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bishopjulia
Posts: 205 Member
Ever since I gained this weight it’s been hard to get it off. Been in the 220s for a year. Am also following weight watchers but it seems odd to eat what I want and lose weight still. Plus zero points foods on top of everything. 0 points does not mean 0 calories this I already know. So I’m tracking on both here and WW to see the diff. It gets discouraging when I “do” follow and weigh everything and hit the gym and the scale doesn’t move, then I have one of those “f##k it” days and completely derail and gain 4 lbs in a weekend. Anyone else out there feeling the struggle?
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Replies
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I've said it before but having done WW in the past I see it as nothing short of a scam designed to milk people of their money.
They take a simple concept of caloric deficiency and obscure it behind their 'program' which they then sell. This means you're learning their method rather than the underlying principles and therefore as soon as you stop using the 'program' you haven't learned anything and will more than likely gain all the weight.
They continually 'update' their program just to make sure that they keep things as abstract as possible and keep people on the hook.
They're a business and don't make money from teaching people to lose weight on their own. They make money be selling their temporary solution and they make more money by keeping people dependant.
This is how they ensure repeat business as people say 'Oh WW worked for me last time I'll go sign up again'. There are members of my family who have been on and off WW for 40 years. They keep signing up, lose some weight while learning nothing except the program, stop paying for the program and putting it all back on. Rinse. Repeat.4 -
Sorry. Rant over
As for the rest of your post.
The weight on the scale is more than just body fat. It also includes water, waste, and plenty of other factors so you need to take that number as a rough estimate of your actual weight. To help with this people often weigh themselves daily and use a trending app (libra, happy scale, etc). This lets you see the natural daily fluctuations. It also 'smooths' out the ups and downs and reveals the actual trend your weight is taking.
This is particularly evident as you say that you 'gain 4lb in a weekend'. Gaining 4lbs of fat requires a calorie surplus of approx 14,000cal. That's 14,000 calories above and beyond your maintenance calorie intake.
This means if your maintenance was 1500cal (which is probably conservative) in order to put on 4lb over the weekend you'd need to consume 17,000cals or 8,500cal both Sat and Sun. That's an enormous amount of food for even a large man to consume so I would seriously doubt you're eating that much.2 -
I feel the struggle too. I am hoping MFP can help me be accountable to myself, binge eating has been a problem for me. Makes me feel better to log everything I eat... if it's something I am scared to log, maybe I shouldn't be eating it anyway!!
Happy to be friends if you want
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bishopjulia wrote: »Ever since I gained this weight it’s been hard to get it off. Been in the 220s for a year. Am also following weight watchers but it seems odd to eat what I want and lose weight still. Plus zero points foods on top of everything. 0 points does not mean 0 calories this I already know. So I’m tracking on both here and WW to see the diff. It gets discouraging when I “do” follow and weigh everything and hit the gym and the scale doesn’t move, then I have one of those “f##k it” days and completely derail and gain 4 lbs in a weekend. Anyone else out there feeling the struggle?
I think you need to read this article:
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/0 -
Sorry. Rant over
As for the rest of your post.
The weight on the scale is more than just body fat. It also includes water, waste, and plenty of other factors so you need to take that number as a rough estimate of your actual weight. To help with this people often weigh themselves daily and use a trending app (libra, happy scale, etc). This lets you see the natural daily fluctuations. It also 'smooths' out the ups and downs and reveals the actual trend your weight is taking.
This is particularly evident as you say that you 'gain 4lb in a weekend'. Gaining 4lbs of fat requires a calorie surplus of approx 14,000cal. That's 14,000 calories above and beyond your maintenance calorie intake.
This means if your maintenance was 1500cal (which is probably conservative) in order to put on 4lb over the weekend you'd need to consume 17,000cals or 8,500cal both Sat and Sun. That's an enormous amount of food for even a large man to consume so I would seriously doubt you're eating that much.
There is definitely no way I ate that many calories lol. I do struggle with “sleep eating disorder” I’ll wake up in a zombie like state and eat white bread or ice cream , last night it was cheese cake. That’s also a big part of the problem. In the morning I wake up and get so mad. During the day I won’t eat things like this , I’m the middle of the night I sleep walk. One night I even squirted a bottle of Burt’s bees lotion in my mouth dreaming it was water.
