Seems like too much food?? Please help!

[Gemi33]

Hi everyone,

I went to my first meeting this morning and I am sat here reading through all the info and trying to plan my meals for the rest of the week and I’m really confused. It seems like to use up all my points I would be eating so much food and I can’t see how I will lose weight that way – plus I don’t really want to just eat for the sake of it. For example, for tomorrow I would normally have something like a big salad for lunch – the vegetables would all be 0 points and then there would just be a few points for sweetcorn, tuna and some dressing. For dinner I was planning to have courgetti (I have been advised to avoid wheat so I’m replacing it with courgette) and veggie meatballs. The sauce is basically tinned tomatoes and vegetables so all 0 points so the only points would be the meatballs. For breakfast I generally have things like porridge or scrambled eggs which don’t seem to be massively high in points – that would all come in way under the 30 points I’m meant to have.

Am I doing something wrong? I don’t generally snack often and I really don’t want to force myself to eat but it seems like I will not be eating close to the 30 points which I was told to have – does anyone have any advice?

Thank you!
x

I'm not a WW follower at all so this may be totally useless, but are there any hidden points at all that you might not be thinking about? Oil in cooking, butter or cream in scrambled eggs etc. Sometimes you don't realise how things add up until you start counting.

(Like I said, I'm a low carber not a WW so my advice might be totally useless - hopefully someone will come along who knows more!)

At the beginning of this week I couldn't understand how unlimited fruit and veg was going to help me lose weight. I'm finding that I'm using my points on the hidden extras. 3 cups of coffee with skimmed milk = 3 points. One potato = 5 points etc. I've stuck to slightly below my points every day but eaten loads of fruit and veg. I'm 6lb after 5 days. I was 11st2lb to begin with and a size 12, so I don't have masses of weight to lose - I'm aiming for 20lb loss to get me back into my size 10s. So far, I've been really impressed. Use your points for something you want to eat - some bread or cheese with your meal etc. Track everything too.

Oh, weigh and measure too and get the app. Id say your tuna and dressing could come in at 6-8 points depending on your portion size. If you eat that at every meal you will use your allowance.

Hi,

Thanks for your help and well done on your loss. I have measured dressings and tuna etc and I don't drink tea or coffee so that won't add anything. I guess I'll just see how it goes - just a bit worried I wont lose! My coach said being a couple of pounds under 30 was ok but not loads under which is what I'm worried about! Also, really pleased to hear you have lost that much weight after only 5 days! Although my first meeting was today I'm actually starting tomorrow because by the time I'd left and then been to see my mum in hospital and done food shopping I'm only now having chance to sit down and read through and plan - really worried that a first week of only 6 days rather than 7 will mean I won't lose!

xx

We can do it together? The app is amazing so if you haven't, download that x

Hope your first meeting went ok.

You really need to use your points, but you may find it's a gradual process for you to add extra points here and there. So don't stress too much about it, just take it one meal, or one day at a time. I agree that you don't want to suddenly be eating loads more for the sake of it. Maybe you are filling up with too much veg and need to look to increase your carbs and protein?

Is there anything you like as a treat that you could have? Look at using semi or full fat products, like milk, yoghurt etc rather than skimmed and 0% fat. Like mentioned above, maybe add some cheese, or some nuts. You can use some oil for cooking. There are ways to add extra points here and there without adding much extra bulk to your meals. You may just need to swap a few things around, but if doing it all in one go is too much to cope with, just try a bit here and there. You could always have a smoothie as you need to point fruit if you drink it.

Only other suggestion is to ask your coach and/or online chat for advice on how to add extra points to some of your meals. They are there to help! Certainly what you have mentioned about what you might have tomorrow, looks too low points wise. You could also ask in a FB group. A couple that may be worth looking at are Weight Watchers Smartpoints, and Weight Watchers Smart Points/No Count Support. Both are run by the same person. Another group I find interesting for ideas and recipes and advice, even though I am mainly pointing, is Weight Watchers - No Count Friends. This one is obviously based on doing No Count, but there are still great ideas that also work well when pointing. Good luck!

Don't worry about only being on plan for 6 days, rather than 7. Also,don't focus too much on the results week in week out, which I know is easier said than done. Sometimes, for various reasons, the scales don't always reflect the efforts put in. I have had several gains, when I have stayed on plan, probably due to water retention, but it tends to sort itself out over time. Look at the loss over a month.

I would recommend measuring yourself too. This is something I have only recently done, but wish I had done at the start. Sometimes the scales don't show a loss, but inches are being lost.

