Category Archives: Weight Watchers

Weekly Weigh In #9

Posted on by

FINALLY, a good weigh in! Today, I weighed in, expecting a gain, and I …

Lost 1 pound

This is kind of confusing because… in my frustration with last week’s gain, I kind of lost it on Saturday. I ate corned beef, butter cabbage, bread, cupcakes, and two cups of Bailey’s Irish Cream. I got back on track on Sunday, but I had just decided to say “Screw it” and eat what I wanted on Saturday. But, I did start exercising more, and also tracked really well otherwise. Weird, right?

Anyways. The important thing I want to talk about today is my “new plan”. I met with the CSUN Nutritionist Ellen, this week. In 2008, Ellen helped me drop 30 pounds, simply by telling me what kinds of food to eat and what to avoid. I printed out my daily trackers, and we revealed two interesting things: 1) I tend to rely on the frozen SmartOnes for lunches. The SmartOnes aren’t enough to satisfy my hunger, as evidenced by all the salty, snacky things that were racking up points during the day. 2) Even though I stayed within my 39 points a day, I was yo-yoing the same couple pounds, back and forth. Ellen did the math – and even at my reduced 39 points a day (I originally got 42), Weight Watchers was putting me at around consuming 2,400 calories a day!

This is a big deal, because, to lose one pound a week, I should be eating about 1,900 calories a day at my current weight and activity level. My nutritionist even said – in theory, Weight Watchers works for most people. The keyword is MOST. Apparently, I’m one of those lucky few that doesn’t fit into the one size fits all. She even said Weight Watchers is the best program around – and she recommends it all the time – but sometimes, the math just isn’t right for everybody. As such, I will now be counting calories, via my Fitness Pal, and trying to stay around 1,700 calories a day. I’ll finish out my current Weight Watchers program I paid for, which I think is a few more weeks, but I probably won’t be tracking. I might actually track AND count calories one week, just to see what the discrepancy truly is.

How do I feel about all of this? I feel relieved. For weeks now, I’ve been beating myself up, wondering what I was doing wrong, why I just couldn’t DO THIS as tons of people around me dropped the weight, enjoying their extra points each weekend as mine were taken away. It wasn’t all my fault. It was a computation error – a mathematical oops, a simple case of numbers not exactly making sense. Now that I know what’s going on, I have a new, alternative plan and a trusted mentor to get me through this.  I can do this – I will do this – I AM doing this!

Whew. So yeah. Finally, I have some answers.

 

Weekly Weigh In #7 – In which I want to bitchslap Weight Watchers in the face.

Posted on by

After a week of diligent tracking, a four mile hike, a dance class, and several miles walked on breaks at work, I…

lost a whopping .2 of a pound

I’m frustrated. Not gonna lie. Thinking about canceling Weight Watchers on the spot and drowning my sorrows in peeps, guacamole and Mike’s Hard Lemonade. But I’m not going to do that. I calmly met with my Weight Watchers leader after the meeting and we went over a few things.

The first thing is we agreed to reduce my daily points target by two points. This means eating less. The second thing is, I can’t use any of my “extra” or “flex” points. That sucks. Those are usually my weekend enjoyment points, where I’ll have a hard cider or a cupcake or popcorn.I’ve also been instructed to eat a maximum of three pieces of fruit a day.

I have mixed feelings about this all. First, I’m pissed that my second go around on the new Weight Watchers Points Plus system is turning out the same as the first. I’m paying for the plan because, ya know, even their copyrighted tagline is, “because it works.” Clearly it doesn’t work in a one size fits all way. I’m supposed to be able to follow the plan and have 49 extra points and all my daily points that the calculator decides for me… and I can’t. I’m supposed to be able to eat unlimited fruit. And I can’t. I’m not saying it doesn’t work at all, because it obviously does… for people like my friends KjPugs, WonderWall,  A Bit of This and All the Weigh. These people have rocked the plan, and lost tons of weight, and it was more than just the plan – it was their dedication, blood, sweat and tears. I’m not saying I’m following the plan perfectly, because I’m sure sometimes my measurements are off or I track something as less than it is – but I think I’m at about 90% genuine compliance.

Gratuitous Photo of Leo the Cat because I don't have any pictures that apply!

Am I just not compatible with Weight Watchers? I’m really fed up, but I’m going to try at least for a month with the no flex/extra points, less fruit and lower daily points target. If after a month I’m still honest to goodness trying and not seeing results, I gotta move on. I see my nutritionist early next week, and I can’t wait to dive into my tracking history with her and see what knowledge she can give me. I successfully lost 30 pounds in 2008 under her instruction, so I know she can steer me in the right direction.

