Weight Watchers?
kailysimpson
Posts: 56
I've been on MFP for awhile, and I've tried so many different strategies and I never seem to really lose much. I stuck with MFP consistently and worked out at least 30 minutes a day for 10 straight months (last year into early this year) and I only lost 18 pounds total.... which, considering the fact that I have about 150 I want (no, NEED) to lose, 18 isn't even a drop in the bucket. So I joined Weight Watchers thinking that their strategy might help me. My Aunt did WW and lost a ton of weight and is doing fantastic, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Well... I've gained weight. I am seriously gaining weight doing WW. I am SO frustrated. I am following their freaking Points Plus program exactly, I am reading all of their tips, I am drinking tons of water, I am an active Mom, extremely busy all of the time, definitely not sitting on the couch with a bag of chips watching The View..... I have very mild PCOS, I do not have IR, I do not have any other health problems, I've talked to my Dr.... she says I'm perfectly healthy and to just "keep trying." I am seriously overwhelmed. I have read on other forums about people who felt the Points Plus program was bogus, but as I've had such difficulty losing weight in the past, I'm thinking it's ME. What gives?? (and yes, I'm tracking everything, I'm being honest, I'm eating all of my points, I don't eat processed food/fast food, I avoid white sugar and flour products, etc.). I just so desperately want to lose this weight and I'm failing miserably at it. 2 years ago I set my goal for 30 - by 30 I want to be rid of this weight. I just turned 28 and I'm no closer to that goal than I was 2 years ago. I haven't gained any weight, I don't weight any MORE than I did, but I don't weigh much less, either and Weight Watchers is clearly not helping 
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Replies
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I have just started MFP on Monday. Not sure how it will go but I am excited. I have done WW on and off most of my life. One thing I am learning as I get older...it not to pay too much attention to the numbers. I know that you feel you have a long way to go and from what you are writing...sounds like you are doing the right things and making the right choices. Everybody loses at different rates and I believe more important than the numbers is the life time change. Focus on inches...have you lost inches? How do you feel...besides frustrated...do you feel like you have more energy? I was successful with WW but the truth is little by little it creeps back. I have about 55 pounds to lose where I will be happy....according to the guidelines it would be a lot more. Again, try and focus on what you have achieved....18 pounds is a lot and to have kept it off for a while is even more exciting. Give yourself small goals within your ultimate goal and more important keep giving it your all and celebrate your accomplishments small or large and lastly....never give up!0
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Have you Calculated your BMR? Do that and post it..then open diary so we can see your tracking.
Since you went to the Doctor and they checked you out, you should have no reason to not lose weight if you are at a defecit. You lost 18 pounds out of your 150 which is 10% loss. That is a good start, but yes in 10 months you should be losing more with the amount you have to lose. It will slow down more and more as you get closer to your goal weight.
Also list what type of workout you do.0 -
When I find myself in this situation:
1. I choose a calorie level and follow it strictly for 2-3 weeks.
2. I make sure I drink lots of water.
3. I don't do any crazy changes with exercise programs.
4. I WEIGH my food (this is important!)
It always comes down to underestimating calories or overestimating activity, or a combination of the 2. Take 2-3 weeks and eat 1500 calories. Then see where you're at. :flowerforyou:0 -
You are 18 pounds lighter. Why would you say it is NOT working?
If you feel you should be losing weight faster, look at your math.
1 Measuring properly
2 Weighing properly
3 UNDER estimating calories eaten
4 OVER estimating workouts.
You didn't go to sleep and wake up 150 pounds over weight.0 -
where are you tracking your food. I've just had a look at your diary and there is nothing there. Do you weigh your food?
My suggestion is track on here your food for a week, get some food scales. Log EVERYTHING and then let us have a look at what you are eating. If you are sticking to above 1200 calories, and not below there should be no reason why you don't lose weight unless there is an underlying medical condition.
I feel for you, it's very disheartening when you are trying so hard and yet nothing is happening.
Don't give up just yet, let us try and help.0 -
Well as I am doing Weight Watchers, I have been logging everything there because I am following the Points Plus Program, I haven't been logging at MFP b/c I wasn't going to try to log at 2 places. As for exercise, I combine my elliptical for 30-60 minutes a few times a week with Pilates, which I discovered I really love. I don't have time to go to a gym, I am an extremely busy Mom with a home daycare business and I'm a full time student. I usually work out later at night after my kids go to bed b/c that's the only time I have to do it. I'm just frustrated at this point, I feel like I should have made more progress than I have.0
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The above posters had good points about accuracy. With the amount of weight you need to lose, don't even worry about eating all your exercise calores (the way MFP has it set up.) Eat some of them. You can worry about fine-tuning that in a couple months. You need to save your life here.
