Please help me figure out what I am lacking or doing wrong...
I hit a plateu.... grrrrr I didn't think it would happen this soon.
My exercise consists of 20 mins on the eliptical and 30 - 40 mins of toning with weights on Tues Thurs and Sat. 25 - 40 mins on the eliptical Mon, Wed, Fri and Sun. On Mon Tues and Thurs I usually go back to the gym and do another 15 - 20 mins on the eliptical. I have been adding different resistance levels during my eliptical only workouts.
I am doing Weight Watchers flex program. I write down everything that goes into my mouth and I am staying within my points.
The only thing I can tell I am doing differently is I am back to drinking one 44oz diet fountain Dr Pepper every other day. I used to drink them everyday, then I totally quit, and now am back to half way where I was before.
What suggestions do you have to get my weight dropping again?
Yes I am eating Flex Points, last week I ate all of them for the first time in about a month. I get 26 pts per day plus the 35 flex per week.
I have been stuck for a week. I know it doesn't seem like a long time, but I have had a few slow weeks just not a week with no loss at all.
I have been exercising since the beginning of September. I started out with about 10 mins on the eliptical and 2 sets of 10 reps on the weights. I am now doing minimum of 20 mins on the eliptical and 3 sets of 15 reps on the weights. I was able to do 40 mins on the eliptical Sunday. And like I said, 3 days a week, I go in for an extra 15 mins on the eliptical.
1 week is not really a plateau - so hang in there. I know you want the weight off faster, but the body doesn't always cooperate.
Do you also eat your activity points? You might want to start doing that as well. Do not be afraid to eat a little bit more.
I also see a *lot* of processed foods in there. Try switching at least some of your meals to say a whole grain cereal for breakfast, or eggs. And more fruits/veggies/dairy.
Last edited by fiberlover; 10-14-2008 at 01:55 PM.
It could be anything from your TOM, to something salty you ate, to the barometric pressure.
In the world of WW, 1 point = about 60 calories (on average, and things like fat counts and so forth are also taken into consideration). So if you're eating 26 points a day, you're probably eating between 1400 and 1700 calories a day. That's fine.
You ate all of your flex points, so you probably added a few extra calories that have stalled you out a bit. And your body is probably adjusting to the weight lost.
Really. Seriously. A week is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Just relax, keep doing what you're doing, and you'll see loss again.
Where are the veggies? Where's the fruit (and I'm not talking about the token apple there! )?
Beef jerkey and cheezits are NOT a healthy breakfast as well as being LOADED with sodium (yeah, there's your retained water, right there)
Nor are oreos, cheezits, and pasta bake a healthy lunch.
Yes you're staying within your points, but what you're eating is NOT healthy. It's junk, pure and simple. And if you keep eating like that, your weekly blip will turn into a long term stall ... because you're not providing your body with nutrients and so your body will start hanging on to whatever you give it in order to eke out some kind of nutrition.
I agree about trying to incorporate more nutritionally valuable type foods. The salt in the bad stuff can make you retain a lot of water which really makes a difference on the scale. Also, you have to be patient. So many weeks I stay the same weight. It can be frustrating, but if you just keep at it the weight will drop. I haven't had what I consider a plateau, but I've gone three weeks with no loss. Then I'll get a big drop which makes it all even out.
I realize I am not eating the healthiest foods. I have a large family, 4 kids and 2 adults. My food budget for each month is $300.00. It is not much for that many people. Unfortunately I do not like alot of vegetables. Lettuce has an especially pungent flavor to me. I do like some friuts, but I usually let the kids have the fruits for their lunches. Hopefully soon my husband will start earning more money so I can increase my weekly food budget to include healthier for myself, but for the time being, I have to settle for what I can afford.
I do drink 4 liter bottles of water every day to try to help with the water retention. I am on blood pressure medicine that includes a water pill, but I tend to get leg cramps if I don't drink enough water.
You'd be able to afford a whole lot more food and food that's better for you by planning and eating non-packaged items.
Seriously. There are LOTS of people here who are on a VERY strict budget and who eat quite well on that.
Do you have a wholesale store you can go to - like a Sam's Club or a Costco? That will help a lot - you can buy meat a lot cheaper than you can at the grocery store (unless you watch sales like mad).
Just as an example: A 24 oz bag of steel cut oats will cost you $3.50 and will give you 15 servings of oats (or 15 breakfasts).
Even if you'd rather go with rolled oats, a large can of Quaker oats from the grocery store will cost you about $4 and provide 25 or so servings.
Beans made with carrots and celery and other veggies mixed in can be done for less than $0.50 per serving.
A huge pot of veggie soup is filling and healthy and can be made for $6 for the whole pot.
That's just as a few examples. There are lots of people here who would be more than happy to help you plan healthy, nutritious meals on a budget. Let us know what you *do* like and will eat and we'll help you out.
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Last edited by PhotoChick; 10-14-2008 at 03:27 PM.
Whole Grains - Try to buy in bulk, you can get them from a co-op or a place like Whole Foods.
Legumes - Same, try to buy in bulk, co-op or Whole Foods.
Veggies, fruits, etc - I highly recommend asian markets, farmers markets, Costco or just shopping sales you see at a regular grocery store.
Water - Do you mean you are buying bottled water? You can also buy bottled water by the gallon cheaper but I use a water filter and drink from the tap.
-stopped eating out for lunch
-stopped buying healthy AND junk
-planned our meals and bought accordingly
We've ended up saving money, foodwise.
Regarding not liking a lot of vegetables, if you had asked me a month ago what veggies I liked, I would have listed about 3. I forced myself to try different things in different recipes and ended up liking a lot more than I thought I did. I still don't really care for eggplant, but I like way more than I did before.
I would try doing a week on Core. It shakes things up and might help you out.
Even if you are not really a veggie girl -- fruit is NOT more expensive than a 100 calorie snack pack! And you could easily replace those cheezits with whole grain toast. And the beef jerky? The sodium in beef jerky is enough to stop anyone's weight loss. How about a nice egg? OR yogurt? Some protein that isn't completely processed? And there must be some vegetables you like -- carrot sticks dipped in peanut butter?
The biggest problem with your diet is how processed everything is. Your body needs better nutrition than that...much better nutrition. You will likely eventually start losing again if the calories are low enough...but you are risking a pretty serious metabolic decline as your body sucks every ounce of nutrition out of the foods you are feeding it...remember weight loss is a LIFE LONG thing. Just dieting on junk means you will still eat junk when you reach goal weight...you need to change the way you eat and think about food or you set yourself up for regaining as soon as you quit "dieting".
I am a busy mom too...I know how hard it can be, but you can eat better than your sample day and still stay inside a budget.
i agree with a lot of posts - i think you'll be further ahead, and healthier if you eat some REAL food
so many great ideas -- one i use a lot is when chicken breasts are on sale i buy an obscene amount LOL and freeze them -- really, it's so economical!!! a chicken breast, big heap of veg of whatever's on sale that week, maybe a scoop or two of quinoa or rice etc., and you have a satisfying cheap meal !!!
i know you're sacrificing things for your family, but they need a healthy strong YOU to keep them all together
Please help me figure out what I am lacking or doing wrong...
grrrrr I didn't think it would happen this soon.
