17 replies to this topic

[HerbieLuvBug]

so, i rejoined on Monday night. Tuesday was my first full day. i am now officially on day 4. i step on the scale every morning, to see if it's working. i know, that's the worst thing a person on a weight loss plan can do... especially since it's not the same scale i will weigh in officially... but i had to do it.

this morning... i saw that i had lost 6 pounds since Monday. is that even possible? i have to admit, it is scaring me, because i know that i will not see numbers like that every week, and i know i WANT to. so what scares me is if i see a big number the first week or two... and then i don't see those big numbers, will the old Kristin come back and say "why bother?" and throw me back into my old mindset of setting myself up for failure?

just curious what others have experienced in the first few "honeymoon glowy" weeks.

[Blessed4Life2]

Hi Kristin!

Yes, it is possible that you have lost 6 lbs, but it is likely water weight......BUT, it is STILL weight nonetheless!!! Even water weight shows and IT COUNTS!!!!!...so congrats to you girl

I am a daily weigher too, so you are not alone......it keeps me in check and holds me accountable. You just have to keep in mind that there may be a 2 lb or so difference in yours and the center's scales. Now if you get obsessed with the scale, and the numbers are taking over your mind, then I would say DONT weigh everyday....otherwise, I'm right there with ya baby

I am glad you realize that you will not have a big loss EVERY week.....b/c you wont! Just remember, although the scale is not moving or moving as fast as you would like it to, you are still losing inches and becoming healthier.....and keep in mind, the scale lies sometimes. Hormones, meds, water weight all play a role in the numbers on the scales. I would suggest not counting on what the scale says anyways, judge by what your clothes feel like.....that is more accurate.

Keep your chin up, and bask in the Honeymoon Glow while it last

[I Called Jenny]

Congrats and ditto to what Melissa wrote. Listen to her, "she knoweth of what she speaketh." (Don't know why I got all biblical on that one. LOL)

Keep it up and don't give up!

Phylls

[Eane]

Yes, it's possible. From a LOT of articles online I've read (because I was trying to find a way to break my plateau fast) the heavier a person is, the quicker they lose weight at a lower calorie intake. Something about the body needing more calories to heat up a larger person.

For example, you have person A who is 300 lbs and person B who is 190 lbs.

Person A goes on a 1200 calorie diet and loses say 50 pounds in two months.

Person B goes on a 1200 calorie diet and loses say 50 pounds in nine months.

Aside from personal things like metabolism, genetics, etc, the less a person weighs, the less calories they need to function at a healthy rate. The more a person weighs, the more calories they need to 'maintain' a weight. If you cut your calories from say 3000 a day to 1200 a day, your body will freak out and begin burning fat, muscle and water to drop weight to match the new food intake.

So, depending on your exact weight, your body could be in 'omgwtf is this chick doing to us!!?? We need fuel! Fuel, cells, fuel! Asap!!' Course, once your body is used to the 1200 calories it'll be more like 'okay, everyone, we're good to go again, stop burning the reserves, winter's coming and it'll be a cold one!'

You know?

[HerbieLuvBug]

Scale hopper update: I'm not showing a 6 pound loss any more, the number went up a little bit so I'm showing about 3 pounds lost.

I'm on day 6, and I'm hungry!! I have my period, which is generally when I get more hungry than usual. 1500 calories isn't much, I forgot how it feels to be in this phase. It sucks. I'm doing everything I can not to eat non-program food this weekend. Being alone is always when I tend to eat. And when I say eat, I mean binge. So, that means I am actually 6 days binge free right now and that feels a lot better than the hunger pains hurt!

[skarpa]

You can do it! Don't give in! I am right there with you. I just rejoined on Friday after several years off. I have about 165 pounds to lose myself and I know I will do it this time. I have never reached my goal, but I WILL do it this time. Hang in there Kristin - stay strong. And when we are feeling not so strong, come here and get supported! YOU CAN DO IT!!!

[I Called Jenny]

 HerbieLuvBug, on 20 November 2011 - 02:50 PM, said:

Scale hopper update: I'm not showing a 6 pound loss any more, the number went up a little bit so I'm showing about 3 pounds lost.

I'm on day 6, and I'm hungry!! I have my period, which is generally when I get more hungry than usual. 1500 calories isn't much, I forgot how it feels to be in this phase. It sucks. I'm doing everything I can not to eat non-program food this weekend. Being alone is always when I tend to eat. And when I say eat, I mean binge. So, that means I am actually 6 days binge free right now and that feels a lot better than the hunger pains hurt!

And your period will also affect the scale, so stop worrying about those numbers. You're on the right track.

As for hunger, it's too be expected in the beginning while your body is adjusting but if you're REALLY hungry, remember to fill up on water (it really DOES help), or a low-sodium veggie juice like V-8 or Motts, make up batches of veggies to fill up on as well.

Have you tried the carrot fries yet? Here's the recipe link:
Carrot fries

You'll also see some other foods that we like to munch on to control the munchies. And these you CAN binge on.

