August 2006 Weddings
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
soprano
Hi! Saw your (#) posts and had a question for you...I've done WW in the past (and failed); I did the online Flex plan. I've been curious about Core and how it differs from Flex, but I'm not sure I'm getting the gist of it. Can you explain what it is?
Thanks!
In case you're wondering where everyone went: http://pandce.proboards.com/index.cgi
Re: soprano
Hey zelda,
I failed on flex myself. Well, not entirely true -- I lost almost 20 pounds on Flex, but I didn't make a fundamental change to my eating habits, so when I stopped counting, I started gaining. When I'd count, I'd lose, when I wouldn't, I'd gain.
It really clicked for me when I went on Core. I was able to lose the remainder of the weight I had wanted to lose, and I maintained for almost three years.
The Core program is, essentially, that you have a list of Core foods, from which you can eat anything you want, to the point of satisfaction. This is a key element that a lot of people forget. For things not on the list, you get the 35 WPA, just like you had on Flex. I use mine for things like wine and cheese
You also get Activity Points, wihch you can use for non-Core items as well.
Another key element is the Eight Good Health Guidelines. They had these on Flex, but they are rarely stressed in the online programs; I just happened to fall in with a group of gals who were actively following them. When I started, it made a huge difference.
When I heard about flex, I thought it sounded wildly restrictive. "What?! A list of foods I can't eat!?" But in truth, it's a very generous list of foods you can eat. For example, last night, we had a great dinner of grilled chicken, grilled squash, couscous, and a spinach salad with walnuts, apples, and homemade vinaigrette. The only thing I had to count points for was the walnuts (and the pinot noir ;-))
It's essentially a list of lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, and veggies. They have certain things that are limited to one per day b/c of low glycemic index, such as potatoes, but really, who needs two potatoes a day? You can have whole wheat pasta, which is a bit of an adjustment, but not a huge one.
I think it's a fantastic program. If nothing else, it's a great way to eat. Its focus is on whole foods and little processed food. They have a lot of things premade that are classified as Core, like Amy's soups, for when you are in a hurry. It's more of a challenge when you go out to eat, but that's always true. Overall, I think it's a much better program than Flex. I would make bargains on flex all the time "I'll eat a salad with no protein so I can have two beers! And i'm within my points, yay!" :-P With Core, there's not a lot of bargaining -- you just eat well. I made a fundamental change in how I ate on a daily basis, and it made losing relatively easy, as compared with Flex.
They are apparently about to change the programs, but I don't think they'd get rid of Core. Feel free to page me with other questions! THe Core Board on the WW boards is a decent place to start, although there are lots of Core Nazis who aren't nice to newcomers. Prob best to join a meeting, or ask me
HTH!
p.s. here are the Good Health Guidelines, which should be followed on either plan.
1. Eat at least 5 servings of vegetables and fruits each day.
2. Choose whole grain foods, such as brown rice and oats, whenever possible.
3. Include 2 servings of milk products (low-fat (1%) or fat-free) each day. If you are over 50 or a teenager, increase this to 3 servings each day.
4. Have some healthy oil (olive, canola, sunflower, safflower, or flaxseed) each day. This habit ensures that you get the essential fatty acids and vitamin E that your body needs. Use the oil on salads, in cooking, or as an ingredient in a mixed dish. WW recommends 2 tsp per day.
5. Ensure that you are getting enough protein by choosing at least a serving or two of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dried beans, or soy products each day. many milk products are also good sources of protein.
6. Limit added sugar and alcohol.
7. Drink at least 6 glasses of water each day.
8. Take a multiple vitamin-mineral supplement each day.
Jaime, the points thing kinda kills me too. I know a lot of folks who had started on Flex, but have moved to Core for maintenance, and are doing great. I eat Core Sun -> Fri afternoon, and then we usually go out on Fri/Sat and I have my reward (ice cream) on Sat as well. It's very doable, esp if you are a whole foods type of person already (as in, not processed, not as in the actual store!)
Bridey, do you have any thoughts as to the prgram changes? I can't believe they would actually change Core that much. I was on when they moved from Winning Points to Flex Points, and it was essentially the same program, but made the counting easier. So many people have had successes with Core, I can't imagine they would get rid of it. <crossing fingers!>
Thanks for taking the time to provide so much information--that's very helpful to know!
It sounds like Core is probably a bette choice (for me). I did a lot of bargaining while I was on Flex, too, and that's definitely not conducive to maintenance. My chief gripe with Flex was that I felt like it was a full-time job to figure out the points value of foods. It's easier if you eat a lot of pre-packaged foods because all the nutrition info is right there on the package, but if you're cooking and eating real food, it's extremely time-consuming to get accurate information and then translate that into Points values. Sparkpeople is easier because it just deals in calories, but there's little accountability so it's easy to fall off the wagon.
I'll be very interested to hear how WW changes its system; I'm a little surprised that they're doing that, since the present system seems so successful for them (and the people who use it).
You're so welcome! It's actually great for me to spend time talking about it, because it reinforces why I love the Core program and reminds me why I'm doing this.
I totally agree. Flex practically encourages you to eat prepackaged foods b/c it's so much easier to calculate. With this, I look at my ingredient list... if it's core, I ignore it! And you quickly learn what your exceptions are... for me, I have flaxmeal and raisins in my oatmeal every morning, and I know that's 2 points. I put nuts on a salad, I have a glass of wine, I put cheese on my chili -- it's a few points each. I mostly eat Core, and I tend to eat the same non-Core foods, so it's pretty easy.