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-   -   GARRR! Time for my Yearly Rant. (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/weight-loss-support/196063-garrr-time-my-yearly-rant.html)

PinkyPie 03-06-2010 08:37 AM

GARRR! Time for my Yearly Rant.
 
It's been nearly a year since the last time I whinged really hard about weight loss (or the lack thereof) and apparently it's that time of year again.

After this big rant, I changed a lot of things. I got serious about my Weight Watcher program, I stopped complaining about my lack of time and accepted that my life is just the way it is and I had to make it work for me. I found time to plan, prepare my food and exercise. I even started the C25K program (and finished it), getting up some mornings as early at 4am to go out and run. I incorporated exercise wherever I could. I have been very diligent with food and very concious of what I was putting into my body.

Since that famous (hahaha in my mind) rant, I have lost 17KG. That's 37½ lbs. But I haven't lost ANYTHING since middle of November. Well, actually I have, but it's been like this: up 400 gr, down 800, up 600, up 200, down 1kg, up 500, down 300. You get my drift, right?

Yes I KNOW that I have accomplished a lot. I am in a much better state than I was one year ago. I am healthier, fitter, I can even run more than 10K as just a regular workout. Me. A person who never ran before, who thought she would die when she started the C25K program.

In November I had an operation on my foot. Once I was healed I then threw out my back. Right before then, WW started a new program in the Netherlands (I got my materials the night before I threw my back out). I actually lost some weight, maybe 2KG, during this time because I was in so much pain, my body was working overtime to fight against it (really, no amount of pain killers helped, and in fact I am still in pain, but at least I can function more normally). This 2KG came back though, it only took a few weeks.

So. New program and no weight loss. I have tried several different things. The plan in a nutshell is this:
29 daily points (to be consumed fully)
49 "free" points (extras, do not have to use but can)
activity points can be earned

I have tried:
Eat all points, don't use all free points, don't use activity points
Eat all points, eat all free points, eat all activity points
depending on activity level: if none, don't eat all points (but min. 26), if activity, eat those points.

I have also tried limiting alcohol (only on weekends, no more than 3 glasses of wine, water in between), protein at every meal, limiting "bad" fats (cheese mostly, but I have dairy issues anyway).

I hope this makes sense. I just want you to know I'm ranting but I am actually trying. So the rant is this: WHY AM I NOT LOSING ANY MORE WEIGHT????

Why do people lose who clearly eat junk, drink beer, etc., and I LOSE NOTHING???

Why am I trying so hard, for NOTHING????

And just so you know, I do NOT eat junk food - it's hardly even available here. I eat fruit and veg between meals, non-fat yoghurt, cottage cheese, eggs, lean meats, use olive oil (measured), I pack my lunch every day, I get ALL my water and fruit and veg servings in. Please tell me now... what on earth do I have to do to lose the rest of the weight???

It's depressing. I don't want to weigh 82 Kilos! I want to weigh around 70 Kilos! My clothes suck and I refuse to buy new ones in this same size! But I look like a homeless person practically with what I have now! And you know what else??? I'm sick of people making comments that I'm still losing weight! Or asking me! NO I HAVEN'T LOST ANYTHING SINCE NOVEMBER so leave me alone!!! GARRR!!!!

Yes I know I should be happy about what's happening so far. But I can't take much more of this. what do I have to do?????


Thanks for listening.

stella1609 03-06-2010 09:21 AM

Well, it sounds like you've upped your exercising--have you tried taking your measurements to see if maybe you're losing inches?

PinkyPie 03-06-2010 09:38 AM

Yes, I did my measurements, no changes there either, since end of October except in my upper arms (2cm) and my upper legs (1cm). In fact, either I measured wrong, or I don't know what... but I even had a +2cm on my hips from end of Oct.

mkendrick 03-06-2010 10:14 AM

I have no experience with Weight Watchers, so the following is simply my opinion based on observations of other peoples' experience.

I have seen several people on here say that Weight Watchers helped them immensely to a point. They plateaued no matter what they did on the WW program, but finally had to switch it up to lose the rest of the weight. That's where calorie counting comes in. I imagine it would be a fairly easy transition from WW to calorie counting. You're still logging the food you eat each day. CC is just even more nitpicky. There are several free and user friendly calorie counting websites. I personally use Caloriecount.com. It's very easy to log my food each day, tag foods I eat frequently, plug in my own recipes, etc etc. Using that, I cycle my calories (1200-1400) daily so my body can't get in a metabollic routine.

