Fatties wishing to shrink - part 2

[mears]

I am starting this new thread as suggested. The answers to my questions may be on the old thread but it is too long to trawl through.

Well I have just come back from my weigh in at WW after my first week and am really disappointed that I only lost 1 1/2 pounds I am a Gold Member and previously in the past I have lost 4 lbs the first week.
I don't understand why the first week you start off with less points - I had 18. Now I am on 22 and was told to expect a better loss next week.

The emphasis is to use all your points, so why start you on less the first week. Does anyone know the answer. Did this happen with any of the rest of you WW people out there?

On the plus side I have not had any wine for a week and am feeling better for it. Dh is sticking to the plan as well. Hopefully next week I will have a better result. Am worried though that having 22 points will be too much if the loss was so little on 18. Reassurance needed.

hiya, I've been trying to do some research on the infamous aitkins diet, there are so many mixed messages about risks to health etc,

i'm a ww vetran and after ds being born 7 months ago, I have got to loose 2 stone for summer or else! no more spending more money buying new summer clothes that are yet another size, has anyone done aitkins?

BossyKate, I lost most of my weight through using a low-fat eating plan. Towards the end I couldn't shift the last half stone, wasn't prepared to reduce calories any further as I knew it would be pointless in the long term and didn't want to start yo-yoing so I upped my exercise levels. I already was going to the gym & my local Rosemary Conley aerobics class and the class was doing a group entry into Race for Life (women only 5km walk/run). Entered it, trained (!) enough to run it on the day and got hooked. Brilliant atmosphere, really worthwhile and Tesco/iVillage produce a training plan which is do-able, yes, even for ex-smokers !

I now run 3-ish times a week, quicker & more flexible than going to the gym and it's a better calorie burner. I've got a group of new mates I met at the race and we often run together especially for our long run on a Sunday.

If someone had said to me 2 years ago that I'd soon be running a half marathon I'd have died laughing, or certainly split my size 18 jeans...

I've maintained my weight at a level I'm happy with for nearly a year now; I eat 'normally' ie don't ban anything outright but keep an approximate check on a weekly basis and up the mileage if my jeans are pulling.

PS, I can bore for England on the topic of swiss balls - brilliant for overall toning esp tummy.

This is all v interesting. Twink, how long do you run for at at time? I love running but only on treadmills - want to start running outside but can't get on with it any suggestions? does anyone run with a 3-wheeler?

twink, thank you, that is so inspiring, you are my role model, first smoking and now this too!

i'm currently exercising once a week with a personal trainer. i'm running phobic atm, so we do kick boxing for part of the session for the cv side, the remainder concentrates on toning and flexibility. the reason i have a trainer is i'm also gym phobic! it's great i couldn't recommend the personal training route highly enough - the only downside is that it's so expensive and i can't justify the cost of doing it more than once a week (and it's a stretch to justify that really!)

anyway, rambling now, i agree with you running would be a good option once i can bring myself to face it! first things first though, i've got some ideas of things to cut out of my diet, which should make a lot of difference. it will be an immediate challenge though as i'm out of the country for work most of the week and travel always seems to encourage worse eating habits rather than better ones.

i was wondering how ofter to weigh myself? once a week? i think i've read that too frequent weighing is a bad thing. also, i find my weight fluctuates a lot, e.g. scales said 5 lb lighter this morning than yesterday, how could that be? not my period, though i do retain water then.

any ideas gratefully received!

can anyone enlighten me? I too have joined WW and its going ok. I've said my goal weight should be 10 stone. Can I get to goal weight, get my gold membership and still continue to lose weight to get down to 9 stone and not have to pay the weekly fee? Also is anyone amazed at the amount of skinny people (usually girls in their early twenties) who join. I couldn't believe it last week - there is no way they should lose any weight at all.

Hello, my name is Willow2 and I'm a chocolate addict...

Actually, an anything fattening addict. So last week I joined WW. The annoying thing is that I worked really hard to shift nearly 3 stone in the year and a half after ds was born - and in the last year and a half I've put nearly 2 back on. Did it first time round with Slimmers World but thought I'd try WW and see how I get on. So am now officially part of this thread! My first week's weigh in is tomorrow so hopefully I will have something good to report.

Having said that, I've just read the Observer Food monthly and the interview with that Atkins bloke. His theory seems to make sense - and later in the magazine they made another mention of how new research suggests it's carbs not fat that cause us the most grief. (To simplify, apparently western diets have shifted to high carbs/low fat in an attempt to get healthier but we're all just getting fatter). I appreciate that there are apparent drawbacks of a mainly protein diet - but am thinking of giving it a go to get the weight shifting as I am sick and tired of being overweight. Plus there's the summer holiday to work towards. Anyone out there an Atkins girlie who can tell me more??

willow2, I read that piece in The Observer too. That plus Nigel Slater talking about how he's eaten the same things but less of them, exercised more and lost weight was interesting wasn't it? I'd be interested to hear more about Atkins too. Don't want to buy the book but would like to know more about the concept. I'm thinking about using the hour I have to myself in the morning (after ds goes but before work) to go for a brisk walk since it's the one form of exercise I really enjoy. Maybe I'll give it a go tomorrow.

