So here’s the deal: I haven’t posted about Weight Watchers in awhile because I’ve been stuck at a pretty little plateau for the past month.
(picture found here )
When I started about 3 months ago I lost 4 pounds right away – amazing! I felt great. Then I lost another 2 pounds. I thought this is going to be way easier than I thought! This 10 or 15 pounds will be gone in no time.
And I was wrong. Then next week I gained a pound. Then I lost a pound an a half. Then I gained two pounds. Then I lost half a pound. You get the point. For the past 6 weeks or so, I’ve hovered right around having lost a total of 5 pounds. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of that – I worked for it! And I have my days where I go over my Pointsplus, have a piece of cake or a margarita or whatnot. But with how well I’m generally eating on daily basis and how hard I’m exercising, I should be continuing to lose over time, and I’m not.
A few months ago my dad told me about this IPhone app one of his business partners is using to lose weight – My Fitness Pal . He said the guy loved it and was on it all the time, and I decided to check it out last week just to see what it was about. The idea is similar to the Weight Watchers app – you are tracking your food and exercise and can do so from your phone or your computer. The biggest difference is that you are tracking calories in vs calories out (and yes, Pointsplus does this to some extent, but they also take in many other factors that make up Pointsplus – fat, fiber, protein, etc).
I’ve never counted calories in my life – even though I’ve counted a lot of Points and PointsPlus. So, in an effort to kickstart my body and see if counting calories really does anything different than Pointsplus, I decided to spend a full week using both programs and seeing if there is any change. I started last Thursday, so this Thursday I will do a full post with the results. I do have to say so far I’m finding My Fitness Pal to be very motivating – not only does it show you calories, but it tracks nutrients too – fat, carbs, protein, iron, calcium, potassium, sodium, etc and shows you what you’ve had and what you should be aiming for. This is super helpful, especially as a mostly vegetarian who doesn’t eat much dairy, to make sure I’m getting enough protein, iron, calcium, etc. Also, at the end of each day when you complete your diary for the day, a little motivational message pops up that tells you if every day was like the day you just had, you will weigh _X_ pounds in __y_ amount of time (for example, if I had a great day and stayed within my calorie budget, I will be at my goal weight in 5 weeks. So motivating! On the other hand, one day this weekend I went over my calories for the day and my message said I would only be another 5 pounds down in 6 weeks. Also motivating to not go over my calories anymore!)
Have you ever counted calories? Is it helpful for you in weight loss? I’m thinking this might be a good system for me to get back on track, but could get obsessive and may not be the best long-term plan for me.
So here’s the deal: I haven’t posted about Weight Watchers in awhile because I’ve been stuck at a pretty little plateau for the past month.
(picture found here )
When I started about 3 months ago I lost 4 pounds right away – amazing! I felt great. Then I lost another 2 pounds. I thought this is going to be way easier than I thought! This 10 or 15 pounds will be gone in no time.
And I was wrong. Then next week I gained a pound. Then I lost a pound an a half. Then I gained two pounds. Then I lost half a pound. You get the point. For the past 6 weeks or so, I’ve hovered right around having lost a total of 5 pounds. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of that – I worked for it! And I have my days where I go over my Pointsplus, have a piece of cake or a margarita or whatnot. But with how well I’m generally eating on daily basis and how hard I’m exercising, I should be continuing to lose over time, and I’m not.
A few months ago my dad told me about this IPhone app one of his business partners is using to lose weight – My Fitness Pal . He said the guy loved it and was on it all the time, and I decided to check it out last week just to see what it was about. The idea is similar to the Weight Watchers app – you are tracking your food and exercise and can do so from your phone or your computer. The biggest difference is that you are tracking calories in vs calories out (and yes, Pointsplus does this to some extent, but they also take in many other factors that make up Pointsplus – fat, fiber, protein, etc).
I’ve never counted calories in my life – even though I’ve counted a lot of Points and PointsPlus. So, in an effort to kickstart my body and see if counting calories really does anything different than Pointsplus, I decided to spend a full week using both programs and seeing if there is any change. I started last Thursday, so this Thursday I will do a full post with the results. I do have to say so far I’m finding My Fitness Pal to be very motivating – not only does it show you calories, but it tracks nutrients too – fat, carbs, protein, iron, calcium, potassium, sodium, etc and shows you what you’ve had and what you should be aiming for. This is super helpful, especially as a mostly vegetarian who doesn’t eat much dairy, to make sure I’m getting enough protein, iron, calcium, etc. Also, at the end of each day when you complete your diary for the day, a little motivational message pops up that tells you if every day was like the day you just had, you will weigh _X_ pounds in __y_ amount of time (for example, if I had a great day and stayed within my calorie budget, I will be at my goal weight in 5 weeks. So motivating! On the other hand, one day this weekend I went over my calories for the day and my message said I would only be another 5 pounds down in 6 weeks. Also motivating to not go over my calories anymore!)
Have you ever counted calories? Is it helpful for you in weight loss? I’m thinking this might be a good system for me to get back on track, but could get obsessive and may not be the best long-term plan for me.