So, I've recently restarted my WW...I was going great until about a year about (lost 50 pounds!) but then hit a plateau that lasted for months. Finally I gave up, and ended up putting back on 25 of the pounds.
To get things going, I did two weeks of WW's Fast Track program (I normally get 30 points a day.) For the past week, I've been sticking to my normal 30 points, and have used some of my flex. I've even started walking again, 30 minutes every other day. I'm not eating a lot of junk, even it it's in my point total...I've had some pretzels, and some 1pt/serving ice cream scattered over the three weeks, but not very much. I've been buying grapes and keeping them on the counter as a quick grab snack. Or making toast w/1pt bread with a hummus spread on top.
So can someone please, please, PLEASE explain to me how I have lost NOTHING??? Not one single pound...not even part of a pound...in the past three weeks?
I'm trying to turn this into a comical experience instead of a discouraging one...but still!
well, I know that must be VERY discouraging... and all I can say is that I had exactly the same WW experience, and it really WAS my fault, I just didn't know it
For example - I'd happily reach for grapes, or an apple, or some fruit of some sort and think to myself: "It's FRUIT - it's healthy!" but in fact, it was adding a lot more points than I thought. And I'd have WW bread with peanut butter - but I had NO idea that what I was spreading (which didn't look like much!) was TWO tablespoons and not one. :-/
It's really easy to eat over your calories, or points, and not notice.
Be absolutely vigilant for two weeks and see what happens. Count EVERY MORSEL, and check your portions. Then you'll know for sure if there's a problem, and you can speak to your leader - or even your doctor.
Good luck!
Heather
PS - one thing - I used to eat some 'junk' and count it - but it turned out to be too high a percentage of my points total, if you see what I mean. So - 20% of my points in fatty, sugary foods was actually NOT allowing me to lose weight, even though I appeared to be within my points total.
Last edited by HeatherAngel; 10-06-2007 at 11:21 AM.
Try increasing your exercise to every day, minimum 30 minutes a day. Also, have you thought of doing any strength training exercises? Get a set of dumbbells and do some light weight training and see if that helps. Muscle burns calories, even at rest.
It is a site that has a list of all kinds of exercise you can do with different equipment, for different muscles. It has a pull down list. You pick what muscle you want to work, ex. biceps. Then, on the other pull down, you pick which equipment you have, if any (free weights, or even none) and then click go. It will show you some exercises you can do based on what you have. Really cool!
I had the same problem and then realized I was eating half or more of my points after 6 pm. Spreading points out evenly over the day and not eating in the evening has really helped. Plus, I switched to raw veggies for grab n' go snacks instead of fruit. When I get the late night need, I have a cup(s) of herbal tea.
30 points sounds like alot honestly. I can have 25 (plus the flex of course). You probably are just not counting everything. Try journaling the exact bites of anything you put in your mouth. If you sneak a bite of the kid's chicken nuggets you need to count it.
30 points...yes, it does sound like a lot, but at 255lbs, that's how much WW says I can have. When I did the Fast Track the first two weeks, I ate between 20-23 per day, still without a loss.
exercise...trying to get more in, but it's not always possible because of events going on in my life right now. Thanks for the link kitkatbahr, I will definately check that out.
portion size/not counting everything...I don't go by serving sizes on packages (5 pretzels, etc.), I use a digital scale to measure everything out. I pack breakfast, lunch and snacks to take to work. Yes, I have been grabbing grapes, but I do count those points.
too much junk food...the points I use on that are maybe 1-2 a day, if that.
here's a day's menu:
1/2 c quick cook oats 3pts
20g raisins-1
WW yogurt-1
banana-2
1/2 c milk for coffee-1
deli turkey -3
nature's own ww bread-1
horseradish sauce-1
3 cups romaine lettuce, spinach, alfalfa sprouts and chopped broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cucumber and mushrooms-0
1/2 c black beans-2
ff vidalia onion dressing, 4T-1 (20 cals per 2T serving)
100 cal pack ff pretzels-2
4T hummus homemade hummus-3
8oz tuna steak-7
2/3c brown rice-2
1/2c steamed brussell sprouts-0
1c grapes-1
80+ oz water
So that's a total of 31 points for the day, and is very typical of my daily diet, though some days I have a 1pt serving of Blue Bunny ff/nsa ice cream. That's measured out by weight, not by scoop size.
I still have Flex Points to use as well, I generally don't use all, if I do it's normally only on one or two days, not spread over the week. Like one day this week we had pizza, so I used my FP on that.
If you are close to a weight when you reduce WW points . . .
I found it hard to lose when I was within a few pounds of a milestone where the WW points were reduced. I would have to reduce my points by a couple to avoid taking forever to lose the last five pounds in a weight range. And I had difficulty adjusting my meals once I lost the points. But that's a different story.
I found it hard to lose when I was within a few pounds of a milestone where the WW points were reduced. I would have to reduce my points by a couple to avoid taking forever to lose the last five pounds in a weight range. And I had difficulty adjusting my meals once I lost the points. But that's a different story.
I know how you feel! I am now 3.3 pounds away from the next WW milestone and my last weigh in was .9. I was wondering if I could go ahead and switch to 28 points because I wind up having extra points anyways and those points give me "permission" to binge.
Seriously, though, I wouldn't be concerned if I hadn't just started back on the program after two years of being away. I really wanted that first week big drop!
But, I'm still going...hopefully I'll see a shift next week.
This is my 3rd or 4th attempt at WW (this time is has stuck!) and each attempt I lost less in the beginning. If you are a yo-yo dieter, you will notice that it gets harder to lose those lbs.
I'm going to say something different than the other posters......is it possible that you aren't eating ENOUGH points? You aren't using many of your flex...they are there, try using them. I know with me personally, if I don't use some of my flex, I WILL NOT lose. It does not surprise me one bit that you didn't lose your first two weeks if you weren't eating your 30pts/day. If I have a really busy week and don't get much of a chance to eat, without a doubt I will have a GAIN that week. It is just how some bodies work.
Also, I didn't see any healthy oils listed in your menu...do you use them?
Thanks, mpaigew, you bring up some good points. I thought about the too low points as well. This past week and this week I'm back to the normal amount.
I do us most of my flex points but I usually only use them a couple times a week. Like on Saturday, we had Chinese (I was good about the steamed veggie dumplings, not so much for the garlic shrimp!) and the Tuesday before that, we had pizza. So I did actually end up using all my FP for the week.
Healthy oils...yes, I do use them...for that menu sample, I had olive oil in the hummus and I used it in cooking the tuna steak.
I just don't get it
Just a thought!
