Does anyone have suggestions to help me lose? This is my third time trying. Everytime I think I will finally lose the weight I go over points, say I messed up, and quit. I really just need the motivation to keep going and not quit. Anyone have ideas to help me stay on program? I have been drinking water, recording points, but I can't afford attending the meetings right now. I have all the info from other times I attended meetings so it isn't like I don't know what to do. Help!!

Can you think of a reward that would motivate you? Like, something that you will do for yourself or buy for yourself if you lose a certain (small) amount of weight? Like, for your first 5 pounds, go and get a manicure or treat yourself to a new magazine or something.

Remember not to beat yourself up over mistakes. . . if you go over your point range, just get back on program the next day. . .don't let yourself give up because you have a setback. . . we all have them!!

Hang in there! Make sure you ask for support and encouragement whenever you need it!

Good luck!
Trina

a couple of things to think about when you first start..

let's say you range is 24-29 (my range) - think about how many points you ate before you started dieting.. (me.. I could easily put away 80 points! :O) Give yourself a break the first couple of weeks if you eat 40 points - that's still a huge improvement!!!

your first couple of weeks are also a learning experience - journal journal journal - not just what you ate - but how it made you feel - ie. "wow.. that 6 point lean pocket was a big waste of points" chalk it up to a learning experience and move on.

take baby steps.. you are not going to do it all at once.. and if you think you can - you will fail.
just this week - do one of the following:
eat 5 fruits/veggies everyday
or
drink your water
or
measure/weigh your food

by doing just one of these things for a WHOLE week you are not only going to see results at the scale but you are also teaching yourself a great habit. It took me a long time to work up to 93 oz of water every day - it's now a habit.

Good Luck on your journey... and beware, like any journey there will be forks in the road

Dana

I agree with all of the above suggestions, but would add a few of my own. I also have done WW several times & have given up several times. I believe you have to find the motivation inside of yourself in order to succeed, but you can also find motivators around you to keep you on track. For examples, this board & others like it are GREAT!!!!!!!!!! Anyone, such as friends or family members, that can provide encouragement would be wonderful but are usually hard to find. And another great source would be an e-mail buddy Don't let a splurge convince you to give up and quit. I always allow myself to have a dinner out on Friday or Saturday night with my BF & not count points & I still lose weight; so one (or even 2) splurges a week won't destroy your efforts.........as long as the rest of the week you stay on track!!!

Good luck to you. I'm sure you can do it

I also agree with everyone here.

You can't just say, "I'm dieting" and think it's going to work. You have to be motivated, you have to want, you have to be able to see yourself thin, you have to want it like you've never wanted anything else in your life and then you will find the motivation.

My motivation: I have tried almost every diet known to man but one thing, besides wanting to be skinny, motivated me more than anything and that was the words of a 7 year old. "Mommy, you're fat!" Boy did that hurt. It was TRUE, but it hurt! I decided then and there that I would no longer allow myself to be the way I was ANY MORE. That was 50 pounds and four months ago!!!!

You have to come to a place within your mind, body and soul and then you will find your motivation!

Good luck! Don't give up! You have to fight for anything you want in life. Fight for this !!!!

Tera

Tera, what do u eat in a normal day i have been on ww since 5/29/02 and only have lost 18lbs i feel like i am at a plateau or something and i know that some of my determination is dwindling how do i get that gunho feeling again and congrats on losing 50lbs in such a short period of time
tell me ur secrets

Marlene,

I do nothing special, REALLY. I just follow weight watchers religiously!!!!! This is something I want badly and I try to keep my 'power' in every situation. It's really hard considering McDonald's is only 3 minutes from me, there is a Dutch snack bar only 2 minutes from me and when I do groceries, there are always snack stations open. I stay focused, and when I feel tempted at the snack bars I just tell myself no and tell myself I will be grateful the next morning when I havne't gained any weight and it works for me. It's a habit now. When I walk by those snack counters and those ice cream counters, it's habit just to keep walking without even thinking now. I used to live to eat, in reality, you should only eat to live.