You've done an awesome job with Weight Watchers, but I would personally start tracking calories. Maybe follow your regular diet for a week and record the calories just to see what you have been eating. Then lower them by 100-200 or so. See if that makes a difference over a week or two.

PinkyPie 03-06-2010 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockinrobin (Post 3187447)
Hello there. Good to hear from you. I hadn't realized you're down 37 lbs since back then. Wow!! So sorry about all the injuries and stuff. That can not be easy.



How's about lowering your points????

Another thing - I know WW allows *free* foods - but those calories can add up as well. Just wondering how much *free* foods are you eating? And for the heck of it. Have you actually sat down and figured out how many actual CALORIES you're consuming? That's sure as heck what I would do.

Seems to me like you're taking in too many calories. :shrug:

Hey Robin :) Yeah the injuries have kind of sucked. My foot is in the best shape ever though, so I'm glad I had the op. My back, yeah. I guess that's part of getting older.

As far as free foods - I remember a conversation like this long ago about free foods so I do keep an eye on fruit especially. A typical day of fruit would be:

an apple or a kiwi at/after breakfast (not both, just one)
a grapefruit or 2 mandarins after lunch
midday snack - 1 mandarin, +/-60g blueberries, +/-60g raspberries with 125g 0% greek yoghurt

"free" veggies would be:
if I have an omelete in the morning - spinach, mushrooms
lunch would include something like 2 tomatoes, red onion, a bell pepper
snacks: carrots (no more than 5 medium - I used to eat a ridiculous amount of a pound prior to the "watch your 'free' stuff conversation), celery sticks (no more than 5), maybe some cucumber slices

eggs - these are free but I've been watching them lately. Oh wait, I shouldn't say free, they are 5 points as "eat until you are satisfied". I usually have 3 medium soft boiled eggs if I eat them.

pasta - 7 points "eat until satisfied" or 4 points per 100g. I always measure pasta out for lunch, dinner is more "freestyle"

rice - same as pasta

chicken - always measured per 100g as 3 points, 5 points "eat until satisfied". again lunch is always measured

tuna, shrimp always measured and strictly pointed. 100g is usually my max.

cottage cheese, always measured and strictly pointed, 100g max in one go.

in fact pretty much everything else is strictly pointed. My dinner is normally more freestyle and I count the "eat until satisfied" points instead of weighing and measuring. I do keep a feeling out for really eating until satisfied, eating slower, chewing properly, enjoying. In the beginning "eat until satisfied" was meaning "load up until you burst". That has definitely stopped.

I think it may have also been you who told me to watch out for things like bread - I always weigh my bread as well instead of counting it per slice - since the WW program says 2 points per slice and they mean 25g; most bread slices weigh at least 30g or more!

Counting calories... yeah. I could. I don't really want to. I feel obsessive enough with WW to be totally honest. Plus I don't really know HOW to count calories here. I can't use the same online resources you guys use. We don't have the same products. I tried on Sparkpeople for a while but I had to add almost everything into my personal database. I'm not saying I won't do it, if I need to try it I will, but it feels cumbersome, obsessive and time-consuming. I guess that's why I've only ever used WW to eat right and lose weight.

PinkyPie 03-06-2010 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkendrick (Post 3187464)
I have no experience with Weight Watchers, so the following is simply my opinion based on observations of other peoples' experience.

I have seen several people on here say that Weight Watchers helped them immensely to a point. They plateaued no matter what they did on the WW program, but finally had to switch it up to lose the rest of the weight. That's where calorie counting comes in. I imagine it would be a fairly easy transition from WW to calorie counting. You're still logging the food you eat each day. CC is just even more nitpicky. There are several free and user friendly calorie counting websites. I personally use Caloriecount.com. It's very easy to log my food each day, tag foods I eat frequently, plug in my own recipes, etc etc. Using that, I cycle my calories (1200-1400) daily so my body can't get in a metabollic routine.