Buy a food scale today. If you don't have a Target or Wallmart in your town, then go online to Amazon.com and buy one. They are $20. Start preparing all your own meals. Make enough food each weekend to get you through your work week.
Weight Watchers, IMO, is bogus. The "free" fruits and vegetables is a really bad idea. Limit your fruits. Period. Fruit has sugar, yeah it's natural sugar, but your body still sees too much of it as a bad thing. Eat 1-3 pieces of whole fruit daily, no juices. Logging all your food accurately will take care of you eating too many Carbohydrates - whether it is breads and cereals or sugars from fruit.
Get your blood work done, if it hasn't been done in the last year.0 -
OH and I do have a food scale, it's a digital one. I like using it especially for meat or fruit when there is no "serving size" on a package to refer to.0
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Be careful with "serving sizes". I was getting an extra 400 cals every week from Tosititos measuring by "chips"
See this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY 0 -
How long have you been on the Weight Watchers? Don't be bothered by any weight fluctuation if you're altering your diet. Eventually, your body will adjust -- just give it a few weeks.
As for the rest, have you thought about changing exercises? I know that any plateau is caused by the body becoming used to its routine, so it starts maintaining weight instead of losing it.0 -
I did weight watchers a fews years back and lost my baby weight with my 3 year old. Tried it after my 8 month old and the new point system did not work for me. Since I have been doing this lost 10 lbs.Well as I am doing Weight Watchers, I have been logging everything there because I am following the Points Plus Program, I haven't been logging at MFP b/c I wasn't going to try to log at 2 places. As for exercise, I combine my elliptical for 30-60 minutes a few times a week with Pilates, which I discovered I really love. I don't have time to go to a gym, I am an extremely busy Mom with a home daycare business and I'm a full time student. I usually work out later at night after my kids go to bed b/c that's the only time I have to do it. I'm just frustrated at this point, I feel like I should have made more progress than I have.0
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One thing I've noticed with WW (as I love to double or triple count cals using MFP, WW & WW+) is that you are under eating daily on WW as 1 days worth of points is only 1000-1300 cals which is 18-23 pts or 29 pts+ so this low on cals consistently may be affecting your metabolism - possibly effecting you more due to your PCOS.0
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When I find myself in this situation:
1. I choose a calorie level and follow it strictly for 2-3 weeks.
2. I make sure I drink lots of water.
3. I don't do any crazy changes with exercise programs.
4. I WEIGH my food (this is important!)
It always comes down to underestimating calories or overestimating activity, or a combination of the 2. Take 2-3 weeks and eat 1500 calories. Then see where you're at. :flowerforyou:
I agree, and I'll give you an example of how easy it is to do. I was eating a can of Chunky Campbell's soup and noticed on the back that it said "about 2 servings". I looked at the weight (grams) per serving and then looked on the front of the can to see the total weight. As I suspected, it was 2.2 servings. So instead of 480 calories, it was 528 calories. Do that every day and it's 5 pounds a year! After noticing the discrepancy, I started looking on other food labels and found that half of them do the same thing.0 -
Are you eating too much fruit. That was a problem for me with points +. Free fruit lead to over eating of fruit.0
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OH and I do have a food scale, it's a digital one. I like using it especially for meat or fruit when there is no "serving size" on a package to refer to.
Excellent! Start logging your food right now. You have miscalculating somewhere, or you have some medical issue. Start with what you can control, and get your food numbers as close as possible to your recommendations. That means staying below your Carbohydates, and striving to meet or exceed your Protein here on the Food Diary.0 -
I am personally NOT a fan of the new WW Points Plus program. It felt like I was eating twice what I normally would! You can talk to your WW Meeting person about doing the old program. They aren't "suppose" to but a lot of them will still help you. You can google the info on how many points you need and there are tons of free apps that have a point calculator (for free).0
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I follow WW, too (since 2006) and this is what I do in order to see success:
~ Drink 9 or 10 glasses per day of water
~ Get 25 to 45 APs per week
~ Eat HALF of my weekly allowance, then the next week eat ALL of them
~ Very rarely do I dig into my Activity points
~ Eat protein at every meal (3 to 4 times per day)
~ Use protein powder at times and make a smoothie
~ Eat ALL of my veggies/fruits
~ Eat fruit in the morning only
~ Eat veggies the rest of the day
~ Eat a bunch of green veggies, but I like different colors each day
~ Drink my dairy in the morning for 2 servings, sometimes getting 3 if I eat Yogurt, too
~ Only get up to 2 oils per day, but mainly 1 per day
~ Log EVERYTHING I eat, even if it is only a bite
When I started counting calories here, I realized that I keep my FAT intake lower most of the time, and I normally go over my Protein. That is fine, because I am pretty active. I also VARY my calories. Some days I eat less than I should, and some days I go over.
