Does anyone else combine diets?!

[sunnies]

Morning
Despite the fact I love SW, I am really sturggling to get the pounds moving at the moment. I've been doing it for 16 months and lost 2st7lbs but for the last 8 weeks I have lost and regained the same 2 lbs! Its really frustrating as I've tried mixing up G/R/EE days, upping the exercise etc but nothing seems to be working.
My partner suggested maybe trying to replace one meal (probably breakfast) with maybe a SlimFast shake kind of thing, or replace one or two meals a day with some replacement and then eat really sensibly the rest of the day.
I know this isnt advocated at all by SW and not in the plan, but I could do with getting things moving a bit before settling back into EE in a few weeks or so.

Does anyone have any advice on this please?

xx

 

[Too Heavy Hannah]

I don't know what to suggest, but just had a look at slim fast online, one shake is 11.5 syns I hope someone can be more help, but didn't want to read and run x

 

[mojomcl]

Not sure I'd want to mix 'n' match diets, although I can see why you're tempted.
Have you tried a fishy week? Lots of folk on here report brilliant losses after having one (I'm trying one at the mo!). Or Success Express? A bit more stringent, but still more 'open' than shakes. Or just setting yourself challenges (eat 10 SS a day / Eat 5 free things before you have your first syn of the day / Eat 10 different SF foods a day).
I find challenging myself WITHIN the boundaries of SW keeps me interested and on track.
You've lost a good amount, and now you just need to remind your body that you really do want to lose more

 

[mojomcl]

....just noticed, you're less htan half a stone from Target - well done - those last pounds will always be the hardest to shift, but stay focused and it WILL happen. I reckon SW offers all you need, you just need to approach it a bit differently, to waken your zest for losing!

 

[sarahm85]

I would post on here an example day/week of what you eat - you might be doing something wrong which could be affecting losses.

Are you measuring Healthy Extras - guessing the amount could be adding extra syns on throughout the week.

If everything seems OK and you're following the plans correctly, I would suggest upping your superfree foods, and eat superfree as snacks (ignore this if you already do!). How many syns are you having - having too few or none can affect weight loss, but if you're having 15 it might be best to reduce them. Are your portions quite big? I found my weight loss slugged a little because my portions were huge, and reducing them a bit really helped.

My only worry with having Slimfast shakes is that I can imagine they will be high in syns, although I don't know the amount myself. If this is true you could be going well over your syn allowance.

 

[Stefanie]

I'm with mojo, if I feel like I need a challenge I mix the sw plans - for instance I am 2 days away from completing my first red week and I was always EE. For me the carb decrease has been a challenge, but I still feel full at mealtimes, so its probably psychological. Definitely give success express a go for a week and see how you do xx

 

[sunnies]

Thanks for all your advice! I know realistically SlimFast is not the answer but its just kickstarting things. I already eat loads of fruit and veg in a day, measure my HE and tried mixing days. I was always an EE girl but in the last couple of weeks I have had red and green days; I've found these good to start controlling portion sizes but still not much more of a weight loss.
I've looked at SE but I tend to eat 2/3 superfree every meal anyway so wouldnt be changing much. As for fish - I don;t really like it:S (fussy I know!).

I know I'm sounding negative but its really hard when you p[ut in so much effort and dont get the results SW has been fantastic so far and I will definatly continue the principals but I just need a boost. Getting very disheartened at the moment. Booo

Oh well, i'll just keep trugging on

Thanks again

 

[rumbletummy]

I have a habit of snacking in the evening so I now challenge myself to not eat after 7pm, so far I've done 6 nights!

 

[Krsemma]

I had the same thought this week! Even sent hubby to buy some shakes but I only like the coffee ones and they had sold out. My thing was I felt like the plan just wasnt working quick enough but I gave myself a talking to, as it is working and I just need to be patient.
You've already done so well. I know 2 friends that are so close to target and are really struggling. Sorry I haven't got anything more useful to add!!

 

[Shrimpy]

Try upping your free foods, I always eat tonnes of SF but someone pointed out to me that MAYBE i was going to starvation mode... so I upped my free - keeping my superfree at 1/3 and I have lost 1.5lbs this week!!!

