed by food. That is all I thought about, how to get as much food for as few points. Also I got into this weird weekly eating cycle of being off program after weigh in, then the 3 days before my meeting, eating very minimally. Certainly not WW’s fault, my own failings.

I tried South Beach on the recommendation of a friend, and I swear it felt like magic after WW. No counting, plenty of food, and I still lost weight. More importantly, I felt like a million bucks, no blood sugar crashes. I also felt much more even keeled, emotionally. Funny, I didn’t want to try the diet because the name really put me off, but as far as a doable lifestyle, it is a winner for me.