How's CORE Workin' For Ya'?

[WWCarol]

I know a lot of people wonder if CORE really works...!

Are you losing weight on CORE?

How's it workin' for ya'?

[WWCarol]

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: I think CORE is the perfect Lifetime Maintenance program! :D No counting, weighing or measuring (except for WAPs~)

I had lost my weight easily in '01. Maintained for a year. Had a re-gain and messed with a couple of pounds for a year, or so. FINALLY decided to go back to meetings (should've thought of that sooner~ :rolleyes: ) in Jan, '04. It took me 10 months to get back to goal! :p Luckily the last 4 months I did CORE, and CORE got me there~

So....I would prefer to not have a re-gain again! ;)

And I'm hoping CORE is my answer~ :) :bcbsalute

[Sus E]

Hi Carol, and other CORE ladies....thanks for starting this forum.

I LOVE CORE> I have done CORE only since starting WW for this last time on Jan. 9. I have been losing consistently, and have had gains only when I let TOM get the best of me. I have reached my 10%, just a few days shy of 4 months on program, and I am slowly but surely returning to ONEDERLAND for the first time since before I got pregnant with my 4 year old.

My favorite part of CORE is eating healthy foods, and snacking on fruit. I don't usually have trouble eating out, I love salads at restraunts, and use my WPAs for the full-fat dressings, since I HATE FF ones. :) I've learned to love Whole Wheat pasta, and I love that potatoes (sweet and white) are both core, cuz I love em!

I tell people all of the time how wonderful CORE is, and esp. for those who want to destroy pounds but are hesitant to get into counting points, etc, I think CORE is ideal.

(and no, I don't work for WW---even though this sounds like a commercial!)

[jillwbee]

I was doing flex and hit a plateau that got me down last year so I switched to Atkins. That was right before Core came out and I always knew in the back of my mind that I wanted to go to that plan. I liked the low carb but the deep carb deprivation made eating a few too many carbs a disaster. Going on vacation felt like I had ruined my diet for month.

So I decided to commit to Core and started this past Monday. I think my body is probably in shock from going from such low carbs to eating more normally. I am loving adding fruits and whole grains to my diet. Yeah, I miss butter and skin on my chicken a little, but getting a potato or corn sometimes is a great trade-off!

I already was doing daily exercise so I am good with that. I am a terrible scale-a-holic and I haven't lost anything yet. I read somewhere that moving off Atkins and adding carbs usually causes weight gain, so I am going to try to be patient for the scale to move down. I am charting my calories on FitDay just to make sure I am staying in a reasonable range to start and I am not having any problem eating a reasonable amount a day.

My husband has been much more successful on WW since he changed to Core. He is a big guy and was probably overeating his points on flex. With Core I am happy to see him make some oatmeal, have fruit or even have a cold piece of chicken breast rather than eating a bunch of rice cakes when he is hungry.

I am so glad to see this forum. This board has been tremendously helpful to me to get ideas for food and general inspiration. Thank you so much!!!

[luv2lose]

I am also maintaining on Core! I can easily see myself following the core plan for the rest of my life with no problems.

[sodacracker]

I am looking forward to maintaining on CORE. I like not tracking ( although I am doing a sort of Core/Flex where I measure food because my fullness gauge is wobbly).

[KGAAVB]

I love CORE.. workin like a charm.. went to flex the past two weeks.. and i gained... back to core..and working it..

[AdamandEve]

I was a die hard flex girl but also needed to shake up my routine so I decided to give core a try. The first week was a disaster and I said, "I can't do this". I then heard my ww neighbor going over how she switched over to core and I thought, "well if she can do it, so can I. I've just been looking at this all wrong". After that it has been easy. I have had my speed bumps - TOM, dinner at in laws but I am in week 6 and am averaging a 1.68 pound loss a week. I am very happy with the program and like someone else posted. I can see myself doing this for the rest of my life.


E

[wwbabe]

I really do love Core. I took a short vacation from it several months ago to try South Beach - what a disaster! I've been back for a while, and I'm back for good!

