Getting the rest of the way

MarieJ87

Hi everyone

I am 28, 5ft 5in & currently around 188lbs/85kg. Since last September I have lost over 60lbs/27kgs following Weight Watchers (I always ate well but needed something to help me with portion control etc) and re-joining the gym after about a year out working out 4-5 times a week.

Just a little background...

This all started because me & my husband have been trying for a baby for over 2yrs and I have PCOS, after loosing the amount I have the doctors have agreed to help and start medicated cycles, I am really proud of how far I have come, although now my progress is slowing down to almost nothing...I am tracking what I consume every day, I wear a FitBit and track my activity and exercise every day, I have asked my PT to mix up our sessions to 'kick-start' my body again. Of course I may become pregnant (I hope so!) this year, but for now I still want to focus on my goals and becoming as healthy and possible.

Heres the thing, I still have around 38lbs/17kgs to loose...I really want to get to goal by my birthday in July (this would be a 2lb loss a week). Is there anything I can do a. to keep motivated & b. to kick start things again so that I can start shifting some weight again!

jemhh

If you are not losing weight, you need to drop your calories. As we lose weight, our calorie needs go down and it is natural to get to a point where you simply need to eat less.

MarieJ87

Thank you with Weight Watchers as you lose weight it drops your allowance. I have been dropping down a little myself below the allowed points (just by a few) although that does not seem to be helping! I don't know how much I should be dropping to...

jemhh

I can't help you there. I'm not a WW points expert. I know about calories.

benzieboxx

MarieJ87 wrote: »

Thank you with Weight Watchers as you lose weight it drops your allowance. I have been dropping down a little myself below the allowed points (just by a few) although that does not seem to be helping! I don't know how much I should be dropping to...

There was another thread recently with a person asking if WW or MFP would work better for her. Someone in the thread said they calculated their calories on MFP along with their point value allowance with WW and saw that they were actually eating more than their MFP goal even if they were under their points goal for WW. Maybe that could be the issue? You're staying within your WW goal but unfortunately still eating too much. I wish I could find the thread but I don't remember which one it was and it may be buried a few pages back.

MarieJ87

benzieboxx wrote: »

MarieJ87 wrote: »

Thank you with Weight Watchers as you lose weight it drops your allowance. I have been dropping down a little myself below the allowed points (just by a few) although that does not seem to be helping! I don't know how much I should be dropping to...

There was another thread recently with a person asking if WW or MFP would work better for her. Someone in the thread said they calculated their calories on MFP along with their point value allowance with WW and saw that they were actually eating more than their MFP goal even if they were under their points goal for WW. Maybe that could be the issue? You're staying within your WW goal but unfortunately still eating too much. I wish I could find the thread but I don't remember which one it was and it may be buried a few pages back.

Yeah that may be worth looking at, I've actually never tracked my food on MFP, I only am with WW because it was originally a referral from the doctor, would be very interesting to see! To be honest I don't see how what I'm eating now would be too much I feel like I really am eating as clean as poss, perhaps it's just that muscle gain/weight loss balance where you seem to be stuck but your body fat is going down, or extra water weight or something. I do have PCOS which does affect how my body deals with insulin and can make it tricky but I never really struggled too much when I was in the first 6 months

heatherforever222

I am having the same issue. I'm on WW as well. It's been great except the past two weeks. The scale hasn't moved much. I did transfer some of my data to my MFP and it was relatively the same for both. I posted about my frustration on a separate post and some people are stating I am eating too much sodium because I eat a lot of the previous packaged WW meals. I personally think it's too early to tell if it's really a plateau or not or if it's just a bad two weeks. I tried increasing my workout but I gained a pound. When I stopped all together I lost it but the scale has the same weight from last week. It was brought to my attention to use a food scale. If I continue not losing that may be my second option. For now I am increasing my water consumption and swapping a prepackaged meal with a salad to see if this helps.

VintageFeline

You can eat "clean" and still very easily overeat. This is where I think WW and similar points based systems can go a little wacky. You don't actually know how many calories you are consuming and how that relates to your actual calorie needs. I think logging here properly for a week would be helpful, to see just how much you are eating. It's important though, for that to be helpful, to weigh all solids and measure all liquids and be brutally honest with everything, butter, salad dressings, oil, milk in tea and coffee etc.

Your goal of 2lbs is also a little aggressive at this point with what you have to lose, 1lb would be more realistic.

Also, weight loss isn't linear. I rarely lose 1lb every single week, in fact, nothing like it, it comes in little fits and starts but averages out to be right on target. I don't worry until I'm into 5 or 6 weeks without a scale loss.