Hang in there. Because it's your TOM the scale might not be as "generous" as you'd like this week but it should balance out next week and you'll see a good loss then too.

Just don't let Thanksgiving mess you up. It's one day and one meal and it's soooooo NOT worth spending days of undoing the "damage" you may have caused yourself by falling off the wagon and over-indulging.

But IF, IF, IF you do, IMMEDIATELY get back on plan. Progress...not perfection. That's what you should be striving for.

[HerbieLuvBug]

SUPER frustrated this morning. i hopped on the scale (kind of a pre-official-weigh-in ritual) and the scale is not showing a loss. in fact, it is actually showing kind of a gain.

week 3 just completed, and i haven't lost anything in 2 weeks. this sucks, and i can't help but think i'm broken.

i have stuck to the plan to. the. letter. i haven't done anything off plan in 2 weeks. why is my body on strike already? yes, i am drinking my water. i'm filling a 32 ounce bottle at least 3 times a day. yes, i am exercising. i'm broken.

and super frustrated.

[Blessed4Life2]

 HerbieLuvBug, on 05 December 2011 - 07:15 AM, said:

SUPER frustrated this morning. i hopped on the scale (kind of a pre-official-weigh-in ritual) and the scale is not showing a loss. in fact, it is actually showing kind of a gain.

week 3 just completed, and i haven't lost anything in 2 weeks. this sucks, and i can't help but think i'm broken.

i have stuck to the plan to. the. letter. i haven't done anything off plan in 2 weeks. why is my body on strike already? yes, i am drinking my water. i'm filling a 32 ounce bottle at least 3 times a day. yes, i am exercising. i'm broken.

and super frustrated.

Do you have any type of Thyroid issues or take meds that hinders weight loss?

[HerbieLuvBug]

yeah, i'm on Levoxyl already. it really makes no sense, i lost 7 pounds the first week and then my body just said, NO! i like this fat!! and started hoarding it.

[Blessed4Life2]

 HerbieLuvBug, on 05 December 2011 - 07:31 AM, said:

yeah, i'm on Levoxyl already. it really makes no sense, i lost 7 pounds the first week and then my body just said, NO! i like this fat!! and started hoarding it.

Well even if your thyroid is balanced out and your on the right dosage, it is still harder to lose weight. I am thinking the 7 lbs you lost the first weight was water weight and now you will be losing fat weight.

I take Synthroid....which is the same thing as Levoxyl, just different maker. it took me longer than most to lose weight, but you CAN do it!!! You just have to be more patient than most ppl...I know, totally SUCKS!

So hang in there girl.....you WILL get there, you just have to get your mindset that this may take a while.

[Blessed4Life2]

Also, you might want to have your levels checked next time you go into your drs office. My Endo told me our levels can change when we lose weight or change our eating habits.....and he was right, mine was off bigtime, and I had to have them adjusted by upping my dose..... and when I did, I started losing faster.

[HerbieLuvBug]

i know... Rome wasn't built in a day. I'd just like some positive reinforcement that what i'm doing is worth it! i mean, if i ate what i was eating before and maintaining my (very high) weight - i'd have the same results so i feel kind of sad that i'm doing all of this work and not getting any reward for the effort.

just frustrated today, also kind of feeling a little bit PMS-y so my negative mindset always comes out a little stronger than usual.

i guess on a good note, i'm not bingeing. i haven't in 3 weeks. the structured eating plan definitely has helped in that regard, by taking the food out of the equation so i'm not constantly obsessing over it.

[I Called Jenny]

 HerbieLuvBug, on 05 December 2011 - 07:15 AM, said:

SUPER frustrated this morning. i hopped on the scale (kind of a pre-official-weigh-in ritual) and the scale is not showing a loss. in fact, it is actually showing kind of a gain.

week 3 just completed, and i haven't lost anything in 2 weeks. this sucks, and i can't help but think i'm broken.

i have stuck to the plan to. the. letter. i haven't done anything off plan in 2 weeks. why is my body on strike already? yes, i am drinking my water. i'm filling a 32 ounce bottle at least 3 times a day. yes, i am exercising. i'm broken.

and super frustrated.

First, congrats for staying on plan! Yes, it's harder when the scale isn't moving but it's also possible that your building muscle with the exercise so if you weren't measured when you first started Jenny, make sure you get measured today. You might be surprised to see that even if the scale isn't moving down, the numbers on the tape measure are.

As for why the scale isn't moving, there can be a number of reasons for it. As Melissa said, it could be medication or some health issue like thyroid problems.

It can be the food choices you're making - not all JC foods are created "equally."

What I mean is that I tended to choose the "carb" dishes on Jenny more than anything else. I liked them better, they were more "filling" for me and, yes, it might have accounted for my slow loss, but I was willing to take that time rather than switch to foods I liked less.

You also could be on too high a calorie rate. It would depend on what exercises you're doing, how often you're doing them, etc., so ask your JCC about it.

