28 replies to this topic

[kitschy]

I'm new to the program (one week down!) and thought I'd poll everyone here to share their best piece of advice for the JC program, or managing weight loss in general. Best tips, thoughts, suggestions? Anything is welcome!

Thanks in advance!

[Jen.M]

Welcome, kitschy! Congrats on completing your first week with the program!

For me, I think the single biggest piece of advice, or at least what's been the most eye-opening for me, is WATER! I know you hear it all over the place, but having spent a week or two drinking less water and more soda, and then going back to the more water, less soda option, I saw a VERY NOTICEABLE difference in my weight loss, in the way my body felt, everything! I know it can be hard to drink a lot of water - I get awfully bored with it sometimes myself, but there are so many options out there to flavor it up, whether it's a fresh slice of lemon or lime, or a Crystal Light packet, whatever works for you.

The other thing I would say is...stick with it and don't get discouraged if you have a rough week. I had my first gain a few weeks back and the temptation was there to give up, but I stuck with it and the next week had my best loss yet. Stay with the program - it really does work! There are SO many people here who are proof of that so...when it seems hard to stay on it, just remember the goal, and how fabulous you're going to look and feel if you skip that tempting snack and stick with it.

Hope that helps!

[I Called Jenny]

Congrats on getting through your first week!

I know you were already told this but it's so important it bears repeating - water, water, water! NOT DIET SODA!!!

If you want flavored water, fine. If you want to flavor your water with Crystal Light, lemon juice, lime juice, Mio or whatever, fine. Just drink A MINIMUM of a half gallon a day.

Get moving!

Walk, run, skip, dance, clean, jog, or any form of exercise/movement. It burns calories, helps you tone and gets your blood flowing. It also produces endorphins which will make you feel better overall.

Don't think - do!

In other words, don't re-think the program, just DO the program. If we all knew as much as as we think we do about food, we wouldn't need JC to begin with.

If you're not sure about something or you have a question, ask your JCC, ask the Dietician or ask one of us. Many of us are "old-timers" and we probably can give you an answer or make a suggestion. And if we can't answer you, we can at least point you in the right direction.

Determine your CONCRETE goals

Yes, we're all here to lose weight but why? Do you want to be healthier? Do you want to be more active? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?

The more concrete and long term your goal, the more likely you'll be able to succeed and stick to it. Write the goals down if you need to be reminded when you get discouraged.

Statistics show that people who are looking for a short term goal (losing weight for a special event, for instance, or a vacation) tend to gain the weight back more quickly and easily than people who have long term, concrete goals.

JC is NOT a diet - it's a new way of life

Of course you're going to lose weight but it's also important to really pay attention to what you're eating. You should pay more attention to portion control and the ratio of protein to dairy to carbs. It most likely will be totally different than what you've done in the past.

One of my favorite tricks is to put my food onto a plate rather than eating it out of the plastic tray. For one, it allows me to feel less like I'm eating "diet food" and also it gives me great visual cues I can use when I'm off the program.

It's also very likely that you are eating more often than you ever have. So get used to keeping your metabolism working at its best.

Don't do this alone - get support wherever you can

Support is extremely important while you're going through this process. Unfortunately, not everyone has supportive family members or friends. If that's the case, then come here and we'll support you.

Sometimes even when your family and friends are supportive, they don't necessarily "get it." We do. We've all been where you are and where you're going. So if you need to rant about problems, rave about successes or are just confused, come here. That's why we're all here for each other. And you'll find that giving support to others is almost as important and valuable as getting it. For me, I know it helps because it often makes me reinforce things I've learned.

Anyway, hope that helps. I KNOW you're going to do great!

Phyllis

[KTBug]

My advice is to never skip volumizing with lots of vegetables. They will fill you up and keep you from slipping. And,they are mostly water which is so good for you! My other advice is to brush your teeth right after eating so it sends a message "I am done". That has really helped for me in the evenings when I have historically overeaten.

