Weigh in With Jen: Part 5 – Starting on Weight Watchers

Your first trip to Weight Watchers includes an enrollment fee, some paperwork, and your first weigh-in. Your first trip to Weight Watchers includes an enrollment fee, some paperwork, and your first weigh-in. They give you a little book that kind of looks like an old-fashioned savings account passbook, and you bring it each week so they can record your attendance, weight, and payment. They keep the same info at the meeting site on a card in a big box. For one of the world’s most popular weight-loss plans, it’s all very quaint and so 1970s, with the hand-written system and monthly pass mailings.

Our meeting leader was very outgoing and grandmotherly, in that modern way that includes wearing cute t-shirts and sneakers. Although mom and I don’t consider ourselves “joiners,” she quickly had us in the mix reporting on foods we had trouble controlling (me: sandwiches; mom: chips ‘n queso) and reasons we’d like to lose weight. After the meeting, she welcomed mom and me and taught us the system.

In addition to the ubiquitous POINTS (Flex) Plan, there was a new Core Plan that reminded me a little of South Beach. Mom and I both decided to stick with POINTS for now. We’re both generally bigger fans of portion control, because we’d rather have smaller quantities of yummy foods than unlimited amounts of, well, healthy ones. Our leader found our daily POINT allowance and explained the system. Mom was a little miffed that she got less POINTS than me, so I told her to get fat if she wanted more. She demurred.

After the meeting, we headed straight for the grocery store to stock up on new diet food. Neither one of us usually cooks for ourselves, so we bought pretty much every variety of Smart Ones and Lean Cuisine frozen entree, all the new Weight Watchers muffins and little cakes, and controlled-portion snacks like the 100-calorie chip bags. My haul looked exactly like what a fat person would eat – chocolate cake, cheesy chicken paninis, Doritos – except each had a manageable POINT total. Would I lose weight on a diet of chips and chocolate? Only time would tell…

Current weight: 187

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Weigh in With Jen: Part 1 – My Absolute Last Weight Loss Attempt

Dear Diary,
I’m fat. Pretty shocking revelation, I know, considering you can’t throw a dart in a room full of Americans without a 50-percent chance of hitting a fat person. Dear Diary,

I’m fat. Pretty shocking revelation, I know, considering you can’t throw a dart in a room full of Americans without a 50-percent chance of hitting a fat person (maybe even better, really, since we tubbies take up more space and don’t duck as fast).

Like some of you, I’ve struggled with weight my whole life. My first diet memory involves eating plain tuna and saltines out of a Charlie’s Angels lunch box; there was probably Tab in the thermos.

I have Diet Centered and Atkinsed. I’ve been on South Beach, Cabbage Soup, Body-for-Life. I’ve attended the Weigh Down Workshop and have had food delivered from no less than three different companies. I’m a lifetime member of Jenny Craig and a graduate of LA Weight Loss. I’ve done Deal-A-Meal. And, with God as my witness, I’ve even done my fair share of Sweatin’ to the Oldies.

My most successful weight-loss attempt was also my most basic. Junior year of high school, I came up with a brilliant two-step plan: 1) don’t eat junk food and 2) exercise. As you might suspect, it worked like a charm. Why I didn’t carry that wisdom into college and beyond, I have no idea. But better late than never, right?

All that said, I’m still fat. And now the stakes are even higher. I’m writing a book on the economics of obesity and, frankly, would sooner die than have a chubbo picture on the book jacket. Would you read about obesity from a woman who can’t even conquer her own?

What’s more, I’m single, and I really, really like cute guys (the ones who don’t date fat chicks, unfortunately).

So there you have it. My career and love life hang in the balance. And the scales are not tipped in my favor.

More than anything, I want to make this zillionth weight-loss attempt my absolute last. So I’m going back to the basics. I have a big, mean trainer named Nick and a Weight Watchers buddy named Mom.

My goals are to lose 60 pounds and to make lifestyle changes I can live with. I’d planned to do it without publishing my weight for the world to see, but I guess this is better than being weighed on national TV in my sports bra—and this way I have you to keep me accountable. Just please don’t share this with any cute men. Not yet, anyway.

My vital stats
Starting weight: 187 pounds
Weight-loss goal: 60 pounds
Height: 5' 3"
Age: 35
First steps: Weight Watchers, a trainer, and putting my goal out there for everyone to see.