I truly believe eating the "right" things will help you in the long run. It's okay to have a cheat day (or snack) every now and then because if you look at it from a lifetime perspective, are you really going to avoid your favorite treat for the rest of your life? I'm not! I love my ice cream and cannot live without my Frappucinnos! :P I just work them into my points/calories, and make sure I eat real clean the day after and exercise them off.0 -
I have heard from other people that the new Points Plus program is bunk. My daily points allowance is 51 - which frankly, seems like a LOT. Like, a whole lot. Especially considering fruits and veggies are 0 points. It just doesn't make sense to me, and after having logged here at MFP for a long time consistently, and learning how many calories are in a lot of things, the 0 points thing seems like a bad idea.0
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Kaily, that seems like a lot of points, I was on WW and I had over 70lbs to lose and only got 31 points. I couldn't eat all those carbs, as they made my blood sugar go up. Watch out for the fruit. I left due to cost.0
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I don't eat a lot of carbs, so I'm finding it hard to get to my 51 goal for the day anyway!! I try to avoid carbs b/c even though my Dr says I don't have IR with my PCOS, I know that carbs are still bad for PCOS'ers. I eat a lot of protein, and the biggest fruit item I eat is bananas. But since they are 0 points on WW it's weird b/c bananas are pretty calorie dense!0
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OK I just input my lunch for today into my Weight Watchers tracker on their website, and it was 17 points. Considering I have 51 per day that I am supposed to use, I beefed up my lunch with some cheese cubes. So I also logged here at MFP and the total calories for my lunch was 796!!!! WTF!? I had a ham sandwich on 45 calorie Sarah Lee wheat bread with 1 tablespoon of mayo with olive oil and 1 slice of reduced fat cheese, and a cup of chicken noodle soup, and cheese cubes. All I had for breakfast was a banana (I'm battling an epic cold so I was feeling crappy this morning). If 17 points = 796 calories the math on that would average me at 2338 calories per day. That's a lot isn't it?? MFP says I should be at 1750 calories per day, which would be closer to 38 points on WW, give or take. What gives????0
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My response will be a little different.
Of course you need to get Thyroid and diabetes tests. As both of these diseases can squ your results.
I was 185 lbs 10 years ago. Have tried every diet known to man and most had me gaining weight after loseing and getting
back to a normal eating pattern. (so I thought)
then I decided to just eat healthy and not diet. That means mostly fresh foods. 2/3 of your plate should be vegetables,
6 oz protien and a small amount of starch/carbs (potatoes, corn, rice, pasta etc)
Find your balance..this is the point where you maintain your present weight. The more you weight..the more you can eat to maintain your weight. You are probably already at the point where you understand what you can eat to not gain.
Now you can adjust your eating habits to promote weight loss. MFP helps with this as you enter your height, weight, age, present weight and how much you want to lose per week. Start off with 1 lb per week and do at least 45 minutes per day of
moderate excercise...can be in 3 -15 minute allotments. You should lose more than your 1 lb per week doing this.
I took 8 years of healthy eating...did not feel hungry and was very comfortable with what I was eating. Had treats on those occasions for birthdays, Christmas and at least once per week. to keep me satisfied. I went from 185 lbs to 143 lbs and then
my plan stalled and I stayed the same for 3 years. Remember that I am very happy with what I am eating and do not consider this a diet.
Now I joined MFP 4 weeks ago and have lost 5 lbs. I need to get down to 128, but am working towards 135 and will decide at that point. All of my weight is in my middle now. I am slim in the legs, arms and face and am working on the toughest part of my weight loss.
