I don't know what's been wrong with me lately but I can't seem to stay on track. Last Wednesday I switched back to Points Plus to see if the scale would start to move again. I did great the first 2 days, tracked carefully, then Saturday happened. Let's just say I've eaten enough for a family of 5 these past 2 days and I'm scared I'm slipping back mentally. Tomorrow I plan on getting right back on track but it's going to be a challenge.
For some reason I've become comfortable with where I'm at but I still need to lose 11 more pounds to be at a healthy weight. I've been fighting the 160's for 2 months now and I'm not sure why the scale refuses to drop below 160! Sometimes I think I'm never going to make it to goal but I also know I can't let myself take a step back. I swore I would NEVER go back to where I was over a year ago but my will power is slowly dwindling and I don't know why. I refuse to let food win but this battle to the finish line is tough.
Maybe I need to try different foods or actually make some of the recipes in the new Weight Watchers Cookbook I bought. I eat the SAME boring foods every day and I think it's because I feel 'Safe' when I eat them because they are carefully measured. With the recipes, I fear the serving size isn't accurate and that there are actually more calories than what is listed in the nutrition info. so I avoid using cookbooks.
I know I post about being frustrated often and I apologize in advance if anyone is getting irritated! Whining is definately not my thing but I need to know this is a 'Normal' aspect when it comes to being so close to goal.
i say splurge.
clearly you can see you're not doing the right thing, which will help you get back on track. If you thought it was fine, you wouldnt worry about it.
what kinda boring foods do you eat? i eat some ice cream sandwichs, popcorn, whole grain pastas and sauces.. wraps. Nothing is ever the same for me..
THOUGH, i have been having a craving for seasame chicken.. im waiting til weigh in day to indulge, lol
What if you switched to maintenance for a while? Also, haven't you been running? That can stall the scale. Are you taking measurements or doing any body fat testing? My scale was stuck for a month or so, but my pants were getting baggier and baggier (yay for yoga!)
Stop fighting. And stop looking for a finish line. There isn't one. Just relax, find a way of eating that doesn't make you crazy or gain weight, and just stick with it for a bit. Take a cooking class and make some fun ethnic dishes. Go into what ever city is near you and find the Asian section and get some weird veggies and fun spices and experiment. Sign up for a belly dancing class.
Enjoy your body and your food and your exercise for what they are, not as things that will help you get to some magic goal.
Set a new goal that has nothing to do with the scale and work towards that.
I feel your frustration, i've been stuck up and down the same 1 lb for about 8 weeks now. My leader suggested Kick start but i feel more like i would benefit from the Wendie Plan. So i've been doing that since Sat. I gained this week, and i tend, like you, to eat the same safe things during the week. We had a meeting about eating the same exact stuff everyday. I'm trying to change it up but it's tough! Kim, your not alone....you will get through this, your a great inspiration, just a bump in the road
You have also GOT to be building muscle all over the place. Legs, butt, tummy...You may not see it all but, no way you can do all that running and training and not have gained muscles somewhere. You know that is going to weigh more. Dont get frustrated girl. I like what Seagirl said a lot. Also, look at the changes you HAVE made, your getting there, dont get frustrated. You look fantastic, you should be embracing and celebrating YOU for what YOU have accomplished.....you have accomplished something that i have really only ever seen in a magazine.
I've been through this so many times it's depressing.
Once you've lost so much, having gone through big physical changes and aren't obese anymore, it causes big mental changes too. Learning how to deal with that part truly is the key, and it's elusive.
It's hard to reconcile "fat" mind and "thin" mind...it's like 2 sides warring in my brain lol. I have yet to allow my thin mind to surface, which is why I am here now again.
Don't undo everything you have worked so hard for. THAT is my goal this time around, not really the weight loss. Losing weight has never really been that hard for me. When the numbers on the scale are going down, I have motivation like a mutha. It's when that stops and it's just me vs my appetite forever after that is the real problem. Complacence is my enemy. The excitement of dropping pounds dies down, I get off plan, stop weighing myself all the time, and the next thing I know I've gained 10 pounds. And then 20, and so on until I am miserable again.
