WW and starvation mode? (sorry, long!!)

acakeforawife · February 2010

Hello everyone. I’ve been following Weight Watchers quite religiously for the last 15 months or so. I’ve lost 80 lbs or so (yay!) but in the last four months, my weightloss has really slowed (boo!). It hasn’t stopped completely, but I’m averaging a bit less than 2 lbs per month now, when I used to average around 1.5 lbs / week.

I guess I’m wondering if this slowdown is normal, because I’m getting closer to my goal? Or if it’s possible that I have not been eating enough on WW? Out of curiosity, I plugged a few weeks worth of my food into MFP, and found that my weeks would go like this:

Sun-Thurs: eating is ‘on track’ and I’m working out, so I end up with net calorie intake for the day being only about 700-800 calories.
Fri – Sat: eating is more indulgent, AND I’m not working out, so my net calories end up being more like 1800-1900.

This kinda reminded me of a less extreme version of the ‘700 calories a day and not losing’ thread. Maybe?

Right now I get 24 pts per day (Approx 1200 -1400 calories, depending on your food choices.) I also get 35 Flex points, which, as mentioned, I normally just use up on Friday and Saturday.

I work out 4-5 x per week, an hour each (2 bootcamps, and 2-3 treadmill or running workouts). I burn about 500-600 calories each session (I have a Polar HRM to track). I am also pretty active in general since I live downtown, don’t have a car, and walk EVERYWHERE. I’m also about to start training for a 10K run.

So anyway, I started to think maybe I wasn’t eating enough, so this week I’ve been going strictly by MFP, (1340 calories) and eating all my exercise calories back. Sadly, after a week, the scale has me up 1.6 lbs.

Sorry this post is long! I guess here are the things I find myself wondering at:

1) Does anyone have experience with WW? I worry that it’s not ‘built’ for the amount of activity I get. (For example, I count my activity points as 1pt per 100 calories burned, but even if I eat those points back, I may end up only eating 250 calories, even though I burned 500.)
2) Is my weight loss slow down due to being closer to my goal, or is it possible I was not eating enough? For the record, I’m still about 25 lbs from my goal (which is 150)
3) Even though I gained after my first week of eating more, do I need to keep trying at it? How long would it (approx) take my body to figure out what’s going on?

A few things about me that might be relevant:
- Am female, 29 y.o, 5”6.
- Starting weight was 257, current weight 177, goal weight 150
- I set my MFP goal as 1.5 lbs loss per week, so it gave me a calorie goal of 1340.
- I’ve already tried a lot of the normal ‘plateau-busting’ techniques, like changing up my food choices and activity, spreading my points around differently in the day, drinking lots of water, sodium monitoring, measuring everything to check for 'portion-creep', etc.

On a good week I’ll lose a pound or two but then be right back up the next week. I've been at this so long and the feeling that it's no longer working is really discouraging, and, to be honest, kinda scary! I'd love ANY feedback you guys might have!!

MichelleyTX · February 2010

way to go girl on ur weight loss!! I'd die to lose that much!!!!

MacMadame · February 2010

Yes, as you get closer to your goal, your weight loss slows down. For one thing, your BMR gets lower as you weigh less because it takes less energy to move your body, pump blood through your body, etc.

Also, be sure to keep upping the intensity of your exercise because, if you just do the same thing all the time, you will get more fit and burn less calories doing it.

aplucedellaluna · February 2010

Definitely switch up your exercise--every workout should leave you feeling like a mess (in a good way, of course!)

Also, I'd keep an eye out for the proportions (fat,carb, protein ration) in your calories...you may have to scale down/up on certain things...and limit sugar to certain days...

I hope that helps!
Good luck and great job with all your progress!!!!!!

Alia

LivyJo · February 2010

I dont have experience w/ WW except that i've had a few friends and family members do it, and they did well, until they met their goals or they couldn't get down to their goal, in which they gave up. Why dont you try tracking calories and exercise on MFP (forgetting the Points guide), and see if that helps? It may be time to dump WW and get down to the nitty gritty calorie numbers.

