9 months on 9 months off?

[amydown]

Oh, and well done Pickle! Amazing that you can keep going for runs like that. I am so so lazy left to my own devices..

[Grotty]

Well done Pickle! 1lb to go. Wow. That must feel great. Another great advert for the benefit of exercise. I'm managing once a week at the moment which definitely needs working on. I lost 1lb this week but felt rather annoyed as had an amazing week where despite dropping to 26 points I stuck to my points and only used a few weekly. Also felt slimmer and clothes felt baggier, so was really expecting a bigger drop. Anyway, have learnt that with WW this is part of the deal. Hopefully will see more next week.

[pebbles]

Great weight loss Pickle. I'm weighing in tomorrow am as was away this morning so fingers crossed. Am about to go for a run with Pickle now - thank goodness it's stopped raining and on Monday I ran 5.22 miles for the first time (literally at Easter i'd never run before although had been v sporty at school just never thought i could run) and now i'm addicted :)

Grotty - my best weight loss weeks have been when i've eaten all dailies and weeklies AND activities. I have had a slow down over the last few weeks and I know it's because I haven't been eating enough - however bizarre that sounds!

Although i've still got a long way to go - 3 stone down and about 2 to go - i'm beginning to feel good in my clothes so i can't tell you how much happier i am being me :)

Keep it up everyone

[eco79]

May I just ask whether anyone is doing the propoints with the breastfeeding points attached? It seems like an awful lot of food?

[pebbles]

Pickle is - I'm obscenely jealous with the amount of food she's allowed to eat - mmmmmm

[Pickle]

*wipes chocolate crumbs from mouth*

Yes, me! 40 points a day is an absolute luxury. I do my best to use them on healthy foods, but will admit to my nightly chocolate fix - I figure it's my reward for having spent the day feeding my 4.5 month old.

I get a couple of Graze boxes every week and use them for healthy snacking to make up my points, things like dried fruit, nuts and seeds, which are high in points but very good for me.

It seems impossible to be able to lose weight while eating so much, but I'm walking proof that it works, having lost 25lbs since I began at the start of March. I never ever feel hungry, and by following it carefully haven't had any problems with my milk supply. I found, like with my other two babies, that once I started eating healthily my baby seemed a lot more settled - could be coincidence, but I'm convinced the benefits of healthy eating make a difference to the baby too.

[eco79]

Please tell me if I'm being too nosy....but are you exercising too? I think I've got in a rut of eating utter rubbish and need to fix this!! :)

[Pickle]

Yes, I started out walking as much as I could with the baby, but now go running 3 times a week which really does help.

Good luck, and feel free to ask as many questions ad you like :)

[pebbles]

Hi eco

I really believe exercise is key. Even if it's walking it all helps. WW has a fabulous pedometer which not only counts your steps but also calculates how many activity points you earn throughout the day. It really made me go the extra mile when i normally would have been a bit lazy - i've even been known to pace my ground floor in order to earn another point!!!!

[eco79]

I walk with my husband to his work in Waterloo most days [from Peckham] with a hefty 3 month old in a sling. I've been keeping it to 29 points, admittedly only started a week ago, and haven't lost a stitch. Only used 20 weeklies. Maybe eating properly is the key?

I was just hoping to feel very money supermarket after my first week!

[Pickle]

If you're breastfeeding you really must use all of your points (40 if you are solely breastfeeding). You will struggle to lose weight if you dont eat enough, especially when feeding a baby.

Most weeks I use 30 or so of my weekly points on top of my 40 a day.

P x

[eco79]

Thanks ladies,

I'll report again next week. Maybe I should actually just go back to ww rather than being too tight to pay again! :)

[Grotty]

eco79 - i think WW works when you eat your points. i.e. if 40 is your allowance you must eat 40 each day. My daughter is now 7 months. I started WW when she was 6 weeks old, maybe too early but I was feeling desperately huge and it was getting me down. Anyway, my first bit of exercise was just over a month ago. I have lost 31lbs in 5 months just on sticking to 40 points - i literally did no exercise. I ate 3 healthy meals and had something rubbish to eat every day (piece of cake, biscuit, chocolate etc) and lots and LOTS of fruit/salad in between. It didn't actually feel hard. I have now stopped breastfeeding and am only allowed 26 points and am really struggling with hunger and working out what i can eat that leaves me any points for dinner.

Anyway, I digress. Basically eat your 40 points, obviously exercise is important and will speed up weight loss so exercise if you can but if you can't for the moment you should still be able to lose some weight. Hang in there. Its a slow process but definitely worth it.

I looked in the mirror yesterday and for the first time in actually years and years I felt ok, almost pleased/proud with what i saw.

Happy times xx

[eco79]

Thanks Grotty and wow! it sounds like you've done a brilliant job of losing weight. Very encouraging.

My son is only 3 months. Within two weeks I was back in my non-maternity clothes and was feeling pretty pleased with myself. Then I remembered I'd always been a size 16 for the last 5 years and never liked it :)

[Grotty]

it sounds like a lot but given I started when daughter was so little i'm sure that some of that would have come off anyway with post baby shedding..

[pebbles]

That's amazing Grotty - well done you - amazing being happy with yourself

I lost another 1.5lb this week which takes me up to 42 lbs which i'm thrilled with. I feel my head is back in the right space again and having run 4x and cycled twice this week i'm hoping for another good week next week.

Just need to get past the weekend without boozing - i'm trying to cut down on the alcohol which i know is my downfall when my weight loss slows down.

