Christie
I'm sure you know what you're doing, but after being on plan for such a long time, bad habits can appear.
Are you weighing absolutely everything that isn't free food and that what you assume if free, is actually free? Over time you might have started to guess what 28g cheese looks like or 28g of cereal and be getting it drastically wrong. Get some good electronic scales if you have been estimating your weights.
Are you keeping a close eye on your syns - and checking that the syn values haven't changed over the years without you noticing?
Read your Food Optimising book again, it's often surprising what you forget over a period of time.
Are you eating enough? If not then your body will complain and either you wont lose weight as your body will be holding on to everything it can. This seems to be a familiar complaint in our group. Make sure you eat 3 good meals a day and all your healthy extras.
Are you having mainly green days? It takes longer to digest green day food and comments that you will still lose the same amount of weigh over the same period, it will just happen differently?!
Have you tried Mix2Max or Success Express - the change of routine could get your weight loss moving again.
Do you eat any superfree fruit/veg? If you ate 100g of grapes (not superfree) and 100g of Mulberries then you would consume less calories eating the mulberries than you would the grapes and so filling up on superfree fruit/veg rather than normal ones will mean you consume less calories and lose weight quicker.
Are you drinking enough water? If not and you are having lots of green days then you are not enabling your body to digest the food properly and you will probably feel all bunged up and horrid.
Are you having enough variety? I try to vary my menus each week and try different / new things. I think this is important as if you eat the same all the time (you and your body will get bored!) It is also important to treat yourself and allow yourself naughty things occasionally.
Are you consuming hidden syns? It seems the same product i.e. a Sainsurys packet rice can have more syns or not be free as compared to the same product made by Bacherlors. For example, I have been devouring those Heinz Mean Beanz but had not appreciated that some of them (the Tikka flavour for example) were syns (I haven?t had any but would have done if I had been able to find them! And I would have thought they were free until I looked). The Italian beans for example are free so it can get very confusing?..
Are you having the correct healthy extras? I think the Nimble bread is disgusting and wont buy it again. It doesn?t even toast well and the nimble I have frozen breaks apart when you try to get a slice so a total disaster!! I really like the Hovis Seed Sensations but this is not on the list in the book or on the website so I have to syn it ? 1 slice = 4 or 5 syns. If I was being really ignorant, I could pretend it was my HEB although all I would be doing is cheating myself as I would then be having those extra 5 syns.
The slimming world website gets updated all the time with the new healthy extras both A and B so it is worth keeping an eye on. Also the Slimming World Magazine is a good point of reference for food news including new healthy extras and products which are free or what their syn value is etc.
Were you on your period? This can be a factor and you should let your consultant know when it is your period week so that any pattern can be picked up on. Even if you are not actually having a period you might still get all the symptoms. Isn?t being a woman wonderful?!
Do you do a food diary? I do a food diary and find that if I have to write it down, I don?t eat it!! Although I do slip up occasionally...
Your eating habits are changing for the better and when I have a day when I syn overload I don?t worry about it as I know that overall I am eating much better now than I ever have done. Don?t beat yourself up about it. it is important to have variety and if that means having one day a week when you don?t follow the plan then so be it. If you go out for roast dinner on a Sunday then have the Yorkshire pudd and the gravy - just say I will have one Yorkshire pud unlike me who would want half a dozen! As I said before xmas, I was synning lots at the weekends and still losing weight. It was only if I was really bad that I would put on. Overall it might take me longer to get to my target weight but I don?t want to be miserable doing it and so I will continue to enjoy my treats and you should too.
Please don?t be disheartened that you have put on so much there may be an innocent reason for it and you may find you have a really good loss next week.