Questions about your Core Journey

[geha]

I know that CORE has been out for a few years now but was wondering:

1. When did you first try CORE?
2. How many times did you try it and stop before you tried it and it became your way of life?
3. How much did you eventually lose and keep off on CORE
4. Will you eat this way for the rest of your life?
5. What helped you most to stay with the program when you became discouraged?
6. How did you decide to stick with CORE rather than do a nother eating program?

And...you can add in anything else you think might be of interest to us that might know the program but still struggle to stick with it.

[katelight]

Hi Cathy, great questions.
My core journey is pretty straight forward, but my WW journey is pretty curvy. I first joined WW 25years (holy cow, where did the time go) ago. Lost some, but the program was so restrictive that I couldn't do it for the long haul. I joined again after the birth of our 3rd child and was with in 10lbs of goal when I got pregnant with #4. For the next several years I bounced around with WW a few times. I've lost track of how many times. I would lose 30 to 50, get discouraged and gain it back plus some. Jump ahead 10 years.
I was really feeling content with the fact that I would always be heavy. I was confident in who I was and how I looked. UNTIL... pictures taken for our 25th wedding anniversary. That got me thinking that maybe I should do something, along with knee pain and surgery for torn cartiledge (sp) a couple years earlier. I had started thinking maybe it was time to re-join WW and a friend came into the store where I work and told my about this new no counting plan that WW had developed. I knew then and there that this was a plan I could make work and I hadn't even seen any information on it yet. A few weeks later( when there was free registration) I joined WW for the final time. I feel that Core was the perfect solution for me. When I joined I weighed 245lbs. MY heaviest ever, including 4 pregnancies. The first week I lost just a bit over 3lbs. I was a little disapointed with that, but didn't let anything discourage me. about 9 months later, I reached my Dr.'s goal of 175 and earned Lifetime statis. I reached my personal goal of 165 a few weeks later, for a total of 80lbs lost. Maintainence has proven more difficult for me than losing. I've let some old habits come back and will struggle and continue to attend meetings for the rest of my life. I still think core is the best plan WW has ever developed. It really is common sense. Focus on whole, fruits and veggies, lean protein, whole grains, and portion control. Get some exercise. When I have a couple of really good Core weeks in a row, it makes staying away from sugar and processed foods much easier.
While I was in losing mode, I never really got discouraged. My fellow WW members, and the leaders were such an encouragement to me, and I work in a very public place and received so many wonderful comliments. That helped me stay focused. Also knowing I was getting healthier day by day helped. I had been taking 4 ibuprophen every morning just to get my knees working. Now I rarely take any. My cholesterol dropped a bunch as did my triglycerides and my blood pressure is just where it needs to be. I take pride in knowing that at 46 I don't have any prescription drugs that I take. I've never been healthier in my life.
I think a big part of being able to stick to a weight loss plan is deciding that you are doing it because you love yourself, not because you feel so down about your body that you are doing it from desperation.
Sorry this is such a long post...
Katie

[chicagobeth]

This is a great subject Cathy! My weight loss struggles are a lifetime worth, and I say that at the ripe old age of 37. But I am committed to making this the last and final time to deal with it, and to be a lifetime member happily with all of its benefits! The first time I probably joined WW I was 16 years old. Being 4'11 I carry my weight all over. After I had my son in 2002 I weighed in at 192 and I was a size 20. We were living in Boston at the time and I joined LA Weight Loss and dropped 55 pounds. However, the program is very restrictive and (this is at that time, I assumed it's changed) anything you ate that was not on the food list was considered cheating. There were no allowances for eating treats, ethnic foods, etc. Needless to say, I finished the program with my final weight of 134 and a Size 10 and did not stick with their maintence program. And I didn't exercise AT ALL during that weight loss (which was stupid, since my son was taking 2 naps at the time and I could have really made it work) Shortly thereafter, we made the decision to move to Chicago. So between the stress of the move and a trip to Aruba I put 10 or so pounds on. And by the time I joined WW in September 2005 I was 160 and squeezing out of my Size 12s and into 14s. I loved the idea of the Core program and I have never felt healthier. I do feel like I will eat this way always. I lost 25 or so pounds on Core as of last summer and then really, really was stuck for about 6 months. As of February 2007, I've been counting points and eating mostly Core and I've dropped 8 pounds and I'm a half pound from goal and I'm comfortably in a Size 6 and weigh 125.6! I think for me my portion sizes were out of control so counting points, especially for meats, has been really helpful. I think I will continue to do a combination of both programs. I have been discouraged many, many times but I think just the knowledge of knowing what I was putting in my body was healthy is what kept me going. Also, I exercise a lot and I hope I can continue with that pace. That also makes a big difference in my outlook.

Cathy - you can do this. I know you can.

I hope to post some before and after photos soon!

-Beth

[vita77]

Cathy, my journey starts long before Core. I was on WW in high school, got down to 148, and then proceeded to spend the next 25 years eating my way up to 295. Getting through graduate school and establishing a career were my priorities, and I paid no attention to health & wellness.

One day nearly 4 years ago I woke up and had had enough. My then-DH had walked out after 26 years, and I was in a soul-searching mode, determined to change all the things I didn't like about my life.

I joined WW and did Flex for a year, losing 44 pounds. When Core came out, I already had some confidence about my ability to succeed this time, and decided to try it. I think I needed that first year on Flex - my eating habits were so unhealthy that I couldn't have jumped cold turkey into Core. I loved Core immediately and have never gone back to Flex. It just "felt right" from the start.

It's proved to be the godsend I need - a way for me to teach myself to eat like thin people do. I've lost another 60 pounds on Core (taking another 2 1/2 years to do it!) and am now on maintenance. I'd like to lose another 10, but I'm going to stabilize here first, and see how easy it is to maintain. I definitely will eat this way for life.

I got (and still get) discouraged sometimes. When I do, I pull out old pictures and remember the 295-pound woman who couldn't walk up a flight of steps without getting winded, and who hid her fast food addiction.

I don't think it matters at all what kind of an eating program you use, so long as it's reasonably healthy. It only matters that it allows you to break free from the diet mentality, gives you the tools you need to eat for a lifetime, and above all, allows you to enjoy your food as part of a happy life.

[girliepurple]

This is a great subject, I love reading everyone's WW stories!

I have yo-yoed with 20-25 lbs. since high school. About 5 years after high school I gained weight and lost and gained it continually for the next 20 years. Then in Sept. 2004 a friend at my company who was a WW lifetime member started the At Work program here. I was disgusted with myself yet again because I knew I had at least 20 lbs. to lose, again. I joined WW on the Flex plan because even though both plans existed, the leader seemed to stress Flex...we all know that story. I did lose 5 lbs. on Flex, took me 4 months but I had to learn so much more than portion sizes. I have always exercised in one way or another. But I had a lot of habits to change mentally. My leader here suggested I try Core when I could not get the counting points thing down, and was stressed about portion "sizes", you know a chicken breast the size of a book of cards --what?? LOL As soon as I read up on Core I knew it was for me. Our At Work program stopped in April 2005 and I joined a local center that was fairly new, and never looked back. Took me another year to get to goal and 6 weeks later Lifetime but I knew I would never quit. I even work for WW now as a receptionist. And maintaining is just as hard as losing but I will be a WW member forever! I look at "Before" pictures if I get discouraged. ;D

[ddddyyyy]

I agree with geha











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