25 replies to this topic

[flower_child]

I joined jenny 3 weeks ago, my first week I lost almost 2 lbs, second week almost 7lbs, now today weigh in I gained almost 2! ( well that's my first week gone!)
Feeling a little down, I do know I exercised a lot less & I had an Ensure 2 times this week (250 cal) I am just soo hungry all the time. I am on the pre planned bought foods, adding lot's of free veggies and fruit - but I am finding the hunger hard to deal with.
I do have to say before this, I ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, 3 XL triple triple coffee's/day, 2 bagels n cream cheese/day.. I cut both out 100% well that's cutting over 6,000 cals right there - so this gain is confusing me?

I looked around the forums a bit I am new here - but I didn't see anyone else that went backwards.
Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom

[I Called Jenny]

flower_child, on 29 November 2011 - 07:35 PM, said:

I joined jenny 3 weeks ago, my first week I lost almost 2 lbs, second week almost 7lbs, now today weigh in I gained almost 2! ( well that's my first week gone!)
Feeling a little down, I do know I exercised a lot less & I had an Ensure 2 times this week (250 cal) I am just soo hungry all the time. I am on the pre planned bought foods, adding lot's of free veggies and fruit - but I am finding the hunger hard to deal with.
I do have to say before this, I ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, 3 XL triple triple coffee's/day, 2 bagels n cream cheese/day.. I cut both out 100% well that's cutting over 6,000 cals right there - so this gain is confusing me?

I looked around the forums a bit I am new here - but I didn't see anyone else that went backwards.
Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom

Yes, people have gained but it's usually either temporary water weight, too much to eat (how did you do on Thanksgiving) or some other temporary reason like the time of month.

And while you might not have seen it, believe me, we hear this from people all of the time.

With the exception of the extra 500 calories from the Ensures you consumed, that might have resulted in a smaller weight loss or no loss but it's likely that unless you did something else to cause the gain, you'll probably see a substantial loss next week.

Try to remember that this isn't just a diet, it's a new way learning to eat for the rest of your life (assuming that once you lose the weight, you don't want to gain it back).

That being said, considering your past diet, it's understandable that it will take you a bit of time to adjust to the smaller portions.

The other question is - were you truly hungry? I mean, was your stomach growling or did you just "think" you were hungry because you were used to eating substantially more food and more often in the past.

The other thing you can fill up on is more water. It's surprising how much that will help you to feel full. Try drinking a glass of water before each meal and then consume another glass (or two) with your meal. Hot tea or plain coffee also will help.

You also can drink things like low sodium vegetable juice which will also help you feel full and give you even more servings of vegetables.

Give it time. You probably just are in an adjustment period. It will get better and easier, I promise.

We have folks who eventually have trouble consuming all of the food they're supposed to be eating during the day and that is shocking to them too since they used to eat a lot more. Your body will adjust but you also have to mentally adjust.

And you know what else, if you are feeling hungry that's a good sign because it means that your metabolism is working optimally.

Anyway, don't give up hope and don't worry too much about the "gain." It probably will all be gone by next week.

Go back to your exercise. Add more veggies to both your meals and snacks and stop eating off plan and soon you'll be rewarded with lower numbers on the scale.

You've already done very well in the first two weeks so don't get discouraged and come back to the boards as often as you can. You will learn much from others experience and we're all here to lend support and answer questions when we can.

You CAN do this!

Phyllis

[flower_child]

I Called Jenny, on 29 November 2011 - 09:18 PM, said:

Yes, people have gained but it's usually either temporary water weight, too much to eat (how did you do on Thanksgiving) or some other temporary reason like the time of month.

And while you might not have seen it, believe me, we hear this from people all of the time.

With the exception of the extra 500 calories from the Ensures you consumed, that might have resulted in a smaller weight loss or no loss but it's likely that unless you did something else to cause the gain, you'll probably see a substantial loss next week.

Try to remember that this isn't just a diet, it's a new way learning to eat for the rest of your life (assuming that once you lose the weight, you don't want to gain it back).

That being said, considering your past diet, it's understandable that it will take you a bit of time to adjust to the smaller portions.

The other question is - were you truly hungry? I mean, was your stomach growling or did you just "think" you were hungry because you were used to eating substantially more food and more often in the past.

The other thing you can fill up on is more water. It's surprising how much that will help you to feel full. Try drinking a glass of water before each meal and then consume another glass (or two) with your meal. Hot tea or plain coffee also will help.

You also can drink things like low sodium vegetable juice which will also help you feel full and give you even more servings of vegetables.