The level of calories you're allowed are part of a computer program that deals in "averages." Well the problem sometimes is that we're not "average," so perhaps if you talk to your JCC, maybe she will put you on the 1,200 calories that most of us are on to see if that moves things along.

What fruit are you eating? I know bananas are allowed, but they are much higher in calories than the other fruits, so it's best to avoid them. When I did, I started to see some results. And other fruits shouldn't be larger than a tennis ball (about a cup of fruit).

Apples, for instance, can be quite large and therefore are adding unnecessary calories.

Sodium is another of those tricky things that can mess you up. If you're drinking as much water as you said, that shouldn't be the case, but it can be.

Just talk to your JCC about your concerns and if she isn't giving you solid advice, it might be time to switch to someone who is either better informed or more pro-active in helping you.

Hang in there. There is a reason this is happening and hopefully you and your JCC can figure it out soon.

We're here and we're cheering you on. Hang tough. A weight loss is likely just around the corner.

Phyllis

[HerbieLuvBug]

sh*t, i hope i don't get reduced to 1200 calories! 1500 was drastic enough! and given that i have to lose 95 pounds... that's a long time to stay on that calorie limit. i remember when i started the first time 6 years ago, i was actually on 1800 calories/day so i was really surprised when i was told 1500. but... i am 40 now so that could be why the calorie limit was so low to start with this time.

anyone use the Metabolix Max program? i have been intrigued by the armband/biofeedback thing but was curious from anyone if it is worth the investment.

it's only the end of my 3rd week back, so i haven't really had a lot of time with the JCC they assigned to me. she is not what i would qualify as a healthy role model, she's actually overweight, too so i'm not sure how involved she is with the program. i am not sure how she might react if i pose a real question like this to her, but tonight i will give her a test. both the program and center directors are working tonight so if they have time i may end up talking to them about it.

[wendy_g]

I use the armband and have been on the program for 9 weeks, losing about 15 pounds. LOVE the armband! It challenges me to understand the calories in versus the calories out and to strive for the deficit every day. I am not strenuously exercising but love to see how many steps I take each day toward my goal of 8000 steps per day. For me, well worth the extra money to purchase the armband.

[HerbieLuvBug]

thanks, Wendy for your input. I spoke with my consultant about it briefly, and have read a lot of online reviews on the device. I'm now trying to decide if i want to buy the bluetooth enabled armband directly from Body Media or take advantage of the JC version. Directly through Body Media, they have a 3-month free subscription offer going, and then it's $9.95/month if you sign up for 6 months at a time.

Cost is only one small consideration - I think the whole program is worth it so I just have to squirrel away a few bucks to do it.

PS - I'm also on MyFitnessPal! I love that tracking program!!!

[desilp]

Kristen,
Don't give up! After reading everything above there are a few things I want to mention. When I joined Jenny I weighed 310 pounds. I started off on 1700 calories. I am 5'9". I was not able to have any exercise routine as I was in too much pain from the weight I was carrying. I lost 70 pounds my first year on program. At that time I started working for the company. As you can see from my signature I am still not quite at goal but still battling my food obsession. This is not by any means an easy journey. It is and you must look at it as a lifestyle change. You can succeed.

Now back to the issues... I slowly was taken down to 1200 calories. I started working out at about 90 pounds loss. My body froze up. I couldn't loose anymore. Come to find out, because of the level of exercise I was doing, I needed to go back UP to 1700 calories. My body then started loosing again. Whatever you do, DO NOT drop your calories. Many of my clients have done this and end up so frustrated and hungry they end up quitting..... I would ask you some of these questions:

Are you following the planned menus? If so how much food are you changing. The Jenny menus are designed nutritionally balanced with all the food groups. Jenny is not only about counting calories. Think of your planned day as your recipe for success.... You wouldn't alter a favorite cake recipe by adding more flour=Starches or more Oil=fat, so you have to be careful not to alter your planned menus too much. I found this out the hard way.

An example of what mistake I made as a client is I would eat the following in a day:
Jenny Muffin = 2 starches
Pesto Pizza = 2 starches, 1 meat, 1 fat
Fish & Chips = 2 starches, 1 meat, 1 fat
Brownie = 2 starches

This all equals 8 starches, 2 meats and 2 fats. On the 1200 calorie plan was only supposed to have 5 starches, 5 meats and 2 fats. As you can guess, I was starving because my meats were not up to par and I was way over on starches. Thus I stopped losing weight. I was picking everything on my own and going back to old habits of starchy foods. I had to stop and go back to the planned menus and trust the system and start learning how to eat and balance correctly.

I hope this bit of information helps. There are more questions to ask, but talk to your consultant and start there. I wish you the best of luck and can't tell you enough to hang in there! I am proof it can be done. I have many clients who have lost 70-100 pounds and are still on their journey! Trust in the system and NEVER QUIT!!!! Hugs to you!!!