Getting in Shape

Wanna-be slimmer bride; any good programs?

Hey ya'll! I am newly engaged this month, and I have until 2016 to slim down where I want to be for the wedding and in general health. I have been lurking on other posts and reading stories of other women, but a lot of people here seem to have motivation to work out. I am a full time student and work full time, so I do not get much time to work out since I have to work on projects and homework when I get home from anything.

I wanted to try Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers so I can watch what I'm eating while doing minimal work out due to time. Has anyone tried these programs? Are they worth it? I admit to eating little snacks between calls at work and going out too much for food, so I am hoping that this will make me realize how much I'm eating or how poorly my diet is. 
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Re: Wanna-be slimmer bride; any good programs?

  • I'm on WW and absolutely love it. It's really made me realize what kind of crap I'm eating. Now all the time I think, "Man, I'd like that [insert food here]" and then type in into my phone app to see how many points it's worth and say, "Eff that!". Knowing that eating a cupcake means you get no dinner really stops the craving.

    Plus you get points for working out so the more you do - the more you get to eat! :)

    WW also has a TON of recipes and a lot of them are pretty good.

    Good luck to you!!

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  • For your diet - I've never been on any "program" but I hear good things about WW if you have the will power. You can also take all natural suplements from Complete Nutrition to boost metabolism, burn fat, etc. That helped me lose those last 10. Also, I know you think it takes up lots of time to work out, but honestly, interval training and weight training are the best ways to burn calories. Take 20 minutes in the morning when you wake up to do an interval workout. You can find tons of these workouts on Pinterest even! Good luck :) oh yeah, drink LOTS of water!!!
  • Thank you guys!! I went to the doctor for some heart concerns, and it turns out I'm anemic, which is what we were kind of thinking. I have been given lots of iron pills and told to drink lots of water and some exercising for my heart. I cut out pop, but it's little steps at a time. I do have a few years before the pressure is on, but I want to get into the habit now so I get healthier in general. My FI is concerned with how I eat and never exercise and I have a desk job 7:30-4 workday.
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  • I don't do weight watchers but have heard good things. Of the two, I would probably endorse WW because it teaches you more how to eat healthy. Jenny Craig is more expensive and you rely on their food. That's easy but then when you are on your own, a lot of people gain the weight back. 

    I would suggest maybe trying some of the Jillian Michaels videos. Her 30 day shred is like 20 minutes long! 
  • WW was not for me, I just got to lazy with the tracking, and was spending my points on the wrong types of food.  However, I have plenty of friends and family who have had great success with the program.  It does work!  Also, I have had friends who used Nutrisystem and it worked great to get into wedding shape, but it's expensive.

    I've done South Beach Diet to loose weight and it was great and perfect for my lifestyle.  You can eat as much as you want of allowable foods and just were restricted from bad foods.  There was plenty of variety of foods, FI had no problem eating the meals I cooked, and it wasn't an issue eating out.

    My problem was the same as yours, my diet sucked and I didn't always have time to work out.  Someone told me loosing weight is really 80% diet and 20% exercise, and I found once I changed up my daily diet there were drastic changes in my weight loss.  I would recommend checking out your library to read some diet books.  There is some great information on how your body processes and stores the types of food you eat.  I'm reading "Eat to Live" right now and learing alot! 

     

  • That is awesome!!! Congrats!! I have a 730-4 sitting job every week at a call center, so there is no activity here. Always on my butt. I'm hoping WW can limit how much junk I eat and all the little candies I stuff my face with between calls. I just hope I have willpower to keep track of it all...
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  • I have had a ton of success with the Beach Body program.  (http://www.beachbody.com/category/fitness_programs/all-fitness-programs.do)  The thing I really like is that you get a coach who checks in with you regularly, helps you plan meals, and generally keeps you accountable.  There's an exercise program called T25, workouts are 25 minutes every day, that is good for people that don't have a lot of time to spend at the gym.  

    I really enjoyed Hip Hop Abs, and I'm halfway through the Tai Cheng series now and enjoying them also.  They are about 30 minutes a day, and low impact- giving my knees a break.  
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  • I'm in the same boat: I have a year and a half before my wedding so I'm going slow and steady.  I've had some good results with the Fitbit and MyFitnessPal app.  The Fitbit is a little activity tracker you wear on your wrist.  It tracks your steps, etc.  It really motivates me to move more because I want to meet my "goal" for the day.

    On the diet side, you create a plan for how fast you want to lose weight and you get a daily calorie allowance based on your weight loss plan and your activity for the day.  So the more you work out, the more you can eat.  You track all of your food, probably similar to WW.  The actual Fitbit tracking website is not great (missing some foods), but I use the free website/app Myfitnesspal to sync into the Fitbit website.  Myfitnesspal has a pretty much infinite library of every food you can think of, and the app is really easy to use.

    Long story short, I don't feel like I'm dieting but I've lost about 5 pounds in the past month without really even trying.  I work out about 5 days a week, but that's mostly for stress relief.  I'll probably kick it up a notch as I get closer to the wedding, but right now I feel like I'm building some good habits.
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
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    "I'm not a rude bitch.  I'm ten rude bitches in a large coat."

  • Oh and my favorite workout is Physique 57.  Literally the most difficult DVDs I've ever done, but you get such a nice stretch at the end you sort of forget how hard it was by the time you're finished.  I live near NYC and have gone to their studio for classes, as well.
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
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    "I'm not a rude bitch.  I'm ten rude bitches in a large coat."

