anyone on WW??

[Susan Otcenas]

I'm down 21 pounds since I signed up for WW online on Nov 5th. I follow it religiously, tracking every single thing that passes my lips. I'm also using the activity tracker to record all my activity points. It's working really really well for me. I love the accountability.

14 more pounds to my goal weight!

Susan

[tulip]

Susan, that is awesome! Just goes to show that with consistency and discipline, you can achieve your goals. Great job!

[ASammy1]

I know! Susan is so inspirational. By following her progress, I decided last week to get back on track w/ WW. I have changed my diet around completely and upped my protein intake. After reading the Jan/Feb weight loss thread I realized I might have glucose sensitivity (diabetes and hypoglycemia runs in my family). I am going to see what happens and go from there!

Thanks again for your inspiration Susan!

[uforgot]

I tried doing it alone, but something about weighing in makes me stick to it better. I absolutely can't count ANY activity points. When I did that I gained, but I also need something after a ride. Many here have suggested chocolate milk, any one else have any WW friendly suggestions?

By the way, congrats Susan! That's terrific and inspirational as I have about 35 pounds to lose!

[Susan Otcenas]

Thanks ladies! I'm glad that sharing my story has helped. But believe me, it's definitely been a struggle sometimes. It's a daily test of willpower to keep it going and not succumb to a craving or temptation. *Most* days I'm very successful at that, but every now and then..... Yesterday we celebrated two birthdays @ Jeff's folks' place - Jeff's and his sister's. Jeff baked a chocolate orange cake for Tricia, and Tricia baked a banana cream pie for Jeff. Plus his mom put out a Mexican burrito buffet for lunch.

Well, I'd like to tell you I resisted it all, but......Of course I had to try both the chocolate cake and the pie, both of which were amazing. And the mexican food was awesome. I dutifully counted up all my points at the end of the day (I never skip that step, even when I've had a "bad" day) and just about fell off my chair.

One thing I've taken away from all of this over the last 3 months is that it's OK to have a day like this now and then. I've learned not to sabotage myself *after* the fact by saying - "well, now I've screwed up my whole week, so I may as well also have x too." Instead, today I'm right back on the plan and eating my daily 19 points. I went for my run this morning, as scheduled. Basically, I've found that if I don't let myself have a day like yesterday every now and then (say, once every 4-6 weeks) then I end up feeling too deprived. What really matters is how I work the plan every day, not the very occasional day when I let loose and eat a piece of cake.

I'd like to thank all of YOU for keeping me on track, too. Part of what works for ME is being accountable to other people, so being able to check in here and on the Jan/Feb weight loss thread really helps me alot.

Susan

[uforgot]

19 points is all you get? Wow, doesn't seem like much. Maybe I need to recalculate, I'm at 24.

Congrats on making it a way of life and not a diet. That's probably what will make it a success in the end. The fact that we can't go back to our old ways, but have to learn to incorporate those "days" when there is just great food around.

[Susan Otcenas]

19 points is all you get? Wow, doesn't seem like much. Maybe I need to recalculate, I'm at 24.

Yup, 19. I started out at 21 points when I was 165. Somewhere in the high 140s I dropped to 19. NOw I'm at 144. If I'm not mistaken, the lowest is 18 points. I'd imagine I'll hit that when I'm in the 130s.

In all truthfulness, though, I rarely eat that few points. I exercise 4-6 days per week, and I always eat my activity points (on the day I earn them). It's very important to eat to fuel activity, so I never skip those. Besides, the APs earned only work out to about 1/2 the calories burned in any given activity. So you can eat all your APs and still lose weight.

In fact, you SHOULD eat your APs. If you don't eat enough, your body goes into starvation mode. Basically, your metabolism slows down because your body thinks it's in a famine (because it is). Give it enough calories and it will freely burn them. Starve it and it will try to conserve them by slowing the metabolism.

Besides eating my APs, I usually eat some (but rarely all) of my weekly 35. 10-15 is pretty typical for me.

I believe that "diets" don't work. Eating healthily and in moderation, along with a regular exercise regimen, is the only way to sustain a healthy body weight. It's one of the reasons I never eat "prepared" diet foods like Lean Cuisine or the packaged WW products. One needs to learn how to cook healthy, low fat, low calorie meals to be successful long term. JMHO, of course.

Susan