As for WW I logged my food in both yesterday and even though my calories where finished I
Still had WW points left and I Had not used 0 point foods except for two boiled eggs which equaled 156 calories. Now “if” I chose to pig out on 0 point foods like Greek yogurt which is high in calories or beans or their 1 freestyle point cheese cake which is 150 cal or 4 (extra points) but 800 cal all together I can see how I’m NOT Losing weight.
Luckily I have a Omron scale that will give me a full body comp and adjust my calorie intake according to that. I used to be at my goal and it was so easy to keep in off, then a lot of stressful events happened in my life and the weight came back up. No it’s such a struggle and I hate the way I look.
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I think you need to read this article:
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/[/quote]
This article was extremely helpful!! It put EVERYTHING into perspective. Thank you!
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bishopjulia wrote: »
I think you need to read this article:
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
This article was extremely helpful!! It put EVERYTHING into perspective. Thank you!
If I knew as a teenager what I know today about weight fluctuations I might not have rage quit so many diets over the years.2 -
bishopjulia wrote: »Sorry. Rant over
As for the rest of your post.
The weight on the scale is more than just body fat. It also includes water, waste, and plenty of other factors so you need to take that number as a rough estimate of your actual weight. To help with this people often weigh themselves daily and use a trending app (libra, happy scale, etc). This lets you see the natural daily fluctuations. It also 'smooths' out the ups and downs and reveals the actual trend your weight is taking.
This is particularly evident as you say that you 'gain 4lb in a weekend'. Gaining 4lbs of fat requires a calorie surplus of approx 14,000cal. That's 14,000 calories above and beyond your maintenance calorie intake.
This means if your maintenance was 1500cal (which is probably conservative) in order to put on 4lb over the weekend you'd need to consume 17,000cals or 8,500cal both Sat and Sun. That's an enormous amount of food for even a large man to consume so I would seriously doubt you're eating that much.
There is definitely no way I ate that many calories lol. I do struggle with “sleep eating disorder” I’ll wake up in a zombie like state and eat white bread or ice cream , last night it was cheese cake. That’s also a big part of the problem. In the morning I wake up and get so mad. During the day I won’t eat things like this , I’m the middle of the night I sleep walk. One night I even squirted a bottle of Burt’s bees lotion in my mouth dreaming it was water.
As for WW I logged my food in both yesterday and even though my calories where finished I
Still had WW points left and I Had not used 0 point foods except for two boiled eggs which equaled 156 calories. Now “if” I chose to pig out on 0 point foods like Greek yogurt which is high in calories or beans or their 1 freestyle point cheese cake which is 150 cal or 4 (extra points) but 800 cal all together I can see how I’m NOT Losing weight.
Luckily I have a Omron scale that will give me a full body comp and adjust my calorie intake according to that. I used to be at my goal and it was so easy to keep in off, then a lot of stressful events happened in my life and the weight came back up. No it’s such a struggle and I hate the way I look.
I would caution against placing too much faith in the body comp numbers provided by scales. They're for the most part wildly inaccurate to the point that I (and many others I've seen here) see the readings as little more than a gimmick to put on the box to justify overcharging for bathroom scales. I'd emphasise this caution particularly if you're adjusting your diet/approach frequently based on those readings.
Weight loss is a weird process but more importantly it's a 'long term' process. By this I mean that results, effects and effectiveness can take many weeks to properly judge. Making frequent changes to you're approach can mean you're never sticking with it long enough to actually see if it's working.
Rather than making constant adjustments you're far better off picking a calorie target (MFP target is a good starting place) and following it for 3-4 weeks, then look at your progress. If you're losing faster than expected you can afford to increase your calorie target slightly to make things easier to stick too, if you're losing slower than expected you can make adjustments to lower your calorie target slightly. If lowering your calorie target would be too stressful, unsafe or counter productive (too low so causes binges) then just accept that the slightly slower rate of loss is perfectly fine. Eventually you'll hone in on the right calorie target for you and you'll be losing weight. Then every few months do another check in and make further adjustments as needed.
