Weighty Dilemma

November 4th 2011 / 1 minute to read

Remember how I said I was starting Weight Watchers again? Yeah… going to cancel and go back to counting calories.

As much as I love the WW interface and iPhone app… I seem to be GAINING weight and it’s only week two!

Week one I lost 1.8lbs but then again that was the week of AF so it was most likely water weight. This morning I peeked at the scale and saw I GAINED weight.

WTF.

I went and entered in everything I’ve eaten recently into a calorie counter and saw that I was eating 2,000-2,500 calories a day! So even though I was spot on with my WW points, I was eating at a level that caused me to not only NOT lose weight but GAIN. I need to eat somewhere between 1,500-1,800 calories to lose weight at a slow yet steady rate.

So back to MyFitnessPal. My twin sister and her best friend are doing it as well so I have semi-local offline support that will be doing it with me.

Would LOVE more MFP friends though (if you’re an ACTIVE user), here’s My Fitness Pal Profile.

This post is over a year old which means the content may be outdated or no longer accurate.

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That can be so hard. Especially when you’re making a conscious effort! I added you on MFP. I just started earlier this week. I hope that it works for you. It can be hard to stick to it, but once you start feeling healthy it’s completely worth it!

Sweet! When I make the decision to count calories and such, I normally have decent success, my BIGGEST issues are 1. drinking water… ever and 2. working out.

#2 is just because I am exhausted. I get 2-4hrs of sleep a night (insomnia + nocturnal toddler) and my daily/weekly migraines (how they love me).

Yea water was a biggie for me to. I mean I used to drink like a glass a day. But now I’m on coffee and Water only. I was drink like the biggest fountain drink you could get at 7-11 a day. It was insane. Since Sunday, I’ve had two like 32 oz pops and one I didn’t even finish. My water bottle that I carry is two cups so it makes it easy for me to remember how much to drink.

I’m sorry about the Migraines. That is the worst! I think I’ve had two in my life and they were horrendous. I think the thing to do is work yourself up in exercising. Like just do something small you can increase daily. Right now I’m doing this thing where I do so many jumping jacks a day. And it increases daily. Is it a lot? No but it’s better than nothing and I can already feel a small difference. I mean walk if you can or do cardio whatever but even the small stuff counts.

I don’t even drink a glass a day heh. I gave up drinking (crazy drinking), gave up smoking, but can’t let go of the Coke Zero.

I have a fancy treadmill and I love any workout videos with Bob Harper (I LOVE BOB!), it’s just the lack of sleep makes me VERY clumsy (not to mention zero energy).

I’ve already noticed being ONE DAY on MFP again that I’m not just eating a ton like I was on WW. More accountable for that banana lol.

So happy to hear that you’re not getting discouraged. Don’t give up! Sent a friend request in MyFitnessPal.

Didn’t see the friend request? So I sent you one of my own lol.

Jenn

I second the choice to count calories (and fat grams!) instead of following Weight Watchers. It has always worked better for me than any other plan. I wish you luck with your endeavor. I’ll add you on MFP. :)

Reply to Jenn

I mainly eat a lean meat / veggie / fruit diet just… too much cheese and TOO MUCH of everything else. Also I have a tendency that when I gain weight WHILE being hardcore on a “plan” it just screws with my head and I end up going crazy on local Chicago food (deep dish pizza, hot dogs, cheese fries, etc).

I sadly NEED a program to help me with my portion sizes. It’s funny though, last time I was at this weight I was a size BIGGER (not that I’m complaining lol). I just need to get back on using the treadmill we have more regularly.

Plus there’s the added frustration that you’re *paying* them to gain that weight. I was doing weight watchers for the past year and a half, and for the past few months I was losing and gaining the same 5 pounds or so, so I stopped. I couldn’t stand that I was paying them so much and not really getting that much support (most of the meetings I went to were spent discussing splenda/low fat processed foods/microwave meals/etc. that I never eat).

YES! Exactly! I don’t know WHY I keep going back to WW when after they came out with PointsPlus I don’t LOSE.

I always have done the online version. I also don’t do the microwave meals. I don’t like how everything is fat-free or candy/chocolate/cake obsessed as I don’t like ANY of those things lol.

Jodi Hall

I heard that about weight watchers too. im just gonna do the counting calories thing when i start watching what i eat (gotta get through the holidays lol)

Reply to Jodi Hall

LOL!!! I’m going to try and not cook like crazy this holiday season, or if I do, make sure it’s fancy and worth it!

Jill

Good luck, sweetie. Keep in mind that calories-in, calories-out is not the be-all, end-all of weight loss.

Reply to Jill

Oh I agree, I just need help with portion sizes and especially just working out more. I remember when I lost all that weight back in 2003, I didn’t do ANYTHING but walk (and cry LOL that was a hard year!) a toddler Danny around outside all the time.

Caity

Wow, I’m sorry that WW didn’t work out for you. That’s surprising since I know they redid their program.

I am a fan of calorie counting obviously. I’ll add you on MFP. I hope it works out for you. Let me know if you need anything. I’ve been there over a year now and I’m a huge fan of it.