Edit: oops i see now that you have tried it for a week....well, maybe you need more then a week? When I first started counting calories I gained! And then lost....

Congrats on your weight loss! You are doing fantastic and I wish you the best! :flowerforyou:

Supermel · February 2010

I'm not sure how long you have been at this stage of your weight loss, or how fast you lost the first, but i doubt eating less is your answer. I'm not an expert by any means, but a few things that have been pointed out to me, are upping my protein to 1/2 my body weight in grams (so If i weighed 200 lbs, i should be eating 100g of protein per day), eating at least every 3 hours, and combining a complex carb and a protein at each snack/meal. I would think after such a large loss of weight, a long plateau of months at the same weight would be inevitable, and i would just do my best to maintain (i'm soo not listening to my own advice though lol). Good luck on the rest of your journey!

kgrutch · February 2010

up your calories some and really increase your exercise, high intensity cardio and weights!! the more you lose the more you have to do to kick up your metabolism.

mromnek · February 2010

I wouldn't worry about losing (only) 2 lbs a month if I were you. Just keep plugging away at it. Remember, you are no longer in the shed mode, as you get closer to your optimum weight.

See if they can do a body fat measurement next time you go to weight watchers. It will be a better gage of how close you are to your optimum body mass.

swtally80 · February 2010

sounds like we have similar weight loss.... goals and stories... aside from I have solely used mfp. my last 6 months (especially through the holidays gained at least 8 lbs) I have had an almost impossible time losing. Since the new year I have gotten rid of the additional holiday lbs and another 5 on top of that. I exercise regularly and follow my calorie goals including eating my exercise calories and having a full blown cheat day once a week. As you get closer to your goal weight your weight loss will be a lot slower and you have to be patient. I would give the transition from points to calorie counting at least 3 weeks. My mom used to do WW and had great success I tried it and had a hard time following the program (it feels better to get to eat so many calories when you get so few points how ever its the same concept). You can do this! These last few pounds I believe will be my life long struggle!

acakeforawife · February 2010

Thank you for all the comments so far! I guess I should keep up with the calorie counting for a bit longer before I can see how it's really working for me?

I guess I just have the paranoid fear that *I* am that *rare* person for whole the BMR tests are completely wrong and that I'm going to end up eating way too many calories and gaining all the weight back. That probably sounds crazy, but does anyone else ever feel like that? It feels like *wishful thinking* to even entertain the idea that I might actually NEED to eat more!

jrbowers83 · February 2010

Thank you for all the comments so far! I guess I should keep up with the calorie counting for a bit longer before I can see how it's really working for me?

I guess I just have the paranoid fear that *I* am that *rare* person for whole the BMR tests are completely wrong and that I'm going to end up eating way too many calories and gaining all the weight back. That probably sounds crazy, but does anyone else ever feel like that? It feels like *wishful thinking* to even entertain the idea that I might actually NEED to eat more!

OMG I feel exactly like this. I'm working to break through a plateau right now, and I'm nowhere near my goal weight, so it's really kinda irritating me. But I would say definitely try to stick with it for a month or so before you completely throw out the whole eating more calories idea. I do alot of bouncing back and forth on my eating, sometimes with a huge deficit and sometimes eating close to maintenance calories. Right now I've set myself to maintenance calories because I felt like I "needed" to eat more but don't want to eat so much that I gain, and if I have a deficit of about 500 cals I figure I should lose something. I hear stories of people who were stuck in their weight loss, and ate more in one week and lost 4 lbs, but that just won't happen for me. Just trying to stick with it and focus less on what the scale says and more on how my body FEELS.

stormieweather · February 2010

I felt like that too (afraid I was overestimating my BMR), so I paid to have my metabolism tested. The result? My BMR is 24% faster than average and is actually 1800 calories a day and I burn approximately 2500 without exercise.. I have been under eating (at 1200-1450) which is why my weight loss has stalled. I'm working on increasing my intake and getting my body used to getting enough nutrition, as well as increasing my workout intensity and frequency.