Just a side note: I keep hearing that Core will not work if you overeat. Well let me share my experience. I've been under incredible stress at work which came to a head this past month. It was awful; something I've never experienced in my life (I won't bore you with the details). So one week...I ate, and ate and then ate some more. I swear my mouth was CHEWING ALL DAY LONG for almost a full week- NO EXAGGERATION. I felt for sure I'd gain weight and was in a panic. But I lost 2.5 pounds!

Here is my reasoning for the loss: Even though I clearly overate, I was still on Core eating low caloric density foods. I'd pop up a big bag of micro 94% fat free popcorn and nosh all day, along with fruit and other Core foods. When I did "indulge" I was accountable for all my points - using all my activity points, but sometimes not even using all my weekly points.

So even though I clearly overate I still lost weight. I can't guarantee this will happen to everyone, and I can't say that EATING is the most psychologically healthy way to deal with stress, but this was my experience. I could have easily gained on any other program.

I am so grateful for Core. It even sees you through the rough times!

[Lulu_CT]

I was maintaining a 50-pound loss when Core was introduced. Tired of counting points for every morsel that went into my mouth, I jumped on the Core bandwagon the very day it was introduced at my meeting. I maintained on Core for 14 months, loving the freedom and variety that came with the plan. For some reason, I decided to switch back to Flex for maintenance, which I did for over a year. After some time being back on Flex, I found myself eating when I wasn't hungry, using up my points simply because they "were there." Well, enough was enough, and I've been back on Core maintenance for 2 months, with no plans of returning to Flex. Nothing inherently wrong with Flex, but I find it much easier to "get lazy" about healthy eating on Flex than on Core. Plus, I am able to enjoy holidays, restaurant foods, and parties much more easily on Core.

[designsbybriana]

I'm new to core too. I've gotten to goal before on Flex but maintaining was awful. Luckily I got preggo right before I was ready to pay again.

This time I needed a true kick in the butt. Ds is 7 weeks old and I decided to go back and do core.

I have always been soooo scared of core. I've never been a huge 'meat' eating fan, loving pasta, etc. The other side of me had an awful affair with sugars and starches which made me CONSTANTLY hungry.

Since starting core a week ago I can finally tell myself, yep, your full. Stop eating. That never happened on flex.

On core I cook a LOT more to find things I like to eat, but I enjoy cooking so it's actually been a lot of fun and I've found some AWESOME recipes (see blog below if interested in some).

Can I see myself doing core for a long time? Yes. I love how it incorporates a ton of fruits and veggies. I've been trying to find little dips to dip them in that are core too and that has been fun.

Good luck. I"ll be right there with you hoping that this works out. I'm pretty sure I've lost some weight already but last Thursday was my first weigh in and my scale (the same day) decided it needs new batteries and I haven't found the time to run out and get some.

[designsbybriana]

LuLu - your before and after photos are amazing. Great job with the weight loss!!

[pennymca13]

Wow, Lulu! Like I've said before...seeing those before and after pics are like watching beautiful butterflies emerge from their chrysalis/cocoon!

[wendogirl]

I'm a recent CORE convert. I had tried CORE for a week back in the summer, but it was a disaster and I ran screaming back to FLEX. I spent the last couple of months filling up on sugar-laden starchy foods, obsessing over points and wondering what was wrong with me because I was always hungry.

The last weekend of September, I came here and read almost every thread on the CORE board, it really helped to change my mind-set.

I've been on CORE since October 1, 2006, and I've lost 4 pounds. It may not sound like much, but I finally feel like I'm eating naturally, in tune with my body.

I'm loving CORE!

Rhonda

[Katie-la]

I've only been doing Core a week and a half, but I love it so far! I lost 4.6 lbs my first weigh-in! I much prefer it to Flex. I'm a volume eater, so on Flex I was always nervous that I would eat all my points for the day and still be hungry. And I was, a lot of the time! Now I can really fill up on veggies and fruit and whole grains and lean meat, and not feel like every bite is "costing" me something.

Yesterday we spent a whole day wandering around New Hope, PA, a lovely little town with lots of shops and restaurants! For lunch I had guacamole and a few corn chips, and a large salad with seared tuna. For dinner I had scallops with couscous, lobster and jicama salad -- all core! I just used WPAs for the chips, a glass of wine, a few chocolates, a beer . .. I didn't feel deprived at all. Yay core!

