Weight Watchers-related stories
Grandma Lost 168 Lbs to Get Fit for Her Family
Lynn Haraldson-Bering once weighed a whopping 296 pounds. While she always felt like the same person inside, after years of yo-yo weight gain, she admits her body became unrecognizable. "I allowed my weight to dictate how I lived my life," she said on The Today Show.
She confessed to missing out on years of family events as she grew heavier and more ashamed of her appearance. "My daughters were in high school and I avoided many of their band concerts and games. I stopped visiting my family in other parts of the country because I didn't want them to see me so heavy." Her weight also affected her career. "I quit my job as a writer for our local newspaper because I'd grown so uncomfortable with the constant public interaction."
Click on the video below to watch Lynn share her weight loss journey. Story continues below.
She confessed to missing out on years of family events as she grew heavier and more ashamed of her appearance. "My daughters were in high school and I avoided many of their band concerts and games. I stopped visiting my family in other parts of the country because I didn't want them to see me so heavy." Her weight also affected her career. "I quit my job as a writer for our local newspaper because I'd grown so uncomfortable with the constant public interaction."
Click on the video below to watch Lynn share her weight loss journey. Story continues below.
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Caroline Freed Herself of Fast Food and Lost 145 Pounds
Diet & Weight Loss, Motivation, Success Stories
Be inspired by our That's Fit Success Stories. Then motivate others by submitting your own. Share how you've transformed your body through diet and exercise by sending us an e-mail at successstories [AT] thatsfit [DOT] com.
Name: Caroline Nittolo
Age: 35
Height: 5 feet, 2 inches
Before weight: 271
Breaking point: After my father passed away from complications from diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, I hit rock bottom, and I was still using food as comfort. I went to see the doctor, and my blood pressure was very high. For the first time, I had health issues, and it scared me. Right around that time, I had to travel for a month on business/pleasure and had to take 14 different flights. I was so mortified that the seat belts didn't fit me! The worst part of the whole experience was that most of the flight attendants automatically brought the seat belt extender to me. They knew just looking at me that I would need it. It was horrible! I knew I was big, but I tried to block out the fact that most people could see how big I really was.
Caroline Nittolo, Before
Photo: Caroline Nittolo
Name: Caroline Nittolo
Age: 35
Height: 5 feet, 2 inches
Before weight: 271
How I gained it: I have been overweight my entire life, but I gained the majority of the weight over the past five years. My dad was very sick and in the hospital for a long time, and I used food as an escape. I ate fast food three or four times a week; I was a fast food drive-thru queen! My favorite was McDonald's, but I would also go to Wendy's and Burger King. I always felt happy while I was eating the food, but I would feel guilty when I finished.
I never got out of the car, thinking that no one would see how big I was if I used the drive-thru. I ordered super-sized meals, but drank a Diet Coke with them, kidding myself that would make a difference. I do miss Ronald, Wendy, and the King, but they were no friends of mine. They were my worst enemy.
I never got out of the car, thinking that no one would see how big I was if I used the drive-thru. I ordered super-sized meals, but drank a Diet Coke with them, kidding myself that would make a difference. I do miss Ronald, Wendy, and the King, but they were no friends of mine. They were my worst enemy.
Breaking point: After my father passed away from complications from diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, I hit rock bottom, and I was still using food as comfort. I went to see the doctor, and my blood pressure was very high. For the first time, I had health issues, and it scared me. Right around that time, I had to travel for a month on business/pleasure and had to take 14 different flights. I was so mortified that the seat belts didn't fit me! The worst part of the whole experience was that most of the flight attendants automatically brought the seat belt extender to me. They knew just looking at me that I would need it. It was horrible! I knew I was big, but I tried to block out the fact that most people could see how big I really was.
Tricks to Avoid Halloween Candy
Diet & Weight Loss, Motivation
photo: freeloosedirt, Flickr
1. Give the treat of healthier snacks.
The grocery shelves are crammed with 100-calorie snack packs that are healthier options than candy. Snacks like pretzels, roasted nuts and baked chips and crackers are better options than some candies, and if you indulge in a pack, too, you can do it guilt-free.
2. Recognize your intent.
"Sometimes it's not the candy we want at all; we are just craving a particular feeling, like comfort or excitement," said Pam Wood, a Weight Watchers meeting leader in Austin, Texas. "We need to ask ourselves, 'What is it that I really want to satisfy: the craving for the candy or the craving to feel fabulous?'" If it's the latter, she advises that you say "no" to the candy and determine the best way to satisfy your true desires. If it is candy, go ahead and have a small piece to satisfy the craving.
