Am I doing this right?
 

Hi Everyone!

I am new here. This is my 3rd week on Weight Watchers. I have been doing it on my own without meetings or signing up with WW in general. I keep a little book with me and track everything i eat in my book and then google for points. I didn't weigh myself when i started because i didn't have a scale but i knew i was over 150 around 152 or so. i haven't been below that in a very long time. So i started eating 22 points a day. I got a scale that week and by the end of the week i was down to 149.2 (yay) i haven't been in the 140's in a long time. being that i was now under 150 i started eating 20 points a day. I went over to 22 points friday saturday and sunday. This morning i weighed in and i didn't loose any weight.

Heres my question; My mom says that i should have a min amount of points and a max. i looked that up and it says i would have a min of 20 and a max of 23. I believe thats the Flex program. if thats the case then i should still be fine for this week? But i still didn't loose any weight. I generally have an extreamly hard time loosing weight and i want to make sure i do this right. I have been very careful to write down everything i eat.

It's like you are writing about the old me when I was 26 years old. I was just like this and tried Atkins and South Beach. Much to my dismay, neither worked. I had always struggled to get down below my 150s for years. After I got pregnant and had my baby I was about 185 pounds. This is after 11 months of breastfeeding and it didn't melt off like the celebs are always bragging about. I had gained a whopping 50 pounds for my 4.6 pound baby and was 201 pounds the day they weighed me to have my emergency C-section.

I have been doing WW since April 7, 2008. I have gone from 185 to 132 in that time period. My original goal was 155 because I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew, but it was so easy. Another ten literally just melted off with hardly any more effort. The last ten was a struggle and it took a while to get my points down enough and figure out what foods would be more filling to me to make the day go by okay.

This was all on my own. My friend Amy explained the program to me and I got started right away. It is really a sort of exact science and you just have to watch yourself on the scale and keep keeping the food journal. Good luck to you. If you are doing 23 points for about four days and don't see a difference, drop it a couple and give that a whirl. You never want to get below 18 for sure. I never get below 22 and I am really pretty active. I would say most days I eat about 28 to 30 points now and don't gain a thing. I run and play softball and rock climb. So make sure you have got some physical activity. It was a lot harder to meld into maintaining than it was to lose for me. It is just trying to find a happy medium. Good luck to you! I am so happy that you found WW, and it works for you.

Hi hon! Wow, you are SO determined and are doing great because on your own, it is really, really hard.

Here is a link that explains the new program.
http://www.lemondrop.com/2009/01/28/...es-the-points/
It is called Momentum, and it kind of combines Flex and Core through using the Flex points system with the eating philosophy of Core.
In the new program, we have a small quiz that tells you how many points per day you are allowed. There are no more ranges. You still get 35 Flex points a week to spend as you see fit (like, in one huge DQ Blizzard orgy! Or 2 extra points per day!), and you still earn exercise points.
Here is a link so you can see how many points you have per day:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...7230153AAQ06kr

NOW, having determined your points, what do you do to maximize your weight loss??? Well, the BEST thing I can tell you is to be PATIENT (I know, I know...) and stick with the plan as written for at least a month. Weigh in only once a week, because NORMAL daily fluctuations in weight will drive you CRAZY, and graph the results. You may see a trend, which will let you manage those "slow weeks" as part of the plan. I found out that I lose like this: wk1 = big loss, wk2 = mild-moderate loss, wk3 = mild-moderate loss, wk 4 = no loss to mild gain, then I repeat the cycle. So when I have a sucky wk 4, I know I'm in for a big loss the next week IF I stick to the plan. So figure out your daily points, sort out a bit of an exercise program and just stick with it to change your lifestyle (as opposed to "dieting").

I guess this isn't quite what you want to hear, but in my experience and for what it is worth, the program is designed for 1/2-2lb weight loss per week, and trying to adjust daily points and worrying about the small weight fluctuations that we ALL experience just makes me crazy.

If you stick to it as written, you will see results. Just not tomorrow!

PM me if you need help!

Kira

I have done the flex program and it was ok for me I also used the wendie plan. I am now starting on momentum, but still journal everythng. That is really the key.

I thnk if you make yourself accountable for what you eat you are less likely to go over.

Now as to normal flucuations it is true you will have good weeks and so-so weeks just be consistant. Remember you are changing eating habits and that takes time to change a behaivor

Good luck to you

Thank you SO much for being so nice and so helpful!

This is actually my attempt after South Beach! I did SB with my mom...she lost 40 pounds and me...zip. i don't get it. I really think my issue is i over eat. even on heathy food you can over eat. Thats why i think WW will be so good for me. I like knowing exactly what i ate each day and knowing i didn't go overboard. Now i feel like i have a limit.

Thanks so much for clarifying all the info on the Momentum program! I figured it out and i get 21 points a day. i also like the whole idea of the new program. I was under the impression it was something totally different.

Do you guys think its worth the $$ to just sign up for WW online. I have found a few sites that list points, I eat Smart Ones frozen meals for lunch every day so i know the exact points for lunch and then i got some WW cook books so i can know the points for dinner. thats why i felt it wasn't worth it...but if it will mean better results i can suck up the money and just sign up!

Hi there, Ms J!
This really is a personal decision. Lots of people find the online at home program really useful for their online tools. Others (me included!) prefer the meetings for the personal interaction and support.

But for many, the real key to success is following the points rigorously, and if you feel you have enough info (there are HUGE online resources for this -- try this one: http://www.dwlz.com/restaurants.html and scroll to the bottom for current WW points for RESTAURANTS!!! Great if you want to eat out!) then you may find that you'll be fine. Because it really comes down to sticking with the points and patience -- how you do this is really a personal choice.

Kira

So yesterday i got a coupon in the mail for 25 off WW online so i signed up! Its actually quite helpful and their were a few things i had the wrong point value for. thanks for all he help everyone!