MarieJ87

VintageFeline wrote: »

You can eat "clean" and still very easily overeat. This is where I think WW and similar points based systems can go a little wacky. You don't actually know how many calories you are consuming and how that relates to your actual calorie needs. I think logging here properly for a week would be helpful, to see just how much you are eating. It's important though, for that to be helpful, to weigh all solids and measure all liquids and be brutally honest with everything, butter, salad dressings, oil, milk in tea and coffee etc.

Your goal of 2lbs is also a little aggressive at this point with what you have to lose, 1lb would be more realistic.

Also, weight loss isn't linear. I rarely lose 1lb every single week, in fact, nothing like it, it comes in little fits and starts but averages out to be right on target. I don't worry until I'm into 5 or 6 weeks without a scale loss.

Yeah I think tracking on MFP for a week would be helpful to see exactly what's going on. I do try to be very aware about overeating on the things that are high in good fats and sugar (avocados, nuts, seeds, beans, fruit etc) and eat much more veggies and things I know won't add up too much. The new WW smart points do now take into consideration calories as opposed to the old system where calories weren't even a factor!

I do religiously measure and weigh everything - and I mean everything lol unless it's something I know has no point value lol

Yeah I think I've gotten used to dropping 2/3 even 4lbs per week so now it's just frustrating but perhaps I do need to adjust my expectations

MarieJ87

heatherforever222 wrote: »

I am having the same issue. I'm on WW as well. It's been great except the past two weeks. The scale hasn't moved much. I did transfer some of my data to my MFP and it was relatively the same for both. I posted about my frustration on a separate post and some people are stating I am eating too much sodium because I eat a lot of the previous packaged WW meals. I personally think it's too early to tell if it's really a plateau or not or if it's just a bad two weeks. I tried increasing my workout but I gained a pound. When I stopped all together I lost it but the scale has the same weight from last week. It was brought to my attention to use a food scale. If I continue not losing that may be my second option. For now I am increasing my water consumption and swapping a prepackaged meal with a salad to see if this helps.

I hope those little changes start to help for you, I've never done the packaged meals I tend to like cooking everything from scratch all my breakfasts/lunches/dinners (I love cooking lol) but I think water consumption for me too I need to work on! I'm great for a while then I just get busy and seem to forget!

Dnarules

MarieJ87 wrote: »

Thank you with Weight Watchers as you lose weight it drops your allowance. I have been dropping down a little myself below the allowed points (just by a few) although that does not seem to be helping! I don't know how much I should be dropping to...

Is it possible you are over eating the "free" fruits and veggies?

MarieJ87

Dnarules wrote: »

MarieJ87 wrote: »

Thank you with Weight Watchers as you lose weight it drops your allowance. I have been dropping down a little myself below the allowed points (just by a few) although that does not seem to be helping! I don't know how much I should be dropping to...

Is it possible you are over eating the "free" fruits and veggies?

I am very consious of this so I do make sure I don't overeat on some things like avocado, nuts, seeds, most fruit especially bananas/grapes/pineapple etc and also some veggies like sweetcorn etc...although maybe there is something I'm not thinking of??

jemhh

MarieJ87 wrote: »

Dnarules wrote: »

MarieJ87 wrote: »

Thank you with Weight Watchers as you lose weight it drops your allowance. I have been dropping down a little myself below the allowed points (just by a few) although that does not seem to be helping! I don't know how much I should be dropping to...

Is it possible you are over eating the "free" fruits and veggies?

I am very consious of this so I do make sure I don't overeat on some things like avocado, nuts, seeds, most fruit especially bananas/grapes/pineapple etc and also some veggies like sweetcorn etc...although maybe there is something I'm not thinking of??

In the past, WW advised that the free servings of fruits and veggies were limited to 5 servings per day. I cannot locate that on the website right now. All I can find is this vague and unhelpful comment:

How much 0 PointsPlus values fruit is too much?

We’ll say it again: Yes, fruits and vegetables aren’t magically calorie-free just by dint of us making most of them free of PointsPlus values. We took this step to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables; foods that are nutritious, satisfying and help to encourage you to make healthy, lasting choices that will lead to weight loss.

If you’re concerned that you’re eating “too much fruit," ask yourself if you’re enjoying what you’re eating, or if you’re honestly stuffing yourself with bananas because they’re “free." Or maybe you’re blending pounds of berries and bananas with ice into big-gulp smoothies.

If you’re using fruit and veggies as a way to stuff yourself in lieu of stuffing yourself with less healthy foods, then it’s possible that you may be reaching the point of “too much." If you’re eating more than you used to, but you’re using them for healthy snacks, to bulk up your meals or as a tide-me-over when you’re down to the last few PointsPlus values for the day or week, then you’re probably OK.