Give it time. You probably just are in an adjustment period. It will get better and easier, I promise.

We have folks who eventually have trouble consuming all of the food they're supposed to be eating during the day and that is shocking to them too since they used to eat a lot more. Your body will adjust but you also have to mentally adjust.

And you know what else, if you are feeling hungry that's a good sign because it means that your metabolism is working optimally.

Anyway, don't give up hope and don't worry too much about the "gain." It probably will all be gone by next week.

Go back to your exercise. Add more veggies to both your meals and snacks and stop eating off plan and soon you'll be rewarded with lower numbers on the scale.

You've already done very well in the first two weeks so don't get discouraged and come back to the boards as often as you can. You will learn much from others experience and we're all here to lend support and answer questions when we can.

You CAN do this!

Phyllis

Thank you so much Phyllis, I appreciate your positive and supportive reply.
Well first I am in Canada so we actually *Luckily* had our Thanksgiving long ago and with no family in town for xmas that shouldn't be a problem either
You have made so many valid points above. I never thought of vegetable juice that will help with being sick of carrots! lol

As well I do need to drink more water at one time(ie; prior to meals), I sip on water through out the day equals only about 3 reg size bottles. The hunger feeling is growling hunger, I had just finished lunch before my weigh in maybe been an hour and my consultant could hear it! Again with your suggestion to the veggie juice + water perhaps could help to curve that more than a few veggies or fruit.

It does seem hard to believe that the small portions are what is the proper amount, only because as we know media or restaurant servings.. tell us we need more. I look forward to the day you speak of where I don't need to eat far beyond a healthy need.

Thank you again I look forward to a new week, as they say every day is a new day.
Sincerely
Terra

[I Called Jenny]

flower_child, on 29 November 2011 - 10:29 PM, said:

Thank you so much Phyllis, I appreciate your positive and supportive reply.
Well first I am in Canada so we actually *Luckily* had our Thanksgiving long ago and with no family in town for xmas that shouldn't be a problem either
You have made so many valid points above. I never thought of vegetable juice that will help with being sick of carrots! lol

As well I do need to drink more water at one time(ie; prior to meals), I sip on water through out the day equals only about 3 reg size bottles. The hunger feeling is growling hunger, I had just finished lunch before my weigh in maybe been an hour and my consultant could hear it! Again with your suggestion to the veggie juice + water perhaps could help to curve that more than a few veggies or fruit.

It does seem hard to believe that the small portions are what is the proper amount, only because as we know media or restaurant servings.. tell us we need more. I look forward to the day you speak of where I don't need to eat far beyond a healthy need.

Thank you again I look forward to a new week, as they say every day is a new day.
Sincerely
Terra

Terra,

A couple things. Forget restaurant portions. They are so far above what we should be eating. In fact, a couple of us were looking at the menu for The Cheesecake Factory (don't know if you have those in Canada) but some of the main dishes were well over 2,000 calories! That's almost what we're supposed eat in a day and a half!

So as far as eating in a restaurant, here's a tip that might help. I know it's helped me and others I've shared it with.

To begin with, whenever you eat your Jenny meal, put it on a regular-sized dinner plate. That way you will become more mentally aware of what a JC portion is supposed to look like (it's hard to tell when it's in those little containers). Then, when you go to a restaurant, first, of course you want to order smart choices (broiled chicken or fish and non-starchy veggies without butter or other toppings) but you also have to be careful about serving sizes. So the thing to do is to IMMEDIATELY ask for a to-go container. Then when the food arrives, put anything that isn't a Jenny portion into the box. If it's not on your plate, you can't eat it, right?

If you're only drinking three regular bottles of water a day, you're not drinking NEARLY enough water. You should be drinking a MINIMUM of 64 oz. (8, 8 oz. glasses) a day. And if you're working out, you need to drink even more. Really, that's INCREDIBLY important. It flushes out any sodium, it fills you up, it helps your kidneys, it helps your hair and skin. All in all, it's essential.

You also mentioned fruit. Are you eating more than the two pieces of fruit you're supposed to eat? And what kinds of fruit? Try to stay away from bananas because while they're allowed, they very high in calories in comparison to other fruits. Try to go with things that have more fiber like apples, pears, oranges and tangerines. But they also need to be the size of tennis ball (some fruits can be VERY large and you would unwittingly be taking in more calories than you should).

Plus those fruits are also more filling and take longer to digest so that also will help.