You've done an awesome job with Weight Watchers, but I would personally start tracking calories. Maybe follow your regular diet for a week and record the calories just to see what you have been eating. Then lower them by 100-200 or so. See if that makes a difference over a week or two.

Hey Megan, thanks for the response. I guess I should have read yours too before I responded to Robin!

I have done WW before actually. In fact I'm a lifetime member. I did lose the weight and keep it off for nearly 3 years. I had a plateau the last time too, but not corresponding with a new program. That's why I'm not sure what to do. Is it the program? is it the amount I'm eating? I just don't know. I also did some tweaking and varying so I didn't have the same thing every day. I haven't been "perfect" but that's what the extra points and activity points are for!

So I'm really not sure about calorie counting. I get really obsessed and I have been really down lately just counting points. Everything I do is about the end result. I had a nuclear melt-down last Saturday when yet again I gained weight during an absolutely STELLAR week. I just completely lost it. From the result on the SCALE. I have never lasted long at calorie counting, that's why I pretty much have only done Weight Watchers (since 1999).

So, yeah, like I said to Robin, I'm not saying I won't. If I need to do it I will, I'm just not excited about it. But I'm not excited about getting up at 4am, and I'm not always excited about preparing my lunch and snacks the night before, but I do it, because I know I need to.

PinkyPie 03-06-2010 11:06 AM

oh and I haven't lowered my points because my WW leader said at my weight and height I needed to be on 29 per day and since I haven't lost anything I haven't changed that number. I have varied the extra points and activity points like I mentioned in my original post though.

PinkyPie 03-06-2010 11:37 AM

Thanks Robin. I did actually find a Dutch calorie counting program and STILL it doesn't have what I would call the basics. I think because I already have all of my foods in my WW program the time spent doing it all over again in a calorie counting program seems like time wasted. But you are right. It's all the way I look at it.

I did a quick check just for today alone and including my dinner I'm at around 1300 calories. It's not accurate because I couldn't just put in "egg" I could only choose soft boiled or fried *sigh* Dudes I just had two eggs. They may have been "fried" but I don't know what the program thinks is "fried"! I didn't make them in a traditional fat "fried" way, KWIM? I also had 2 Wasa Original Crisp crackers for breakfast and they didn't even have those in the data base, only "crackers". Ugh. It's not the same! I had some turkey salami, they only have "salami". Turkey salami I know for a fact is less than regular salami - in calories AND fat.

So yeah. I don't know. I need to get my head around this. And how do I know how many calories I need? I am quite active now and I know for myself that I need to eat more the days I exercise than the days I do not (because I feel terrible the next day, if I've run 10K the night before but not eaten enough).

I'm not resisting anything anyone has to offer me as advise, I'm just needing some time to get my head around it all.

natamars 03-06-2010 12:18 PM

Hi, Pinky-

First of all, CONGRATS on your weight loss so far - that is awesome! And I really admire how you have stuck with your program despite all your my physical obstacles.

I am also a lifetime member of WW. It always worked for me. But I'm 41 now, and I gained 30 lbs. over the course of 2 years, putting me at highest non-pregnant weight ever. It was a lot of things - going back to work full time, a stressful job with long hours, an injury and a bunch of different meds to try to help it. I started counting calories. Lost a few lbs. and got stuck - I was eating 1200-1500 /day, and exercising 5-6X/week. So I started counting carbs, which is tough for me as I eat very little meat and don't like cheese. Lost a few more- got stuck again. So now I am doing fat smash - very strict and regimented. Down 8 lbs. in about 2 weeks so far. Once I get bored with this, or it stops working, I'll move to something else. Through the different things I've tried, I've always eaten healthy foods, and I'm naturally a healthy eater - just too much of a good thing.

So I would recommend trying something completely different. You're frustrated now - who wouldn't be - and maybe a new plan might bring some new enthusiasm. You're doing everything right, but maybe you just need to shake things up a bit. Think the same with exercise too. I've been doing more interval cardio. Today I went back to some more strength training, and I'm starting the 30-day shred v ideo too.

Keep us posted, and good luck!

mkendrick 03-06-2010 04:08 PM

I read your response to Robin about the free foods. It definitely sounds like you're taking too many calories.

