Can I ask how often you eat... is it 3 meals a day? I find that in order to lose, I have to eat very small meals 5 times per day. It seems to keep blood sugars stable and "keeps the fire stoked", so to speak.

It works for me... it might be worth a try.

Kitty

 

I eat small breakfast
small banana and 1/2 cup milk

I eat small lunch
1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup Indian spinach meal

Snack
cantalope

Dinner
salad, with a little cheese, olives, sunflower seeds, may eat some grilled chicken as well

Snack
Water melon

put milk in my coffee for a total of about 2 cups per day of 1%

 

Water? How much water do you drink per 24 hours?

 

Water? How much water do you drink per 24 hours?

Good question.

I know I drink 1/2 to 1 gallon per day. But maybe you are doing that, too, I see you already eat small frequent meals.

Kitty

 

It also looks like your intake is pretty high on the carbs. Does Weight Watchers suggest regulating carbs to a certain percentage of total calories?

 

I drink any where from 6 to 12 glasses of water per day sometimes more. So plenty!

 

As far as carbs - I do eat fruit, occasionally rice, hardly any bread but do eat things like whole wheat pasta, couscous or oatmeal.

 

Try increasing your fat intake a little. Add a tablespoon of flax seed oil.

 

I suspect that you aren't getting enough calorie-burning exercise. Also, increase your veggie intake with steamed and fresh ones, low in carbs.

 

our bodies get used to the "normal, daily exercise" we do, and becomes very efficient at those things. you need to change your exercise from chasing kids to focused exercise of some sort. take them all to the park and walk around the perimeter while they play. or institute pe in your homeschool, and all of you do exercises together. make it part of the daily schedule. you need to increase your exercise and change it up every couple of weeks to keep your body focused on losing weight.

 

I agree that you couldn't eat much less - in fact, that looks like very little food indeed to me. You are going to have to up your exercise somehow. I'd suggest regular walks or bike rides with the kids, and/or keeping some free weights in the living room and working out with them while you watch TV or whatever. The more muscle you put on, the faster your metabolism will go, and the easier the weight will come off. I know it's hard to get that momentum going, but it looks like it's what you'll need to do.

When you do start exercising seriously and vigorously, you will need to eat more than you're eating now!

 

Which WW program are you following? Ardie mentioned something a bit ago and I think it also pertains to the WW program when she mentioned keeping track of the foods she didn't eat. I went through a stretch on WW where I didn't loose for a while but in sitting down and really thinking about it, I realized that I had found ways to cut corners and still loose weight but just slower and the corner cutting caught up with me. I weighed and measured carefully but would grab a bite here and there as I was serving or throw an extra bit of pasta on my plate after I had weighed it out for no other reason than I wanted it. Another thing to consider, knowing that you have small children and your time is not your own, is there any chance you're suffering from a bit of depression? It can slow your metabolism to a certain degree. You might want to consider handing the kids over to dad for while (1/2 - 1 hr) while you take care of yourself and go for a good walk. Moms are notoriously bad about remembering to look after themselves and tend to think they are selfish but in reality, it's selfish not to take care of yourself because your husband and children rely on you.

 

Tone up with weights. Added muscle will burn more calories. Walking would be helpful too.

 

There is also a point where your body thinks it's starving and will adjust the metabolism to a slower pace. Thats natures way to adjust. I would say cut out the pasta and rice and up the green vegetables. Also starchy veg. like corn and peas will slow weight loss.

 

I am borderline diabetic and I must say rice is very high in carbs. Rice will make my sugar climb much faster than anything else. It is high in starch and so are potatoes. I would stop eating rice and go more for whole grains or complex carbohydrates. Good Luck.
A fellow dieter.
Linda

 

Exercise - if I exercise, I can eat almost anything. What I do is use a bike to get around or walk as much as I can. I hate to think how much I eat (and I am 48)

If I don't exercise, it starts to come back.

If you home school your kids - get them exercising too - they will thank you later in life.

Hopefully this helps.

 

crtreedude, you have a very valid point, too often we worry about getting exercise and if we started a pattern of exercise for kids when they're young, they would likely carry on through their adult lives.

 

Seems like an awful lot of dairy to me - can you be either allergic to milk or lactose intolerant? If so, milk can make you bloat and keep you from losing weight. Try cutting out the dairy completely for a few weeks and see what happens.

 

Dh and I decided it was time. So we cut what we eat in half. That is all we did. He lost 20 lbs in 2 months - I have lost 1. ARG!!!!!

I fast a day. Eat supper and don't eat again until the next supper. I do drink water. I do that twice a month and it has helped. You might consider that the WW plan just isn't working for you and try something else. Ask you Dr to send you to a dietitian or try a different weight loss plan. I like WW but that is a lot to pay for 10 lbs.