[MommyJenny]

I've now been on Core for three months and it's the best thing I've ever done for my body! Once I learned the guidelines, it was surprisingly simple. I lose weight, I'm never starving, and I FEEL GREAT! I love Core food. It's just so yummy. This morning I made my family pumpkin pancakes and lean ham steaks... mmm good! Dinner this evening is pork chops, apples, and sauerkraut. I've lost over 30 lbs. and feel really healthy. Even my cycles have returned to normal, thanks in part to Core.

Core ROCKS!

[pyccku]

I love it! When I wasn't doing meetings, I wasn't accountable enough and Core didn't work for me. Too easy to cheat...

But I signed up for meetings 3 weeks ago - tomorrow will be my 4th WI. I was down a total of 4.2 pounds last week.

I love that I can eat when I'm hungry - fruits, vegetables, skim milk, etc. I don't have to worry about saving up points for dinnertime! I have stuck to core and use my WPAs for little things - 2 slices of light bread, or a tortilla, or a Skinny Cow. But 95% of what I eat is pure core, and definitely satisfying!

I'm curious to see how WI tomorrow will be. We went to Vegas Thursday/Friday and I used lots of WPAs at the buffet - filled up on core, but then tried a little bit of the different pastries. I was hoping to maintain this week, but my home scale actually showed a loss of .5 pound as of this morning! And even with the buffets, I still have 15 WPAs left!

[Jessekuhs]

I've been on Core for about a month now. The first week I maintained, the second week I was bloated, but the last 2 weeks I've had a total loss of 7.5 lbs.

I'm not undereating...and I don't have the munchies much at all. I have even resisted the urge on several occasions to buy candy corn - which is really hard right now with it stocked in EVERY store.

It might not work for everyone, but it is certainly working for me!

[wwlynn]

Wow, this is an OLD thread made NEW again! After a lifetime of "diets" that didn't work for me...didn't cure my food problems...Core is working for me PERFECTLY!!!! Has been since June 2005 (when this thread was young but I wasn't here yet!)...maintaining with the greatest of ease since August 2005...and core will keep working perfectly for me for the rest of my life!

[dmarkey]

I tried Core a while back when my eating was OUT OF CONTROL. I liked the Core foods, but went overboard on portions. Needless to say, that didn't work very well.

After that, I ate whatever I wanted for a while and gained quite a bit of weight. Then on the 1st of this year, I got back on Flex. I did pretty well on Flex for several months. Then, I just felt like I wanted something different - so I decided to go on Core.

This time on Core is really different for me. I am eating reasonable portions and am releasing weight. I love the variety of foods and not having to figure out points in a for portion. I'm doing a much better job of getting in my 2 healthy oils (for some reason, that was a real struggle on Flex for me.)

I am really enjoying Core. And, I like knowing that Flex is an option for me any time I decide to use it. That is the best of both worlds.

Diane

[WWCarol]

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: I think CORE is the perfect Lifetime Maintenance program! :D No counting, weighing or measuring (except for WAPs~)

I had lost my weight easily in '01. Maintained for a year. Had a re-gain and messed with a couple of pounds for a year, or so. FINALLY decided to go back to meetings (should've thought of that sooner~ :rolleyes: ) in Jan, '04. It took me 10 months to get back to goal! :p Luckily the last 4 months I did CORE, and CORE got me there~

So....I would prefer to not have a re-gain again! ;)

And I'm hoping CORE is my answer~ :) :bcbsalute

Core has been my "answer" for maintenance since November, '04. I wrote the above post 15 months ago...it's still working-like-a-breeze! :bcbsalute

[ChitChat]

Well its only my second week...but I love Core for maintaining!!! It's been great for me!!!!

[verngator1]

Just lovin' Core...

I've done exchanges and I've done points. (Yes, I'm old! :) ) Lost weight, but always gained it back because I never found all that counting sustainable.

Read this board like CRAZY before joining WW for the last time on 7/3/06. I am completing my 15th week on Core. Not counting tonight's WI, I've lost 32 lbs.

At first I was VERY nervous about weigh ins and had a difficult time trusting that the program. How could I possibly lose weight eating great food to "satisfaction"? Now I just trust that the "Core Magic" works.