Tonight I did something I haven’t done in a long time. I polished off a bag of chocolate chips. That’s right the WHOLE bag. In my defense it was about half empty but still. The point is I felt that out-of-control-need-to-comfort-myself-with-food feeling. This has been happening to me a lot lately. From shoving cheese slices in my face when making lunch to downing bags of Doritos while watching TV at night. I’m out of control.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not beating myself up about this. I don’t even feel guilty. It simply is what it is. I’m nursing a newborn, planning a conference, trying to get my taxes done, helping a kindergartner with his homework, all while attempting to keep a household running on little to no sleep. It’s no wonder I feel out of control.
The bottom line is I’m eating becuase it’s there. I’m eating becuase it helps me stay awake. I’m eating becuase it’s comforting.
I’m feeling out of control and It has to stop. I want it stop.
This is when the structure of a plan helps me. It helped me 6 years ago when I originally lost the 70 lbs. Going to Weight Watcher meetings and tracking my progress here on the site gave me an outlet. Something just for me during a time I felt like I was working for everyone else.
That may sound cheesy but it’s true. In a weird way it’s like a hobby. I don’t need the structure of the plan forever but in these first few months it helps me get back on track.
This is my long, roundabout way of telling you I’m returning to Weight Watchers. I’m not going to lie. I’m nervous. If you remember my initial response, I didn’t have the warm and fuzzies about the new plan but I’m ready to give it a shot. I found a meeting on Thursday’s that fits my schedule and I’ll be weighing in which in and of itself scared the CRAP out of me. I haven’t gotten on the scale since my last pregnancy appointment.
I’ll also be updating all my old progress pages, including my Weight Progress, Yearly Goals and new Progression Pics. I do well with the structure of the plan while using the blog to track my progress. Hey, it worked the first time, right? Why not give it another go.
This brings me to the question of the week. Do you need the structure of a plan like I do? Or are you better on your own? What works for you?
76 Responses to Do you need the structure of a plan?
Leave a Reply
BlogToLose
What's Cooking in my kitchen?
-
I've seen it mentioned in a few of my clean eating and healthy cook books but honestly, I never even thought of Farro as an option for me. I refuse to shop at specialty stores and I try to use only common products that I can keep in stock and purchase from a typical grocery [...] -
I've never had a tuna melt. Is that weird? I guess that's what happens when you grow up not liking mayonnaise. I never ate tuna salad or egg salad or chicken salad. Honestly, they always kind of grossed me out. Then I realized.. hey.. why does tuna salad have [...] -
I have no idea where this idea came from. I was hungry. It was lunch. I had Brussels Sprouts. That was all the catalyst I needed.:) I decided to use a slice of real bacon to add flavor and little fat that would help sauté the sprouts. I'm trying [...] -
WOW was this good. I mean seriously good. It's not vegetarian so don't start throwing stones. I'm calling it a Garden Vegetable Burger because I use the new Laughing Cow Smooth Sensations Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread. It was this recipe on Allrecipes.com that inspired [...] -
I drink water 99.9% of the time but every so often it just doesn't cut it. I want something else. Something more. Something slightly sweet. Today was one of those days. I decided to make a refreshing drink based on the famous Arnold Palmer, half lemonade and half iced [...] -
The other day I made a whole chicken on the grill in pieces. It was delicious! Just a little BBQ sauce and an open flame is all I need to make The Husband happy in the dinner department. I also picked up a few ears of corn from the grocery store. They aren't in season [...] -
Let me explain so you don't think I'm making a chili recipe and just put it on pizza. I'm calling this vegetarian Chili Pizza because chili is what inspired flavors. I think I told you. Little Bean is really into, well, BEANS! We go through a can about every 2 days. Yesterday [...] -
I've confessed my inability to follow recipes here on GreenLiteBites many, many times. I don't know why it's so hard for me. I can barely follow some of my own and I wrote the darn things! I think most of my problem stems from not having all the ingredients listed and, [...] -
Leftover brown rice and leftover sauce meet in this quick lunch idea inspired by my favorite food of all time: Pizza. I swear I can turn anything into a pizza concoction. Have you seen all my pizza ideas? I've used everything from pumpkin to zucchini, polenta to wontons. Nothing is off [...] -