And, yes, we all start out eating carrots but you can quickly get tired of those. Try getting a little more adventurous. Cucumbers, green squash, grape or cherry tomatoes, celery, peppers (the red, orange and yellow peppers are much sweeter than the green and they are also less gassy). You can swap those out for the carrots too. And salads are great anytime. You can either do the Jenny dressings or other oil-free dressings.

I like the Salad Spritzers. You get 10 squirts for no calories and it tastes just like the real stuff so you can enjoy a great salad - also filling and full of fiber especially if you add veggies to it.

I personally like Asian blends of mixed vegetables. I'll "saute" them in Pam with some garlic and ginger and just load my plate up with them. Sooooooo good!

And let me know if you want a "carrot fries" recipe. They'll give you an entirely different take on eating carrots.

And generally with weigh-ins, try to wear the same outfit (or at least a similar weight of outfit whenever you go for your weigh-ins and try to do them at the same time of day each week because that also will throw off your scale since we can "gain" as much as five pounds in a day from a combination of food we ate, fluids consumed and...ahem...bowel movements. (I know, TMI. LOL But it's true.)

It really DOES get easier and sometimes it isn't a day at a time, it can be an hour at a time. Keep busy and you won't notice the hunger so much until your body adjusts.

You will get used to this new lifestyle but it will take time. Give yourself that gift of time to learn a totally new way of having a relationship with food.

Oh, are you doing the Anytime bars? If so, how do you like them? (Actually, now that I said that, I think there's a different version in Canada.) Anyway, if you don't want to eat that, you can substitute a piece of FF string cheese or a container of FF, sugar-free yogurt and a multi-vitamin. You might find that more filling as well.

It's a whole new food world. You will come to really enjoy it especially when you see not only the scale's number going down but also the inches you're losing.

Phyllis

[Kristin82]

I have been lucky and gained only once (after attending my Granddaddy's funeral- funeral food is the devil), but I have had some weeks with very little loss. I had a couple where is 4 ounces or 8 ounces. My husband has had more gains. He has had about 4 weeks since we started that he has gained. It took him the following week to retool what he was doing and it usually worked. Sometimes a small change can be the key. Don't get frustrated with a small gain, get focused. talk to your consultant and check out some of the great hints here, just NEVER GIVE UP.

[flower_child]

I copy and pasted everything you said here and have found my self in the last couple days repeated certain things like the restaurant tips to friends n family. I need to chug the veggie juices, I haven't found one that I care too much for yet, but it does fill the spot for a bit, so all is well.
Loving the education part of this all - looking at V8 juice, 1 low sodium and 1 25% less, well goodness me if the 25% less wasn't till 50% more than the Low sodium one!I would have gone with the 25% lower before - never reading any further.
You have just been such and incredible support! Thank you.
Today while running around it went past lunch time still had a ton more erins to do, so Daughter and I stopped at Subway, talked about and pondered over the healthiest of options, seemed a lot easier to talk about than a month ago :)settled on the 6 inch Turkey on Oat Wheat, loaded with veggies and with honey mustard sauce (L/F)
total 260 cal and as I finish my first delicious bite the phone rings - How did she know! I am off the menu, ahhh lol. It was a great laugh, but it felt good to adv of the choice / decision i made.
One Day at a time, one hour at a time!

I Called Jenny, on 29 November 2011 - 11:11 PM, said:

Terra,

A couple things. Forget restaurant portions. They are so far above what we should be eating. In fact, a couple of us were looking at the menu for The Cheesecake Factory (don't know if you have those in Canada) but some of the main dishes were well over 2,000 calories! That's almost what we're supposed eat in a day and a half!

So as far as eating in a restaurant, here's a tip that might help. I know it's helped me and others I've shared it with.

To begin with, whenever you eat your Jenny meal, put it on a regular-sized dinner plate. That way you will become more mentally aware of what a JC portion is supposed to look like (it's hard to tell when it's in those little containers). Then, when you go to a restaurant, first, of course you want to order smart choices (broiled chicken or fish and non-starchy veggies without butter or other toppings) but you also have to be careful about serving sizes. So the thing to do is to IMMEDIATELY ask for a to-go container. Then when the food arrives, put anything that isn't a Jenny portion into the box. If it's not on your plate, you can't eat it, right?

If you're only drinking three regular bottles of water a day, you're not drinking NEARLY enough water. You should be drinking a MINIMUM of 64 oz. (8, 8 oz. glasses) a day. And if you're working out, you need to drink even more. Really, that's INCREDIBLY important. It flushes out any sodium, it fills you up, it helps your kidneys, it helps your hair and skin. All in all, it's essential.

