Fluctuation....Please share your thoughts

biggysmalls

Too big to fail
Hi everyone,
I would really appreciate your thoughts and experience.
I joined SW in August 09 and lost a stone between then and January.
I also started having my periods again. They had vanished for about six months and the doctors couldn't find any reason. I think it was stress, which was also the reason I gained a stone.
Anyway, I'm delighted to have lost that stone and to be on a more even keel with regard to periods. But this last few months my weight losses seem to follow a clear and annoying pattern. Every month I lose three pounds on one weigh-in and then later in the month put it on. The freaky thing is that even in my early SW days, I only ever lost a pound on a average weigh-in. Three pounds seems really weird! And likewise, a three pound gain?! Yesterday I had a three pound gain on weigh-in. Honestly, if someone else told me they had stuck to the plan 100% and had a three pound gain, I would be tempted to not believe them. But this is where I fnd myself, for the last four months.
My consultant has looked my diary. She said it's fine but I need more variety. I have been aiming to improve this and have enjoyed eating a greater variety of foods.
The following week her suggestion was to cut down on syns, from 15 to 10, which I have found tough but have also done.
Yesterday she told me to do red days. I am pretty much a vegetarian but if I only need to do it for a while, to lose weight, then I'm willing to.
But I must confess, I'm really scraping the barrell now for motivation. I sometimes wonder why I've been spending £5 a week for the last sixteen weeks, to lose no weight at all...On that monthly 3 pound gain weigh-in it is hard for me not to just feel like calling it a day. It makes me feel like I'm destined to hover around the 11stone mark forever. I would really appreciate your input, especially if you or anyone you have heard of these seemingly hormonal fluctuations. Thanks xxx
 
Are you doing any exercise at all hun?
 
Snap!

Hun, I am having the same patterns. I gained 2.5lbs last night and I know that I have been good. My other gains have only been 0.5lbs in the past, so last night I was devestated! My Hubby wants me to have a day off plan to kick things into touch, but Im petrified that by doing it I wont be able to stop. I dont want to gain the weight that I have lost, but after last night's results Im fed up too!
Anyway....as long as you can see that there is a kind of pattern emerging, the gain for that week should be easier to accept regardless what people think. Your Consultant should also see that you have a pattern too and this is taken into consideration..at least mine does.
Just look at how far you have come and take each day as it comes. This is the only advice that I can give you as Im doing the same myself and although the gains are upsetting, Im not tempted to throw the towel in as readily as before.
xxx
 
exercise- just some walking really and occasionally some sit-ups. Nothing intense, I admit! Do you reckon I need to do more exercise to get things going? Will I have to stick with it too, lol?
Thanks for both your replies. As you say Mrs V, I don't even get that upset about gainging THREE pounds any more. It's pretty much expected. Back in the day, I remember crying because I gained half a pound after an excellent week. This week I had a brilliant week, even managed to avoid the temptation of pizza on Saturday night by taking myself off to another room with my WeighWatchers spaghetti as my family tucked in, what a saddo!...then stand on the scales and gain three pounds. I think I don't get upset because it's not "real", or I think it can't really be fat. Either my monthly three pound loss is false or my monthly three pound gain is false, like water weight or something.
Anyway, I really feel stuck. I get why your hubby thinks you should have some time off. The thought has crossed my mind too! The last time I had some time off I neither gained nor lost......
 
My consultant always looks at a woman's weight loss over a 4 week period as at different times of the month our hormones do affect our weight be it water retention or some other trick such as cravings.

Is the 3lb gain the week before your period and the 3lb loss just after your period.

I can gain anything up to 4lb on run up to my when my period is due, and even if I don't have a period (as am peri-menopausal) I still get all the cravings and water retention etc.

Take a look at your food diaries and your weights over the past few months and see if there is a definiate cycle to this and then look into finding foods that can help with the water retention etc.

Hope this helps.

