Am I doing something wrong? Please help.

MissGamerGirl

I am still with weight watchers and my points are at 26 (the lowest and have been at that for over a year). They cannot decrease any more, and since I have not gone on maintenance, they have not increased. I do eat about third to half my weekly points (total weekly points are 49).

From the replies that I am receiving, if I understand correctly, I should be eating more? Please confirm if this is correct.

That's pretty ridiculous. They should have increased. Sigh...typical WW.

I am an ex-WW member. Can you tell?

AHASRADA

Scoobie calculator says: BMR 1450, TDEE 1740, Daily calories based on 20% reduction, weight loss 1392.

I do not really know what any of this means. If someone could explain this it would be very helpfull. My understand of a diet while growing up was salads. I don't really understand macros etc.

I'm not sure what you're not understanding, but I'll take a stab at it. The BMR number is how many calories your body is burning just to stay alive. Your TDEE is the number of calories you are burning on average per day taking your daily activity level into account. You plugged in a 20% deficit (eating 20% fewer calories per day than you burn), which gave you a goal of 1392.

Most people recommend not eating below your BMR, so I would shoot for 1450 rather than 1392. You might lose a little slower, but your body needs at least enough calories to keep functioning, KWIM? As you begin losing again and get closer to your goal, you should really reduce that deficit percentage (15%, then 10%, etc.)

Macros include carbs, fat and protein. You need some of each to be healthy (yes, even fat). You can play around with the percentages for each, because everyone's body functions best with different amounts. A good place to start is 40% carbs, 30% fat, 30% protein. As you plan your meals, don't only focus on staying within your calorie goals, but your macro goals as well. You click on the pie chart in your diary and it will show you where you are in meeting your macros. I usually plan my 3 main meals ahead of time, and then fill in my snacks based on which macros are low.

As for dieting being about salad, while it is important to eat lots of vegetables (for the nutrients as well as filling you up with few calories), it is important to eat real food that will provide your body with the nourishment it needs. I have the feeling that eating at least up to your BMR and hitting your macros could be key for you.

Good luck!

ratchet2

I don't understand why they would increase until you go on to maintenance. I started at 40 somthing (I think) and they decreased when I was losing weignt. This is the points plus system. I do not know how the other systems worked.

ratchet2

Thank you for explaining the acronyms for me. I think I am beginning to understand. I need to eat more and to make sure I am eating enough of the carbs, protein, and fats.

I will probably see a gain to begin with as my is not use to more food, but should start seeing a loss in a ......month?

I want to thank everyone who has replied and helped me to understand. Thanks:flowerforyou:

jemartin80

Don't give up. I'm not sure why you're not losing weight, but I do know that you can. I know it's frustrating and I feel for you. Just don't give up. Great job on losing the first 50 lbs!

According to the BMR calculator (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator) a typical person with your stats (age/sex/weight) should burn around 1388 calories a day doing nothing but breathing. You should probably not go much below this intake level. How is your strength training? Has it increased/decreased/stayed the same over the past 3 months? Meaning if you were lifting 70 lbs 3 sets x 10 reps 3 months ago are you lifting 80 lbs 3 sets x 10 reps today or 60 lbs? If you are not seeing strength growth and definitely if you are seeing your strength decay then your muscle mass is decreasing while fat % is increasing. When people hit starvation levels (different for all people but I am concerned 1200 calories is dangerously close to that level for you) their bodies begin to cannibalise proteins for energy since protein is a more efficient energy source. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starvation_response)

There are a lot of theories about this and how to deal with it, including shocking your system with high calories on some days and fasting or near-fasting others, switching macro-nutrients up so that for a few days you're eating high carbs and then a few days of low carbs and high fat, etc. I'm not qualified to tell you if these are scientifically sound, but I personally don't like them. My most success has come from eating slightly above my BMR and doing roughly 85% weight/15% cardio. Remember, too much exercise (especially cardio) burns a lot of calories and can lower the threshold of the starvation response. Make sure you are seeing an increase in strength. As long as you are seeing a progressive increase in strength you can continue to gradually decrease your calories until you are seeing weight loss of between 1-2 calories per week. I recommend you don't try to lose it faster than that at this point.

I hope that helps. I'm praying for you.

MissGamerGirl

I don't understand why they would increase until you go on to maintenance. I started at 40 somthing (I think) and they decreased when I was losing weignt. This is the points plus system. I do not know how the other systems worked.

I was on points plus as well and it was the opposite of your situation. I started low and as I got closer to goal they increased so...idk, lol. Moot point now since you obviously see that you need to be eating more.

ETA: my points increased on their own as the system is meant to do that. I didn't "declare" maintenance to have them add points or anything. It sounds like WW still determines that you need 26 points which is evidently not so.

ratchet2

Thank you for all your support.