darcy et al,

i just found this thread accidentally looking for something else.
i'm glad i did, because i have concerns that i dont know where to turn to for answers. i've gained over 20 pounds in the last couple years. i was 127 pounds, then i quit smoking, then i quit chewing nicorette a year ago, then i went thru menopause, then i was hypothyroid so now i'm on levoxyl, and voila! now i'm 150 (pounds not years!). it just feels like overnight i got love handles from nowhere.

i've been riding for 10 years. i've been eating lo-fat for about a hundred years now but it suddenly stopped working. i looked into south beach but the first two weeks would have been impossible with the riding i'm doing. so i tried a "modified" south beach based on the glycemioc index, and FIVE WEEKS LATER i had lost nothing. zero. what a letdown! so i joined weight watchers 2 weeks ago.

my concerns are this: our riding season has started, the first major race is the tour de scottsdale oct.14, i've upped my mileage to like 150-220 miles a week. so when we do our 70+ mile rides i need to increase my calorie intake to sustain me, but to what? can i carb load? on WW there's "activity points" that are swapped for "food points" but the numbers are really high, like i am allowed way more food than i think i should to still lose weight. i know from recent experience that i just cant lose the weight. also, all my weight gain seems to be in my waist.

so i'm frustrated that i cant lose the weight and waaaaaaay upset about the way i look now. i had to find a new doctor and i've brought it up to her every time i've seen her and she either doesn't understand or doesn't care. i would love to find a nutritionist or personal trainer but that is so not financially possible.

so has anyone had any successes at all? at my 1 week weigh-in at WW wednesday i had lost 2.2 pounds. i'll give this WW a try. thanks for letting me vent! i'll be back!