Reply to Caity

I had great success on their previous Points program but the new points plus… not so much obviously heh. Once I saw how many calories I was eating because fruit was “free” points and veggies too… I could see how that added up FAST!

What do you do for meals when you are just exhausted? And how did you start working out in the beginning when it’s so PAINFUL? Even doing 20min on the treadmill (walking, 3.0mph) feels like I’m going to die.

Caity

I used to make meals in advance and have them ready to warm up like soups or make pasta salads with lots of vegetables in them. This site is one of my favourites – it has quick and easy recipe ideas since I’m not that good of a cook: and also http://www.skinnytaste.com/

As for the exercise, in the start I just went for walks. I just made sure I went for a good walk every day and took one day off a week. My first goal to track my calories every day and do my very best to stay under but be kind to myself in the beginning (because I tend to fail if I tell myself that I can’t go over so I just told myself that I had to track every day and eventually I got good at calorie counting with practice). My other goal was to stick with my walks every day and have a day off each week. After about a month or so I was doing so well so I got a gym membership and started going to the classes so maybe after a month you can up your intensity or something. I had a friend who made her own treadmill program. Every other week she would add time to her treadmill until eventually she was running a bit and now she just runs for 5 miles easy. So if the 20 minutes on the treadmill is what you start with, then do it! Do it every day and track it and then increase it as you’re able! Maybe in another week add another 5 minutes every other day or something! It’s not a race. You’ll get there. :)

Sorry for the huge ramble.

Reply to Caity

I highly recommend Gary Taube’s books “Why We Get Fat” and “Good Calories/Bad Calories”. If you have a decent public library, you should be able to get them there. I was really resistant to going with a higher fat “diet”, but eating mostly lean protein/”good” carbs (whole grains, etc), wasn’t working for me either. Since putting fat back in my diet, I actually eat less cause I’m full easier, and I haven’t gained any weight. I can go longer between meals, and I don’t get the “I MUST eat NOW or I will bite your head off” feelings. And I’m REALLY enjoying cream in my coffee! Nuts! Butter! Bacon! Eggs! I’ve even started eating the skin off the roasted chicken–haven’t done that in 30 years!
Oh, and he makes a very good point of saying that exercise makes you hungrier! Especially cardio. Jim Caras’s “The No-Cardio Diet” is a good book, but the meal plan is low-fat/high carb.

Oh I naturally eat fairly low-carb. I can’t remember the last time I had bread…

I eat full-fat/low-fat dairy and lean meats, it’s why I don’t really struggle too much with calorie counting (1710 a day). My BIGGEST issues are 1. I can’t bring myself to drink water which is insane 2. working out.

I’ve been wanting to get back here to reply.
Don’t worry about exercise as a way to lose weight. It’s not very helpful. Research has shown that quite well.
I’ve looked at the recipes you’ve posted, and they are NOT low carb at all. They are all high carb. You’ve also mentioned eating a dry cereal for breakfast. Total carbs. That cereal (and the 2% milk which is high in sugar) have more carbs than what low carb diets allow in their intro phase for a whole day! I have a suspicion you are insulin resistant (it’s almost unheard of to be overweight and not be IR).
You don’t need to exercise to lose weight, you don’t need to count calories, you don’t need to eat anything that’s low fat. You just need to reduce the amount of insulin floating around which is telling your cells to hold on to the fat. You do this by not eating most carbs, especially flour, sugar, or root vegetables (and corn). Many people can not even eat most fruits (bananas are bad!) because they are too high in fructose.
I really, really recommend that anyone who is concerned about their weight pick up those books by Taubes, or “Living Low Carb” (formerly, “Living the Low Carb Life”) by Jonny Bowden. I also think you’d enjoy the South Beach program as it does incorporate carbs after the initial two week period. Even if you don’t like the program, the health info at the start of the book is worth it.
After a sudden weight gain 2 1/2 years ago (I was already overweight though), I thought I’d never lose it. In two months, I’ve lost about 12 pounds–by eating lots of cheese, eggs, 3-6% yoghurt, 10% cream, veggies, meats, and even (sugar free) ice cream. I don’t count calories, fat grams, or carb grams. For the first time in 20 years, I am faced with low blood pressure and had to go off my hypertension meds. All because I cut out my bran flakes, whole wheat bread, pasta, and potatoes (and a few cookies and muffins, LOL). I have never lost weight like this before, even though I followed healthy eating guidelines and exercised. Understanding how your body processes food and releases insulin changed my life.

OH LOL! Most of the recipes I post are for my husband and kids, for example, I don’t eat cookies/breads/etc. However I’ll still bake them!

I also don’t really eat dry cereal very often, maybe once every 4 months if that? I typically do eggs/egg beaters with veggies. I do eat occasionally (2-3x week) low-fat cheese.

I eat around 1600-1660 calories a day. I actually am not insulin resistant (I do get this checked as on my mother’s side, almost everyone had diabetes), I don’t have high blood pressure (can run a bit low actually), and over all (surprisingly) don’t have any health issues except my migraines (which are hereditary, started when I was about 6/7 yrs old).

I really don’t encounter any problems when I stay within my calories, it’s just the struggle to STAY ON TRACK that I tend to have issues with lol.

Thank you for all the information though!

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