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Great responses -- both positive and negative (of course). I am looking
forward to the additional menu challenge!! and getting somewhere
between my pre-diagnosis low to my HEALTH high!!
I wrote:
Any of you overweight celiacs have any success with Weight Watchers? They
are starting a WW @ Work group this week and I am interested (motivated by
my jeans!!) to participate.
Any and all input will be appreciated.
Janet
Replies:
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I joined WW in Australia and lost about 20 lbs. after gaining it all
after going GF (all within about 5 months). It took me about three
months to take it off, but the one thing I know after getting through
Christmas is that without exercise it will not stay off. I am basically
a lazy person after being at work for 8 hours a day and by the time I
get home the last thing I want to do is go for a jog. If you have
access to a gym or a friend you can walk with it is all the better. The
only problem I found is WW revolves around a lot of bread type recipes.
(if you follow their weekly recipes). I avoided those and did fish or
chicken. Make sure to get a scale. It makes all the difference in the
world. If you want to lose weight you will do it with WW. It is a good
and healthy program and I have learned to use a lot of the information
in my every day life forever. I am 44 going through menopause and have
Celiac. I look at a chocolate bar and gain weight. I never struggled
with my weight, but I do now. Good luck, Leila in NSW Australia
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I am on w/w and have had very good success. You just have to count your
points and eat like you would ordinarily do. It does work.
Simone, NH
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I don't think Weight Watchers has a gluten-free diet.
Vicki
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It works great for us. Any package food that has a nutrition label on
it can be calculated and converted into POINTS.
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Hi, I just read your post on WW. I joined WW a few months ago. I lost
about 8 pounds. I just substituted rice pastas and rice cakes for the
breads. I stopped going because I just found it to be too much food for
me. I know that it really works. I might try it again on my own. I've
been on WW since October. I've lost 20 pounds with just a few more to go.
You just ignore the recipes with pasta & breads and substitute rice stuff.
It's all about quantity of foods and making wise choices. I recommend it for
anyone. I feel better and my clothes don't "hurt."
Wendy in Calgary
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No WW info but I will share that eating carbs makes me way fat instantly.
If I eliminate all carbs but green vegies, I turn into a lean, muscle
machine.
Nancy
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I just became a lifetime member of WW. Lost about 13 pounds. Started this
past August in an at-work program.
It isn't easy. About the only thing we have going for us over non-celiacs
is that we can't eat all the fast- and junk food anyway, so we're already
ahead on the healthier eating part of it. My WW leader was nice, but she
didn't understand the gluten-free concept at all, and didn't have any
helpful suggestions for me. I felt very alone at times when everyone was
talking about the low- or no-fat substitutions they were using. Most of
these products have gluten in them.
The biggest thing I learned was portion control. Four ounces of pasta,
whether rice, corn or wheat, is one serving, and that's not much! One-half
glass of orange juice is a serving. Now I'm very aware of the amount of
food I ingest.
One positive thing: I've been saving money by not buying as many
gluten-free products. I like Ener-G foods brownies, Van's waffles, and my
rice pizza shells, but I don't order them anymore, 'cause if I do, I'll eat
them. Our food can be so expensive that it's hard to listen to the WW
leader tell you to just throw it away. I find it easier to not buy it.
Foods I depended on: Jello Fat-Free chocolate, vanilla, and chocolate-
caramel puddings, Amy's tamale pie (only 3 points for the whole thing),
Pop-Secret 94% fat-free microwave popcorn. I don't know how sensitive a
celiac you are; these products didn't bother me, but do check the labels
if you try them. The puddings and popcorn are, unfortunately, filled
with stabilizers and preservatives.
If you go with the program, just remember that you are changing your eating
habits for life - sound familiar? ; ) - and not just going on a diet. I
also strongly recommend weightlifting - you see results quickly, which is
very encouraging.
Best of luck. Please let me know how it goes.
Therese
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Have you checked out the Radiant Health approach? Brian Scott Peskin
has figured out that eating lots less carbohydrates (celiacs are already
set up for this diet!), and more fats (healthy ones) and proteins causes
people to easily lose weight. I did that diet without knowing what was
what at the beginning of my CD diet 3 years ago, just because I couldn't
figure out what to eat. You can check it out at www.radianthealth.org.
Weight Watchers still includes a lot of carbos, so their diet doesn't
fit his mold. Good luck. Helen
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Yup....I found it totally easy to do while being GF:) I just used my
own recipies and heavily relied on veggies;) katherine in atl
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I've had good luck with the WW diet in the past (pre Celiac/DH diagnosis)
and know them to be responsive to limitations imposed by various medical
conditions (I'm not sure if they're up on Celiac disease though). I have
always admired their level headed, well rounded approach. I think you'll
find the experience well worth the time, even if you have to educate them
on the specifics of Celiac Disease.
Good Luck! Jane Noga
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I have had great luck. Very flexible program and the point system books
have good information on many of our 'alternative' food items. Good
luck
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Yes, I have had success on WW. I have lost about 12 pounds so far. It is a
great program. You will enjoy it very much. Good Luck!
Stacey in NJ
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Yes, I've done WW - both as a "wheat eater" and as a celiac. As a celiac, I
did both the exchange system and the points system (which I just wasn't as
fond of, totally apart from the food choice issues).
WW is a great program - and it's certainly modifiable to a gluten -free
diet, especially when you consider that the lean meats, poultry,
seafood, veggies and fruit are the best foods for lean eating - and are
perfectly gluten free. The breads I had to substitute quite a bit -
sometimes I could figure out an exact conversion to points (or
exchanges), but sometimes I just had to guess. Keep in mind that gluten-
free baked goods (breads, cookies, pastas) all are higher in calories
and fat than their wheat-containing counterparts. You may decide to
just exchange gluten free items on a one-to-one basis, and not worry
about trying to convert nutritional content. It might slow your weight
loss a bit, but over the long-term, you'll do great.
Best of luck! Terry Bradley (Mrs.)
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I am a lifetime member of Weight Watchers. Since the program basically
allows you to eat anything, it is not a big problem to do it gluten
free. Of course, most of the prepared WW products are off limits for
us, but we're used to that, right? :)
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