I think...that unless they are extremely sedentary and/or petite...many people need more than 1200 calories a day in order to optimize their weight loss. Of course, that's just based on my own experience and NO expertise whatsoever, so take it how you will

.

Personally, I'd increase my NET calories to 1200 and enjoy the 2 pound a month weight loss.:flowerforyou:

MacMadame · February 2010

It feels like *wishful thinking* to even entertain the idea that I might actually NEED to eat more!

It is wishful thinking. If eating more made us lose weight, we'd never have gotten fat to start with because we all used to eat more -- a lot more! :laugh:

Now, you can rev your metabolism up for a few days by having one day of higher calories once in a while, but, the higher your calories are in the long run, the slower you will lose weight -- assuming you keep your calorie expenditure the same.

Something that does happen though is that you do get to a point of diminishing returns. It's not a linear projection where a 500 calorie a day deficit leads to a 1 lb. a week loss, 1000 a day leads to 2lb. a week loss, 1500 leads to 3 lb. a week loss, etc. Instead, as your deficit goes up, the amount you lose only goes up by a little. So it gets to the point where it's not worth it because that extra 1/4 a pound a week you are losing doesn't make up for the deprivation you have to put yours through to get there.

Btw, I've done WW, Jenny Craig, Nutri/sytem and Atkins. They *all* work. As long as you stay on them and stay honest. So I've been on them and toed the line, followed the system, and lost to goal. And I've been on them and been unmotivated and didn't totally follow the system and didn't get to goal.

acakeforawife · February 2010

MacMadame, thank you for your comment. I know you have no reason to believe me (I'm just an internet stranger, after all!

) but I can definitely say that I've been VERY diligent about following WW to the letter: tracking EVERYTHING, never straying outside my points, constantly upping my activity, carefully monitoring the quality of my food, following the healthy guidelines, etc. Which is why it has been SO frustrating to see my losses slow so much. It's taken me four months to even consider the possibility that I might need to up my calorie intake a little -- whether or not that's the right answer or not remains to be seen, but I truly have no idea what else to try!

Jerzeebabie04 · February 2010

From what I was told, most veggies are zero points, so you should be eatting more veggies in between using your points. It's important to eat at least 1200 calories even when your working out. That could be why your weight loss is slowing

mhotch · February 2010

I lost 40 Lbs last year on WW. It took me 6 months to lose 35 lbs and it took 9 weeks to lose the last 5 lbs. I had to change up my cardio. I added running on the treadmill. I have been at lifetime for 11 months now.

WW has a different approach for caloric intake then MFP. I use both. I stick to my 21-23 pt spread, which barely makes it to 1200 calories on MFP. But it works.

I would stick with WW. It has been working for you. When I use MFP and go over the 1200 cal, I gain weight. What I did learn through this journey, it is not only cal in/out, but what calories I choose to intake. keep the diet healthy and keep doing what you are doing, it is working, and congratulation on you success so far!

bethany_85 · February 2010

Have you tried The Wendie Plan? It follows WW but has you mix up your points so you body gets confused. Here is more info...

http://www.stormpc.com/ww/wendie_plan.htm

acakeforawife · February 2010

Bethany, thank you, I did look into the Wendie Plan, BUT I get confused about what to do about all my activity points. A good thought though, maybe I should check it out some more!

jhuff · February 2010

Does anyone here know how often you should be upping the intensity of your workout? I'd like a rough estimate to start setting up some goals.

toots99 · February 2010

Hopefully this doesn't sound insultingly simple, but you've adjusted your points with your weight loss right? The more you lose, the fewer points you get. Sorry if that sounds like "Your computer's not working? Well is it turned on?" :laugh:

I follow WW myself, and have been wondering the same thing too, are WW points not equal to a healthy calorie range? But I've lost almost 50 lbs on WW...this past summer I switched from going by points to going solely by MFP calories, including eating all of my exercise calories, and I stayed the same all summer. I went back to the WW plan, and the weight started coming right off again.

