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.

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

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Robin, thanks for your input. I'm actually also going to figure out the calories. As i said, I don't really want to, but i'm still writing everything down so that I can find out what the calorie values are later. I just need time to do it and I don't really have time until probably Wednesday evening to invest in looking up the values.

In the meantime I am definitely weighing and measuring everything else.

to give you an idea of my fruit and veg today:
1 apple at breakfast
1 grapefruit mid-morning snack
lunch had 1 red bell pepper, 1 white onion (med) and 2 celery sticks

still to consume:
50 g blueberries, 50 g raspberries, 1 mandarin
5 carrot sticks

This is a fairly normal day as far as "free" foods goes, but Robin, you are right, nothing in this life is really free (except water? :) ). Some days I may have an additional apple, possibly 2 more mandarins, and some celery or cucumber.

I know I'll probably be surprised at how many calories that could be, but at the same time I do not eat ANY junk. No fake foods, 100 calorie packs, junk, nothing. This is literally how i snack during the day. It could be worse right? :D

Off the top of my head, that's about 400 calories in free food? And that's WITHOUT the additional apple, cukes and oranges - another close to 200 calories!!!! I think you're justifying it by saying that #1 - you don't eat ANY junk and #2 - it could be worse.

Well of COURSE it could be worse - but it could be better. Not the quality - but the quantity. And that my dear is the problem. You are overfeeding yourself. You are taking in too may calories.

I too snack like that - but I ACCOUNT FOR IT. THAT is the difference.

I know you don't "want" to, but you really don't "want" to be overweight either. You've got to decide which it is you want MORE.

Yep, that's definitely 400+ calories. I just plugged it all into calorie counter, lol, and not counting extra mandarins, apple, or cucumber.

Each of my main meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) are about 300 calories each. Then I snack 200-300 more throughout the day. So basically, you're eating a large extra meal during the day just through snacking.

Those foods are good and healthy for you, but you're taking in more energy than your body uses to keep losing. Those most definitely are NOT free foods.

One more plug for caloriecount.com. If you know the nutrition, as in calories and such are on the food label, you can plug in your own foods. So even if the foods are different, you can just add the foods that you are eating. And fruits and vegetables are the same. That's kind of a pain at first, but once you do it the first time, it will save it for you.

:lol: I'm going to count the calories, I really am! I am tracking for now still on my WW program and then will re-enter everything again into another program to get the calories. I don't want to, that's the honest truth, BUT I don't want to stay at 82KG either so I am willing to try it.

And yes, I know these things have calories and I didn't mean it like they don't count - I just meant that before I was aware of how and what I was eating, those 400 cals in fruit and veg were instead probably 1400 in a croissant, 2 lattes and quite possibly some sweets from the sweet jar. That's what I mean by it could be worse :)

Our food labeling is also not having the same requirements as in the US. So, I don't always have the information, no, that's what I really don't like about the idea of counting calories. In my WW database the information is there already and I rely on that to be correct as long as I measure it out properly. I tend to shy away from products that don't have proper NI anyway, so there shouldn't be anything in my food routine that doesn't have it. It's the time factor, but again, I'll set aside some time on Wednesday evening to plug in what I have.

PinkyPie, though I still whole heartedly believe calorie counting is the way to go - in the meantime, why don't you just reduce your points?????????? Because you do realize you're going to have to cut back the amount of FOOD that you're eating. Whether you want to call it points or calories, it's the FOOD that will have to be changed/reduced/scaled back.

I'm just going to interject here with some corrections. Fruit is most definitely not free in weight watchers. It has a point value.

So do veggies. A lot of veggies ARE free, up to a certain point. For it to be free, it has to be under like 25 calories and have like no fat. And that's for ONE serving, or one weighed out pieces, or whatever. If you eat more, you have to figure out how much you ate, and it usually will cost a point.

Just FYI guys. And I've calculated my calories before, I'm on Weight Watchers as well. I usually eat about 1300 calories a day.

So pinky, are you SURE you're not eating too many points? Because I weigh a heck of a lot more than you, and I just lowered my points value to 27. And that's more than enough food for me. I mean, are you nursing or something? Or do you have a reaaaaaaaaaaaaally strenuous job where you're doing hard labor all day? Cos if not, I can assure you your points needs to be something more like 26 or so a day.

And another thing you can try is A) increase your calories and fat (it may jolt your system into getting off a plateau), and B) I think on the WW section of this website there's thread about the "wendie plan" I believe it's called. It's a plan of changing your point intake every single day to bump your body back into weight loss mode, made by a lady that was presumably in your position.

