WW week review

Okay, so last week was supposed to be a Weight Watchers PointsPlus week.

You probably guessed by how I said "supposed to be" that I was not successful in sticking to this plan for even one week. 

Why?  I'm not sure.  I think that it may be because I've become pretty addicted to simple carbs, which are almost always high in points even if they are not high in calories.  So, midway through the week (Tuesday, actually...) I switched back to calorie counting because I was all out of weeklies.

For those of you who have not tried Weight Watchers PointsPlus and/or didn't read my blog back when I was faithfully following the plan, here's the basic rundown of how this plan works:

First of all, I am given a daily PointsPlus target.  For me, it is 32.  It takes into consideration gender, age, height, weight, and I think a couple of other things... 

The PointsPlus are calculated using fat, carbs, fiber and protein.  Usually the first two of those macros make things higher in PP, while the latter two make things lower.  And there are some "freebies"/zero PP foods, most of which are fruits and vegetables.  Most fruits and vegetables are zero PP, but there are some tasty exceptions:  potatoes, avocadoes, peas, and plaintains are a few examples (all of which I love and wish they were zero). 

I get to eat 32 PointsPlus per day, plus however many zero-point fruits and vegetables I am hungry for, plus a few "bonus" points.  Everyone gets 49 weekly points, to be used whenever and however you want throughout the week.  You could use 7 a day (beer!), all 49 at once (entire pizza, anyone?), and anything in between.  Or not use them at all (masochists).  The other "bonus" points are earned through activity and are appropriately called "activity points".  Every time you move, you can earn these jewels, and I earn anywhere from 5 to 14 per day, depending on how long or intense my workout is.

OH YEAH, the Good Health Guidelines.  I almost forgot about those...  In order to make sure that your weight loss is healthy, and that you are not, say, eating all of your points in donuts and Ruffles, WW has the GHGs, which all members are supposed to follow.  They consist of the ones that you have heard about forever (eat at least 5 servings of fruits/veggies, drink at least 8 cups of water) and some that are exclusively WW (2 teaspoons daily of "healthy oil", daily multivitamin).

So with all these hundreds of PointsPlus every week, and with no restrictions on what types of food I am allowed to eat (outside of getting in the GHGs and PP), why would I have such a hard time sticking to such a reasonable plan? 

The truth is that I don't know.  And I plan to try again next week.  This week I am back to My Fitness Pal and a bit of intuitive eating.  I was an intuitive eater over the weekend and have been back to MFP since  yesterday. 

Last week, I had three days of WW, 3 days of MFP, and 1 day of IE.  Plus I exercised very intensely most days.  And I lost 3 pounds, more than I've lost in a week EVER.  So I guess that combo works for me?  Or I confused my body?  I don't know for sure, but I plan to try WW again on Saturday and give it my full effort because after writing about the plan, it seems very reasonable again.  Sometimes I just need to take a step back.


Weight Update
week two start weight: 203.0
end of week two weight: 200.0
total weight loss for week: 3 pounds
total weight loss since 28th birthday: 4.4 pounds

Week 1 - My Fitness Pal (review)

My first week back to weight-loss and I chose to start with My Fitness Pal.  I think that each Monday I will let you guys know how the previous week went, including a review of the plan!

I really enjoyed using My Fitness Pal again, not only because of my awesome friends over there, but because of the HUGE food database and the fact that I don't have to eat any certain foods or limit any either.  In fact, I ate a lot of "junk" food last week.

I would give you an example of a typical day, but I ate pretty differently every day last week.  Almost every day I exceeded 2000 calories, but netted between 1300 and 1600 after exercise calories were deducted.  At that net, I should lose 1 to 2 pounds per week, and I lost 1.4 so I'm here to tell you that My Fitness Pal's calorie calculations work.