Good luck

 

Anita in NC, I see some areas of concern in your eating patterns that you may not realize are issues. You note that you're eating olives regularly and I don't know if you realize that olives are high in fat (on the old program they were restricted because of it). If you're eating seeds/nuts and another protein in the same meal, you could be eating more protein than you realize, as well as the fact that seeds/nuts contain fats/oils, salt would be another concern. I don't think you did respond to my question regarding which program you are on but in any case, I would also suggest you consider weighing and measuring everything going in. Drink your water and I would consider the need for exercise. You do need to include more veggies in your diet as well.

 

I can tell you that what you are eating would not work for me. Unless I missed something you are not eating a protein food source until dinner? My main concern would be that you are not keeping your blood sugar stabilized. Fruit is great for you but it contains natural sugar. Rice if it is white rice will convert to sugar very quickly, brown rice will take longer to digest and contains some fiber so is a better choice.
I am "speaking" from the viewpoint of someone who is hypoglycemic and whose brother was diabetic from age 1. What you are eating would put my brother in the hospital and put me in danger of passing out. Your body maybe trying to protect itself from losing because it is not getting enough nourishment. Please be very careful.

Bev

{small banana and 1/2 cup milk} fruit and dairy
{1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup Indian spinach meal} starch and ?? - not familiar with the spinach meal
{cantalope} fruit
{salad, with a little cheese, olives, sunflower seeds, may eat some grilled chicken as well} veggies, protein &fat, fat, fat, protein
{Water melon} fruit
{put milk in my coffee for a total of about 2 cups per day of 1%} dairy

 

That's not very much food at all. It looks like your body may be in starvation mode and conserving every bit of energy it can by slowing your metabolism. To boost that metabolism, you need to increase the amount of food and exercise, both. Add high fiber foods - maybe have a bowl of bran flakes or similar for breakfast with the milk and banana. Trade out the watermelon, which is a sugary, not real high fiber fruit for an apple - more fiber, which is good for you in so many ways. I don't see anything wrong with the amount of dairy you are getting, but you might want to try a light, fatfree yogurt - about 100 calories for an 8 oz serving - for part of your dairy intake. More salads and not just iceberg lettuce - it doesn't have much fiber and not much else. Darker colored vegies have more vitamins and minerals. Tomatoes, cabbage and other cruciferous vegies are good choices and have very few points if you're on the points plan.

I aim for 25 grams of fiber, at least 5 fruits and vegies, 3 servings of dairy, 8 glasses of water, 3 snacks and 3 meals each day. In order to do that on 20 points a day, I have to make the most nutrition-packed foods possible.

Adding exercise burns more calories. Even while you are teaching, you can do isometric exercises, suck in your tummy, or rise up and down on your toes to tone your calves. Several posters have mentioned getting exercise with your kids - just running around the yard playing soccer with them will help you get more exercise. Do pushups together, or put in an exercise video and do aerobics or tae-bo together. Learn to dance together - lots of different ethnic dances, or swing dancing, etc. How old are your kids? What kind of physical activities do they like doing? Join them in it, or add an activity for P.E. for school. Swimming or water aerobics burn lots of calories.

I really don't think you are eating enough if what you listed is a typical day. You may see some initial weight gain when you increase your food intake because your body is still in conservation mode, but as you add more exercise, your metabolic rate will increase and the weight should come back off.

One other thing - when they tested your thyroid, did they also do other bloodwork, such as checking your blood sugar? Insulin resistance makes it very hard to lose weight, and is a precursor to Type II diabetes. If your blood glucose is high normal to high (120 or more) on a fasting test, this may be a factor. Talk to your MD, and ask for a referral to a registered dietician for help in improving your diet. You may want to try the ADA diet - American Diabetes Association. It is a well balanced diet for anybody, not just diabetics.

Just a few random thoughts, FWIW.

~Mary, fellow dieter and RN

 

Hi,
I think everyone is pretty correct. You are not getting enough calories for weight loss. I know that concept is really hard to grasp ( more food !!!!!what you talkin bout willis!) but a 1500 calorie per day is minimum requirement for a body to function. When you walk etc, you require more than that. Your body thinks it is starving. 5 meals per day more protien. No pop, coffee etc. If you must drink coffee it has to be black. No way around that one. Lots and lots of water!!!

 

are you doing the "Points" or "CORE"
I do core and I eat way more than what you listed. As a matter of fact I have to force myself to eat all that I am allowed on the CORE. trying to get all the fruit and veggies in is a chore sometimes.
Fats been dripping off me maybe switch from one plan to the other and see if that doesnt help.
if you are doing core try points or vice versa.

 

Anita,
Are you on the Points program or Core? If not on Points, maybe you should switch and make sure you are eating ALL of your points. Also, if possible, get yourself a treadmill and use it. I am guilty of lack of exercise too. I just bought a treadmill and making myself get on is just plain hard, but, I HAVE to do it. I understand kids and homeschooling (4 kids here) but even if you have to break your workout into 10 min. intervals, it will help. Another thing that someone mentioned that should help is working out with weights. Dumbells are handy but do help.