As we are getting into the New Year, I want to write about choosing the right program for you. As you all know I had bariatric surgery last year to lose weight for my health conditions. I still use the Lose It app to journal all of my food that goes into my mouth and all of the activity I do. I list housework, small walks with the dog, bowling, swimming, etc. The app is free to use although I paid for a year so I could use the journal ahead feature and set my specific macro goals and get some extra data. I do not use the social message boards on Lose It, but am a part of the Facebook Bariatric Weight loss group where I had my surgery. I use this to check in, get advise, get motivated and encouragement, etc. My goal might be very different than your goal.
I believe this is step one in this process is figuring our your goal. Is your goal to exercise more, lose weight, maintain your weight, find out if you are eating balanced meals, focus more on protein or carbs, etc? The second step is to look at the programs out there and determine which one suits you better. I believe putting some time into considering options will work better in the long run and help you be more committed. Consider making a list of what is important to you in a program. Is it the cost, the time it takes, convenience, meetings vs online, something new or different? I’m going to outline a few basic types of programs and if you want more information I would encourage you to look online, connect on social media, ask your healthcare provider, or ask people you know.
I checked in with my Bariatric Weight loss Support group and many of them are using the free apps such as Lose it, My Fitness Pal, and some are using Baritastic. Most of these are free apps to download, but do have an option to upgrade depending on the features you want. Many of my support group report using multiple resources. For example, one person commented she uses the Lose it app to track food, uses the Baritastic app for the social/community chat, and the Fit-bit to track activity. Some of these will even sync up together. I believe I could use a Fit-bit to sync to my Lose it app. One person mentioned what she likes about My Fitness Pal is the ability to download recipes directly from the web rather than enter every ingredient for a recipe. The Lose it app let’s me enter all of my own recipes, but does take some added time. Most people do eat the same meals consistently though so once you have them entered they are always there. The one down side for me is that sometimes you get 100 results for one food and some of the information is not accurate. You can easily get around this by looking for the green check mark that means it has been verified. I also use the scanner for most of my foods. Again, I pay for the service because I do like to journal ahead when I know I have a special event. My goals on Lose it are the ones my dietitian set for me.
Some big corporations or businesses offer weight loss or health programs within their own structure. This is also true of health insurance companies so this might be another option. I work for a large company and they offer wellness programs which include programs to lose weight or to exercise more. It’s paid for by the company. You might check into this to see what your company or health insurance can offer. Some companies also have wellness groups of people who simply come together to focus on health related goals. We have a walking club at work and another club that gets together and does Yoga. I once participated in a health program through work and I had a coach I talked to on the phone with scheduled calls. This was really helpful. Most primary care clinics also have dietitians on staff and your insurance might cover a visit to get started or set up. Your primary care clinic can also help you determine goals.
If you are looking to lose weight even if a small amount, a program like WW might be right for you, In the past I have been very successful on Weight Watchers, now WW. I loved the point system and did very well with it for many years. I struggled a bit with it when they changed the point structure a few years ago. In my personal life I’ve known many people who have done well and reached goal on this program. One of the people I am close to has lost over 80 pounds on this program in the last year. I’ve not done the program for a while, but I’m liking the advertisements about choosing the right program for you. They have options now for a few different point based systems and other ideas as well. You can also still go to meetings if connecting in person works best for you. The online feature has everything from support communities to recipes, exercise ideas, tips and tricks, and so much more. This program does have a cost so you will need to consider that when making the choice. In the end though, if you do decide to eat healthier, you may save some money and this can be used if you are interested in this concept.
I also talked with some people who have done meal replacements such as such as Medi Fast, or slim fast, etc. I have heard the recommendation is to get input from your provider before choosing this program or any program to get some guidelines. I did some meal replacements after surgery to get my protein intake up and for me I did not care for the mos of the flavors. Many people on my Bariatric support group do like the meal replacements and are using them under the advise of their dietitian. This option can be expensive, but again goes back to doing what you know will work best for you and depending on your goal of weight loss vs. just eating healthier in general. I do have some meal replacements such as dry soup packets and meal bars I use when I might be in a hurry and need some nutrition.
I’ve also met people who have been successful on other types of meal replacements such as Nutrisystem or like Jenny Craig. I thought about giving this a try if I was not able to have my surgery. I thought the pre measured food portions would work well for me until I lost enough to get used to eating smaller portions and more healthy. Some people are concerned about doing this when they cook for their family. I can say though at least for me and my family, I often eat different meals than I cook because of my surgery. It’s not as complicated as I thought. I would say though they are eating more of my meals now and doing okay with it. This is something to consider though if you feel you can cook too meals each day or if someone else could cook, etc.
When I was in my mid twenties I decided to stop trying to lose weight and I stopped weighing myself. I practiced healthier eating and tried to eat when hungry and stop when full. After 8 weeks I did weigh and had lost 16 pounds. I did maintain this for a while. I do know someone in my personal life who is doing this along with exercise and has lost some weight, but most important is overall healthier.
In conclusion I want to remind everyone that this is not a thorough review of all that is out these days. This also reflects my opinion and those I’ve spoken to. I am not here to make specific recommendations for my readers. I want to be here to offer choices, ideas, and my support. This was meant to give you all some ideas when trying to decide what is right for you. I wish you all quite well and am looking forward to hearing what is working for you. Also if you are finding a program successful that is not mentioned here, please feel free to comment.
Mandy