G'luck1 -
bishopjulia wrote: »Sorry. Rant over
As for the rest of your post.
The weight on the scale is more than just body fat. It also includes water, waste, and plenty of other factors so you need to take that number as a rough estimate of your actual weight. To help with this people often weigh themselves daily and use a trending app (libra, happy scale, etc). This lets you see the natural daily fluctuations. It also 'smooths' out the ups and downs and reveals the actual trend your weight is taking.
This is particularly evident as you say that you 'gain 4lb in a weekend'. Gaining 4lbs of fat requires a calorie surplus of approx 14,000cal. That's 14,000 calories above and beyond your maintenance calorie intake.
This means if your maintenance was 1500cal (which is probably conservative) in order to put on 4lb over the weekend you'd need to consume 17,000cals or 8,500cal both Sat and Sun. That's an enormous amount of food for even a large man to consume so I would seriously doubt you're eating that much.
There is definitely no way I ate that many calories lol. I do struggle with “sleep eating disorder” I’ll wake up in a zombie like state and eat white bread or ice cream , last night it was cheese cake. That’s also a big part of the problem. In the morning I wake up and get so mad. During the day I won’t eat things like this , I’m the middle of the night I sleep walk. One night I even squirted a bottle of Burt’s bees lotion in my mouth dreaming it was water.
As for WW I logged my food in both yesterday and even though my calories where finished I
Still had WW points left and I Had not used 0 point foods except for two boiled eggs which equaled 156 calories. Now “if” I chose to pig out on 0 point foods like Greek yogurt which is high in calories or beans or their 1 freestyle point cheese cake which is 150 cal or 4 (extra points) but 800 cal all together I can see how I’m NOT Losing weight.
Luckily I have a Omron scale that will give me a full body comp and adjust my calorie intake according to that. I used to be at my goal and it was so easy to keep in off, then a lot of stressful events happened in my life and the weight came back up. No it’s such a struggle and I hate the way I look.
I would caution against placing too much faith in the body comp numbers provided by scales. They're for the most part wildly inaccurate to the point that I (and many others I've seen here) see the readings as little more than a gimmick to put on the box to justify overcharging for bathroom scales. I'd emphasise this caution particularly if you're adjusting your diet/approach frequently based on those readings.
Weight loss is a weird process but more importantly it's a 'long term' process. By this I mean that results, effects and effectiveness can take many weeks to properly judge. Making frequent changes to you're approach can mean you're never sticking with it long enough to actually see if it's working.
Rather than making constant adjustments you're far better off picking a calorie target (MFP target is a good starting place) and following it for 3-4 weeks, then look at your progress. If you're losing faster than expected you can afford to increase your calorie target slightly to make things easier to stick too, if you're losing slower than expected you can make adjustments to lower your calorie target slightly. If lowering your calorie target would be too stressful, unsafe or counter productive (too low so causes binges) then just accept that the slightly slower rate of loss is perfectly fine. Eventually you'll hone in on the right calorie target for you and you'll be losing weight. Then every few months do another check in and make further adjustments as needed.
G'luck
Thank you Danp for all your insightful info. I have stuck in my head that the less calories I injest the quicker my weight loss. But this , as you said, leads to binges. Right now I have my calories set to about 1500 a day which is about 500 more then what I would normally drive for. I also have it in my head that starchy carbs are bad and stay away from them when I’m on que, but then also binge on these things when I fall of track. I think my biggest hurdle is my self.
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bishopjulia wrote: »bishopjulia wrote: »Sorry. Rant over
As for the rest of your post.
The weight on the scale is more than just body fat. It also includes water, waste, and plenty of other factors so you need to take that number as a rough estimate of your actual weight. To help with this people often weigh themselves daily and use a trending app (libra, happy scale, etc). This lets you see the natural daily fluctuations. It also 'smooths' out the ups and downs and reveals the actual trend your weight is taking.
This is particularly evident as you say that you 'gain 4lb in a weekend'. Gaining 4lbs of fat requires a calorie surplus of approx 14,000cal. That's 14,000 calories above and beyond your maintenance calorie intake.