Fruit, for example, can add the calories up pretty quick! One medium-sized orange is about 80 calories. That's a good chunk when you're aiming for 1200-1400 calories/day. So if you're eating a few pieces of fruit per day, that's going to add up quick. Not that fruit isn't good for you, but it does need to be countetd.

It varies a lot among people, but most people trying to lose weight seem to do best with eating 1200-1800 calories/day. 1200 being the very least and 1800 being the very most. I don't think I would lose weight eating 1800/day, but it works well for some people.

QuilterInVA 03-06-2010 06:35 PM

I think your eating until satisfied might be the culprit. We have those foods here but you are only supposed to use those set points when you are in a situation where you can't weigh and measure your portion. Eating until satisfied could mean eating more than your body needs.

PinkyPie 03-07-2010 03:55 PM

Thanks everyone for the responses.

So first off, I'm going to weigh and measure everything. No eat until satisfied points, but actually counting of the points.

I really don't snack on anything but fruit and veg and these are "free" on WW. I'm first going to see if tracking my dinners (as they are mostly the freestyle points) helps keep me in range.

If I go another week not losing anything, then I'll track actual calories for a week after that.

First the last attempt at the WW program, then the calorie counting. Simply because I abhor the idea of it and if I spend a week at last attempt with ProPoints knowing calorie counting may be around the corner I should be able to accept that next step easier.

It is worth the time and effort, *I* am worth the time and effort, I know this, so I'm just going to keep trying whatever it takes. I did also pick up a book that my Coach (I have a coach at work at the moment) that has a healthy eating plan with it, so I'll look at that too.

mkendrick 03-07-2010 04:16 PM

If you can take the time to weigh and measure portions, you can calorie count. The websites REALLY make it easy. I just click on what I eat, and caloriecount.com does the work for me. I'm not sitting at a desk with a calculator crunching numbers or anything. It really is quite easy.

rockinrobin 03-07-2010 04:36 PM

I agree completely with Mkendrick. That being said....

Quote:

I really don't snack on anything but fruit and veg and these are "free" on WW. I'm first going to see if tracking my dinners (as they are mostly the freestyle points) helps keep me in range.
And here is where I really and truly believe lies the problem. And why *I* don't care for WW, even though I know it works really well for many. I think those free foods are winding up quite costly! Everything we do in this life has a price connected to it. Everything. So how in the world can a food ever be determined as FREE? How and why? I'm just not sure how that sets one up for a LIFETIME of maintaining ones weight.

Not to keep on picking on WW, but, haven't they ever heard of "everything counts and everything matters?"

If I had thought of any food as *free* when I started out on this journey, I wouldn't have gotten very far. I would have been devouring those free foods left and right. *I* needed/still need boundaries and set limits. Not having any of those prior to starting my weight loss journey was the reason for me being super morbidly obese in the first place. But then again, having gotten to BE super morbidly obese, my circumstances are different then yours (or even some one who was/is super morbidly obese).

I mean I understand bread, cakes, cookies and plenty of other foods aren't free - but there are PLENTY of calories in what they have determined to be - free. I feel as if one isn't getting a good enough education by following this method.

Corny quote time:

"give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him HOW to fish, you feed him for a lifetime"

It is clear that you have done fabulously well thus far following WW, but I think it may just be time to use what they've taught you and kick it up a notch.

If you don't want to count calories, or want to give WW one last ditch effort, perhaps you could assign those free foods some point values and/or lower your points. Customize/make your own version of WW. Just a thought. But I believe the bottom line will be/is that you are consuming too many calories and you will have to restrict them further (or increase your exercise substantially) in order to create a calorie deficit.

I know you're working hard, so it's a shame to not *see* results. I'm thrilled that you've recognized that SOMETHING must be changed. I think with a little more effort, just stepping it up a little bit, you most definitely will be back into weight loss mode.

PinkyPie 03-08-2010 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkendrick (Post 3189097)
If you can take the time to weigh and measure portions, you can calorie count. The websites REALLY make it easy. I just click on what I eat, and caloriecount.com does the work for me. I'm not sitting at a desk with a calculator crunching numbers or anything. It really is quite easy.

I'm in the Netherlands. I need a Dutch site. Our foods aren't the same or I'd just use the Daily Plate or Calorie Count for sure.


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