Well I did walk 1.5 miles at 8.30 this morning, so it's a start!

Well i didn't have my fry-up yesterday, going to Sw tomorrow, so hope i have something good to report as well.

Well I definately lost weight this weekend, I felt so bloated on Saturday so didn't have breakfast. Sunday had a lie-in and couldn't be bothered again, then ate a huge lunch, and ended the day with a migraine and throwing up all night. Great way to lose a few lbs!!!

Seriously though I am a Slimming World girl and have lost 4lbs in my 1st 3 weeks, but I did a pre-week of cabbage soup diet (lost 6lbs) so 10lbs in 4 weeks is great. My jeans are more comfortable and I've only got just over a stone to go. Hence the slow loss. Hopefully I'll magage it by easter! although should be extra this wek due to the weekend I've just had!!

I'm an Atkins girlie folks.Been on it now(with a bit of cheating lately)for 1.5 months.It does work-even better if you really stick to it and don't get swayed by choccy.You have to give up fruit and take vits as even an apple has loads of carbs and for the first 2 weeks you're allowed only about 20g a day.Which you get from veg and salad.So you do need to read a bit of the book to get the list of veg with lowest carbs and to get the principles-but you can eat diet jelly and CREAM my favourite.Have definately lost enough weight for people to comment on and have gone down a dress size even with cheating occasionally.will just have to go back to the first 2 weeks to kick start it again.But really happy on it folks and as for exercise-what''s that then?Have plenty of energy too.Go for it.I just eat chicken all the time I don't even like a lot of meat.I eat avocados with stilton and salad.And omlettes.Lovely.

ok Atkins girlie here! I did this last year in preparation for summer. I did it twice for 2 weeks, the first time I did it completely by the book including no caffiene, I lost 8lb in 2 weeks-wasnt hungry at all, But felt really lousy and tired and grumpy. 2nd time(few months later) did it again but kept caffeine and ate bit more veg, felt really good and lost 6lbs (some of which I had prev gained back) lost about 10lbs in all, mainly has stayed off and I know if I needed to I could lose remainder if I did another 2 weeks. Up side is-felt great, it works (!), not hungry at all, Also strangely my cycle became more regular (not normally v.odd but have 2 stage periods) and could really feel twinge when I ovulated-never have before or since. Downsides are hard to get motivation to start, not very convenient esp lunchtimes/breakfast as no cereal/bread allowed just salad and protein for lunch, could have fried breakfast but dont have the time. Evenings easy as salad/stirfry plus meal (M and S do lots of good ready meals with v.low carbs). Would be really hard to live with though as no bread/cake/pasta/rice/potatoes, some of the suggested recipes eg pancakes made with protein powder are foul! I really believe that low carb is the right way and think Atkins is fine for 2 week bursts BUT long term something a bit more balanced would be better eg the new GI diet book, Montignac method or schwartzbein (SP?) principle- all these books are on my shelf but havent actually got started yet!
DH did Atkins the 2nd time as he wanted to lose his stomach. The first time he spent the whole time taking the p**s " how can this possibly work!" 2nd time he joined in! So results obv. visible!

Yetty, once you reach goal, ie your 10 stone, you are allowed to go 5lb either side of that. You need to go 6 times a year to weigh-in, without paying if you stay within those boundaries.

So, no, you couldnt reach goal and then go down to 9 stone. Ask if you can resubmit your goal at say 9.5st and work towards that.

On the face of it I wouldn't normally support the Atkins diet but I have been following research and interviews in the US where I live temporarily. There was research done on a group of women , some did the Atkins diet and others did a low fat diet. The Atkins dieters lost more weight and did not have higher cholesterol or other side effects expected. Dr Atkins himself has been on his diet for more than 20 years (I think) and he is looking very well on it!

Yippee and other words of happiness - I lost 3lbs despite drinking my own weight in champagne to celebrate wedding anniversary.

Going to reward myself with a quatro formaggio pizza and deep fried cream egg.

Not.

Well done willow2

Thanks ems.Am going a phase where I feel quite motivated so will do that and resubmit my goal weight.

YETTY DON'T adjust your goal weight!!!
Ems is partly right, you mustn't go more than 5 pounds ABOVE your stated goal (after you have reached it)to qualify for free weigh -ins/meetings, but you CAN go more than 5 pounds below, so yes, you could state ten stones as your goal, and keep going past your goal to nine stones without having to pay more.

This is exactly what I am doing.