This means if your maintenance was 1500cal (which is probably conservative) in order to put on 4lb over the weekend you'd need to consume 17,000cals or 8,500cal both Sat and Sun. That's an enormous amount of food for even a large man to consume so I would seriously doubt you're eating that much.
There is definitely no way I ate that many calories lol. I do struggle with “sleep eating disorder” I’ll wake up in a zombie like state and eat white bread or ice cream , last night it was cheese cake. That’s also a big part of the problem. In the morning I wake up and get so mad. During the day I won’t eat things like this , I’m the middle of the night I sleep walk. One night I even squirted a bottle of Burt’s bees lotion in my mouth dreaming it was water.
As for WW I logged my food in both yesterday and even though my calories where finished I
Still had WW points left and I Had not used 0 point foods except for two boiled eggs which equaled 156 calories. Now “if” I chose to pig out on 0 point foods like Greek yogurt which is high in calories or beans or their 1 freestyle point cheese cake which is 150 cal or 4 (extra points) but 800 cal all together I can see how I’m NOT Losing weight.
Luckily I have a Omron scale that will give me a full body comp and adjust my calorie intake according to that. I used to be at my goal and it was so easy to keep in off, then a lot of stressful events happened in my life and the weight came back up. No it’s such a struggle and I hate the way I look.
I would caution against placing too much faith in the body comp numbers provided by scales. They're for the most part wildly inaccurate to the point that I (and many others I've seen here) see the readings as little more than a gimmick to put on the box to justify overcharging for bathroom scales. I'd emphasise this caution particularly if you're adjusting your diet/approach frequently based on those readings.
Weight loss is a weird process but more importantly it's a 'long term' process. By this I mean that results, effects and effectiveness can take many weeks to properly judge. Making frequent changes to you're approach can mean you're never sticking with it long enough to actually see if it's working.
Rather than making constant adjustments you're far better off picking a calorie target (MFP target is a good starting place) and following it for 3-4 weeks, then look at your progress. If you're losing faster than expected you can afford to increase your calorie target slightly to make things easier to stick too, if you're losing slower than expected you can make adjustments to lower your calorie target slightly. If lowering your calorie target would be too stressful, unsafe or counter productive (too low so causes binges) then just accept that the slightly slower rate of loss is perfectly fine. Eventually you'll hone in on the right calorie target for you and you'll be losing weight. Then every few months do another check in and make further adjustments as needed.
G'luck
Thank you Danp for all your insightful info. I have stuck in my head that the less calories I injest the quicker my weight loss. But this , as you said, leads to binges. Right now I have my calories set to about 1500 a day which is about 500 more then what I would normally drive for. I also have it in my head that starchy carbs are bad and stay away from them when I’m on que, but then also binge on these things when I fall of track. I think my biggest hurdle is my self.
In your other thread you said your Omron scale gave you 1719 as your RMR. I see you've decided that the scale isn't a good starting point? Good. At your current weight of 220, 1500 is a good place to start. Do that for 4-6 weeks. I wouldn't cut any lower...definitely not as low as 1000.
1500 is a good number for most women who have a lot or a little to lose. I like that number, BUT if you do any purposeful exercise, add that into your Exercise page here and eat more on those days.
1500 is fine if you're not exercising. If you are, you'll likely need more calories. Under-eating is a bad deal.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation/p1
The stickies: Most helpful posts:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest1 -
In your other thread you said your Omron scale gave you 1719 as your RMR. I see you've decided that the scale isn't a good starting point? Good. At your current weight of 220, 1500 is a good place to start. Do that for 4-6 weeks. I wouldn't cut any lower...definitely not as low as 1000.
1500 is a good number for most women who have a lot or a little to lose. I like that number, BUT if you do any purposeful exercise, add that into your Exercise page here and eat more on those days.
1500 is fine if you're not exercising. If you are, you'll likely need more calories. Under-eating is a bad deal.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation/p1
The stickies: Most helpful posts:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest[/quote]
So far so good today. It feels weird to eat. I usually skip breakfast or have a low cal shake. And then I start grazing on food that’s in front of me (I’m a cook for an assisted living care home) that’s a bad habit. So planning a head is better. Thank you for everything.
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I saw a thread earlier today with a bunch of WW folks on it. I think it was called "serial starters".
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