[CMECRZN]

KTBug, on 10 October 2011 - 08:50 AM, said:

My advice is to never skip volumizing with lots of vegetables. They will fill you up and keep you from slipping. And,they are mostly water which is so good for you! My other advice is to brush your teeth right after eating so it sends a message "I am done". That has really helped for me in the evenings when I have historically overeaten.

Oh that is a good one! Brushing your teeth after eating!!

I would say to find something that you really enjoy doing for your exercise. My hubby and I have discovered the joys of bicycling..... out in the open air and sunshine. Especially now in the fall it is not so hot as during the summer. We did 27 miles this weekend. I am currently in the process of figuring out what my winter exercise is going to be.....

[Jen.M]

CMECRZN, on 10 October 2011 - 09:31 AM, said:

Oh that is a good one! Brushing your teeth after eating!!

I would say to find something that you really enjoy doing for your exercise. My hubby and I have discovered the joys of bicycling..... out in the open air and sunshine. Especially now in the fall it is not so hot as during the summer. We did 27 miles this weekend. I am currently in the process of figuring out what my winter exercise is going to be.....

I agree - I'm discovering now that I don't feel so weighed down by my own body all the time, I LIKE getting exercise! I've started biking as well, my husband and I enjoy it, we're looking into buying a co-pilot to put on the back of one of our bikes so that my daughter can ride with us (she's 4). I also started using the Wii Fit in the mornings to get some exercise (it's the only way I can with my schedule!)...I got kinda bored with the Wii Fit exercises and this morning I tried Gold's Gym Cardio Boxing for the first time - it's so fun! I think that's going to be my winter exercise, and I may even save up to reward myself with real boxing lessons once I get to my goal weight.

[CMECRZN]

Jen.M, on 10 October 2011 - 10:15 AM, said:

I got kinda bored with the Wii Fit exercises and this morning I tried Gold's Gym Cardio Boxing for the first time - it's so fun! I think that's going to be my winter exercise, and I may even save up to reward myself with real boxing lessons once I get to my goal weight.

Is this a Wii game? I have thought about boxing as well. A new boxing place just opened up really close to me in Sept.

[Jen.M]

CMECRZN, on 10 October 2011 - 10:18 AM, said:

Is this a Wii game? I have thought about boxing as well. A new boxing place just opened up really close to me in Sept.

Yes, it's a Wii game. Once you get through learning the basics, it has different workouts at different levels, and even tells you how many calories you burn with each one. You can choose what setting you want (forest, beach, gym) and what kind of music you want in the background. The game itself was $15 on Amazon, and for another $8, I was able to get boxing gloves that the Wiimotes fit right into, for that extra little bit of realism. So far, I love it!

[reddyrawks]

kitschy, on 10 October 2011 - 07:56 AM, said:

I'm new to the program (one week down!) and thought I'd poll everyone here to share their best piece of advice for the JC program, or managing weight loss in general. Best tips, thoughts, suggestions? Anything is welcome!

Thanks in advance!

Just gotta keep your mind in the game. If you are losing that come on the boards and let the people here help you get back on track.

[kitschy]

Thank you so much all! I just came back from my first weigh in - I was on a business trip 5 out of 7 days so I couldn't do all JC meals. Had a loss, not a huge one but I'll take it and learned a lot for this next week of travel.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom with me - I look forward to continuing to support each other on our journeys.

[Savana]

The main thing I would say is stay on plan....duhhh,right? What I mean is really make sure you are eating something every 2 to 3 hours...it really helps me a lot! If I go too long without eating I will get famished and then want to eat everything in sight!! So,that's my tip and drinks LOTS of water!! Good Luck!!

Savana

[Eane]

This is my fourth week myself and with speaking to my JCC and believe me they help greatly, I've found that if I begin to get bored with JC food, I'll eat outside the plan. See, I'm an extremely picky eater. I'd rather eat dirt than veggies (but be sure to eat them if you like them!) and I found that if I want to have a subway sandwich instead of a JC chicken sandwich (because these are the only lunch items I can stomach), I'll get a 6 in, wheat, turkey and mustard only. It's about the same as a JC meal calorie wise and it's something different for my body to process.