My typical day of points is 24-29. I never pay attention to the 24 and always make sure I don't go over 29. I never go to bed without eating at least in between my point range. Your body needs the nutrition, starving yourself is only worse in the long run. I always try to get at least 8 hours sleep. Your body rejuvenates itself during sleep and you also BURN CALORIES.

A typical menu day for me would be:

Breakfast
Fruit and Fiber cereal (7 points)
milk (1 point)

Snack
Muesli Bar (1.5 points)

Lunch
Vegetable Soup (0 points)
Salmon Wrap
2 flour tortillas (2 points)
2 thin salmon slices (1 point)
2 tbsp light cream cheese (1 point)
2 tbsp salsa (0 points)

Snack
banana (2 points)

Dinner
Shrimp/Crab Chow Mein
4 oz wheat noodles (6 points)
2 oz crabmeat (1 point)
2 oz small shrimp (1 point)
2 tbsp spicy mustard (o points)
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar (0 points)
1 tbsp soy sauce (0 points)
1 tbsp garlic powder (0 points)
1/4 cup minced onions (0 points)
Garden Salad (0 points)
Tiramisu (5 points)

Points for entire menu = 28.5

This is what I had yesterday. Almost every day of my life follows this routine, just with different food.

And I have no suggestions on how to get that gunho feeling again. All I know is when I came to the decision that I wanted to lose weight, I wanted it more than I wanted anything and so far, nothing has stopped me. I have a wonderful husband who COMPLIMENTS me religiously. Almost every day he's saying how beautiful I am and how he's proud of me. That motivates me a lot and of course every time someone sees me and can noticeably see a weight loss, the compliments they give me also makes me feel good to keep working at it. I just take those compliments with me. When I sit down to eat and I want more or I want that piece of cake or whatever, I remember those compliments and how good it made me feel and I forget all about that extra food I wanted.

Your motivation and your inspiration lies within you. You have to dig deep to find out what will keep you motivated and what weight loss will do for you. Not just physically, but also spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically. When you find the basis of that, there will be nothing to stop your power from coming out on top!

Don't give up. Some people lose weight slower than others. Your weight loss will pick up, I guarantee that. But don't get discouraged at the small milestones. See them as stepping stones and keeping working harder to step right over them.

I wish you all the success in the world!!!

Tera

i am going to take ur inspiration with me today as i plan my day i never go over my points either but always seem to eat under and i am in the 28-31 range and close to ur range by a pound
i will have
fiber cereal with skim milk and coffee for breakfast
i am having a pbj for lunch as i have an eye exam before lunch time so it is portable and will take fruit and a 2pt bar with me for a snack at work
then for a snack in the afternoon i usually have a piece of fruit or a smoothie then for dinner tonight i am making homemade chicken burgers with a salad on the side
then i ususally have a snack before bedtime some pretzels or a smart one ice cream
i also drink about 100oz of water a day
can u see where i am going wrong?
thanks so much and keep in touch please

Let's see:

Breakfast:
3/4 cups Bran Flakes or Raisin Bran = 1 point
1/2 cup 1% milk = 1 point
coffee = 0 points (without milk, without sugar)

Lunch
2 slices reduced calorie bread = 1 point
1 tbsp diet preserves = 0 points
1 tbsp peanut butter = 2 points

Snack
Banana = 2 points or
Small apple = 1 point or
Small orange = 1 point or
20 Small Grapes = 1 point
(I don't know the points for your smoothie)

Dinner
(I don't know how you are making your burger, so we will only guess at a point value)

burger = 5 points
buns = 3 points
lettuce = 0 points
tomato = 0 points
onions = 0 points
1 tbsp fat free mayo = o points
garden salad (without dressing) = 0 points

Snack
15 small pretzels = 2 points
( I don't know the points of the ice cream because they are not available here in Holland)

So on an estimated guess you will have around 17 points today. That is really not enough.