Current weight: 187 |

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Whey & Casein Blend to Lose Weight

If you're looking to lose weight while improving your protein intake, eating your curds and whey may prove a useful dietary strategy. Whey and casein are two proteins found in milk; when milk coagulates, the former protein separates into the liquid portion and the latter is in the curdled lumps. Consuming the proteins in supplement drinks can deliver valuable proteins, helpful for muscular development. While the proteins themselves do not directly cause weight loss, you can drop pounds by combining the protein blend with a well-balanced diet that is lower in calories than your overall calorie expenditure.

Though whey and casein are both proteins found in dairy products, they have different properties when used by the human body. Whey is relatively easy for the body to break down for metabolic use. In some cases, whey powder or whey concentrate contain forms of whey that are already partially broken down, making them even easier for the body to use right away. By contrast, casein is relatively slow-acting, delivering amino acids to the blood more gradually. In addition to the difference in release times, whey and casein contain different types of amino acids.

Since whey and casein have different amino acid profiles and provide nutrients to the body at different rates, consuming the two proteins together can provide a more balanced serving of nutrients over a longer period of time. While whey helps the body by triggering protein production, casein helps by keeping proteins from breaking down excessively. Taken together, the two proteins amplify your protein intake and the availability of specific amino acids both for immediate use and continuing throughout your day.

It remains inconclusive whether a high-protein diet offers weight loss benefits, with the efficacy of any specific diet largely depending on an individual's relative caloric intake and expenditure. By following a high-protein diet, such as one based on whey and casein combination drinks, you may achieve weight loss, according to a 2009 study published in the journal "Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases." As an additional benefit, the same study found that a high-protein diet may improve cholesterol levels.

The effects of whey and casein depend as much on how you take the supplements as the properties of the proteins themselves. For weight loss, Dr. Michael A. Smith advises drinking whey and casein shakes during periods of fasting, such as during the stretch between lunch and dinner or whenever you have your longest period of fasting of the day. In addition, consuming extra proteins, alone, is unlikely to affect weight loss unless you adjust your overall diet accordingly. Reduce your intake of foods with a high energy density, or foods with many calories in small volumes. Instead, round out your protein intake with fruits, vegetables and other low energy-density options.

Article reviewed by J. Betherman Last updated on: Feb 8, 2012

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Weight loss: 'I knew I had to change'

Robert Langston knew he had to change his life. He was 37, weighed 16.2 stone (103kg) and couldn’t walk down his local high street without losing his breath.

He had diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma, and knew that his poor diet and a lack of physical activity had contributed to his condition.

Robert, a painter-decorator from Walsall, Staffordshire, had been unfit to work for several years. He had been in and out of hospital with ill health.

He contacted Time to Change, an exercise advice scheme run by Walsall Council's Sport and Leisure Development Services in partnership with NHS Walsall, which he had read about. The scheme helps people raise their activity levels gradually.

He began the exercise classes that were recommended to him by Time to Change. Twelve months later, Robert has turned his life around.

He's lost more than 3 stone (20kg), improved his health and returned to full-time employment. "I wanted my life back," says Robert, now 38. "I was on heavy medication for asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure."

The fitness classes, known as PACE, involved an hour a week of circuit training, which alternates short bursts of intensive exercise with rest.

The Time to Change service also gave Robert tips on making small changes to his daily life to increase his activity levels, such as using the stairs instead of lifts and escalators.

"I went to the exercise classes once a week and slowly the weight started to come off," says Robert. "As I saw the results, I got more and more into it."

At the same time, he received advice on improving his diet from the NHS Walsall Community Health's dietitians, who were helping him with his asthma.

Within weeks of beginning his new active lifestyle, Robert's asthma improved and his better general health meant he needed less medication.

After six months, he had enough confidence to leave the scheme and go to the gym on his own. "I didn’t need the scheme any more," he says. "By that stage, I was running and generally active and ready to get back to work."

He found work as a caretaker at an infants' and nursery school. It suits his new active lifestyle perfectly as he spends most of his working day on the move.

Robert has also stuck with his healthy eating regime, eating plenty of fruit and vegetables.

"I haven't been on a crash diet or anything like that," he says. "I'm just eating the right stuff in the right quantities."

Robert found calorie counting most helpful for his weight management. "I try to make sure I'm not consuming more calories than I'm burning," he says.

Robert knows that making physical activity part of his lifestyle has been the key to getting healthy and staying in good shape. He has now turned his garage into a gym with a treadmill, a rowing machine and a weights bench.

"It's never too late to turn your health around," says Robert. "I was in pretty bad shape before I decided I wanted to change."

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