My son starts school in Sept so I would like to have lost the majority of the 2 stone I've still got to go before my first drop off so onwards I plod :)

Please stick with it eco - I truly believe ww is a great way to sensibly lose weight without changing our life (i.e. continuing to have treats and booze) - but even if it isn't ww keep at you, you won't regret it :)

Keep it up everyone

[Bellenden Belle]

Can I join your gang please?

Things came to a head when I was on the tube on Wednesday night and someone offered me their seat....14 weeks after giving birth! We'll brush over the fact I was on my way to a pork scratching night at Harvey Nics....

So I have set a realistic goal of 1lbs to lose. Would love to have reached that goal by September - wish me luck!

Edited to say - I want to lose eleven pounds! Not 1lb! - top marks to proofreader Pickle!

[Pickle]

Welcome Bellenden Belle. I'm assuming that's a typo and you're hoping to lose a little more than 1 pound by September... (although if pork scratching nights are a regular occurrence, possibly not :) )

Grotty, don't belittle the amount you have lost, it's an amazing achievement no matter what!

Thanks to Pebbles for the run this evening, if we hadn't agreed in advance to run tonight there's no way I would have gone. As it was it didn't rain on us and we did over 4 miles, brilliant. You have done so well, not just with weight loss but with your running too.

Onwards and downwards, I'm really really hoping to reach goal this week!

[Bellenden Belle]

Thank you Pickle ....and well spotted!

I've just finished my online WW log for what I've eaten today. Apart from discovering just how much that peanut butter addiction is costing me it's not too bad - though I used all my 40 points up very easily which is scary as I was definitely being "good" today.

What was really exciting though was the actual Weight Watchers site and how useful the support tools are.It was so easy to work out the points of each meal. I last did WW about a decade ago and don't know how I managed to keep track back then. I have a feeling the site might unleash my inner geek which might prove quite helpful too!

[Pickle]

The online stuff very much appeals to my geeky side too, and with the app on my iPhone there's never an excuse not to track.

Out of interest, how do others do it? Track as you go, or at the end of the day? When I'm having breakfast I enter my breakfast, work out points in whatever I'm having for dinner, and enter things I know I'm having for lunch. Infind it helps me to know in advance how much I've got left to play with.

Off out for the day to visit friends, no idea what the food offerings will be, but hoping to stay on track.

[pebbles]

I also absolutely love the online stuff

When i lie in bed in the morning I work out what we're having for supper (and whether I'll be boozing) and then I work out breakfast and lunch accordingly.

I try to always have porridge in the am if i'm going to exercise however if I know i'm in for a big night i'll just have fruit salad. So basically I work backwards.

I used to track using the tracker book however it's so much easier doing it on my iPhone as it allows me to use my weeklies easier and although I don't use my activity points it's nice to see how well i'm doing on that front too.

I think working backward also allows me to know whether i can sneak in a treat during the day as well - which i normally try to do :)

[eco79]

Well, I have a hand drawn chart on my kitchen cupboards with a whiteboard marker! I guess the teacher in me missed my markers too much while on mat leave! I also LOVE a good visible [reward] chart. It's placed brilliantly near all the food and I kind of like that my husband can see it every day too. Not that he would tell me off, more of the accountability I don't get because I don't go to a meeting.

Have enjoyed things much more the last few days. Fingers crossed the 40 points a day will work! You all seem to be living proof that it does. :)

[crystal7]

Very impressed with all this weight loss! I need some advice...

Right. Have lost most of baby weight. I've got about 3/4lbs to go but hopefully that will come off when I make more of an effort to stop being a pig! My issue is how awful my body looks. Spare tyre, wobbly thighs, bingo wings- urgh! I know excercise is the way foward here but it's never been something I've enjoyed. Pre children I used to run 3x per week but that was when I had loads of spare time. What are you lot doing that fits in with children and gives a good fat burning workout? The only time I have to exercise is after 7.30 or weekends...And what to do about the tummy?? I'm sure it didn't look so nad after child 1?? I walk everywjere often pushing double buggy but I'm aware more is needed!

I have also developed some bad habits mainly eating children's left overs-anyone else do that?

I should mention that baby is 7.5 months so the weight bit isn't impressive at all!

[Pickle]

Well done on your weight loss Crystal7!

You're right, exercise is what you need to do, I wish there was an easy solution but there's not. Running is what works for me (and Pebbles), and I fit in three runs a week - one longish one in the weekend and two on week nights once the kids are in bed, so generally around 7:15/7:30ish.

There are nights where it's the last thing I feel like doing, but I always feel great afterwards.

The other option is something like powerpramming, take the kids with you. When I had my 2nd I used to go along with the two kids in a P&T.

P x

[nunheadmum]

On the issue of how to track, it's got to be as I go for me. Trying to fit around accommodating eating with kids on mixed up routines (and not making it obvious), making stuff that satisfies a stick thin hubby and being at work 3 days and not organised enough to pre-prepare lunch, if I didn't track through the day I'd be soooooo over 26 points a day I'd have to give up! (I'm soooo jealous of breastfeeding mums on 40 points!!!! Although I should remind myself of what all the rest that goes with breastfeeding and kids that age, then I might not be so jealous!!) Have to say though I've gone into my weeklies more these past few weeks. After sticking to 26 and not losing an ounce, I thought, what the heck and it does seem to have worked!

I have tried planning meals but somehow what's on the board never ends up the same as what's on the plate!!

Still, managed a steady 1lb a week over the past few weeks so one way or another, it's working. And by not planning, it does still feel like I've got my freedom!

P.S. Well done to all those notching up the losses. I'm impressed by all the running going on. It's making me feel bad. Tomorrow morning.......