Also, I used their database exclusively to calculate exercise calories, no heart rate monitor needed.  I'm sure that it's not 100% accurate, but it worked for me.  :-)

So that's my review of My Fitness Pal.  It works, and it's easy.  If you are looking for a simple calorie-counting website with a wonderful community to boot, MFP may be just what you need.

I really needed that "gray area" last week.  I needed to track, but still eat junk food and not worry about nutrition.  I think that sometimes everyone needs to do that.  I'm not saying that it was a healthy week (far from it) but I think it was WAY better than OVEReating on the junk food and gaining more weight. 


Weight Update
week one start weight: 204.4
end of week one weight: 203.0
total weight loss for week: 1.4 pounds
total weight loss since 28th birthday: 2.2 pounds

BONUS cute dog picture- Diva and Jacques lazing around...

This week:  Weight Watchers PointsPlus!

28 years old and time to get HEALTHY for real!

I'm ready to take the plunge and move past the overeating-on-junk-food-sitting-on-my-butt stage of grief.  I'm ready to start feeling healthy and good about myself again. 

But I still have issues with sticking to a plan.  Even a good plan like Weight Watchers or a flexible plan like My Fitness Pal.  So...  I've come up with a fun plan for the year.  I don't know if I will do this for the entire year (until next October) or for just a bit.  And I don't care.  But here is the "plan":

I will be doing something NEW every week!  And by "new" I don't necessarily mean something that I have never tried, but just that I will be switching up my meal and exercise plan every week in order to prevent myself from quitting or getting bored.

I think that I will usually stick with plans that I am familiar with, with a bit of intuitive eating in there sometimes, too.  One week I may do Weight Watchers, the next I will track on My Fitness Pal.  The following week I may do a strict Eat to Live plan, then I will do a week of not tracking at all and just listening to my hunger signals 100% (Intuitive Eating).  And I will also buy some new books and try out some plans that I have never tried before. 

Also, if I'm "on a roll" and don't want to switch plans one week, I won't.  The only rules to this "plan" are the weekly ones that I will follow for whatever plan I am working that week.

So that's my plan.  I know that many plans say that you need to work them for several weeks to see results, but I think that I will disprove that theory.  I believe that as long as I'm tracking and striving for health each week, I will lose weight and get healthier, no matter which plan I focus on.

Since this was my birthday week (YES, I'm 28 years old now), I did a bit of overeating while my amazing brother was in town (Joel came in for a couple of days because he knew how hard my first birthday without Mom would be and because he is AWESOME!!!).  I stepped on the scale this morning and I managed to maintain, not gain!  So I'm happy with that. I'm tracking on My Fitness Pal for the rest of the week, and will start a different plan on Saturday.

And now for the dreaded moment that you have all been waiting for...  (actually I'm not sure if that is true, but anyway...):  My Updated Stats and a New "BEFORE" Picture!

I told you all that I had gained A LOT of weight since Mom's death, but I have never told you the actual number, because I was very embarassed to have gotten back to this point. 

About a month ago, here were my numbers:

weight (in pounds)-

209.2 (AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!)

measurements (in inches)-

neck- 14
wrist- 6
forearm- 9.5
boobs (biggest part)- 42.5
under boobs- 38.5
upper arm- 15
waist (smallest part)- 37.75
waist (belly button)- 44
butt (widest part)- 52
thigh (widest part)- 28
thigh (midway point)- 21
calf- 16.25
ankle- 10

I'm happy to report that after three weeks on Weight Watchers, I got down to 205.2 (-4) and that I maintained the last week.  These measurements were done on September 16, so I will redo them next weekend to see if I'm any smaller...

my new "before" picture- 209.2

I don't have a specific goal weight this time around.  I would love to get to a healthy BMI, but really I'm just hoping to look good in the clothes that I bought for my trip to NYC in May again, at which point I weighed 165 and was wearing size 14 jeans.  But again, I'm taking this one week (and sometimes one day) at a time, and am in no rush. 

It's time to be kind to myself, and that kindness has to include good healthy habits.