I think the hardest thing about this is trying to figure out why, a couple times, I’ve managed to lose 2.8 pounds a week. The only thing I’ve discovered is that was a week I didn’t use flex points – so hopefully this will do the trick. Still… kind of crappy. What do you think I should do? Keep at it and see if these tweaks will do the trick? Abandon Weight Watchers and go back to sensible eating and exercise without a plan? Say screw it and accept my zaftig unhealthy weight? :) Choices, Choices… I gotta lose the weight because there’s something coming up in the near future that will require a fit and healthy body- and NO, for the love of god, I am not pregnant.

I’ll share the exciting news in the next post :) Have a marvelous Monday!

 

Trying something new: Eating Clean

Posted on by

My mom and I hiking in Malibu

This week, I’m trying something new. After a somewhat bad-eating weekend (a cupcake here and movie popcorn there), I decided I wanted to do a re-set. I wanted to eat clean.
So since Tuesday morning, I haven’t eaten a single processed thing. NOT ONE PROCESSED THING. Nary a processed “convenience” item has passed my lips. I realized I eat a lot of packaged crap on Weight Watchers – the frozen SmartOnes baked Ziti, little Weight Watchers chocolate cream cakes, peeps, crystal light, fiber one bars… My Yo-Yoing has made me realize it doesn’t matter if it keeps me on plan or within my points. It’s still crap, and it’s stuff I wouldn’t want my future children eating daily, so why am I? It’s easy to pop a SmartOne into the microwave on days when I’m heading to class or stuck in a lunch meeting, but I’m kind of over them. Sure, they’re tasty and low points, but they’re also filled with salt and preservatives. I’m not raggin’ on them, because it works, but I think I’m relying on them too much. Crap is crap is crap no matter how it’s packaged, marketed or prepared.

I’ve stayed in my points allotment but I’m doing it a little differently. Here’s how: tons of vegetables, fresh fruits, dried fruits, seeds, lean protein and water and tea. LOTS OF IT. Here’s what I ate yesterday (and stayed within my points allotment on):

1 Apricot Mango Greek Yogurt, Organic (8 points – I mistakenly bought the full fat version and wondered why it was so damn delicious and tasted like icecream. Then I calculated the points. Haha!)
1 Mug of Green Mint Tea (0 points)
1 Banana (0 points)

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds in shell (4 points)
2 cups vegetable beef soup, homemade (packed with spinach, zucchini, carrots, celery, onions, cabbage, peas and tomatoes) 5 points
4 prunes (2 points)
Water

1/2 Cup Cantaloupe (0 points)
1/2 Cup Pineapple (0 points)

Grilled chicken breast (boneless, skinless) 4 points
1 cup asparagus, sauteed (1 point)
1 small baked potato with butter (5 points)
Water

4 slices dried mango (3 points)
3 squares 85% dark chocolate (2 points)
Water

I’m actually somewhat under points on this, but I don’t feel hungry. I’m not even craving diet pepsi, which is weird because I usually have one at every lunch. This is probably TMI for you so close your eyes and skip to the next line if you’re squeamish, but I’m also like….regular. Haha! I have no idea what this little plan of mine will result in tomorrow on the scale, but I’m hoping it’s good. If it’s not, I’ll decide what to do then. I also have been walking at least a mile on breaks at work every day, and yesterday I did an hour of dance class. On Sunday, I hiked for two hours with Matt and my mom. I’m trying, and like Thomas the train, I’m chugging along saying to myself, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can….”.

Have you ever tried to do a “detox” of sorts by eating clean? How did it go?

Weekly Weigh In #6

Posted on by

*Sigh* Let’s get right to it. This week I

gained .8 of a pound

Sometimes, I feel like I’m living my life in Groundhog’s day, because for the past six weeks of Weight Watchers, I have consistently been losing one week, and then gaining the next. It’s a scene all too familiar and one I’m getting sick of repeating. Remember last week’s monumental weight loss? 2.8 pounds? Yeah, not so much today.

I really anticipated a small loss, at least. Nothing huge, but a little reward for the night I turned down a bowl of ice cream, or when I spent an hour and a half of my Sunday morning speed walking around the park. I was bitter today after my weigh in. I wondered aloud why I was doomed to a life of fatness. (Yes, I have a flair for the dramatic) It’s hard not to be frustrated when the third time I’ve tried Weight Watchers, I’m having similar results, a perpetual YoYo, constantly not constant. Is it me? Is it the program? Is it the sugary Peeps I ate (and tracked)? Is it bloating? Is it too little exercise?

