Newbie needs help!
 

Hi Everyone.

I just found this site, and I'm so excited! Thanks to all of you who share such wonderful information and encouragement! I'm new to WW, and I'm having some problems. I've read through many archived posts, but I'm not sure I've seen anything like my situation. I'd appreciate any advice you can send my way!

First, some background (in case that helps): I have a long history with dieting; in 1986 I finally won the battle I had been waging since childhood and lost ~ 50 lbs. (I don't know exactly how much it really was, since I stopped weighing myself when things got particularly bad). I did this all by adopting a very heathy eatying style (not a diet!) and exercising consistently for the first time in my life. Except for the times when I had my two beautiful children, I had been able to keep the weight off; then the wonderful age of 42 hit -- hard. I had spent about 3 months getting into the best shape I had every been in as a surprise for my husband's return from a 6-month deployment in the Middle East. Soon after his return, though, I let things slide and my weight gradually crept up. No matter what I tried, it stubbornly stayed with me -- and is still here almost a year later! :(

Since my tried-and-true approach to dealing with my weight had not worked, I tried South Beach and then a modified Atkins. Each time I would lose a bit -- mostly, I think, because I ate so little since I was bored with the limited food that was available to me. I believe I got down to around 800 caleries a day (I'm pretty experienced at this, so it's probably a reasonable estimate); yes, I know the metabolic implications, but I couldn't find more I wanted to eat, and I tried to balance the decrease in my metabolism by exercising more. Still, no significant results.

Enter my brother and sister-in-law, who have both recently done a great job with WW. Willing to try almost anything reasonable, my husband and I are now on the program at home (I had tried WW back in the '70s and found that I'm definitely not a joiner). So (finally; sorry for the long introduction!) here's my problem: I'M NOT LOSING!! I'm 5'2" with a small frame, and currently weigh 131 lbs. (since I'm "vertically challenged" and my frame is small, that looks like a lot more than it sounds!) I'm eating my 20 points (and yes, I am journaling everything -- even tastes while I'm cooking) and trying to follow the Eating Pies. My exercise is still not where is should be, but it's pretty reasonable (1/2 hr. cardio 4x last week plus some light weights -- I'm trying to ease into it so I don't injure myself, which is what I usually do when I'm re-starting a program). This is the beginning of week 2, and I didn't lose ANYTHING last week. I wouldn't normally be concerned, except that I've been reading about all these great beginning losses. And, of course, my husband is losing wonderfully! I'm absolutely thrilled with that (it's the first program he's been able to stick with), but it makes me wonder even more what's going on with me!

So, does anybody have any recommendations for me? I'm increasing my exercise, but I wonder if 20 points is just too much. I'm trying not to obsess about this, but I'm finding it is occupying a good deal of my "head space" as I try to figure out how to make this work.

I can't thank you enough -- for putting up with this long post, and for the support available here. I'm not sure I can go it alone this time!

You probably need to EAT MORE THAN 20 POINTS A DAY especially if you are exercising.

Weight loss needs to have fuel based on a Basal metabolic rate so it can function and lose. When you drop down in calories, i.e., points, and your body needs more fuel so it can function and live rather than less.

W/W isn't a really high calorie diet plan as you will see by the 'approximate' calories to points:

20 = 1150
21 = 1200
22 = 1250
23 = 1300
24 = 1350
25 = 1400
26 = 1450
27 = 1500
28 = 1550
29 = 1600
30 = 1650
31 = 1700
32 = 1750
33 = 1800
34 = 1850
35 = 1900

But remember this can be up or down based on fat and fiber and DOES NOT include the 200-250 calories a day that W/W built into the program for free veggies.

You need to find or at least get close to what your basal metabolic rate is and the next article is pretty good at getting you close to that:

How may calories do you burn in a day?

It's important to know your metabolic rate so you can balance enger in (the food you eat) with the energy out (how active you are). Because of different activity levels, each person's metabolic rate is different. Follow these steps to calculate the the amount of caloires you burn in a day. Remmeber, if you eat more than the calculated amount of calories, those extra calories eventually get stored as fat.

1. Convert your weight from pounds to kilograms by dividing by 2.2 (2.2 pounds = 1 kilogram). So, a 130-pound woman would weight 59 kilograms.

2. Women: Multiply the results of Step 1 by .9 (59 x .9 = 53). Men: Skip this stpe and go directly to Step 3.

3. Multiply the results of STep 2 (or Step 1 if you are a man) by 24. This gives you the minimal number of calories you need to survive, or your RMR (resting metabolic rate) (53 x 24 - 1272 calories).

4. To calculate the extra calories you need in order to perform your normal activites, you must calcualte a certain percentage of the RMR. Then add it to the RMR for that day's calorie needs. For example, a relatively sedentary day--say, a lazy Sunday spent watching TV or laying around--would require only a 20 percent increase in caloire expenditure (1272 x .20 = 254 extra calories). So, 254 added to 1272 equales 1526 calories.

Activity levels vary depending on how vigorous an activity it is and how long you're active. Here is a general rule of thumb based on nutritionists recommendations for energy.

Sedentary (sitting, standing, watching TV) = 20-30 percent
Light activity (housecleaning, golfing, garage work) = 50-60 percent
Moderate activity (skiing, bicycling, dancing) = 60-70 percent
Heavy activity (football,s occer, basketball, jogging) = 90-100 percent.

Additionally, low calorie diets (under 1200 for women and 1400 for men) are not the way to go because you don't get enough folic acid, magnesium and zinc along with putting your body in a perpetual state of starvation.

1 point is approximately 50-75 calories depending on fat and fiber content. The free veggies also have calories which have been already been "accounted" (for lack a better term) so there are really more calories for each point range than you think.

But my suggestion is to eat more, utilize your APs and all of your FPs for at least 3-4 weeks, if you are still not losing decrease your FPs a bit and but still do most of them for another 2-3 weeks. My bet is if you feed your body you'll start losing pounds.

The healthy weight for someone 5'2" is between 109 and 137 - how much are you trying to lose? Your body will make it more difficult to lose weight if it is weight it needs.

Also remember, that muscle weighs 2.2x as much as fat, but takes up much LESS room.

As for the activity. I am currently at 149.4 - for three weeks I ate the 22 pt minimum and didn't account for the exercise. I lost .6 - .2 - very small margins.

This past week, I ate 28 activity points and all 35 of my flex points, on top of my 22 daily, and lost 1.4!

If you don't give your body the fuel it needs, it will start to run more efficiently (IE, metabolism slows down, body pulls from muscle instead of fat, etc etc.)