Woman Loses 180 Lbs, Gains a Boyfriend
Kate Wellstead, before her weight loss. Peter Willows, BNPS.co.uk
For most girls, those years are filled with proms, dates and first kisses, but not for Wellstead, who shares that because she was overweight, the only time she got asked out on a date was as a joke. Not only did the extreme weight encourage abuse from bullies, Wellstead developed a severe asthma condition that left her struggling to breathe after just a short walk to school. In desperate attempts to get well, she tried a number of diets, medical treatments and even hypnosis, but nothing worked.
President Clinton and Others Discuss Keeping Families Fit and Healthy
Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Motivation
Photo: Roger Kisby, Getty Images
Proud Harlem community advocate President Bill Clinton himself kicked off the afternoon's panel discussion by noting that the American Medical Association now says that we can no longer refer to Type 2 diabetes as adult-onset diabetes because so many children today have it. Indeed, 1 in 3 children qualifies as obese. "This is a big, big deal to all of us," he said. "As taxpayers, we put $147 billion a year toward the growing problem. From that standpoint, it affects each of us, even the skinniest person in this room."
The message of the day, however, was positive change, and President Clinton was joined by New York City Council speaker Christine Quinn, who not only talked with pride about how -- thanks to the council's work -- city Greenmarkets are now able to accept food stamps, but also announced a pending bill designed to give people more access to fresh foods by re-zoning certain neighborhoods to make room for more supermarkets.
"Health happens in the small decisions you make every day," said Weight Watchers CEO David Kirchhoff by way of introducing the day's panelists -- Rachael Ray, Mehmet Oz, Allan Houston and moderator Tara Parker-Pope of The New York Times. In that spirit, after the jump, we've included a few key tips and pointers from each speaker for what you can easily do -- today -- to help keep your family exercising and eating healthy.
Successful Dieters Do It Solo
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Spend any time watching cable TV and the hoards of dieting commercials you see might convince you that there's no way you can possibly lose weight unless you sign up with Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig or another major franchise. But if you ask Consumer Reports, this is absolutely not true -- the majority of successful losers lost weight on their own, without help. The good news? There's no need to spend a bunch of money on weight loss gimmicks that evidently don't work. The bad news? If gimmicks don't work, that means that in order to lose weight, you've got to do it the hard way -- with good old healthy eating and exercise. Bummer, eh?
Want to know what works in weight loss? Check out the six habits of successful losers.
via Calorie Lab
Weight Watcher's Latest - Momentum
Diet & Weight Loss, Reviews & Products
Capitalizing on New Year's weight loss resolutions, Weight Watchers recently unveiled their newest weight loss plan: Momentum.Momentum marries Weight Watcher's popular Core plan, which lets you eat as much food as you want off lists of filling but low-cal foods, and their Flex plan, which gives each food a point value. The new plan focuses on "filling foods" that will help you feel satisfied and resist temptation.
Momentum curiously doesn't depend much on protein to keep a dieter full, requiring only one to two servings a day, and instead seems to be depending more on volume and fiber. I don't know about you, but protein keeps me full longer than just about anything else.
Weight Watchers never worked for me, but if you need help with portion control and food choices, it is a solid program. What do you think about their new program?
Weight Loss Groups - Not Just For Women Anymore
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Imagine being the only guy in a weight loss group filled with dozens of women. I'm no guy, but I imagine it would be pretty daunting ... and a bit humiliating. Weight Watchers wants to change the women-only stigma surrounding the industry of weight loss -- in the new year, they're launching men-only slimming classes. According to Mads Ryder, Vice President of Weight Watchers UK, "Worrying about your weight is still largely seen as a female issue and it can be very difficult for a man to admit he has a problem and seek help. Our research shows that many men feel intimidated by the traditional female-dominated meeting room environment which is why we are trialling our Men Only meetings in venues men are familiar with, such as gyms and sports clubs."
It's so true, huh? Weight loss is seen primarily as a female issue, but we all know it's not. All the same, I have trouble picturing a room full of men discussing their cellulite, love of ice cream, emotional eating and so on. Will men-only groups help? Or is a man's reluctance to seek help with weight loss a different issue?
Tina Fey Slimmed with Weight Watchers
As one of the hottest stars in America right now, Tina Fey has every right to feel good about herself, but the petite comedian hasn't always been so confident. Fey, currently gracing the cover of Vanity Fair Magazine, spoke out about her body image, revealing that she started dieting after seeing herself on TV as a SNL extra seven years ago. "I was starting to look unhealthy. I looked like a behemoth, a little bit," she says. How did she slim down? Here's what Fey told Woman's Health: "When I was 29 - I am 36 now - I lost about 35 pounds. I did it through Weight Watchers. That's when I learned how to eat properly for the first time. Before, I used to be one of those people who wouldn't eat anything all day, then eat a piece of cake at 4 p.m., McDonald's at 10 p.m., and then go to bed."
Whatever she's doing is working -- she looks great! What do you think?
Dieting Diaries: Momlogic Moms test drive the hottest diets
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Losing weight is usually a concern for moms; shedding the baby weight can take months, sometimes years -- unless you're a celebrity, that is.