I really want to say, “F you, Weight Watchers,” and go stuff my face with garlic bread, but I’m not going to. I’m paying for this damn plan, so I’m gonna make it work even if that means I can’t use my extra points or I have to cut out my liquid crack, my beloved Diet Pepsi. (C’mon – one can a day? How bad can it be?!)

So what do I need to do? Eat less. Move more. Use less extra points. Cut out the crap. Crap is crap even if I count it. Peeps aren’t good for the junk in my trunk, and neither are FiberOne Brownies. Crap is crap. But I give a crap. So next week, I’m losing weight, even if I have to strip naked on the scale to make it. I’m sick of having to write the same post every other week. It makes me not want to write to you. But I do, because I need to. It needs to change. It will change. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. Send me some weight loss vibes, will ya?

My 13-point dinner tonight. Salad with beets and light ranch, turkey breast sandwich with sprouts, avocado and cheese on whole wheat with light cranberry juice.

 

Weekly Weigh In #3

Posted on by

Today was my third weigh in, and I’ll admit that I approached it with a somewhat pessimistic attitude. After last week’s weigh in, I was frustrated and disappointed that a week of staying on plan had gained me a gain! This morning, I got on my scale and was irritated that the number hadn’t budged in the direction I was looking for – in fact, it had stayed exactly the same. However, through my drama I knew I had to wait until I actually weighed in at the Weight Watchers meeting to make any decisions about the plan or my progress. So every time that little weight-loss rebel popped up on my shoulder, I told her to stuff it!  And happily, today I am

down 1 pound

It’s not a gigantic loss, but it’s a pound. And if you think about a pound in terms of hamburger meat, is a good chunk of blubber. I needed this little loss, because I needed an “attitude adjustment”, and now I’m encouraged to keep tracking, keep exercising, and keep losing weight.

My breakfasts as of late... Greek Yogurt, Fruit and Coffee. 5 points!

I’ll admit – this weekend will have challenges. I’m visiting my friend Monique in Seattle (She’s getting her Master’s in Social Work at U-Dub – cool!) and I tend to get a little out of control when I’m out of town and having fun. Wine, popcorn, dining out – these are the traps into which I often fall. But she’s also health conscious and I think we’ll try and hold each other accountable and get some exercise into our days. I’m now down 3.2 pounds in three weeks, and next week I’d love to hit five pounds.

So yay! Weight Watchers is working! I’m working! It’s working! Sometimes, a little encouragement is all you need!

 

Weekly Weigh In #2

Posted on by

Today was my second Weight Watchers weigh in, and I was feeling pretty confident. I tracked everything I ate, and only ate 29 of my flex points. I didn’t get much exercise and I probably could have done more water, but in total, the week went well and I was sure it would result in at least a pound lost. I stepped on the scale and I…

Gained .2

I believe the first thing out of my mouth was “What the f*ck?”, except without the little asterisk because I’m pretty much a sailor’s daughter.  The leader offered a few suggestions, like, “Did you use all of your flex points?” No, I didn’t. “Did you eat something salty for dinner last night?” No, I didn’t. “Are you near your monthly cycle?” Sorry if it’s TMI, but no. So WHAT THE FFFFF!! I moped through the rest of the meeting and felt sorry for myself (and may have tweeted a couple of pouting tweets), and then I got over it. Shit happens. So I didn’t lose this week when I feel like I really should have. Life will go on, and all I can do is keep on tracking, and try to identify why I didn’t lose this week.

Source: Alyssa on Pinterest

Here’s a few thoughts – I was bad about drinking water. I’m back in school and my schedule is now in full-on crazy mode. I’ve felt thirsty a lot, and I know by the time I get to that point, I’m already dehydrated. So this week, more water. I also didn’t exercise much because of aforementioned bad schedule. This week I need to get movin’, even if it’s just walking a few laps around the campus at work. I also wonder if I’m eating too much fruit. Even though it’s 0 points, it still has calories, and yesterday I ate 3 clementines, a peach, a banana and a cup of pineapple. I struggled with this the last time around on PointsPlus, so I may need to see how the next couple of weeks go and re-evaluate my fling with fruit.

When was the last time you were expecting a good thing to happen and it didn’t? Are you the type of person that suffers a setback and bounces right back, or are you like me, and need to stew and pout about it for a bit before you move on?