Thanks so much, such helpful posts. I think my points might be low partly because I don't have many carbohydrates (I have to avoid wheat and I'm not overly fussed about bread etc anyway). I think I'm worried because the bulk of the weight I have put on has happened as a result of illness and the medication I'm on so I put off doing anything about it because I couldn't see how it would help if the weight gain wasn't down to my diet anyway. I decided to try because I by far the biggest I have been and feel really low so thought it was worth a try but now looking at the points it feels like I will be eating more than I normally do. I really don't want to gain anymore weight!

xx

So, so far today I have had a cooked breakfast - with an veggie sausage that I wouldn't have usually had and a really large salad for lunch with more dressing that I would have usually had. I have also had a WW yogurt which again I wouldn't have had. I'm really full and my salad was much tastier than usual which is great but I'm still heading for being well below my points and feel like I have eaten loads...really not convinced I can lose weight eating all this!

xx

I've had:
B: Quorn bacon, poached egg and a Warburton thin with ketchup = 7sp
L: Mushroom, red onion, pepper, cherry tomato, 50grms light halloumi, 40grms avocado, 1tbsp balsamic dressing = 8sp
D: egg mayonnaise salad, new potatos and olives = 8sp

Are you eating so much salad because it's your choice or because you feel you should because it's 'diet food'

Why not have a side salad with chicken steak or fish.

Buy regular yoghurts which are higher in points rather than WW ones. Don't be afraid to have a glass of wine or a biscuit.

The advantage of WW is you can eat 'normal' food and still lose weight. I often have McDonald's or Chinese etc and I still consistently loose weight. Don't deprive yourself or feel you must overdose on salad or vegetables. I don't eat either and it's not hindered me

How many points have you got? I don't feel like I've eaten lots and I find 30 points doesn't stretch massively far.

Hi

I have 30 points. I was just eating a salad as I normally would, I like salad and a big salad fills me up but then most of it isn't pointed.

I wouldn't use points on drinks as I don't drink tea or coffee and I don't drink wine. I generally drink water or sugar free squash. I do feel like I shouldn't eat biscuits and things like that even though I know you can. I also don't have 'snacky; things in the house because I have had real problems with binge eating in the past so if I have things like that in I will probably eat it all in one go,
xx

Id definitely try things like as I said non WE yoghurts. Go for a different higher points one that way you're not eating more but it's bumping your points up.

What about buying maybe a multi pack of crisps or a packet of chocolate biscuits or something like a crumpet and having that as your 8pm treat for example. Be strict restrict yourself to one a day and look on it as a treat. Again it'll bump your points up.
30 points really isn't a huge amount. The diet will work if you stick to it. Honest. You should see the amount I eat and I still lost a steady half stone a month last year

Hi,

Thanks so much for your reply. I feel like after years of being on strict diets it just feels wrong to eat so much. Recently for all sorts of reasons my bingeing has been an almost daily occurrence and I have felt miserable. My day to day eating is reasonably healthy but then the binges ruin it. So without the bingeing I don't have a lot of snacks etc and so I'm low on points and it seems crazy to make myself eat things that I wouldn't normally. But I do want to really stick with it for this week and see what happens.

xx

Ok, tough love time. Your last post has just helped me to understand why you are struggling. Im a former bulimic. You are scared of eating certain foods because you are worried they will make you fat. They are probably the foods you binge on. So all you eat are low fat, healthy/ diet foods until your cravings become so great that you binge. I used to do the same then make myself throw up. Sometimes 6 times a day. Here is the honest truth, learned from a year of therapy: keeping your points (or calories) so low will put you at greater risk of binging. You are setting yourself up to fail by continuing to follow the same bad habits that have lead you here. You need to add some protein to each of your meals. It will keep your blood sugar stable and enable you to stay on plan. I love salad, but you could eat a wheel barrow full of point free stuff and you would be hungry an hour later because it isn't filling. I understand your fear, but you only need to make a tiny adjustment to what you are eating and you will lose weight. You might possibly be thinking 'well if you are so clever then why are you doing weight watchers?' at this point. Here is my story: I've been 'recovered' for 8 years, maintaining a healthy size 10 figure and staying ED free. I've had two children, gaining just 2st4lb in my first pregnancy and 1st13lb in my second. I'm normally a size 10 and I bounced back with my first. However, I succeeded with breastfeeding my 2nd baby (with my first I had lactation failure). She is now almost 7 moths old. Breastfeeding caused me to gain weight - it is a myth that it makes everyone lose, the prolactin hormone has the opposite effect on some people. Now that I've finished feeding I needed a plan that would help me lose the weight without relapsing into ED. WW is scientifically created to enable us to do this. You have to trust the system. Like I said, I couldn't work out how it would be possible to lose weight when I wasn't counting calories and eating as much fruit as I wanted. However, I'm 6lb down after 5 days. It works because it doesn't force you to deprive yourself, which is what you are doing by only eating 0sp foods. Sooner or later you will crave a slice of cake and you will end up eating it all because hungry and have low blood sugar. This will start off that vicious cycle of binging and starving yourself. However, if you follow the plan, you might choose to spend 9points on a sliver of cake, eat it and feel satisfied because your blood sugar is stable. I'm sorry, I've been a bit harsh but it is all true. Have a search for some things you can put with your healthy foods. When you feel strong enough, plan in something you'd normally binge on. Eat a small portion of it, enjoy it and then move on. It's the only way to get binging under control. Good luck. Sorry for being mean - reading your posts is like talking to myself from 8 years ago.