  • That's some good planning. I work full time and go to school full time, so I barely have time to plan a good meal. A little here and there sounds like a good idea though! I have 3 years, so I don't have to rush into anything, either. 
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  • I've got 4 years for my wedding & I've started already.  I've done ww and it really does teach you how to have better eating habits.   Personally, I'm doing what they have taught me and just getting my butt off the couch.  As it gets closer I might try some specific tone up videos, but right now I'm just going to all over loss.
  • It's so hard to get off the couch! I think I need some caffeine pills, I have no energy to get up. I tried on some dresses at a store earlier this month, and I could really tell where I need to work on for my body. You would think seeing yourself in a dress and seeing problem areas would motivate you, but I just keep thinking "Oh, I have 3 years, I have all the time in the world to do it later". 
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  • I've unofficially done WW before using online calculators, and it definitely works.  When you start seeing a donut as over an hour working out, they lose a lot of the appeal.

    FI and I have a treadmill with my old college tv and a roku box hooked up to netflix, the only way I can seem to be motivated to work out right now is if I at least get to watch a show while doing it :)
  • WW was not for me either because I never lost any weight on it. I tried different points, I tried different programs within WW and I never lost a pound.

    I am currently using Plexus to help curb my appetite for snacks. I eat little snacks all day long like candy and cookies, etc. Ever since I have been on Plexus, I don't do that.
  • I always eat snacks here and there, but since I got Invisalign for my teeth, I don't do it as often because it requires me to take out the braces. It's a lot more work with these braces to snack. I will look into Plexus,  I have never heard of that one before.
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  • i my self am recently engaged, and have started weight watchers again (i joined in collage and was successful but got off track after and gained all and more weight back). the new program is more flexible, and promotes better choices. after a few weeks of being on it i find that my cravings for candy have reduced and for snacks i eat apples and carrots because they have no points.  i think the sooner you start the better, buy the time your dress shopping, having showers and pictures you could have lost all your weight.
  • Hey! I'm the same way, I need some kind of accountability... but I don't think any of these programs that claim to work ACTUALLY work.

    Beachbody: You have  "coach" assigned to you. In actuality, this means nothing. You cannot easily manipulate the meal plans and change for more than one person. And the videos get SO boring...

    Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig: My problem with these is that people that start on them will generally gain weight back when they're off of it. What a lot of people tend to do is use up their points on cheats and then starve themselves the rest of the meals. They're not getting their nutrients. I know that's not everyone, but it's still a pretty penny to through out there when it could be going towards your wedding.

    What I've done is used inspiration from nerdfitness.com which is completely free. There's an ebook you can buy, but it's not absolutely necessary. I have changed the way that I look at food and cut out processed food, sugars, and gluten, and by doing that I lost 20 pounds and gained 5 pounds of muscle. 

    Moral of the story... YOU CANNOT BUY WEIGHT LOSS. I wish it was that easy. Good luck girl, I'm getting married 2015 and am trying to get into my best shape too!
  • abrewer5abrewer5 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    edited November 2013

    I know this is an older thread, but check out myfitness pal too! They have an app and website and uses actual calories versus points that WW uses but it's free!

    I used it religiously last year, and like WW it helps you realize how much you really are eating, plus gives your more calories as you workout. I lost 12 pounds on it (went from 128 to 116) 

    It's a good website overall.

  • MadHops21MadHops21 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    edited November 2013
    I'll be lurking for the next 3 years, so this post can be kept alive! I downloaded myfitnesspal for my phone, and I just have a hard time entering the information it asks for, like calories and fat and everything. I tend to grab lunch from restaurants during work, so I don't know the exact info. And I tend to forget because I'm always eating little snacks right after work and before class (I go straight from work to school 3 days a week) so I don't get a chance to eat a real meal besides a quick lunch and some snacks for dinner. I'm not sure if it's stress, but I have gained a lot of weight the past month :( 

    Edited because tired Kelcita means typos
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  • I was in the same situation a year ago and after struggling with diets for a few months without much progress.. I bought this little wonder: http://www.bodymedia.com/Shop/Armband-Packages.  If you watch the Biggest Loser you might have wondered what the little device is on their arms... I bought the Wireless LINK armband and can now track all of the calories I'm burning throughout the day, meaning I can know exactly how much I can eat to stay on track with my weight loss goals.  

    I love it, it may not be for you, but I thought I'd offer it up!
  • @ashcapp I have Insanity on my computer, along with Rockin Bodies, but I just never have energy or time to try them out. I really need to start trying them!!

    @lkboldt I have never seen the show, but I will look into that. The more stuff I have bugging me about losing weight, the better!
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  • Sparkpeople.com ! Free - easy, fun and has a great community of support! I did it for my sisters wedding in June and lost 19 lbs! Now I'm back on the program for my wedding starting this week and hope to get to my goal weight of 125 by next November 1st! With spark - I know I can do it and would recommend it to anyone looking for an inexpensive easy way to get healthy! 
  • @kelcita21 T25 has really been a game changer for me. Its 25 mins/day 5 days a week.... everyone can make that work!! I'm going to be starting a challenge group soon as well if you want more info, let me know. I've got a group going for motivation and fitness on FB email me at jamileedevaney@gmail.com or find me on Facebook at facebook.com/jami.devaney.3
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