My point is 18 lbs per year for 4 years would lose you 75 lbs. but you can do so loving what you eat and not feeling deprived. You should eat as much vegetables as you want/need to satisfy and then use lean protient (chicken and fish) to top it off. Carbs should be selected according to ther glycemic level. Brown rice, whole wheat pasta, Whole grain breads (120 cal for 2 slices) Sweet potatoes. Desserts should be a treat and a reward on special occasions. There are lots of great treats, icecream puddings, etc that are on the market now that have 120 calories or less and there are popsicles that have only 10 calories for the whole popsicle.
I hope I have helped you. We are all different and I too have trouble losing even at 1330 calories per day I am having flucuations and gains and loses and am sometimes frustrated. Good luck and keep us posted.0 -
I did not like the Points Plus program. I had done the previous program and lost 50lbs back in 2006 (then stopped and gained most of that weight back over the years). I eat at my BMR which simplifies things for me. And I lose more consistently than I did w/ WW P+.0
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OK I just input my lunch for today into my Weight Watchers tracker on their website, and it was 17 points. Considering I have 51 per day that I am supposed to use, I beefed up my lunch with some cheese cubes. So I also logged here at MFP and the total calories for my lunch was 796!!!! WTF!? I had a ham sandwich on 45 calorie Sarah Lee wheat bread with 1 tablespoon of mayo with olive oil and 1 slice of reduced fat cheese, and a cup of chicken noodle soup, and cheese cubes. All I had for breakfast was a banana (I'm battling an epic cold so I was feeling crappy this morning). If 17 points = 796 calories the math on that would average me at 2338 calories per day. That's a lot isn't it?? MFP says I should be at 1750 calories per day, which would be closer to 38 points on WW, give or take. What gives????
What gives is they are assuming a certain lean body mass to fat ratio. If you're off that ratio, it won't work properly. If you would rather use points than count calories (essentially the same thing), then you should cut back the points to where you think they should be (38) and see what happens after about 3 weeks. No reason not to tweak the points if it isn't working for you. You can also get free point counters unless you happen to get something about of the meetings.
Hope this helps.0 -
I did the same thing- I ate too much fruit and it has a lot of calories. I eventually gave up weight watchers as my progress was very slow. MFP works better for me. Good Luck - don't give up!0
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I found that Weight Watchers only works for me when I follow the following guidelines:
Only eat your allotted daily amount.
Don't use the "extra" points.
Only use the extra points you earn from exercise.
Drink a ton of water.
Eat a ton of vegetables.
Limit your fruit servings to 2 per day. Don't think that because they're "0" that makes it okay to load up on fruit. One of the main things I wish they would teach in their meetings.
I've done this for a month - using strictly weight watchers and I've lost 8 pounds. And I was just like you. You have to learn what your body has gotten used to and what it hasn't.0 -
I've known people who gain on WW. They tend to eat a lot of fruit and veggies which throws their calorie count too high since WW considers these "free" foods.
The best thing I've found is a balanced, calorie correct - I put everything on my diary that goes into my mouth except black coffee and seasonings - (I use MFP guidelines - but do NOT eat back exercise cals), and exercise.
MFP is certainly cheaper than WW and, in my opinion, gives a better result - both short term and long term.
Good luck...you can figure this out and do what's best for you!0 -
I've never been on weight watchers but that sounds like a lot of food....0
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It sounds like you need to ditch WW and just track calories through MFP. I started in January and it definitely has worked for me.0
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I would skip the soup (high in sodium) and cheese cubes (high in calories and fat) and add a big green salad instead with light dressing. That will keep you full. I am doing Jenny Craig right now because I was finding it impossible to lose ANY weight, and you have only 2 fruits a day. Only non-starchy vegetables are included as unlimited.OK I just input my lunch for today into my Weight Watchers tracker on their website, and it was 17 points. Considering I have 51 per day that I am supposed to use, I beefed up my lunch with some cheese cubes. So I also logged here at MFP and the total calories for my lunch was 796!!!! WTF!? I had a ham sandwich on 45 calorie Sarah Lee wheat bread with 1 tablespoon of mayo with olive oil and 1 slice of reduced fat cheese, and a cup of chicken noodle soup, and cheese cubes. All I had for breakfast was a banana (I'm battling an epic cold so I was feeling crappy this morning). If 17 points = 796 calories the math on that would average me at 2338 calories per day. That's a lot isn't it?? MFP says I should be at 1750 calories per day, which would be closer to 38 points on WW, give or take. What gives????0
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