[8mickey2]

The scale isn't moving. Period. My WI this week at WW was extremely disappointing: down .6, but only because I wore the lightest clothing possible (luckily it was a 42 degree day in C-town).

So I decided to analyze and scrutinize all that I've been doing. Have I been taking my vitamins? Check. Drinking my water? Check. Exercising? At least three times a week, sometimes more.

Next, I thought about what I'm eating, and whether I might be miscalculating my points here or there. But alas, I'm eating plenty of veggies, getting my lean proteins, having my recommended servings of oils (i'm an olive oil fiend). No huge, glaring mistakes that I could easily point to and say "Ohhhhh, if I change THIS the weight will start coming off again!". Thinking about it a little more, however, I had a eureka moment: I'm eating very little throughout the day, and a huge dinner. Granted I never skip breakfast and lunch, but by the time dinner rolls around I have only usually eaten 10-12 of my 31 daily points.

So I'm finding that I'm 1) really hungry at dinner and 2) I have TONS of points to try to cram into one meal. Eating 20ish points can be very difficult if you're trying to stick within the healthy guidelines. So usually I end up totally stuffed and uncomfortable from all the stuff I woof down for dinner. I often feel guilty for these feeding sprees, despite the fact that I'm well within my points values for the day. For instance, last night I still had around 21 points at dinner time, so I had an Eggbeaters omelet with veggies, ham, and feta (4 points), two wheat pitas with 6 tablespoons of hummus (7 points), a bowl of Special K with 1/8 cup 1% milk (4 points), a 100 calorie Pack of Ritz crackers (2 points), and a rice cake with hot sauce (1 point) for a grand total of 18 points. I was stuffed and miserable and still had daily points to spare. This has become a nightly trend for me.

Here's where the experiment comes in: I'm going to try to do what many dietians recommend, and eat 5-6 meals per day, so I don't end up with tons of points to try to cram in at dinner. (It should also be noted that my normal dinner time is anywhere from five to nine o'clock, so I'm often eating shortly before I go to bed.) This week I am going to shoot for a 6-8 point breakfast, two or three 2 point snacks, a 6-8 point lunch, and a 10 point dinner. If this doesn't shake things up a bit for my metabolism, I don't know what will. I'll fill you in on my progress after my WI next Monday!

[pamatga]

You are beginning to "observe" how food choices affect your body, how it metabolizes food and also when and how much you eat affects your overall weight lose efforts.

You have made a HUGE discovery here and if you put into plan what you have mentioned, I am sure you will begin to see a real steady weight lose from now on!

I always said I would NEVER be one of "those" people who was eating all of these little meals through out the day but when I changed food plans, I had to do it. Guess what ? I found out that once I got over the actual mechanics of eating, what seemed constantly, I noticed that I wasn't feeling so hungry that I was having the "last supper" every night (of the week) like you have been doing up until now and I was awakening more clear eyed and alert than I ever had been.

The benefit of also eating several smaller meals is that you will be supplying your body with an even blood sugar throughout the day and you will have some ready energy for whatever physical activity you are doing as well.

I also noticed that you are eating a lot of high glycemic carbs late at night. I don't know if you know this but when you overload your body hours before you go to bed your body is having one huge blood sugar rush all the time you are sleeping. Even, if you ate the same foods but spread them out over the course of a day would be much better than eating them all at one sitting, making your feel bloated and miserable (again that is the reaction your body is giving to you about the blood sugar spike).

And, since you ate so much the night before, of course, you aren't hungry the next morning and so the cycle continues.....

You didn't mention why you are doing this either. Are you working around a work or school schedule? If so, again, eating several smaller meals (and there are many foods which are portable you can carry with) is better overall.

Tell us how the experiment goes. I am sure that you will find out your weight lose will return and be more than you would have imagined. Your stamina and your comfort level after eating will also improve.

Good luck

[Jpye]

Good luck with your experiment... but really, a .6 lb weight loss is terrific. There were many weeks that I only lost .2, .4, .6, or .8 of a pound. Look where it got me. 50 pounds gone and I am keeping it off because I lost it slowly. Don't get me wrong, I also had weeks where I lost 1-4 pounds. You just have to take it slow sweetie. =) It will come off. Best of luck.

[Schmoodle]

mickey, it's great that you're looking at things so carefully and trying to work out the best plan for you. The same thing struck me when I looked at what you had eaten for dinner - the number of starches/grains. It looks like at least 5 servings of carbs, although for the most part they are healthy carbs. I don't know anything about the points system, but is there a limit as to how many of your calories should come from carbs? On my plan I am limited to 3 servings of healthy grans/day. I would think you would want more calories coming from lean proteins and veggies/fruits than from starches. Just my 2 cents.
But jpye is right - a half pound loss is still a loss!

[Scarlett]

that sounds like a good plan, but just remember that if you stick to any plan your body will have no choice but to loose the weight eventually. Maybe if you focus more on your behavioral changes as benchmarks (ie I went the whole week staying within my points range) than the numbers on the scale it will be easier.

also eating more for breakfast will definately help because your body will have more time to burn off the calories (and your blood sugar will be more stable throughout the day causing you to have less cravings). It is better to eat a big breakfast and to stop eating 2-3 hours before you go to bed, you'll wake up very hungry and want a big breakfast.

Good luck, stay positive at least you didn't gain anything

[8mickey2]

Thank you for all of your thoughtful input! I am really working to get more protein into my diet (a la the omellet last night) so my diet is a little more balanced. I will make that an additional focus this week!