Need your knowledge....or opinion......HELP!!!!!

[wiskband]

So, it's late, I began WW today and did not do so good. Harder than I thought. Previsously, I was doing my own version of low carb. Here's my history breifly........
------Began Low carb and exercise (curves and WATP) in early September.
------Since then to dat I have lost 37 pounds and about the same in inches.
-------I took a break from watching my intake pretty much the whole month of december (vacation 12-5 till 12-20) then the holidays.
-------I got back on track January 1 st. and although, I did not gain any weight from my month off, I have not lost any.
-------I knew I was plateauing but keep with it and lost about 3 pounds...........THEN gained it back.


I definitely go a little nutty on the weAkends but I always have. The entire time I lost 37 pounds I did my weAkend thing!

I have been working out pretty regularly at Curves as many times as 4 times a week! I can;t shake this!

Yesterday, I decided to go to WW because thugh I may need a change. And to be quite honest, I though it sounded easy! NOT!
lol. I am missing my low carb already!!!!!!!!!

Any advise?

Also, was wondering if your "officially" on Atkins...... Is there any guide about the time you eat? for example, are you allowed to eat before bed?

One other Atkins Q.....whats the deal with coffee? IS decaf considered water intake? And should you stay away from caffinated coffee?


I am asking because I have thinking about my patterns lately, and I have been stayng up later ( which means a little more snacking) and I switch to caffinated coffee, casue it gives me a boost! Both of these things could be holdingme back.

HELP!!!!!
renee

 

[Maude4Disney]

I have been doing Atkins since 1/7 so I will "try" to help you w/ your questions there. As far as times to eat... The only thing that Atkins mentions is to not go more than 6 hrs w/out something to eat. I don't believe it mentions how late into the evening to eat or not. But for me, I try not to eat anything at least 2 hours before going to bed. Sometimes that's not always easy as we sometimes have a late dinner because of DH's work schedule.

As for the coffee. Decaf is the way to go on Atkins. Atkins specifically says no caffiene. And no, the coffee does not count towards your water intake. The only thing that counts towards your water is... Water! I am having a hard time getting all the water that I should... and I think that may be why I have stalled right now. I started out really well with the water, but after the 1st 2 wks I just kind of let it slip. Big Mistake!

Also, I wanted to let you know.... Congrats on the 37 lb loss. That's great! I wish I could give you some more advice, but since I'm so new to this yet, I'm not really sure what more to add, except DON'T GIVE UP!!

 

[wovenwonder]

Click HERE for a list of my favorite low carb reference sites. My list includes a link to the Atkins rules for Induction --- which is the first two weeks of the program.

Why not do low carb [Atkins] but use the WW points to control your food intake. My problem with low carb is that my hunger really decreases and I have to work really hard at getting in enough calories. By counting WW points you would ensure yourself that you are getting in the proper amount of calories for your body. BUT since you would be sticking to low carb foods you would not have the cravings associated with a higher carb way of eating.

If you basically stick to meat, eggs, some hard cheeses, some heavy cream, butter, olive oil, real mayo, real dressings with no sugar, lettuce [salad] and other low carb veggies you will be on track and within a couple days you will lose your cravings again.

 

[MelanieC]

Hey Renee,

No WAL is easy. They are all hard in there own respects. What you must figure out, is what program can you do for life?

Both programs require planning. For both, you have to know what foods are low points or low carb, make a conscious effort to buy them, and a conscious effort to fix them.

I eat all the foods I did before, I just have to watch my portions. If I know I am going to have pizza for dinner (2 slices- 14 points), then I know I have to plan my breakfast and lunch to fall into the remaining points. If I know I am going out for lunch, I have to adjust for the other meals. Planning is the key, next journaling is important. Keep the journal with you and write down everything AS YOU PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH. Don't rely on yourself to do it later. You may forget (did I have 1 cup or 2 of pasta, etc). Then make sure you measure all of your food. I know it sounds difficult, but its not. When I have my PB on bread in the morning, I get my measuring spoon out and put it in there, then use my knife to spread on the bread. If I bring a cup of edamame to work, I just pour it into a 1 cup measuring cup prior to putting in my bowl. If I am going to have one oz of nuts, I use my digital scale to measure 1 oz, then put it in a baggie.

Don't look at yesterday as a failure. You can't expect to start a program and in one day have it measured. Look deep down inside yourself. Which one can you picture doing for life?

 

[wiskband]

Mel C........
thats a good way to put it, which I think I can " stick to for life"......
My anwser to that is defintly Low Carb. I started out doing that as I mentioned and have been able to maintain eating LC for a few months and I think I actually got used to it! lol.
I have a cheese cake that I made in the frig (with splenda) and still have lots of pepperoni and cheese., when I looked at the points (WW) for that I figured thats it with that! I think that what it comes down to is I dont like to be restricted (portions) not that I eat alot doing LC but theres not the weighing and measuring, which may be cool for some but I think not for me. I stared thinking about WW cause I thought LC was getting tough.. turns out...LC is the one for me! lol. cause I stopped for one day and already missed it.

Anyway, I am beginning to think that snacking late (whatever it is) and drinking caffinated coffee is what has haulted my weight loss. Also, I forgot to mention that I did stop doing my WATP tapes! that must be a biggy too although I do continue to go to curves.


Maude........
thatnks for clearing up the coffee thing. I do drink alot and switched to caffinated because it gave me that extra kick but, I am gonna give my 2 bulk size cans to my friend and go and buy the decaf!