Just some food for thought guys. No pun intended.

I just want to mention here that I think the kind of "plateau" PinkyPie is experiencing is a self induced one - one in which she's taking in too many calories, you even said so yourself. So I don't see how INCREASING calories and fat could possibly "solve" this "plateau".

And really, our bodies/our systems don't need to be JOLTED in order to have weight loss occur. We just have to keep providing our bodies/our systems with a calorie DEFICIT.

Since I'm not familiar with WW I thank you for the info on the "free" foods. What you mentioned seems somewhat more reasonable. I wonder if it's different here then where PinkyPie is.

Our program in NL is different from the US. I don't know why that is, but it is. I am diligently entering my foods into the WW program online and it even gives me the point values. Most fruits are ZERO points, as are most veg. I eat the zero point items. I don't eat any pointed fruits or veg at all, unless it's something exotic like a mango (which are not available at the moment). I definitely enter how many servings of something I eat too. So if I eat 100g of celery that's what I enter (which is ZERO points here). If I have 150g tomatoes (like 2 for example) I enter that. I always enter the total grams because I also like to know for myself that I'm getting ALL servings of fruits and veg.

I am definitely not breast feeding! I do think that my dinner food intake has been too much because I have been counting as "vezadigde portie" which roughly means a straight point value for eating until satisfied. I believe this is my culprit, or at least part of it.

Our points values are different here in NL too. So before the new program I got 22 points. With the new program I have 29, BUT, point values are higher now for certain things. So I could eat the same thing I eat now (roughly) for 22 points back then and I WAS losing weight. This has been just since the program change/ my foot operation / my back injury. I have also increased my exercise, and especially with running I am absolutely ravenous the day after a run (I'm up to 8 - 12 KM average now - yesterday I did 12 KM) and I really have to eat then, which is why I eat mostly lean proteins, fruits and veg as extra points (we have 29 a day, 49 extra a week, so a day after a run I may have 33 points - 29 from my daily and 4 from my extras).

I'm going to check right now in my program if I need to adjust my daily points... BRB...

maandag, 08 maart 2010
Ontbijt
3* tablesppons (75g) Cottage cheese 2
3* crackers Wasa Original Crisp 2,5
1* teaspoon Sambal 0
1*Appel, 0
Subtotaal 4,5
Lunch
4* tablespoons (100g) (cooked) Pasta 3
1* portion (100g) chicken filet 3
1* spoon (5g) Olive Oil 1
1/2 portion (20g) Calve Extra Light Mayo 0,5
1* teaspoon (20g) Mosterd 0
1* portion Red Bell Pepper 0
1* portion (It was 2 sticks) Celery 0
1* portion (it was 1 med white) Onion 0
Subtotaal 7,5
Diner
1* portion (30g) Milner Light Cheese 2
4* tablespoons (100g) white rice 3
1* Dutch New Mexican Chili con Carne 8
Subtotaal 13
Tussendoortjes
1* portion (125g) Greek Yoghurt, 0% v.g. 1
50g blueberries 0
50g raspberries 0
1* Mandarin 0
15g All-Bran Plus 1
100g carrots 0
1* Starbucks Double Short NF Latte 2
1* Grapefruit 0
1* cup of herbal tea 0
Subtotaal 4
Used ProPoints™**waarden 29
Rest ProPoints™**waarden 0
Activity 0
Earned Active ProPoints™ 0



I've highlighted my ZERO fruits and veg here
in RED is the chili we had for dinner - my husband made it and weighed and measured everything out so that I could figure out the points on my program (like down to every last bean, tomato and pepper). I then weighed out EXACTLY the amount that would be a portion, which calculated as 8 points.

I know it's probably hard to read the Dutch gobbledeegook but I'm happy to explain further.

I'm also not sure how to even eat less than I already do now. This is down to the bare bones, especially during the day!


I checked to see if I could recalculate my points based on my height, weight and activity levels and it's still 29/49.



EDITED:: translated from Dutch to English

You can re-calculate from today till tomorrow, the bottom line is - you're overfeeding yourself. I'm sorry to keep saying that. Your body is the true determination and guide of what you should eat - not some calculator (or even a WW leader).

And trust me, there IS room to scale back without ever being hungry and with getting all your nutritional needs met.

Sorry, I had a hard time deciphering what you eat, so it's hard for me to make specific suggestions.

OK 29 points = about 1450 calories, which is probably a fine calorie in take for you, however those zero point items will add up.