You also mentioned fruit. Are you eating more than the two pieces of fruit you're supposed to eat? And what kinds of fruit? Try to stay away from bananas because while they're allowed, they very high in calories in comparison to other fruits. Try to go with things that have more fiber like apples, pears, oranges and tangerines. But they also need to be the size of tennis ball (some fruits can be VERY large and you would unwittingly be taking in more calories than you should).

Plus those fruits are also more filling and take longer to digest so that also will help.

And, yes, we all start out eating carrots but you can quickly get tired of those. Try getting a little more adventurous. Cucumbers, green squash, grape or cherry tomatoes, celery, peppers (the red, orange and yellow peppers are much sweeter than the green and they are also less gassy). You can swap those out for the carrots too. And salads are great anytime. You can either do the Jenny dressings or other oil-free dressings.

I like the Salad Spritzers. You get 10 squirts for no calories and it tastes just like the real stuff so you can enjoy a great salad - also filling and full of fiber especially if you add veggies to it.

I personally like Asian blends of mixed vegetables. I'll "saute" them in Pam with some garlic and ginger and just load my plate up with them. Sooooooo good!

And let me know if you want a "carrot fries" recipe. They'll give you an entirely different take on eating carrots.

And generally with weigh-ins, try to wear the same outfit (or at least a similar weight of outfit whenever you go for your weigh-ins and try to do them at the same time of day each week because that also will throw off your scale since we can "gain" as much as five pounds in a day from a combination of food we ate, fluids consumed and...ahem...bowel movements. (I know, TMI. LOL But it's true.)

It really DOES get easier and sometimes it isn't a day at a time, it can be an hour at a time. Keep busy and you won't notice the hunger so much until your body adjusts.

You will get used to this new lifestyle but it will take time. Give yourself that gift of time to learn a totally new way of having a relationship with food.

Oh, are you doing the Anytime bars? If so, how do you like them? (Actually, now that I said that, I think there's a different version in Canada.) Anyway, if you don't want to eat that, you can substitute a piece of FF string cheese or a container of FF, sugar-free yogurt and a multi-vitamin. You might find that more filling as well.

It's a whole new food world. You will come to really enjoy it especially when you see not only the scale's number going down but also the inches you're losing.

Phyllis

[flower_child]

Thank you Kristin,
We are all so different, different foods can agree or disagree differently for each. I am glad your husband found where the need for improvement was and went for it. It is easier and we think more satisfying to head for the cheesecake than the veggies - but with every little choice huge things happened!
you guys are luck to have each other through this time of transition. It's understandable for you to have a gain during such a difficult time I am so proud of you to get back on track,and every little loss is still a loss
Thank you for replying and being so encouraging - Big reason I joined Jenny was because having someone to account to I knew would be the key and having that little set back has made me hungry to show her I can do it, I want to make her proud in turn it is making me proud

Kristin82, on 03 December 2011 - 10:47 AM, said:

I have been lucky and gained only once (after attending my Granddaddy's funeral- funeral food is the devil), but I have had some weeks with very little loss. I had a couple where is 4 ounces or 8 ounces. My husband has had more gains. He has had about 4 weeks since we started that he has gained. It took him the following week to retool what he was doing and it usually worked. Sometimes a small change can be the key. Don't get frustrated with a small gain, get focused. talk to your consultant and check out some of the great hints here, just NEVER GIVE UP.

[I Called Jenny]

flower_child, on 04 December 2011 - 01:30 AM, said:

I copy and pasted everything you said here and have found my self in the last couple days repeated certain things like the restaurant tips to friends n family. I need to chug the veggie juices, I haven't found one that I care too much for yet, but it does fill the spot for a bit, so all is well.
Loving the education part of this all - looking at V8 juice, 1 low sodium and 1 25% less, well goodness me if the 25% less wasn't till 50% more than the Low sodium one!I would have gone with the 25% lower before - never reading any further.
You have just been such and incredible support! Thank you.
Today while running around it went past lunch time still had a ton more erins to do, so Daughter and I stopped at Subway, talked about and pondered over the healthiest of options, seemed a lot easier to talk about than a month ago :)settled on the 6 inch Turkey on Oat Wheat, loaded with veggies and with honey mustard sauce (L/F)
total 260 cal and as I finish my first delicious bite the phone rings - How did she know! I am off the menu, ahhh lol. It was a great laugh, but it felt good to adv of the choice / decision i made.
One Day at a time, one hour at a time!

Congrats on the great Subway choice!