I have personally come to the conclusion that it can't ever be "over" for me. It doesn't really matter when or how I get to the number I want, because I can't stop-EVER-if I want this to work permanently.
The changes you need to make are mental, not really physical. You have to stop obsessing about the number and when you get to it, or it will continue to drive you batty and threaten to derail you. The fears you describe ARE normal-but that means you are at the critical point right now.
All you really have to do is keep going-you have kicked butt so far, you already have proven to have the knowledge and ability-and DON'T GIVE UP. The rest will fall into place in time.
You might benefit from finding ways to incorporate other new foods you'll enjoy so that the compulsion to binge won't be so much a factor. It might be time to get accustomed to the next steps of your journey and take a breather from the losing phase. Even if you only maintain right now you have already accomplished so much! Maintaining is much better than the dangers of spiraling out of control.
Back when I got to goal (yes, I regained), those last 12 pounds took me a long time. I did give up in the middle of it and regained about half the weight I had lot. Then I lost that and it took another 5 months to lose the last 10 pounds.
Obviously, looking back on it I wish I hadn't regained in the middle of it. I think one reason I did was that I got frustrated with the slowness of the loss at that point.
You have lost a great deal of weight and all the easier losses are behind you. When you have lost a lot you can't lose as fast in part because you are smaller now and burn less calories.
I don't know if you hang out in the maintenance forum but since you are close to your goal weight you might find some help there.
If it is too hard to lose now, then work on learning to maintain. In one of the recent meetings, my leader talked about someone who lost a lot of weight then went an entire year without earning a single 5 pound star. The next year she got to goal. However, she didn't look at it as a failure. She looked at as learning how to maintain. Once she lost those last few pounds and got to goal she found it easy to maintain as she had already spent a year maintaining.
I'm just both mentally exhausted and frustrated at this point! Someday I'd like to be down to 130 and right now it doesn't seem possible due to my body being stubborn. I could try maintenance and while I know I can maintain, I just want to lose these last few pounds. I'm putting so much emphasis into a number, a number that shouldn't mean a thing but it drives me absolutely CRAZY!
My body is no where near what I want it to look like so I feel if I try maintenance it will frustrate me because I'm not happy with myself.
Congratulations on losing over 100 pounds...that in itself is a great accomplishment. I know you are frustrated, but look at what you have done and be proud of it. Losing weight is hard work and it is hard to deny yourself the things you love. To have lost that much weight you must have alot of will power. Stay on course and you will bust through this stall!!!
When I mean maintenance I don't mean forever. I mean until you are comfortable maintaining your current weight and adjust to it and then can lose more.
I lost 110 pounds on WW and know what you are saying. I am now at goal and have been for 6 years. As you get closer to goal, your points are low and your loss is slow. The only thing that worked for me was exercise. I am a daily exerciser now and have been for years now. Don't go overboard where your appetite increases, but work up slowly and make it a habit. I started at 243 lbs. and now weight 129. Also, just because WW says you can have many "free" foods, I found that if you eat foods and don't count them, you will never get those last pounds off. Best wishes and I hope this helps.
I can relate. I am nowhere near goal, but I am 3 pounds away from hitting 10%, and it seems like I'm self-sabotaging. I'm not sure if it's because I'm afraid I won't hit 10%, so I'm eating extra junk in order to blame it on that or what. We need to remember, though, things will turn around!!!
I'm struggling with this exact same problem. I am so close to my goal of 135 but I keep bouncing up and down and obsessing about the number it is pitiful. A lot of great advice here, we need stop obsessing about that number and just WORK THE PLAN! (I'm more yelling at myself here). I actually had to sort of hide my scale in my house so that I would stop weighing myself daily. I found weighing myself daily just made me crazy. The closer you get to your goal the harder it is.
Once again, I'm off track..
