Weight Watchers -- March 2011

[Green_Tea]

Weighed myself early last week (on Wed instead of Fri) because I went away - on a a plane! without my children! - to visit my best friend on the west coast . SO MUCH FUN! I was down exactly one lb from the week before, which brought my weight loss to an even 15 lbs since January 3 .

Of course, I ate my way through the weekend... Several cupcakes, lots of red wine. I have until this Friday to recover before my next weigh in, and I will be happy if I simply maintain. I don't expect to lose.

Did I mention that I went away? ALONE? I highly recommend it .

[bubbaray]

This new plan sucks. I lost a whopping 0.8 last week (after having gone up 0.2 the week before). Whatever.

I think there is going to be a revolt at our meeting (which has over 100 people at it). People who were Lifetime under the former plan and either have just a bit to lose (like me) or wanted to try it out (our leaders) are having real problems.

Personally, I think its all the fruit. If you tell me I can eat fruit or veggies for free I will pick fruit any day -- but it still has waaaay more calories than veggies. If you already eat healthy, this plan is not a great plan for weight LOSS.

My only hope is that it might be easier to maintain than the old plan. I dunno.

[rachelh]

How do you ladies do it? This is just not working for me! I started a week or two into January. The first few weeks I did not lose a thing then down .4, next week down 1 pound, and the following week down 2.6 - now we are talking!! The next week I didnt do a single thing differently and I gained over 3 pounds!! In a week!! I don't get it. I have not gone back since my big gain - wanted to give it a couple weeks so maybe I will see a decent number on my next weigh in. Any advice?

[weech]

This new plan sucks. I lost a whopping 0.8 last week (after having gone up 0.2 the week before). Whatever.

I think there is going to be a revolt at our meeting (which has over 100 people at it). People who were Lifetime under the former plan and either have just a bit to lose (like me) or wanted to try it out (our leaders) are having real problems.

Personally, I think its all the fruit. If you tell me I can eat fruit or veggies for free I will pick fruit any day -- but it still has waaaay more calories than veggies. If you already eat healthy, this plan is not a great plan for weight LOSS.

My only hope is that it might be easier to maintain than the old plan. I dunno.

Sorry it's not working out! I know a lot of people who have a little to loose are putting their fruits/veggies in the recipe builder so they get counted (or just doing a fast add for fruits for 1-2pts each). How many servings of fruit are you eating? I definitely try to limit to a few servings a day, and try to eat vegetables instead when I can.

[weech]

How do you ladies do it? This is just not working for me! I started a week or two into January. The first few weeks I did not lose a thing then down .4, next week down 1 pound, and the following week down 2.6 - now we are talking!! The next week I didnt do a single thing differently and I gained over 3 pounds!! In a week!! I don't get it. I have not gone back since my big gain - wanted to give it a couple weeks so maybe I will see a decent number on my next weigh in. Any advice?

Are you measuring your food and tracking everything? Even little tastes of things here and there? That would be my advice, and also to stick with the plan, every week, no matter what. Everyone gains - it's part of the process. But being consistent will allow your body to adjust and let you get into a groove. Weight loss is slow. In the beginning, you tend to lose a lot, but most people I've talked to have leveled out and start to lose about .5-1 pound a week, unless they really step up their game.

Brush yourself off and get back on the horse

[DietCokeLover]

We are going to lunch at Chili's today. Anyone have any recommendations for what to eat there? I looked at my favorite menu item and estimated it to be in 50 point range!!!!! Any suggestions would definitely be appreciated.

[weech]

We are going to lunch at Chili's today. Anyone have any recommendations for what to eat there? I looked at my favorite menu item and estimated it to be in 50 point range!!!!! Any suggestions would definitely be appreciated.

I don't know what's on the Chili's menu, but I usually try for a broth based soup and side of steamed vegetables or grilled chicken/shrimp with vegetables. A lot of people get salads, but they can sometimes be the worst things on the menu! Good luck!

[Green_Tea]

How do you ladies do it? This is just not working for me! I started a week or two into January. The first few weeks I did not lose a thing then down .4, next week down 1 pound, and the following week down 2.6 - now we are talking!! The next week I didnt do a single thing differently and I gained over 3 pounds!! In a week!! I don't get it. I have not gone back since my big gain - wanted to give it a couple weeks so maybe I will see a decent number on my next weigh in. Any advice?

It seems like a lot of people are struggling with the new plan and feel like it doesn't work for them.

The two really big changes I made when I started the plan were to cut WAY back on all refined carbs (I pretty much eat no bread, rice, crackers (except Wasa), pretzels, cookies, pasta, etc.) and I drink almost no beer/wine during the week. I might have a single glass of wine during the week, and then another two drinks on Saturday night, but that's it. I think that for *me* that's made the difference.