Hope you figure out what it isyou need to get things going again...when you do, let us know! I'm interested to know what helped.

Good luck! :flowerforyou:

acakeforawife · February 2010

:laugh: Toots: Yes, I did decrease my points as I went along. Totally get where you're coming from though, that is the most obvious question!

Interesting to hear about your experience with WW versus MFP. Do you get a lot of activity? I feel like that might be what is really throwing me. I just have no idea how to eat like 'an active person' never mind 'an active person who wants to lose weight'!

toots99 · February 2010

:laugh: Toots: Yes, I did decrease my points as I went along. Totally get where you're coming from though, that is the most obvious question!

Interesting to hear about your experience with WW versus MFP. Do you get a lot of activity? I feel like that might be what is really throwing me. I just have no idea how to eat like 'an active person' never mind 'an active person who wants to lose weight'!

I go to the gym at least 5-6 times a week, at least an hour each day. I am currently at a plateau myself, and having never heard of that wendie Plan before, I read through it. I think I'm going to give that a try...can't hurt, right? She said "What about exercise points? What about them? I never use them." I really don't either...I'm sure some people will b*tch at me about that, but that's what was working for me. When I went back on WW after plateauing all summer, I did also start running, which I'm sure helped the pounds come off. So I'm going to try this Wendie Program and try a different cardio routine...maybe that'll kickstart things back on track.

Maybe it's not how much you're eating, but what you're eating?

acakeforawife · February 2010

Yes, the Wendie plan does have some sensible logic behind it (at least it seems to!) I've also had some success doing a simplified version of that 'points confusion' thing: you just divide your flex points in three, and eat them every second day.
So if your week starts on Monday:

Monday: eat your points exactly
Tuesday: eat your points + 10-12 Flex points
Wednesday: eat your points exactly
Thursday: eat your points + 10-12 Flex points
Friday: eat your points exactly
Saturday: eat your points + 10-12 Flex points
Sunday: eat your points exactly

Seems to be a nice little trick, and simpler to remember than the Wendie plan!

toots99 · February 2010

So do you think that when her plan says one day eat very high points, the next eat very low points...do you think the 'very low' points is not a good idea? Maybe I'll try what you suggested instead, I'm not crazy about the idea of going under my points, like her plan suggested.

It's weird, it's so hard to get yourself in the frame of mind of eating extra points, or eating exercise calories...I know why we do that, but it's like I can't wrap my head around it...my mind doesn't want to do it. :laugh:

kgrutch · February 2010

I feel like that might be what is really how much you're eating, but what you're eating?

this is i agree with whole heartedly. you can eat 1200 calories worth of poor quality foods or 1200 calories of healthy whole foods. #1 you feel better eating the good foods, #2 you will not be near as hungry, #3 you body needs good fuel to increase exercise and maintain metobolism. i really try to avoid sugar and white flours, rice and pastas-they really make me crave more sugar and carbs, i feel so much hungrier if i eat any of those products.

i have done weight watchers in combination with MFP and clean eating. i am now a lifetime memebr of WW and like to go to weigh in to keep me honest. i continue to be a clean eater ( i strive for 90% clean eating) and track my food choices here on MFP. good luck with your weight loss!!

MacMadame · February 2010

Does anyone here know how often you should be upping the intensity of your workout? I'd like a rough estimate to start setting up some goals.

When what you are doing starts to feel easy. :happy:

kgrutch · February 2010

Does anyone here know how often you should be upping the intensity of your workout? I'd like a rough estimate to start setting up some goals.

When what you are doing starts to feel easy. :happy:

when you are not sweating and short of breath!!

WW and starvation mode? (sorry, long!!)

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