Hi everyone,

I am a long time lurker who reads this site with great interest every day. I haven't posted much because I haven't really had anything of any value to say (yet!) but I could do with some advice and I know there are some VERY knowledgeable and wise people here!!

So....I am getting really frustrated. When I was 18 (I'm 26 now) I lost over 40 pounds doing WW. I'm 5 ft 9 and I started at 168 pounds, got down to 123, then gained a few back just to get to a healthier level (my periods stopped etc.) Then I maintained at around 130 for about 6 years. When I was 24 I started lifting weights a lot and eating a lot of protein bars and basically eating a lot MORE (got a bit complacent!) and somehow over the following year or so, I managed to go back up to 158. This time last year I decided enough was enough and so, slowly, since then, I have gotten back down to 136-137-ish. I really want to get back to 130. The problem is that for the last two months, I have been seeming to maintain and over the past few weeks I have gradually (consistently) gained to now be at 139. Grr!! I am trying so hard! I'm hoping that if I post my eating and exercise habits below, some of you might be able to provide some insight into why this is/what I need to do.

OK so....on a typical day my food looks like this:

Breakfast - 2 pieces of 1 point bread with a small banana = 3 points

Lunch - 2 pieces of 1 point bread with 2 slices of low-fat cheese (half a point each) plus a bit of canned salmon (1 point) = 4 points (plus a bit of pumpkin - free).

Afternoon snack - some zero point jello plus 2 points of milk or a 2 point WW cereal bar

Dinner - a HUGE plate of veges (see below), one point of olive oil and 1 point of fish

After dinner snack - 3 points of some kind of fruit plus a 2 point glass of wine = 5 points.

Now - re: the big plate of veges at dinner time. I eat a lot of buttercup pumpkin, skin and all - I LOVE it! I eat enough of it (just done in the microwave, no oil or anything) that I know I should be counting it - I usually have a piece with my lunch (which I don't count - I figure that can definitely be part of my free vege allowance!) and then a huge hunk with my dinner (I've weighed it raw, with skin on and it usually weighs around 500 grams). I've been counting that as 2 points. I have been looking it up to see if that is accurate and as far as I can tell, 100 grams of pumpkin is around 40 cal? I've been having trouble getting accurate info on this though.

I also eat a LOT of frozen stirfry veges cooked in a pan with a teaspoon of olive oil and I have been counting the veges alone (I count the oil separately of course) as well because I am eating around, according to the bag they come in, 800 kilojoules worth of veges (which is about 190 calories).

So, I have a big plate of the (2 points?) of pumpkin and the (2 points?) of frozen veges at dinner time - I like having a big plate of veges because A) I LOVE them and B) they are so filling. And based on my calculations, I have been counting the whole plateful as 5 points including the oil).

My question is: do you think I am either under-estimating or over-estimating this 5 points?

Exercise wise, I walk (fast and up lots of hills) for 45 mins to an hour a day at least 5 times per week, plus we usually play golf once a week which is basically 4 hours of walking and carrying a mighty heavy bag!) I don't usually eat my exercise points (maybe a couple of times a week) and I probably eat between half and all of my flex points (a dinner or lunch out once a week usually but not always).

I would really appreciate any thoughts because I am working far too hard to start gaining and not know why!!!

Thanks heaps )

I'm not familiar with the Aussie/NZ program but are you getting in enough protein and where is your other dairy?

I know the US program backward and forward so I'm gonna post the points pies we have that help you divide up your points per food category....it may or may not help you:

Points Pies

Balanced (under 250 pounds)

Complex Carbs/Grain Based Foods – 8-9 points a day
Protein-rich Foods – 6-7 points a day
Fruits and Veggies – 0-3 points a day
Fats, added sugars – 2-3 points a day
Milk and Milk Products – 4-6 points a day

20-28 points a day

Higher Protein (under 250 pounds)

Complex Carbs/Grain Based Foods – 5-6 points a day
Protein-rich Foods – 9-11 points a day
Fruits and Veggies – 0-1 points a day
Fats, added sugars – 2-4 points a day
Milk and Milk Products – 4-6 points a day

20-28 points a day

Higher Carb (under 250 pounds)

Complex Carbs/Grain Based Foods – 9-10 points a day
Protein-rich Foods – 5-7 points a day
Fruits and Veggies – 1-3 points a day
Fats, added sugars – 1-2 points a day
Milk and Milk Products – 4-6 points a day

20-28 points a day

-----

Balanced (over 250 pounds)

Complex Carbs/Grain Based Foods – 11 points a day
Protein-rich Foods – 10 points a day
Fruits and Veggies – 3-4 points a day
Fats, added sugars – 2-3 points a day
Milk and Milk Products – 4-6 points a day

30-34 points a day

Higher Protein (over 250 pounds)

Complex Carbs/Grain Based Foods – 8 points a day
Protein-rich Foods – 12 points a day
Fruits and Veggies – 2-3 points a day
Fats, added sugars – 4-5 points a day
Milk and Milk Products – 4-6 points a day

30-34 points a day

Higher Carb (over 250 pounds)

Complex Carbs/Grain Based Foods – 13 points a day
Protein-rich Foods – 8 points a day
Fruits and Veggies – 2-4 points a day
Fats, added sugars – 3 points a day
Milk and Milk Products – 4-6 points a day

30-34 points a day

My other idea is maybe 130 is too low for your body to maintain without feeling like it is dieting at this 'later stage in life.' I am 5'4" and with my weight program 150 (which is higher than the highest per W/W for my height) is my goal weight and what I am maintaining at. I am a size 8 and I am happy there.

You may want to consider eating them as your body may think it is starving which is why you start to gain 'easily' because your body is holding on to each calorie and storing it.

Thanks so much Kelly! You're right, I may be a bit low on the dairy and protein (I probably should have mentioned that I don't eat red meat so that's why there is none of that!) but I'll try and increase those two groups. You may also very well be right that 130 is too low - I think I may have a bit of the old "looking in the mirror and seeing bigger than in reality" syndrome going on so maybe I should just try and be happy with what I have. I'll work on that.

However, I really would like to nip this apparent "gradual gain" thing in the bud, so I would love some input from anyone on whether I am counting correctly for the large amounts of frozen mixed veges and pumpkin. I do eat a lot of it so feel that I SHOULD count it (although I don't count the first bit of pumpkin I have). I just want to be able to eliminate the possibility that I might be gaining because I am not counting enough points for this stuff.

Thanks so much again!

Remember that 0 point veggies are always 0 no matter the quantity (will clarifiy in a minute on possible exceptions). W/W already built into the program 200-250 calories a day for this which is why when you start counting them that could be off setting thus not getting in the true amount of calories you need. The only time you really need to be concerned about the amount of veggies is if you stall in your weight loss and can't figure out why -- evaluate how much of the free veggies you eat.

You know there are other things for protein (soy burgers, tofu, veggie burgers, mock meats (Morning Star Farms is a very good brand here) to help increase your protein intake.

Thanks again Kelly ) Much appreciated!

P.S. That icon in my last post was a button I hit by mistake!!