 

[Maximus]

I would post on here an example day/week of what you eat - you might be doing something wrong which could be affecting losses.

Are you measuring Healthy Extras - guessing the amount could be adding extra syns on throughout the week.

If everything seems OK and you're following the plans correctly, I would suggest upping your superfree foods, and eat superfree as snacks (ignore this if you already do!). How many syns are you having - having too few or none can affect weight loss, but if you're having 15 it might be best to reduce them. Are your portions quite big? I found my weight loss slugged a little because my portions were huge, and reducing them a bit really helped.

My only worry with having Slimfast shakes is that I can imagine they will be high in syns, although I don't know the amount myself. If this is true you could be going well over your syn allowance.

I agree. Write down every single morsel (and weigh portions accurately) and print it on the forum.

 

[babystar31]

I'd suggest going back to basics! Have a look at your food diary way back when u started. Are u doing anything different? I wouldn't suggest meal replacement products unless u go solely down that route. Fill up on free and superfree foods, note down speed foods and try new things! Good luck xx

 

[cocktailprincess]

At the risk of putting the cat among the pigeons.....

I have on many occasions had a week off SW and done a different diet, just either to get things moving, shake things up or because SW wasn't particularly convenient at that time.

For instance I worked away from home a lot last year and because I couldn't prepare any of my own meals SW was a nightmare- so I joined WW just to get the books and occasionally stuck to counting points on certain days, which just made life easier- I figured if I was within my points on WW days and in my syns on SW days, I would be ok- and I was!

I don't think it's a good idea to mix on the same day, and I personally would never choose a meal replacement, but I also don't believe that it is SW or nothing- 99% of my weight loss was on SW and I still stick to most of the basics at target, but occasionally I did swap and change- sometimes variety was necessary... and always made me grateful when I came back 'home' to SW again

 

[nikki1974]

May sound silly but last time I was on SW a hit a plateau. So...
Someone suggested green tea. I drank 5 cups (you don't add milk) a day and it actually worked to start shifting it slowly. May have been due to the lack of milk or just a coincidence but if I hit a plateau this time I'd def try it again xx

 

[Lisaberry]

I've been tempted to do this a few times and then I have sat down and thought about it. Each slimfast is about 200 calories. For that I could have a big salad with a quorn sausage and a dressing of fromage frais and mint (my fave) there would be less carbs, prob less fat, far more taste and all free on SW.

My suggestion to you would be to try and have a completely red week. If you don't like fish then have as much chicken, turkey or quorn as poss.

I really need to get my bum into gear and do this - summer is fast approaching and I really need to get the pounds off!

 

[juicygooseface]

May sound silly but last time I was on SW a hit a plateau. So...
Someone suggested green tea. I drank 5 cups (you don't add milk) a day and it actually worked to start shifting it slowly. May have been due to the lack of milk or just a coincidence but if I hit a plateau this time I'd def try it again xx

ooh i was thinking of trying green tea now i will def have to what make did u get? and i would prefer one with caffeine do u think that would work the same?

 

[sunnies]

Just wanted to say a big thank you for all your help and advice. Meal replacements arent the way forward realistically; and are expensive!
I'm going to keep with red/green and the odd EE days but thought what I'd do on the EE days is weigh my carbs as if I was synning them eg tonight I'm doing SW curry so thought I'd weigh the rice if I was on a red day having it as a HE that way I could control the amount.
Also, a friend of mine has recently gone back to WW so she's going to go through it roughly with me on the weekend so I might try that for a couple of weeks to see if it get thigns moving at all but still keep with my SW group as I love it!

Your support is the reason I use these forums and its so nice to know that I'm not the only one!!!

Go TEAM!!!!

 

[hollys nan]

I think now that you will have to syn the rice. It used to be a HE on red, but think this is no longer the case! If you have your F O booklet to hand I would check before going ahead. And if this is incorrect I apologise!

 

[judimac]

Can't improve on the above advice. Do you do any exercise?

 

[nikki1974]

I buy the Tetley one Juicy... The do both de caf and caffeinated ones :0) xx