The thing is, you MUST MUST MUST(!!!) drink about 4 glasses of water to balance this out since it's a heavier meal than what the JC lunch items would be. You wouldn't think so, but trust me it fills me up quick. And yes, I've asked my JCC if I can substitute occasionally so I don't become bored with the food. The thing you have to remember is SMALL portions.

I'm a HUGE white rice eater. I can eat an entire box if my stomach would allow me to do so. You have to keep the non-JC foods to a tiny portion. For example (I haven't had one, but this is just an example), if you haven't eaten lunch yet, or forgot your JC meal and they have pizza, ONE slice is all you're allowed to have until 3 hours later.

So when I'm at work, I find anything JC meal-wise that doesn't need to be frozen to bring with my to work for lunch, plus my two snacks. I'm the one who HAS to have a diet coke in the morning. It's my cup of coffee in the AM and I'd rather drink some caffiene during the day then get those caffiene withdrawl headaches.

Thing is, before you put anything in your mouth (off JC if you can't help it) you have to look at it and think 'okay what is in this item? do I want to have THIS as my snack/lunch/dinner or can I hold off until the approriate time and each my actual meal?'

The key I have found is when in doubt, call your JC and ask. Especially if you're on the road and can't bring your food with you. ALWAYS ask 'can I have this and how much can I have?'

It works for me. DO, above all else, STAY on the JC plan, but if you have to go off once and a while, ASK first.

My two cents.

[mindymdc]

Great thread! This is only my 2nd week but my 3rd time on JC (1996/2005/2011). Here's the thing: It works if you work it. I'm back because I stopped "working it" after I lost the weight. I need to look at this as a way of life, not a diet. Apparently I have an enormous problem with portion control.

This time around I am putting my food on a real live plate. I can't believe the difference this makes! Sounds silly but it's true. For me it goes with the looking-at-this-as-a-way-of-life-not-a-diet thing... Eating off a plate is just a civilized way of living...eating out of plastic is a diet.

The other thing I'm going to do differently this time is utilize my JC consultant more. Previously I've just gone to my center, gotten weighed, paid for my food, and left. Yes I lost weight, but I clearly didn't learn much. Did I mention this is a way of life not a diet. So this time, when Bev asks me what I have coming up this week, I'm going to let her help me (GASP!) plan concrete strategies for getting through any obstacles, like the dinner party I'm having tomorrow night.

Super important: MOVE!!! I have turned into the laziest slug imaginable. I am starting slow with a 30 minute beginner yoga dvd and a 30 minute walk with the dogs. If I do one of these each day I'm pretty darned pleased with myself. Yesterday I did both! Felt so good I will probably do both again today. In the past I've always jumped into a ridiculous exercise regimen that I hated immediately and gave up in failure. Not this time...baby steps.

Also super important: Come here and come often. Tremendous inspiration on these boards!

And finally, I'm learning with age that I need to come first sometimes! Putting everyone and everything else first for many years has simply left me not taking ANY care of myself. I'm overweight, underjoyed, and exhausted all the time. I'm no good to anyone else this way...it's a little counterproductive to put someone else first if I'm just going to be a fat old crab about it. This isn't part of the Jenny meal plan, but it's good advice even if you're not losing weight, so take it!

Mindy

[mindymdc]

Sheesh I use a lot of emoticons! Too many teens and tweens in my house.
Mindy

[I Called Jenny]

mindymdc, on 14 October 2011 - 05:19 AM, said:

This time around I am putting my food on a real live plate. I can't believe the difference this makes! Sounds silly but it's true. For me it goes with the looking-at-this-as-a-way-of-life-not-a-diet thing... Eating off a plate is just a civilized way of living...eating out of plastic is a diet.



