A Little Disappointed...

Of all the things I've tried in the past in order to lose weight, the only thing that ever really worked for me was the LA Weight Loss Program. Even though with time I put all the weight back on and then some, I don't blame it on them at all. I know it's my fault for having no will power and for treating it like a diet rather than a permanent lifestyle change. However, recently I was disappointed to hear that they went bankrupt. They were bought out by another company and the name was changed to Pure Weight Loss, and now they have gone bankrupt too! I wonder why this is. A former customer said that their customer service was terrible! That left me thinking about my experience with them in the last months of the program when I started to plateu and gain some of the weight back. I'm wondering, could they be partially at fault for their clients' lack of permanent success? I never thought of them that way, but I can't help it now...

I was on LAWL back in 2000 and I regained 50 of the 65 within a few months after being on it for 2 years.  I totally blame them, knowing what I know now about dieting.  Caloric restriction creates teh yoyo effect just as much if not more so (IMHO) than falling of the wagon and willpower.

Jerseygirl, more than loss of will power, I fear the yo-yo effect. I want to try to lose the weight on my own before giving into surgery, but I'm afraid I won't be able to maintain it. I never really established the link between caloric restriction and the yo-yo effect. Knowing what you know now, what kind of insight could you give me to try to make the results more permanent without going under the knife? I want to succeed at it for good.

Mia, not everyone here agrees with me, and to each his own.  But here's my story and my philosophy.

I've dieted on and off since I was 7.  Lean line, weigh****chers, calorie counting, nutrisystem, la weight loss, jenny craig, medifast, exercise binging, and briefly as a teenager, purging.  I got to a high of 340/345 at one point.  When I was on LAWL and I went from 332 to 268 and when I could no longer lose and no longer afford the program, I gained 20lbs the first month off while still living the program offline....  My last diet was JC and Medifast, both of which took 10-14lbs off my large body...that was it. I was no longer able to lose.  At 320 I was on Medifast, eating 900-1200 calories and maintaining.  I was ready to have the VSG, but met with a trainer as a last ditch effort.  He himself had lost 180lbs and promised me he wouldn't let me have surgery.   Over the now 9 months of training, he and the staff at the gym taught me the importance of fueling your  body and letting weight loss come from exercise and over-BMR calories, and not from caloric restriction.  Technically, it is caloric restriction, but not in the truest sense of the phrase. Let's say your BMR is 2100 (like mine is presumed to be).  Just dieting would put me at 1600 calories.  But dieting teaches your body that this is all that's available...gotta adjust.  Well, after years of this, your metabolism makes itself at home here.  Unfortunately, your head and body might have other plans.  The average intake for a healthy, fit, active woman is 1800-2000 calories.  So what will happen when you go back up to where you're meant to be?  That extra 500 calories will be stored as  a lb a week or more.   So instead, by exercising, in my case 1-2 hours a day, 6 days a week, at 1000 calories burned...if I take my BMR, 2100 and add 1000, that means to maintain my weight I can eat 3100 calories.  But I want weight loss.  So instead, I subtract 300-500 calories from the 3100 and 2600 becomes my weight loss calories.  Not only am I eating more, which is like adding a log to the fire and keeping my metabolism hot, I am not  hurting my metabolism by using too low a #.  The end result, lasting weight loss. Add in that I believe most obese are insulin resistant and that low carb is necessary for weight loss, to me that's the ideal mix.  You eat fat to burn the fat, protein to build the muscle, limit carbs from being stored improperly, and give yourself a metabolic advantage over using carbohydrates as a primary fuel. Now, there is truth to the fact that there are many ways to lose weight. BTDT.  But I wanted to do what was best for my body (fitness, eliminating insulin resistance, supporting nutrition) and for my head (satiety to stay on target). It's been hard work and I think some opt to not go that route.  It's very hard to push your body and in exercise, it is about working hard.  Intensity, consistency, and frequency are key. I feel I chose what was best for me and will never have surgery or diet again.  I don't feel like I'm dieting, either. 

What I've had at the other end is an amazing journey of fitness, becoming, though still heavy, fast and strong enough that I get a lot of people who "can't do what I do." Good luck to you in your journey.

It's not a lack of will power. If it were you wouldn't have made it as far as you did on LAWL.  Nor would you be here posting thinking about getting back into it.   It's not because you're lazy either.  Is it because you overeat?  Could be.. more likely it's because of the foods you eat not fitting your digestive system and body needs.  More than likely you also have a medical condition such as insulin resistance, diabetes or a thyroid disfunction that makes it very difficult for you to lose weight.  Is it LAWL's fault?  Somewhat yes because they gave you nutritional information not knowing what problems you have medically. A friend went to LAWL and did pretty good but she hardly ate anything. Starvation/deprivation is not the right way.  Talk to your doctor, runs some blood tests and figure out if you have any endocrine related issues and then decide on what the best lifestyle change is.  My vote is cast for a low-carb diet such as Atkins or South Beach.  :)  But then I am biased.