AnnPT77

MarieJ87 wrote: »

Dnarules wrote: »

MarieJ87 wrote: »

Thank you with Weight Watchers as you lose weight it drops your allowance. I have been dropping down a little myself below the allowed points (just by a few) although that does not seem to be helping! I don't know how much I should be dropping to...

Is it possible you are over eating the "free" fruits and veggies?

I am very consious of this so I do make sure I don't overeat on some things like avocado, nuts, seeds, most fruit especially bananas/grapes/pineapple etc and also some veggies like sweetcorn etc...although maybe there is something I'm not thinking of??

Two points:

1. I'm not a WW person, I'm a CICO person. But if I didn't log my non-starchy, non-fatty fruits/vegetables (which I think are the free ones in the WW points system), I would be underestimating my daily calories by several hundred per day, more than enough to wipe out a modest deficit.
2. Elsewhere, you say you've lost 2-4 pounds a week so far. That's really quite a fast rate. I'm your height, 5'5", and started at around where you are now (my SW was 183). I never lost more than about 2 pounds a week, and even so, began to get fatigued part way through & needed to increase my calorie level a bit. There's only so much fat your body can metabolize in a day, and you don't want to risk your lean body mass. It's a really good idea to slow your loss rate as you get closer to goal, dropping it from 2lbs/week, to 1.5, then 1, then 0.5. You'll want to stay strong & healthy as you head toward that pregnancy!

Based on my experience, I think you can get fairly close to your goal by mid-July if you're disciplined & consistent, even while slowing your loss to a reasonable level as you continue losing. And I'm betting you'd prioritize being strong/healthy for your pregnancy above reaching an arbitrary number by an arbitrary date, right?

MarieJ87

AnnPT77 wrote: »

MarieJ87 wrote: »

Dnarules wrote: »

MarieJ87 wrote: »

Thank you with Weight Watchers as you lose weight it drops your allowance. I have been dropping down a little myself below the allowed points (just by a few) although that does not seem to be helping! I don't know how much I should be dropping to...

Is it possible you are over eating the "free" fruits and veggies?

I am very consious of this so I do make sure I don't overeat on some things like avocado, nuts, seeds, most fruit especially bananas/grapes/pineapple etc and also some veggies like sweetcorn etc...although maybe there is something I'm not thinking of??

Two points:

1. I'm not a WW person, I'm a CICO person. But if I didn't log my non-starchy, non-fatty fruits/vegetables (which I think are the free ones in the WW points system), I would be underestimating my daily calories by several hundred per day, more than enough to wipe out a modest deficit.
2. Elsewhere, you say you've lost 2-4 pounds a week so far. That's really quite a fast rate. I'm your height, 5'5", and started at around where you are now (my SW was 183). I never lost more than about 2 pounds a week, and even so, began to get fatigued part way through & needed to increase my calorie level a bit. There's only so much fat your body can metabolize in a day, and you don't want to risk your lean body mass. It's a really good idea to slow your loss rate as you get closer to goal, dropping it from 2lbs/week, to 1.5, then 1, then 0.5. You'll want to stay strong & healthy as you head toward that pregnancy!

Based on my experience, I think you can get fairly close to your goal by mid-July if you're disciplined & consistent, even while slowing your loss to a reasonable level as you continue losing. And I'm betting you'd prioritize being strong/healthy for your pregnancy above reaching an arbitrary number by an arbitrary date, right?

Yes the weight initially came of really quickly, although I was 250lbs so when I made the changes that I did (I cut out various things not only to help with weight loss but to help my PCOS so things like diary and white, processed carbs, bad sugars/fats) it was a fairly dramatic weight loss, then I started adding in 2-3 gym sessions per week, then got a PT and increased to 4-5 sessions after a few months. So I think that's why it came off so fast.

Also I was super strict, in the UK the NHS are a nightmare and after 2 years not able to conceive my consultant told me it was 'my fault' I couldn't have a baby as I was so overweight, and if I lost 10-20% my PCOS would get better and I would probably fall pregnant on my own (I made a complaint at his attitude and fat shaming) but it pushed me so much to get to my first goal of around 30 BMI by this appointment (this Tuesday) so that I could get help, he had refused Clomid until I lost enough weight, luckily I was onluy7lbs off 30 BMI so he agreed. If this doesn't work within the next 6 months and I need IVF my BMI *has* to be around 25 to be eligible for IVF on the NHS (I can't afford to go private).

So I feel like I am between a rock and a hard place ATM, I need to be healthy and fit for pregnancy (most important and I do have a healthy lifestyle), but I may not ever get pregnant if I don't hit a certain goal for the doctors to help me...