The apple and the grapefruit and mandarin add about 230 calories, assuming the rest are vegetables they may add another 100 -150 calories, so that's an extra 380 calories a day! This could be the issue, I would try to count at least the fruit for a while and see if that helps the scale move.


Edit: I translated some of those foods and I see you are eating blueberries and raspberries too, which could add another 150 calories(or more) So IMO you biggest problem is that fruit contains a lot of calories and they are adding up!

does anyone have any lower calorie alternatives (with health and nutrition benefit) to fruit?

Robin, please don't apologise for repeating the message!! I do get what you are saying, I'm just trying to figure out WHERE I can scale back (besides my dinners which also need to be weighed and measured). For example it's 10.20am now and I am VERY hungry. I ate my breakfast at 6am. I have to get up around 5am every morning. I am trying to not eat now between breakfast and lunch but I fear it's not going to work (I have a meeting until 12.30, so for me that's really pushing it, from 6am to 12.30 no food).

Where can I scale back??? I updated my food entry post to be in English now, maybe that helps?

Well,I'm still having a hard time deciphering it.

But from what I can see there's crackers, rice and pasta. ALL very caloric and not all that filling - yes even brown rice and whole wheat pasta. That chilli con carne seems pretty caloric as well. Cheese? You can also get more filling power with few calories elsewhere.

When you're eating fewer calories each and every one REALLY must count in order to stay satiated and meet those nutrition requirements.

*For me* that means veggies, veggies and MORE veggies. Don't turn to rice, pasta and crackers. Veggies, veggies and YES - MORE veggies. Serving sized bowls of them. Think soup - VERY filling and low calorie - for snacks and for a portion of a meal. Think salads as meals. And snacks. Think fish. Think chicken. Think turkey. Don't waste calories on mayonnaise and the such. Think vinegars, broth, lemon juice, spices, herbs, etc. Your Starbucks Latte? Am I seeing that that's 2 points - so upwards of 100 calories? HAve hot tea instead - 100 or more calories saved and you're no more hungry than when you started out.

Be creative. Experiment. Search. Delve. Play around. Kick it up a notch.

OK, Robin. Thanks for your thoughts.

The crackers are a replacement for bread. Bread costs me about 2.5 points just for one slice, I get 3 crackers for the same "price".

rice and pasta are, let's see... 3.5oz in us measurements. Do you really think that is too much?

the mayo I checked last night, for the teensy amount I used is about 10 calories.

The Starbucks drink - this is already scaled down from my Triple Tall NF Latte and it's 70 calories for the double short (that's from official NI - I work for the bux ;) )

my lunch is mostly a salad - though I don't always use lettuce or spinach as the leaves. Today for example I had 2 large tomatoes (about 250g) and 50g of shredded carrots. So, you would say MORE here? (I'm open, I love veggies). I had shrimp today instead of chicken. I used 40g of avocado for my "good" fat instead of olive oil and no extra-light mayo.

Soups - I've tried that and I don't actually feel satisfied with soup. I make my own veggie soups usually and the ones that satisfy more have lentils or kidney beans in them (using more calories of course). That said, I'll look for some other soup recipes as well.


I do use vinegar (white wine or balsamic), lemon juice, loads of herbs and spices (Sambal is a spicey paste - the amount I used I calculated last night at about 3 calories). I never use more than 20g of the extra-light mayo IF I use it at all. I love mustard, so I use that often, but no more than about 15g because I love the sharp stuff.

OK admittedly the cheese i probably didn't need, it was more of a want. I had already decided to skip any light creme fraiche (light sour cream I guess you have in the States) and go only with 1 30g serving of light sharp cheese for my chili. This is probably the only cheese I eat all week except when we have home made spaghetti (sauce that has been WW'erd as well). I don't do well with milk-products anyway, so cheese is just every once in a while no more than 1 serving.

The chili is made with only the leanest beef and kidney beans, some olive oil and the rest veggies. DH took my recipe and then changed it to a WW recipe.


OK - with all that I'm still rethinking everything. I don't often feel satiated - this is my biggest issue, hence why I like to bulk up my meals a wee bit with pasta or rice. I have done it with no pasta or rice and loads more veggies and i was losing, but that was on the old program, not the one we are on now. So I'll do that, at least, go back to a few more veggies and no rice or pasta in my lunch and that should help a bit.

now I'm thinking my breakfast was all wrong, but I have to say I didn't feel like I would fall over from hunger as much as if I'd just had eggs or cottage cheese.