Michelle
 
you are soooo good for working through this and asking for support, i wouldn't be as strong as you and would of thrown in the towell!!

a friend of mine had a similar experience and moved to WW rather than SW and has started losing again. i do sometimes think different diets work for different people at different times. have you considered looking into something like that to see if that helps?

drinking a lot of water and exercising should help too x
 
i have put on up to 1/2 stone in water the week before my period. Not so bad now I use the ladycare but can still put a acouple of pound on.My thyroid doesnt help either just take it one week at a time or you'll go mad
 
Thanks everyone for your replies. To answer your question, woodsylou, I did think of moving to ATKINS when my consultant told me to do red days. I thought, well I don't really like meat that much but at least on Atkins I could eats lots of cheese too ha ha! But I know SW is healthier.
I think that SW is a great plan but I seem to have got stuck. Doing a red day today......not loving it but hey!
Thing is, I won't know for a month if doing more red days is working for me or not. Yes, I might get a good result next week but it's avoiding that eventual three-pound gain that I need to master.
Thanks again xx
 
snap... look in siggie at mine lol but i had bad weeks... if it carries on im sure your consultant might recomend fast forward to you just to boost it :)
 
Sorry to hear that you are struggling at the moment. A couple of things spring to mind - as you've been told you need to mix things up and have variety in everything - different HEs ever day, different foods and different recipes. I don't think you need to do red days though. Your consultant has probably suggested it to limit your carb intake but you can do that quite happily on green days. Do you tend to focus on the pasta and rice? There are so many other free foods so try having pulses, quorn, cous cous or lentils, and some of the more obscure grains such as bulgher wheat or quinoa.

Exercise can only be a good thing so you might want to look at doing some sort of formal exercise a few times a week. You don't have very far to go to get to target. How are your losses averaging out out over a month? Some people find things really slow down as they near target but maybe you're not seeing the big picture because you're so caught up in your weekly fluctuations.
 
Thanks, everyone. I did a Red Day today and ate some smoked salmon(with celery and tomatoes on cocktail sticks) and cockles (had never tried them before)....so I suppose this all helps with variety. I did vow to try something new every week and will continue to do this. Last week it was butternut squash which was lovely and a good alternative to potatoes. I like the idea of bulgar and quinoa. I have tried them and loved them. I think I do depend on pasta too much.
That's a good suggestion to mix up the HEX too...I will really have to work on this but I have a plan. I'm going to do a lucky-dip to choose at least two of my Hex choices every day because if I go by "what I fancy" that'll be cereal, Alpen Lights and milk and cheese, day-in day-out!
As for exercise, I'm going to have to step it up here aren't I? I have a few exercise videos. I hate the thought of them but they're ok once I get going. Plus I can do them on my own, in any weather etc. So no excuses!
And I'll try to walk and even....dare I say it, RUN a bit every week.
So, my pledges....
1) do exercise video twice a week; half an hour brisk walk twice a week with some jogging thrown in there too
2) try at least one new food every week and make at least one new recipe every week
3) drink more water
4) vary my HEX every day

Phew, I'm tired thinking about it. Thanks again xx
 
good luck honey, you sound so dedicated :)
 
Good luck - Hope it works out for you, you are doing really well keeping up with motervation, so I really hope you get the results you want x
 
You can tell me to bog off but have you heard of the set point weight theory? Its where we have a naturally determined weight and if we ate a healthy diet and exercised this is where your body would naturally weigh. It means some people can struggle to lose weight at a certain point as your body isn't happy about it.

Here is an article about it if your interested

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Schneider13.html
 
Very interesting, thanks. The slimmest I've ever been is 10stone 4....in my adult life, I mean! that's what my target is.
But I'm slimmer than I've been in about six years.....I might be at a "set point"...I'll keep trying for another few months and see how I get on - otherwise I know I'll regret throwing in the towel without giving things a really good try.
xx
 
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