BTW, you said you don't like the V-8 that much. Have you tried Motts? They also offer a lower-sodium variety and I found that it has a "lighter" taste than the V-8. You might want to give that a try.

BTW, don't forget to let us know how you do on your upcoming WI.

Phyllis

[flower_child]

I Called Jenny, on 04 December 2011 - 04:54 PM, said:

Congrats on the great Subway choice!

BTW, you said you don't like the V-8 that much. Have you tried Motts? They also offer a lower-sodium variety and I found that it has a "lighter" taste than the V-8. You might want to give that a try.

BTW, don't forget to let us know how you do on your upcoming WI.

Phyllis

Wonderful Thank you I shall try a motts selection. I have found if I quickly chug the V8 then drink some water it's tolerable lol. Next weigh in is Tuesday morning I am excited and nervous at the same time

[I Called Jenny]

flower_child, on 04 December 2011 - 09:32 PM, said:

Wonderful Thank you I shall try a motts selection. I have found if I quickly chug the V8 then drink some water it's tolerable lol. Next weigh in is Tuesday morning I am excited and nervous at the same time

You're going to do fine and I can't wait to hear the results.

Phyllis

[mindymdc]

Is low-sodium V8 a free food? Limited or unlimited?
Thanks!

[CMECRZN]

Low sodium V8 is like eating veggies... unlimited!!!

[mindymdc]

CMECRZN, on 05 December 2011 - 06:25 AM, said:

Low sodium V8 is like eating veggies... unlimited!!!

Thanks, Debbie, I'm off to the store right now!!! LOL

[robrob]

Flower child, when you had that giant 7 lb weight loss week, that is not always normal. I found that any week I had a very large loss, the next week was much lower, and the reverse was also true. I found that if I tried to stay consistant, I did much better mentally. I think the biggest loss I ever had in a week was 4 lbs, and I jumped up and down over it. The longer you are on the program, you will figure out what works best for you, and will pick up a few tricks. The closer I got to my goal weight, the less that I lost weekly. Drinking the water, eating the fruits and veggies, getting the exercise. That is what worked for me. And it was easy to let one or the other go. Give it a few more weeks, and let us know how the weigh-in tomorrow goes.

[I Called Jenny]

mindymdc, on 05 December 2011 - 04:38 AM, said:

Is low-sodium V8 a free food? Limited or unlimited?
Thanks!

You might also want to give the low sodium Motts veggie juice a try some time. I found that it has a "lighter" taste that I really enjoyed.

Phyllis

[mindymdc]

I Called Jenny, on 05 December 2011 - 11:52 AM, said:

You might also want to give the low sodium Motts veggie juice a try some time. I found that it has a "lighter" taste that I really enjoyed.

Phyllis

Thanks, Phyllis!

[reddyrawks]

I am on maintenance and I am up 4 pounds from goal, 7 pounds total (I was under goal) I really need to get back on track, I want to lose those 4 pounds by Christmas Someone slap me up side the head and knock some sense into me

[mindymdc]

reddyrawks, on 05 December 2011 - 04:13 PM, said:

I am on maintenance and I am up 4 pounds from goal, 7 pounds total (I was under goal) I really need to get back on track, I want to lose those 4 pounds by Christmas Someone slap me up side the head and knock some sense into me

YO Reddyrawks!

S L A P ! ! !

You get right back down those 4lbs, girlfriend, you are an inspiration to us all!!! We need you!!! We'll even give you the 3 you were under - it is the holidays after all

OK, so you're a role model. But most important, get rid of those 4lbs FOR YOU before they become 5...or 10...or...you know the drill.

[I Called Jenny]

WWWAAAAPPPPP!!!

Ok, you've been officially slapped!

First, good for you for recognizing that you're headed in the wrong direction. That's HUGE step!

Now, you have two choices, you can go back to Jenny and go back on plan for the two weeks until Christmas or you can use the Jenny plan and do MOMOs but it still has to be JUST as if you were doing Jenny's food. Your choice. But those are your only choices.

You're too important as a role model (even if you don't want to be) and you can't let us down.

So, get back on track, Missy! You look too hot in those hot pants to have any extra flab.

You can do it. I know you can!!!! Goooooooooooooooo, Jen! Lose those four pounds.

Phyllis

[reddyrawks]

Thanks ladies, I love how everyone is willing to smack me one...ahhahaha. Confession is good for the soul!! Now that I confessed, I put myself in a position that I cant let myself down I shall do this, I must do this. I won't let myself snowball again