My goal was ten stones and I was pretty ecstatic to reach it but felt I should really aim for nearer 9 and I am still going with this plan, have been to meeetings each week but not had to pay.

There IS a lower limit which you must not drop below, and it is 3 pounds less than the lower figure of your healthy weight range based on a BMR which from memory I think is 20-25 .

You will find tables in your membership book telling you what is a healthy weight range based on your height.

For example I am 5'4'' and my lowest healthy weigh would be 8 stones 5 pounds. If I ever go three pounds below that (fat chance) weight WW will discontinue my membership.

Many people are under the misapprehension if you go more than 5 pounds BELOW your goal you have to pay. SOme leaders are even telling their classes this in error. It has been discussed a lot on the WW website.

So keep your goal as ten stones.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Apologies for being only half right! Guess which side I tend to err on with my goal weight!

Was doing really well this week, until I ate the really nice free bar on the front of Sainsburys magazine, yum.

Can recommend the M&S Count on Us recipe book, £5 and loads of nice recipes and at the bottom they have the food values so you can calculate the WW points. Had a really nice cous-cous and chicken dish last night, and even had room for a little WW frozen cheesecake (they are 3 points and very nice).

I lost 2 lbs last week, which i was really suprised about because I was naughty at the weekend. Saying that I did go on a 2 hour power walk yesterday. I am well pleased.

jasper, thanks. haven#t done anything yet so will stay with my original goal weight. You sound like your weight situation is the same as mine. I'm also 5foot 4 with a goal weight of 10 stone but really would be happier at 9. Any lower would feel strange to me. What weight did you start at>. I started at 12 02 and now done to almost 11 stone.

Hi Yetty.
Ah, weight loss, my favourite topic ( As I sit here with a corned beef sandwich). I do talk a good game.

I too am 5'4".
I started at 11.8. halfway through May last year.
Took me till mid September to get to my goal of ten stone which my WW leader suggested. I was breastfeeding my baby so had 28 points a day. To be honest I was sporadic in sticking to the diet properly and had some enjoyable and spectacular lapses. For me the weekly weigh in is the best thing because i won't completely let myself slide if I know I am getting weighed on Monday night.
I have gained weight on several weeks.

I would like to get to 9 stones and have been going up and down since November, not helped by gaining half a stone over Christmas.

I am currently at an acceptable 9.6 but go to the meetings every week and really enjoy them and have made a few friends there.
My baby is nearly one and I am now on 18 points a day - not easy particularly if you want some kind of a life at the weekends.

I think in all honesty I will be mildly obsessed by food/my weight for the rest of my life but I would rather be obsessed and slim than obsessed and fat.

Losing the weight has made a tremendous difference to my life.
Best of luck and keep us in touch with your progress.

jasper, sounds very similar to my story. Week 2 of WW saw me at 11.08 and have lost a 1 or so most weeks except for Christmas - gained 3. I'm so going to try to get to 10 stone (although really want to get to 9 stone). In some perverse way I find being on this structured eating plan suits me. I'm one of these all or nothing people and know I'll find it difficult when it comes to maintaining goal weight ie when I'm left to my own devices as I so love food and lots of it. I know it'll always be something to work at but I'll keep your comment in mind: 'I'd rather be obsessed and slim, than obsessed and fat'. Think our group leader would be impressed with that one!

hello everyone. right. today is the day. weighed in at 12st this morning (although 9lb seems to have just vanished since last week?) so that is now officially my start weight. aim is to get to a size 12 again, so think i would need to lose approx 2st to achieve that.

Plan is:
No alcohol on school nights
No empty calories, e.g. junk food, choc, biscuits etc.
Frequent eating (i.e. 5 times a day) to avoid getting desperately hungry and pigging out
Always have breakfast
Plenty of water
Increase exercise, 2 more 20 min brisk walks/week plus daily toning/strengthening
Only weigh myself once/week
Intermediate target is 1st by 20th April (start of our holiday - will need to wear swimming costume - ugh!)
Keep diary to identify where any problems are arising e.g. eating ds's leftovers (of which there are always loads as he is such a picky eater, sigh) at 5.30pm.

ok then, we'll see how it goes.

good luck everyone else!

Hi All,

I've not posted on this board before so I hope you don't mind me joining you now. I had my DD in May last year. Whilst pg I put on nearly 4 stone. As soon as I finished breast feeding, I went on a diet and I have lost 4 and a half stone. However, I have now got to the stage where i have a few good days followed by
several bad days - undoing all the good I had done.

I want to lose another 20lbs. I do not want to go to a slimming club - I prefer to do my own
thing. However, I need help in the will power
department - can anyone suggest anything that will mean I will stick to my diet for more than a few days. I'm hoping by coming on this board, I will feel that at least some people know my ultimate goal and that may help me stick to it.

Any help gratefully received. Congratulations to you all btw on your weight loss so far!!