160g (5 oz???) shredded potatoes, 3 egg whites, 50g spinach and 50g mushrooms... I have NO idea what to eat for breakfast though. Oatmeal and cereal most definitely do not cut it and I eat usually around 6 am now (I have a 2 hour commute and I leave the house at 6.30, that's why I generally end up having an apple and a latte in the morning to fill the gap) and I hate feeling like I've had nothing to eat even before I get to work :(

sometimes I really hate my body. it's like it's never freaking satisfied!! I just had lunch between 12.30 and 1.15 and I'm honestly feeling hungry again! It's only 2pm!!!

.

so with the soups, I wonder what is wrong with me then??? Because I am not satisfied with soup and I do exactly the same as you do!

and yes beef and beans in the chili. it's chili con carne :) we do not have ground chicken or turkey here, not lean and not cheap (you can get it at the butcher only).

and I have given up a lot but I am going to have one 70 calorie latte a day. I'd rather give up the crackers, rice and pasta (and am totally willing to do that, but I am not going to give up the latte). maybe it sounds like justification but I WAS having more than what I have now and I was losing. Now I'm not. I'm actually having less in that respect. I AM willing to drop the fruit in the morning if it means I still have my latte (and to be honest, both fulfill me for the same amount of time and I generally have to have some tea before lunch anyway).

Definitely dinners will be scaled, am going to go for more veggies!!

I think what works for one person may not work for another. Because something works for rockinrobin or for me doesn't mean it will work for you. I don't see anything wrong with what you are doing, food wise--and you're following the Weight Watchers program, which is your program of choice. Only someone who is also doing WW can advise you on that--preferably your WW leader? But, there is nothing wrong with shifting some starchy foods to more vegetables instead and seeing what happens--as long as you count your points correctly.

I'm thinking that stress reduction might help you. Are you feeling pretty stressed on a daily basis? That in itself can stall weight loss. I can't remember what you said about exercise, but if you're not getting some physical activity, consider adding some. I don't mean anything strenuous, given that you had a back problem. I just mean something like taking a walk every day--maybe at lunchtime, or in the morning, or after work. Moderate, regular physical activity can help offset some of the stress; unfortunately, I see many folks who think that they have to go all-out when they exercise, and in my opinion, that's just adding more stress.

Hang in there! Keep trying a few different things.

Jay

Renee, (if I may take this thread in a completely different direction) if you are tracking diligently, and you have talked to your leader for suggestions, perhaps you have a physiological reason for a slowed metabolism. Have you looked into thyroid issues? There are millions of thyroid quizzes on the Internet if you want to see if you have any symptoms suggesting that you talk to a doctor.

Hey girl,
Haven't read the whole thread, but for breakfast, it might "stick" longer if you have a whole egg + some whites for the fat. Or maybe cook the potatoes/spinach/mushrooms in olive oil? Or (what I'd do, heh heh!) add some avocado. A little fat goes a long way to keeping me satiated.

I haven't been to a meeting since I threw my back out actually. I keep meaning to go and then other things come up (also I started going to Zumba at the gym, so if I don't go Monday, I like to go Tuesday and Tuesdays are WW nights so it won't work to do both). So I haven't actually talked to her since we changed the program, I've just been doing it online.

I eat so little starches now (again I only have the past to compare to and that's basically what I changed to lose 37 lbs so far) but yes my dinners are not being counted correctly so I am definitely doing that now.

I actually don't have any stress at all :) Since I made the decision to change certain things in my life it's going a lot better. I did the C25K program last year in April to June and now I'm running 1 - 3 times a week (I don't put pressure on myself to do it, I just see when I can do it, but at least once). I also go to the gym at least once a week and other things I do are a bit of walking when I can, I take the stairs, that sort of thing. So honestly, no stress. Even work is starting to be less stress (but I have a coach for work and that's helping too!!)

Thanks Jay, I will definitely keep trying :)

I will see if I can actually call my leader to talk to her about it.

and I don't think I have thyroid issues, but I'll do a quiz to see :)

Thanks Amy!

I went for the whites today to save on calories ;) but yeah that's what I normally do. I did use olive oil and made a sort of hashbrowns with the egg and veggies.

I actually had avocado at lunch too!

You're not necessarily doing anything wrong with the soup - you don't find it satisfying - and I do.

And if you don't want to give up your latte - than don't. Again - your choice. You were asking for suggestions - and I made some.

I understand that it's chili con carne - but *maybe* you want to try something less caloric - it was just a suggestion.

These were all suggestions, not commands, I promise ;).

It's up to you and you alone to decide what you're willing to give up and what you're not, what you're willing to change - and what you're not.

Be creative, step outside the box, be OPEN, keep searching, keep striving. :)