I’ve been thinking a lot about why I’ve been struggling the last few months…and why I’m finally *knocks on wood* back on track.
One of the things that I realized is that before the slippage (November), I was having a hard time staying in my daily point range. If you’re not familiar with how Weight Watchers works, when you start out, you have a daily point value based on your age, current weight, and activity level. Then as you lose, those points slowly evaporate.
It’s great to lose weight, don’t get me wrong. But as those daily points whittle away, it can get…scary.
I was down to 30 points a day (I believe the least recommended daily value is 26). Every day I was going over 3-4 points. No matter my best intentions, I just couldn’t get UNDER. I was eating relatively healthy foods, but I started to get discouraged.
If I can’t eat at 30 points…how am I going to live on 26 for the rest of my life?
Sure, I have the extra weeklies to use. But I liked to use those for special occasions, dinner out, or special treats. Not day to day living.
It’s dumb, I know, but I got so discouraged that I quit tracking all together. That helps a lot. *rolls eyes* It’s like oh, I’m on fire. Let’s dump some gasoline on me!!!
So I’m back to tracking this week. That Man’s diabetes is flaring up, so I recommitted to cutting out processed foods as much as possible. No pasta, no rice, etc. (At least at home. What he chooses to eat for his breakfast/lunch is on him.) In fact, I’m doing more of a paleo dinner plan this week – mostly meats and veggies. I’m not cutting dairy out or anything drastic, but in general, I’ve given up most wheat, sugar, and processed foods so far this week.
The only exceptions so far have been granola (I haven’t had time to make my homemade batch yet) and a little honey or maple syrup for my yogurt. That’s it. Other than a tiny bit of dark chocolate yesterday.
And you know what? All the sudden I have LOTS of points left over! I didn’t realize I was spending that many daily points on things like bread, rice and pasta. Granted, most of the time I ate whole grain products, but still, it adds up.
I don’t think I’ll be this strict forever, but it’s nice to get control back. I’m detoxing a little from all the slippage and hopefully losing some water weight. When I do introduce more carbs, I’ll choose healthy whole grains. Other than my protein shake, I haven’t had any artificial sweeteners either. I’ve been trying to find a good tasty all natural shake, but so far, no luck. (At least ones that I can gag down.)
So I’ve got a little damage control to work through, but I think I’m back on track. I’ve even been doing Power 90 this week! Of course the ticking bomb of RT just around the corner might have something to do with that…
I’ve been doing full-on Paleo since the beginning of the year (no grain products, legumes, soy, sugar, and almost no dairy), and it’s amazing how effortless it is to stay within points eating like this. The protein and fat I’m eating have a lot of points… but I can only eat so much of it, because that stuff fills you up! I don’t “graze” any more, and the constant struggle to not overeat is pretty much gone.
Not to get all Paleo-evangelical on you! Just happy to see that this has helped you get back on track.
Great job on figuring out the problem! I hope you see results quickly again. And I hear you on the shakes… Ick.