Neither of those things is something that was recommended to me or mandated by WW, but I know that they are both my slippery slopes. Once I start on the carbs, I crave them more and more. And I love my wine - but it makes me want to eat! Once I got over the initial cravings for carbs and wine, I have found it really easy to stay away. I still eat things like oatmeal and granola bars (the Quaker reduced sugar ones are 3 pts), I like to have peanut butter on a piece of ezekiel bread, and I use whole grain wraps for my sandwiches, so I don't feel deprived.

I really do think that if I were eating the same number of points but got them from carbs and wine that I would NOT be losing the weight. I think that at 36 years old and after three kids, my metabolism is pretty slowed down. On the old plan I lost 2-2.5 lbs a week. Now I am losing around 1.5/wk, but I never feel hungry and I feel like it's sustainable. I've lost 15 lbs since January 3, and have another 10 lbs to go.

(Just to note - I am not suggesting that anyone who is struggling with the new plan cut out all carbs or wine. I just know how those things affect MY body, and think that losing them has made me healthier. Both of them tend to contain a lot of sugar, and there is a sizable body of evidence that suggests that it is the sugar we eat - and not foods that are otherwise high in fat or calories, like avocados, or steak, for example - that has caused Americans to gain so much weight so rapidly. In Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food he discusses how Americans GAINED weight when the low fat/low calorie/low cholesterol craze started in the 80's. A very interesting read!)

[sarahsthreads]

Once I start on the carbs, I crave them more and more.

I *do* still eat carbs, but in a seriously limited fashion. I eat a whole wheat english muffin, a bagel thin, or oatmeal with or as breakfast. If I have a sandwich for lunch it's on two slices of whole wheat bread or a whole wheat sandwich thin. If we have brown rice or pasta with dinner, I measure out 1/2 cup for myself, and do not go back for more. I pretty much never snack on carbs anymore, because I can't control myself. I would much rather eat 18 almonds for 3 points than 24 snap pretzels, because after 24 pretzels I'm still hungry for more pretzels. Beer and wine were never an issue for me (alcohol and I are not friends) but soda was. I have made the decision *not* to drink soda anymore, as much as I love and miss root beer. Someday I may try to add back in a natural (w/o HFCS) root beer as an occasional treat and see if I can self-regulate, but I'm not ready to try that yet.

I eat a lot of fruit. Pretty much every day, I eat some raspberries or blueberries with breakfast, an apple or unsweetened chunky applesauce or some grapes with lunch, and a banana as a snack. I also have with lunch or as a snack sugar snap peas, baby carrots and cut up red bell peppers. And I cook veggies with dinner. I do not count any of those as points. I also don't eat large quantities of any of them, and tend to buy the bananas that are on the smaller side.

Despite all that fruit, I'm losing pretty fast. I'm averaging just over 2 pounds a week, and I'm down a total of more than 15 pounds since 1/15. I keep expecting that to slow down, but it's not. I never feel deprived or hungry...unless I get into the refined carbs instead of snacking on fruits, veggies or nuts, and then I'm absolutely starving for the rest of the day.

For me, that is why I'm having more success with this program than the old one. It is so much easier to eat a lower-carb diet, which is what my body needs, than it was when carb-y snacks were the same or lower points than fruits.

And honestly, the other really big change that I've had to make was to take over all of the cooking and meal planning. We were eating far too much take-out because DH would call at 5 to say he was coming home and neither of us would have any ideas for dinner. Now he calls at 5 and I'm already preparing whatever dinner I'd planned to cook that night. I notice a really big difference in how I feel the next morning (water retention!) when we've eaten out, even if it was within my points, so for me it's just better to cook.

So, if you've read this far, I guess my advice would be to look at how many servings of refined carbs you're eating in a day and see if it's possible to replace some of those with something else.

Sarah

[weech]

I *do* still eat carbs, but in a seriously limited fashion. I eat a whole wheat english muffin, a bagel thin, or oatmeal with or as breakfast. If I have a sandwich for lunch it's on two slices of whole wheat bread or a whole wheat sandwich thin. If we have brown rice or pasta with dinner, I measure out 1/2 cup for myself, and do not go back for more. I pretty much never snack on carbs anymore, because I can't control myself. I would much rather eat 18 almonds for 3 points than 24 snap pretzels, because after 24 pretzels I'm still hungry for more pretzels. Beer and wine were never an issue for me (alcohol and I are not friends) but soda was. I have made the decision *not* to drink soda anymore, as much as I love and miss root beer. Someday I may try to add back in a natural (w/o HFCS) root beer as an occasional treat and see if I can self-regulate, but I'm not ready to try that yet.

That, my friend, is hardcore.