Hi Kathy .. Welcome to 3FC.
You've already learned the first thing about losing weight - our bodies are not machines and they don't lose weight on demand. There are so many things that can influence your weight, aside from just calories. It's not just how much you eat, but it's WHAT you eat. Did you eat a lot of salty foods that first week? Then you probably retained water. Did you exercise a lot? You might have retained water. Water retention and bloating is a big thing when you're on a diet - changes in diet cause cause it, and it will affect your scale. You might still be losing fat, and yet gain "weight" from water.
Next thing: Conventional wisdom says you should expect to lose no more than 1% of your bodyweight per week, to be healthy. For you at 239, that might be 2.3 lbs per week ... *if* ... and here's the big if ... if you're right on plan, if you don't eat salty foods, if you aren't on your period, if the barometric pressure isn't dropping, if you weigh the same time of day every day wearing the same clothes, if ... if ... if.
See what I"m saying?
This is something that you have to commit to for the long haul. I've lost 72 lbs. It's taken me 18 months to do it. Others have lost 2x as much as I have in 1/2 the time. Why? I dunno. Maybe they have been stricter than I have. Maybe they're younger or more athletic than I am. Maybe the fact that I live close to sea level has something to do with it!
But you know what - I've still lost SEVENTY TWO POUNDS. Holy crap.
Most people don't see instant weight loss and they give up. They walk away. They want more more more ... now now now. But it doesn't work that way. It's slow and steady and it will come off. A pound here ... a pound there.
So for you ... 5 lbs a month is reasonable. So you need to look at what you're eating and how much exercise you're getting and see why you're not losing.
I suspect the problem here is right in your first sentence: I've been
doing my best to follow ...
on my own.
Many of the plans that require you to follow their eating schedule (whether it's WW core/flex or South Beach or whatever) require to to FOLLOW THEIR PLAN. Not "do your best". You have to follow the plan as laid out or you'll be eating more calories than you should to lose weight. If you can't get the full details of the plan, then you're probably missing something crucial that is causing you to stall here.
I would suggest that you start with a food journal. Before you try to follow any plan or thing about losing any more ... start writing down everything you eat. And I mean everything. If you taste what you're cooking, write it down. If you eat the crusts off your kids pb&j sandwiches, write it down. If you have a single bite of a cookie, write it down. Do this for a few days - or preferably a week - and see where you're getting your extra calories from.
That will help open your eyes to what you're eating and how often. Then you can start figuring out what plan would work best for you - whether it's continuing with WW or moving to calorie counting, or whatever.
YOu can do this - we all can. It's just learning how our bodies work and making the right adjustments. And we're all different, so it just does'nt work exactly the same for anyone.
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