Mindy

Mindy, I couldn't agree with you more about putting the food on the plate. It helps your mindset of "Oh, this is diet food" and makes you feel like you're eating a proper meal of "regular" food. Plus it helps TREMENDOUSLY in getting used to visual cues so that when you're dining out or otherwise off plan, you'll know what the portion sizes are supposed to look like and you can eat accordingly.

Phyllis

P.S. Congrats on your exercise plan and have fun at your dinner party!

[Blessed4Life2]

mindymdc, on 14 October 2011 - 05:25 AM, said:

Sheesh I use a lot of emoticons! Too many teens and tweens in my house.
Mindy

Haha, dont worry.....you are not alone, I use those lil boogers in every post.....just gets your point across better when you can express yourself with emoticons

[Andjelija]

I Called Jenny, on 10 October 2011 - 08:43 AM, said:

Congrats on getting through your first week!

I know you were already told this but it's so important it bears repeating - water, water, water! NOT DIET SODA!!!

If you want flavored water, fine. If you want to flavor your water with Crystal Light, lemon juice, lime juice, Mio or whatever, fine. Just drink A MINIMUM of a half gallon a day.

Get moving!

Walk, run, skip, dance, clean, jog, or any form of exercise/movement. It burns calories, helps you tone and gets your blood flowing. It also produces endorphins which will make you feel better overall.

Don't think - do!

In other words, don't re-think the program, just DO the program. If we all knew as much as as we think we do about food, we wouldn't need JC to begin with.

If you're not sure about something or you have a question, ask your JCC, ask the Dietician or ask one of us. Many of us are "old-timers" and we probably can give you an answer or make a suggestion. And if we can't answer you, we can at least point you in the right direction.

Determine your CONCRETE goals

Yes, we're all here to lose weight but why? Do you want to be healthier? Do you want to be more active? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?

The more concrete and long term your goal, the more likely you'll be able to succeed and stick to it. Write the goals down if you need to be reminded when you get discouraged.

Statistics show that people who are looking for a short term goal (losing weight for a special event, for instance, or a vacation) tend to gain the weight back more quickly and easily than people who have long term, concrete goals.

JC is NOT a diet - it's a new way of life

Of course you're going to lose weight but it's also important to really pay attention to what you're eating. You should pay more attention to portion control and the ratio of protein to dairy to carbs. It most likely will be totally different than what you've done in the past.

One of my favorite tricks is to put my food onto a plate rather than eating it out of the plastic tray. For one, it allows me to feel less like I'm eating "diet food" and also it gives me great visual cues I can use when I'm off the program.

It's also very likely that you are eating more often than you ever have. So get used to keeping your metabolism working at its best.

Don't do this alone - get support wherever you can

Support is extremely important while you're going through this process. Unfortunately, not everyone has supportive family members or friends. If that's the case, then come here and we'll support you.

Sometimes even when your family and friends are supportive, they don't necessarily "get it." We do. We've all been where you are and where you're going. So if you need to rant about problems, rave about successes or are just confused, come here. That's why we're all here for each other. And you'll find that giving support to others is almost as important and valuable as getting it. For me, I know it helps because it often makes me reinforce things I've learned.

Anyway, hope that helps. I KNOW you're going to do great!

Phyllis

What a FANTASTIC post Phyllis, great advice. Do you work for Jenny? If not, you should
Thank you
Andj

[Andjelija]

kitschy, on 10 October 2011 - 07:56 AM, said:

I'm new to the program (one week down!) and thought I'd poll everyone here to share their best piece of advice for the JC program, or managing weight loss in general. Best tips, thoughts, suggestions? Anything is welcome!

Thanks in advance!

Welcome Kitschy. I'm new to the forums too. Thanks for starting this post it's great
Andj

[Andjelija]

Eane, on 14 October 2011 - 04:09 AM, said:

This is my fourth week myself and with speaking to my JCC and believe me they help greatly, I've found that if I begin to get bored with JC food, I'll eat outside the plan. See, I'm an extremely picky eater. I'd rather eat dirt than veggies (but be sure to eat them if you like them!) and I found that if I want to have a subway sandwich instead of a JC chicken sandwich (because these are the only lunch items I can stomach), I'll get a 6 in, wheat, turkey and mustard only. It's about the same as a JC meal calorie wise and it's something different for my body to process.

