Sounds like you are an Online ETools member. Weight range 150-174# has a target point of 22 points per day with 35 extra points (Flex Points)a week to use through the week if you need them. I find I use some of my Flex Points each week--especially handy when eating out. Good luck on your weight loss journey!! Susy

Here is the link to Dottie's Weight Loss Zone. She has lot's of recipes and can probably send you on to others. Dody Here is a link that might be useful: Dottie's Weight Loss Zone

I agree Kathy. It is a proven fact that those who get regular weigh in's that they're held accountable for, and who spend a little more $$ to go to the meetings do much better. The fact that those who stop ANY diet plan and try to do it on their own and gain back all their weight PLUS some speaks volumes for this fact. My own sister is one of those people. She lost over 50#'s on WW's then decided she didn't need them anymore. Even though she was a free lifer! All you need to do to keep that entitlement is show up once a month for a meeting which is 45 minutes of your time and to stay under your goal weight (or no more than 2# over). She not only gained back the 50 pounds, she gained a few extra. Having the support of a few dozen people EACH and EVERY week, hearing their success stories, sharing recipes, sharing where to buy what 'good' foods at a great price, etc., makes a whole lot of difference. This is actually the longest I've ever kept off my weight. Why? Because #1, it did cost me $17.00 a week for 8 months to lose the weight, and #2, the continued support of everyone at the meetings. I don't go every single week, but I do know that when I do go I want to stay under my goal weight so that help enforce my healthy eating. While nobody scolds you for gaining a pound or two, you do see it recorded each time you go and it is a great feeling to know you're still under your goal, or reaching your goal whether it be a tenth of a pound or two pounds a week. And even those people who gain a pound or two get a pat on the back because we encourage them to make a few changes the next week by sometimes just adding more water to your diet and 'flushing' out the weight. Simple things like that. I am also lucky in that I have found the best WW's meetings in Calgary. I hear of so many people complaining about the team leaders and how boring their meetings are. Our team leader could be a stand up comedian. She is so funny that you want to go every week to watch her facial expressions as she tells yet another husband story, or kid story. And to just hear her stories, she's so funny yet so full of information. Everyone who works for WW has been through the program too, so they know what we're going through. Anyways............ unless you've been there and done that, you can't say for sure that 'save your money and do it on your own' works. It doesn't for most people. If it did, weight loss programs wouldn't exist.

I wish just once I could experience that dieter's "high". Seriously. I just recently came off a 3.5 year quest for weight loss and extreme fitness. During this time, I trained for and completed a 5-day bicycle trip averaging 100 miles per day, a half-marathon (I don't like running so not doing a marathon), and a summit attempt on Mt. Rainier. OK, didn't summit, long story, but made it a good way up. All of these activities required a LOT of exercise including both strength (heavy free weights), aerobic fitness, a strong core, etc. A typical week included a minimum of 15 hours of exercising to a maximum of about 30 hours, depending on how long my hikes/bikes were. I also had 70# to lose. Less weight is certainly easier to carry both on a bike and up steep mountains. Especially when you're also hauling gear. I did Weight Watchers and, after 4 months of diligence, including weighing everything and inputting it into MyFitnessPal so I was tracking calories, nutrients and points, and lost a total of 4#. I then tried a series of other plans averaging about 3 months on each plan to give it a fair go prior to switching it up. These plans including the Fuhrman Eat to Live, The Leptin, 5:2, Durkan, just plain eating low-fat vegetarian/sometimes vegan meals, green smoothie fasts, low carb. You name it, I think I tried it. I felt great and could have probably done an Iron Woman competition at the fitness level I had attained. Oh, I would have been in last place but I think I could have completed one. And my attention to my diet's nutritional components also made me feel great. At the end of these 3.5 years of extreme effort and meticulousness, I lost a grand total of 15#. Before you say that I built a lot of muscle which weighs more so I must have lost a lot of inches. Well, I went down a pant size. So, no, not a big inch loss. I took a break and am having a hard time getting back on track. I miss being as fit as I was and I feel myself getting weaker and losing endurance and that bugs me a lot but that much exercise just isn't sustainable for me right now. I have too many other obligations that I was neglecting in order to work out that much. And since I worked that hard and didn't achieve my weight loss goal, I just don't know what I can do to lose the weight I still need to lose. I really don't. And it's difficult to muster the commitment to try again when nothing worked before. And, yes, I have had medical tests run. While my thyroid is on the slow side of normal, it's still in normal ranges. Consequently, everybody seems to think I'm lying about what I'm eating. Heck, I went to weighing food with a digital scale because it's more accurate than measuring spoons/cups. I'm not fudging my intake. And I don't even understand how some people can eat so much. When I eat in restaurants, a fairly rare event, I typically take half of it home for another meal later because I'm stuffed just eating the first half. Even when I was gaining, it was thus. Frustrating. Those of you who have had success, great. But don't presume that what you did works for everybody.