Brilliant post Whatsername17

Not mean at al an amazing post thank you! You are doing amazingly so well done. I know everything you are saying is right, it's just really hard isn't it?! My relationship with food is completely warped and I hate the way I look that thoughts about food and my weight consume me a lot of the time and how I feel generally entirely related to my weight.

I will keep trying. I've am planning to have salmon for dinner tomorrow and would usually just have vegetables with it but I'm going to add some rice so hopefully I'll get used to bigger meals.

Thanks so much for your support,

xx

It is really hard. It's exhausting too! I have worked hard to improve my relationship with food because I don't want to negatively influence my daughters. I'm eating 4 smaller meals per day. In addition to what I've eaten above, I've just has a flstbread with low fat cream cheese, tomato and cucumber which was 5sp. I'm about to have some melon. Brings me to 28 for the day. Maybe try eating an amount you feel comfortable with but more frequently? I'm here for a hand hold if you need it x

I agree, very well written post Whatsername17.

Gemi33 - just take it a step at a time, but as mentioned have your salad at lunchtime as a side salad, rather than the main thing. Have less veg with your eve meal, so you can have some carbs and more protetin. Have some veg you need to point, like peas,, Sweetcorn or parsnips. Can you get some small treats in and try to have a bit each day? Most of the time I can control what I eat and feel satisfied with having little treats here and there. Sometimes, more so when I am tired or with PMS, I get cravings and find I pick at stuff more than I ought to. But I still track it all and just use weekly and fitpoints if needed. if you have a packet of something with a few bars in, worst case scenario is you eat them all in one go. You may have used up some of your daily points and some weekly points. but you may also find that by having a treat regularly, the cravings to binge, particularly if you are filling in with more carbs and protein, ease. As suggested, maybe you could try eating little and more often?

Is there a particular time of day, week, month or occasion you find you binge at? Try to think about your eating patterns and what your triggers are. TIredness is a trigger for me. I have also been an emotional eater most of my life, so I am trying to deal with my emotions differently, rather than with comfort eating. Think about what foods you usually binge on as well. Is there a healthier or lower point alternative that you could have instead to help?

At the end of the day, WW works, so trust the plan. And if you aren't 100% on the plan at the start, just try to improve a little day by day, week by week. It will get easier!

I think a point I was trying to make, and don't think I managed to, was don't deprive yourself of the foods you enjoy. Many years ago, I joined WW for the first time and I got close to goal, but never made it. I cut everything 'naughty' out and stuck to it for six months. One week, I had a craving for chocolate, which I had excluded from my diet for six months. I binged on chocolate for two weeks and put on 11lbs! My weight just then kept going up and up, and I was forever trying diet after diet with my weight yo-yoing down and back up and up some more. This time, I think I am finding it easier to stay on track as I am not depriving myself of anything. I have things, occasionally, just in moderation. Sometimes I want savoury more than sweet, sometimes only chocolate will do, sometimes I want chips, sometimes fast food, sometimes alcohol. I always use some of my points on something or other that is less healthy. I know I am always going to want some of these things at some time or another, so I plan for it, point and track it. It helps me stay in control (most of the time). And when I find I am less in control, I still track it. If necessary, I will earn extra fitpoints back by doing more walking, to help me stay on plan.

How is everyone doing? I started tracking last Tuesday, so it's officially been one week. I've eaten most of my points every day, been under by 1 or 2 on some days, used 20 of my weekly points and I'm 7lb down! 16lb to go until I reach goal. I haven't started exercising yet! My sil who had three stone to lose has lost 13lb in two weeks.

Great start Whatsername17!