The thing is, you MUST MUST MUST(!!!) drink about 4 glasses of water to balance this out since it's a heavier meal than what the JC lunch items would be. You wouldn't think so, but trust me it fills me up quick. And yes, I've asked my JCC if I can substitute occasionally so I don't become bored with the food. The thing you have to remember is SMALL portions.

I'm a HUGE white rice eater. I can eat an entire box if my stomach would allow me to do so. You have to keep the non-JC foods to a tiny portion. For example (I haven't had one, but this is just an example), if you haven't eaten lunch yet, or forgot your JC meal and they have pizza, ONE slice is all you're allowed to have until 3 hours later.

So when I'm at work, I find anything JC meal-wise that doesn't need to be frozen to bring with my to work for lunch, plus my two snacks. I'm the one who HAS to have a diet coke in the morning. It's my cup of coffee in the AM and I'd rather drink some caffiene during the day then get those caffiene withdrawl headaches.

Thing is, before you put anything in your mouth (off JC if you can't help it) you have to look at it and think 'okay what is in this item? do I want to have THIS as my snack/lunch/dinner or can I hold off until the approriate time and each my actual meal?'

The key I have found is when in doubt, call your JC and ask. Especially if you're on the road and can't bring your food with you. ALWAYS ask 'can I have this and how much can I have?'

It works for me. DO, above all else, STAY on the JC plan, but if you have to go off once and a while, ASK first.

My two cents.

Great tips Eane, I'm into my 4th week now also, AND I hate veggies too. I'm trying to eat salad with my lunch just to get some kind of veg lol.

There are only a couple of lunches I like too so I'm hoping I don't get sick of them.
As for the frozen part, I bought myself one of those thermal lunch bags and I find as long as I eat it at lunch time the food is fine even though it's thawed

[Andjelija]

mindymdc, on 14 October 2011 - 05:19 AM, said:

Great thread! This is only my 2nd week but my 3rd time on JC (1996/2005/2011). Here's the thing: It works if you work it. I'm back because I stopped "working it" after I lost the weight. I need to look at this as a way of life, not a diet. Apparently I have an enormous problem with portion control.

This time around I am putting my food on a real live plate. I can't believe the difference this makes! Sounds silly but it's true. For me it goes with the looking-at-this-as-a-way-of-life-not-a-diet thing... Eating off a plate is just a civilized way of living...eating out of plastic is a diet.

The other thing I'm going to do differently this time is utilize my JC consultant more. Previously I've just gone to my center, gotten weighed, paid for my food, and left. Yes I lost weight, but I clearly didn't learn much. Did I mention this is a way of life not a diet. So this time, when Bev asks me what I have coming up this week, I'm going to let her help me (GASP!) plan concrete strategies for getting through any obstacles, like the dinner party I'm having tomorrow night.

Super important: MOVE!!! I have turned into the laziest slug imaginable. I am starting slow with a 30 minute beginner yoga dvd and a 30 minute walk with the dogs. If I do one of these each day I'm pretty darned pleased with myself. Yesterday I did both! Felt so good I will probably do both again today. In the past I've always jumped into a ridiculous exercise regimen that I hated immediately and gave up in failure. Not this time...baby steps.

Also super important: Come here and come often. Tremendous inspiration on these boards!

And finally, I'm learning with age that I need to come first sometimes! Putting everyone and everything else first for many years has simply left me not taking ANY care of myself. I'm overweight, underjoyed, and exhausted all the time. I'm no good to anyone else this way...it's a little counterproductive to put someone else first if I'm just going to be a fat old crab about it. This isn't part of the Jenny meal plan, but it's good advice even if you're not losing weight, so take it!

Mindy