Your body needs at least 1200 calories to sustain normal body functions. I don't know your heighth, age, or activity level but I do know from the above that you are not eating enough.

When you do not properly nutrify your body, it thinks you are sick or in trouble. Therefore, what fat you do put in your body, your body will KEEP. It has to try and preserve it's functioning the only way it knows how. When you eat enough, your body doesn't need those extra so it gets rid of the fat thru other body functions and processes.

If you do not eat enough, normally you will lose weight rapidly, but soon enough, your body goes into 'starvation' mode and you will not lose anything after that. You have to supply energy to your body, and the only way is to feed it !

Your not eating over your points, or that's how it seems to me. Are you exercising? Or at least moving around somewhat thru the day to get some activity in your life?

Did you also know that caffeine is a fat burning inhibitor? It keeps your body from burning fat effeciently, or the way it's supposed to be. Try switching to decaf.

You weigh the same as a friend of mine and she complains of back pains when she tries to exercise. If you have this problem as well, try doing exercises from a seated position. As long as your are MOVING your body, it is considered EXERCISE.

I don't know your situation, so I can't really give advice on specific exercises or activities.

I know I'm not supposed to do this but I'm going to do it anyways. I can send you some of the exercises I gave to my friend for her to begin to have a more active lifestyle if you want. Just email me at gtera@xs4all and I will send them to you.

If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Tera

Gosh, what a great thread! Everyone here gave such great suggestions and inspiration. You are all wonderful!!

It's so true that you have to want it. I agree with all of the other comments made here. One thing I would add is do it before your body has such health problems that you have to do it.

I've seen people with problems that could be solved by weight loss. They come to the meetings and are literally scared because of what their doctors have told them. I don't want to be in that position.

Not just that, I want to feel good and now that I've lost weight, I feel great.

Hang in there. Just like Slimdown said, take baby steps and you'll get there.

oh my i wish u lived here in the states and i appreciate ur quick answers i never eat my points it seems and i am so afraid of eating fats i know that is my problem
i make my chicken burgers with fresh chicken ground, salt, pepper, celery,garlic and parsley mix up and fry with pam spray they are delicious and i give them 4pts i don't use a bun i either use red cal bread or i can get a hold of 1pt hamburger buns here or sometimes i don't put them on bread,.. my son loves them too
i will make a cucumber salad with them and probably cook zucchini with some olive oil and salt and pepper in the microwave
now sometimes i eat tuna for lunch or i will make a lunch meat sandwich or soup but never seem to fill full. i just had my knee replaced last summer so i have been quite sedatary and i do hate exercising i do try and do some walking and once the weather gets cooler here i know i will walk more i will email u though if u don't mind keep in touch please and please feel free to comment

TERA i have tried emailing u but it won't go out says address is in complete gtera@xs4all is what i used
if u want email me [email protected]

forgive me for my ignorance..

it's [email protected]

LOL

Marlene, I just wanted to add a comment about your being afraid of eating your points........DON'T BE!!!!!!!!!!! As was mentioned before, your body WILL go into starvation mode and you WON'T lose weight. Add a "little" fat (such as oil, butter, salad dressing, etc.) back into your points and you'll still lose weight, plus it will help keep you feeling "satisfied". Don't deprive yourself or you won't stick with the program. Think of it as a lifestyle change, not as a DIET!!!!!!!!!!!

thank you so much !!!! u know another problem i have is mental i think my mother she is always making comments on i am the only heavy one or boy u lose weight slow don't u or i hope ur sticking to it things like that make me so angry and bother me u know what i mean i am trying really hard this time and do want to succeed!!!! i thank u all for ur support and help in my eating habits i guess what i need to see is samples of what other people are eating to see where i am making mistakes.....
thanks again