[SpoonSockSpork12]

Hello all!

I am a 22-yr old grad student that has given up on simply "trying to eat healthy" to go back to actually keeping track of my food intake. Over Christmas/New Year's I got to my heaviest ever. It's been difficult to find motivation to really keep track of points because I have never *looked* too badly with extra weight on. I'm the type that my friends would agree could lose weight, but they are all surprised when I tell them the number on the scale. I have always carried the extra weight well, and it doesn't help that my boyfriend seemed blissfully unaware of my weight until I set up a Wii Fit avatar (awkward!).

Nevertheless, I know I am not healthy, can't wear all the clothes I'd like to, and don't feel as well as I do when I'm in a good weight range. I am aiming to lose 50 pounds, and my doctor would agree that I could even lose a few more at my height.

So here I am! I last did Weight Watchers in high school with my mother, but I found that I could eat white bread and cookies and still lose weight each week. The last time I dieted, I did South Beach and felt great being forced to choose the better foods while losing even more weight. Now it's my goal to somewhat combine the two. As a grad student, my time is not my own. In addition to my regular academic classes, I teach two labs, attend conferences, do field work for weeks at a time, have weekly meetings/seminars, and conduct my own research. Some days I may be at my office from 8 am until 10 pm. I think combining South Beach foods with Weight Watchers' Points system will make it easiest to stick to a healthy eating plan in my situation.

I really enjoyed the last (SB) forum I was a part of! This is my first time on 3FC, so I'm hoping to meet some good people on here! Please let me know any advice you have.

~SSS12

P.S. I will be doing this without attending meetings. Poor graduate student = no money for weekly meetings. I do, however, have an excellent app on my phone that's a food journal with the WW Points Calculator on it!

P.P.S. Posting this in two areas since I'm not sure about the appropriate place. Sorry!

[SissieSue]

Hi, SSS12!

I can relate to almost everything you've said above about your time not being your own. I just finished my PhD, and writing the dissertation while working in a tenure-track position left me little time to care for my health. By the time I defended, I was 50lbs over any decent weight.

I've done WW before with good results. I was an MA student at the time. I found that as long as I prepared my meals ahead of time (we had a dorm fridge in our office), I was fine. I didn't do field work, though (unless you count foraging the library's stacks as field work, lol), so I don't know if you could prepare your meals ahead of time for that. What kind of field work are you doing (i.e., out in the wilderness or in a more human environment?).

I don't tend to eat a lot of so-called junk food on WW since I really don't seem to crave it. My approach is to eat a mostly ovo-lacto vegetarian diet. For instance, today for lunch I'll be having a black-eyed pea curry that I made in my pressure cooker (an adaptation of a recipe in Lorna Sass's _Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure_.

Good luck with your WW-SB hybrid!

[SpoonSockSpork12]

Thanks! My field work involves being in a vehicle for ~12 hours a day for 6 weeks straight. I study tornadoes, so my work involves chasing them. This means a daily schedule that is get up at 7am, eat breakfast at whatever hotel in whatever rural town you are in, have lunch at whatever gas station/fast food joint everyone agrees on, drive for another 8+ hours, (maybe) have dinner at another gas station/whatever is open at the next hotel around midnight. Repeat.

Thankfully that's a few months away. Last time around I actually only gained a couple pounds, but it's impossible to stick to any diet because you never know the next time you'll eat/where you'll be eating.

[NotFatImFluffy]

Ahhhh Spoonie. I was trying to figure where to put my first post on the 3FC forums but when I read your post I knew this was the place.
I'm a 21 year old college student in the exact.same.position. Well mostly. I'm actually quiiiite a bit taller than you but nobody believes me when I tell them I weigh almost 400 pounds and need to lose at least 150.
My motivation is lacking even though my house is full of nothing but healthy and yummy snacks.
I'm on a 7day free trial of WW right now and am looking for motivation to BUY the online version because as it is today: I want to just cancel it and order (another) pizza.

I'm going to keep track of you, maybe stalk you a bit :P Good luck!!

[TJFitnessDiva]

hi and welcome!!

I do a combination of the old core system and count points (basically what the new plan Momentum focuses on)...it's pretty much what you are wanting to do and just wanted to drop in and say it works!

Everyone has their own version of being busy....so just plan a little ahead of time & it can be done

Good luck!

[SpoonSockSpork12]

Fluffy -- Excellent! I look forward to your stalking.

Diva -- I never quite understood Core, but I kind of figured that's what my plan essentially is. Thanks!

[shortandfluffy]

I do LA weight loss, so I am not help with the WW.. but I just wanted to say welcome and I love your screen name! I have always said I was just fluffy LOL

[NotFatImFluffy]

Spoonie, do you blog?