Over at Momlogic, some of the moms are trying to lose weight, and they're using the sort of hot Hollywood weight loss programs we're always hearing about. Jenny is trying The Zone, Julie is trying Weight Watchers, Gillian is trying a food delivery service, Jill is trying the ever-bewildering Morning Banana Diet, and Melissa (poor soul) is trying the Master Cleanse diet -- aka, the lemonade, maple syrup and cayenne pepper diet. But she doesn't mind -- she said she did it with ease before and lost 17 pounds.
Ask Fitz! Your Fitness Questions Answered - Help for lumpy, bumpy butts
Ask Fitz!, Cellulite, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness
Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answers. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.
Q. Hi Fitz, I'm a woman in my early 40s and have really let myself go over the past decade. I used to have a nice figure, but now I'm stuck with a 'lumpy bumpy butt' that is far too big. The rest of my body needs work too. I joined Weight Watchers two weeks ago, cause I saw that you wrote it was a great program. I'm down three pounds already. So, what do you advise I do to improve my backside. It's awful! Marlene
A. Hello Miss Marlene. I'm glad you sent me your question, and I'm confident I can help. There are a lot of things you can do to tighten up that tush. You've already taken the first step with Weight Watchers -- losing weight will be most important for getting rid of bulging pockets of fat.
3 tips for eating healthy in a pinch
Eating healthy; sure we'd all like to, but who the heck has the time? Grabbing an on-the-go meal is simply a much more feasible option when you're always, well, on the go. The downside of that option, however, is often times the consumption of too many calories, unhealthy fats, and fast-digesting carbs. Sounds to me like it's time to make time for eating healthy.Weight Watchers magazine offers some easy, time-saving tips for whipping up a healthy meal in a pinch. Here are a few you can use for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Breakfast Time-Saver. Hard boil five eggs on Sunday evening (they'll last one week in the fridge), and portion one-cup servings of cereal in plastic bags. Each morning, just grab an egg and a cereal bag for a fast and satisfying breakfast you can eat on the run.
7 tricks to avoid the treats
If I were granted one wish for Halloween, I'd wish all the candy would disappear on November 1. Halloween is my favorite holiday, but I hate the pile of candy that lingers past Thanksgiving. Those mini-candy bars whisper my name daily from their plastic pumpkin house.So I headed over to see what the successful pound-droppage operation, Weight Watchers, had to say on the matter. In their Halloween Help Guide, WW members offer seven tricks to avoid the treats -- here are my favorites:
- Resist the sales: Don't toss those giant five-lb bags of candy in your cart during the pre-Halloween sales. You may save $2.00 buying in bulk, but you're still walking out of the store with 10 lbs of sugar and a likely pile of leftovers. Spend more and you'll gain less.
- Buy candy you don't like: Circus peanuts make me gag, how about you?
- Buy late, open later: Even though offerings are slim, you'll stay thinner if you shop for candy a few days before Halloween, then refrain from opening 'til the doorbell chimes.
- Walk with a hot drink and a full belly: Trick-or-treat with your kids on a full stomach and bring along a mug of hot tea or coffee. You're less likely to skim off the top or yell "Trick or treat!" yourself.
My past tricks include donating most of my kids' haul to my husband's co-workers. I've also made October a personal no-candy month, which is rough, but it worked. Any tricks you'd like to share? 
Should you join Weight Watchers or the gym?
If you were an overweight woman and had to pick just one, would you prefer Weight Watchers or a gym membership to improve your health? The answer isn't exactly simple.A recently published study using the Bod Pod, a sophisticated measure of body composition, found there are pros and cons of both programs. Here are highlights to consider:
- Participants sticking with Weight Watchers for 12 weeks lost an average five percent of body weight (nine lbs), however body fat percentages did not improve at all because they lost more lean tissue than actual body fat.
- Body composition is more important than what you weigh, stated the lead researcher -- losing lean tissue often slows metabolism.
- The fitness center group hardly lost any weight, but they lost a bunch of abdominal fat around vital organs. Skinnier organ jeans likely lessen the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Most of the Weight Watchers folks stayed the course for 12 weeks, while many fitness center participants quit.
Ask Fitz! Your Fitness Questions Answered -- Weight loss on a busy schedule
Ask Fitz!, Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.
Q. Dear Fitz, My mom has learned that if she doesn't get healthier, she'll get diabetes! She wants to lose weight and all that, but her job has her up all night! She has to get some sleep during the day. Are there any really good exercises you can do in a chair, or ones that aren't too tiring for the days? Please help! Jerry
Hi Jerry. What a thoughtful child you are! You're concerned for your mother and you have great reason to be. Diabetes is a very serious disease, and if she has the opportunity to avoid it, she should. The night shift sounds difficult, but to be honest ... so is the day shift. Mom just sleeps and works at opposite times than you do.