I have a little advise for you about the water. I never drank water and before I knew it I was drinking too much! REALLY! this can happen!lol.
Anyway my trick to remebering to drink my water is I buy a case (24 sport bottles) and in the morning I fill up 4 of them and line them up next to the sink. I seem to always be doing dishes through out the day so when I see them it is a constant reminder! Make sure to fill up how ever many you want to drink because if you continue to reuse the same one you may lose track of how many you had!
Be sure not to drink too much, this could happen. I began to find that I was actually craving water and before I knoew it I was drinking about 8 of these a day! I posted a thread abot it and someone replied with a link about water poisoning. I had at least 5 of the 8 symtoms. Nothing extreme just headaches, bloating. etc mild, and almost unoticable things.
Anyway what I am trying to say is eventually you will actuall want to drink water.lol. good luck.
PS.....I recall someone mentioning that there water reminder was to drink it everytime they went in the bathroom. That could work too!.

Woven.....
Wow that link is great....... will anwser alot of my questions. Although I have been successful witt the LC there is still alot I don't know. Thanks gonna go read through it now!.


Thank you all!
renee

 

[LisaTx]

The closer you get to goal, the harder it is to get the weight off. Just because something has worked for you thus far, doesn't mean it will continue to work for you.

It sounds like you're doing great with the water and exercise. I would take a close look at what you're doing on the weekends. I know if I ate off plan every weekend I would be wiping out all of the good I did during the week.

If you really want to lose weight right now, you might want to consider staying on plan during the weekend as well. Once you reach your goal, you probably could eat off plan on the weekends and watch what you eat during the week and maintain your weight.

I know it's harder to stay on plan on the weekends. Believe me, I have two teens who aren't driving yet and both have insane schedules. It's just a matter of planning.

 

[MelanieC]

Hi Renee,

I am glad that you have figured out which will work for you. I have been on a plateau as well. I have been in the 142-144 range since November. I went on vacation, got back down to 142 and cheated for a week and a half prior to Christmas. I am almost down to 142 now (Monday's WI was 142.2). It's so depressing and I feel that it's been this way forever. It seems that I am eating the way I am supposed to, but the scale isn't moving. One day it is 142, one day it's 143, back down to 142 then up to 144 and the next day down to 142. It wasn't budging. I started exercising again (3rd week), and this week the scale seems like it might be working in my favor. 139.6 this morning. I almost fainted. I have never seen that number come up, so I am really excited. Hang in there, mabye try adding some exercise.

Good luck, glad you figured out what you need to do!

 

[LAinSEA]

wiskband, I'm sorry you've reached ultimate frustration...on the bright side, you haven't given up.

I'm on Atkins. I had great success with this plan in 1999 - 30 lbs gone in less than 60 days. Why Oh Why did I let our doctor talk us off this way of eating when both me and my DH were doing so well on it 5 years ago?! Needless to say my 30 lbs gone came back with "friends" on a low-calorie, low-fat, doctor prescribed diet.

This time around, in just over 60 days, I'm haven't quite lost 10 lbs. It's been a struggle. I'm quite frustrated too!

Things I had to do to get the scale to move (just a little): Watch my portions on Atkins, if it has a carb-count, we weigh and measure out precisely the amount I can have. (I try to stay at 20 carbs/day +/- 5) I limit my intake to an oz. of nuts - not a handful. I even measure out salad greens and vegetables. I also try to eat lean proteins and a variety of meat, poultry and fish. I use butter to taste and try to use olive oil and avacado for fats whenever possible. I also eat something every 2-3 hours (whether I'm real hungry or not...actually if I don't eat anything early in the day, I'm not hungry until early evening. This is not good for me. I'd actually been down to less than 800 calories a day prior to starting Atkins and still putting on weight - I guess this is what is called "starvation mode". I had to eat and eat and eat before my body let go of even a pound.)

I've also picked up the South Beach diet book and have found that my "Atkins" daily menu is very similar to their phase two meal plans. (with the exception of full-fat cheeses, fat-free salad dressing & butter substitute)

Exercise has been the biggest hinderance - I have a very tough schedule that doesn't leave much time for exercise. I also have asthma and it can put a stopper on a good walk in cool weather. But I know that it is necessary and a must do.

You have a real advantage starting the program at Curves. You will be building muscle that will help up your metabolism and you will see the weight leave. But muscle weighs more than fat and you will probably see a loss of inches and a weight gain before a major loss. Use the way your clothes fit rather than the scale to measure results. (Personally, I don't get on the scale more than once every two or three weeks - the way my clothes fit and my energy level is a much better measure of increasing health.)

37 lbs and as many inches gone is quite an accomplishment. You should be proud of yourself for maintaining your loss and continuing your quest to be healthier. Give Curves and WW a little time to work. Change and variety is always a good thing and may be just what you need to jump-start your weight loss again. Don't give up.

-Laurie

 

[wiskband]

Originally posted by LisaTx
The closer you get to goal, the harder it is to get the weight off. Just because something has worked for you thus far, doesn't mean it will continue to work for you.

It sounds like you're doing great with the water and exercise. I would take a close look at what you're doing on the weekends. I know if I ate off plan every weekend I would be wiping out all of the good I did during the week.

If you really want to lose weight right now, you might want to consider staying on plan during the weekend as well. Once you reach your goal, you probably could eat off plan on the weekends and watch what you eat during the week and maintain your weight.

I know it's harder to stay on plan on the weekends. Believe me, I have two teens who aren't driving yet and both have insane schedules. It's just a matter of planning.

Now Lisa....... thats the exact advise I didnt want to hear
LOL you are absolutley right though.....I think I really nees to start planning out my weAkends more carefully and perhaps my body is happpy at this weight although, I am not so gonna have really stick to it!