This isn't a recipe just an idea I had to share. I can't believe how good it was! I've never had grilled pineapple. Can you believe it? I just never really had the desire to grill it before. When you love something raw sometimes it doesn't occur to you to cook it. [...] -
I whipped this up for lunch on a whim today because, well, I have a baby who's obsessed with three things… Cheese, Beans, and Avocado. No, really. Look... It's my go to meal for him so I find myself with beans and avocado readily available. [...] -
You know that tradition 7 Layer Mexican Dip? The one with the cream cheese, guacamole, salsa, lettuce, cheese, green onion and olives? Yea. That's the one. Well I had a craving for it the other day. Well, not exactly for it as I can never make anything the way it's suppose [...] -
If you go through the archives of GreenLiteBites I have about 5 total beef recipes. Five. Compare that to the 80+ I have tagged with chicken/turkey there's a clear winner in the meat department on my blog and in my home. I don't have a beef with beef (omg The Husband [...] -
I'm a kitchen sink smoothie maker. Whatever I have on hand goes in the blender and viola! A quick breakfast or a healthy snack. Last year I posted an "Elastic Approach" to how I make smoothies but I still like to share specific combinations that worked really well. This was one [...] -
The other night it was just the kids and I home for dinner and I decided to make what I wanted to make no holds barred. Without The Husband home it's much easier for some reason. Hmmm wonder why? Ok, not here to husband bash.. really.. I'm not! I'm here [...] -
*sigh* I was really hoping to share an awesome turkey burger idea. I had grand plans for my leftover ground turkey. The results was alright but they could have been so much better. I added diced pineapple, red pepper, green pepper, oats and soy sauce to the meat and formed 2 patties. In hindsight I [...] -
I made this on a total whim yesterday having no idea if it would work. To my surprise it did AND the husband actually said he liked it... UNSOLICITED! Here's the story. I had only 4 tilapia fillets defrosted for dinner. I knew it wasn't going to be enough for us [...] -
This is a slight reboot of a recipe I posted last year simply called Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili. Staying true to my use-what-I-have-on-hand roots I, well, used what I had on hand and made a similar dish with a spicy twist. Topping the result with avocado added a cool creaminess that [...] -
Did you hear? The Laughing Cow recently launched Smooth Sensations a line of 5 cream cheese spreads. There's Classic Cream, Classic Cream Light, Strawberries & Cream, Garden Vegetable and my favorite… Cinnamon. It's a sweet wedge of creamy goodness! Today I decided to use my new favorite flavor [...] -
Confession time, I recorded a 30 minute video making this with both kids (partally) 2 nights ago. I miss videos. I really do but they seem so much more difficult with 2 children. I'm also having technical difficulties with my video recording and audio syncing making it VERY time consuming to edit. [...] -
A couple of years ago I shared a modified version of Sloppy Joe's I made for a party. Everyone loved it but I've been wanting to try to make something similar for the family on a smaller scale and without the pre-made canned Manwich sauce. I don't particularly have any issues [...] -
Yesterday I was dreaming about a salad. Not just any salad, but a chickpea filled, cucumber, and red onion salad with a fun, tangy dressing. Unfortunately, I had no cucumber or red onion. Well, that's a lie. I had a half of cucumber but it was a mushy mess and [...] -
Dinner meals are getting harder and harder for me to share lately. I've gone back to just whipping things up without really measuring anything (this meal was going to be one of those until I realized I still had enough light to take some photos.) I've also instituted a few brainless meal nights [...] -
Three years ago I posted a video called "Makin' Hard Boiled Eggs" where I shared my system for, well... making hard boiled eggs. Genius name, I know. I'm smart like that. Anyway, since then I've gotten tons of feedback and comments thanking me but all the information is locked in a long winded 10 minute [...] -
Yup. You read that correctly. BEET as in those red vegetables that stain your fingers pink. Honestly, I have no idea what possessed me to make this. I don't particularly like beets. I mean I like them, but I don't looove them. Two summers ago I made them for [...]
About Roni
Roni started this blog in '05 to journal her weight loss. 70lbs later, she's committed to living a conscious, healthy life and hopes to inspire others along the way. Read more on the about page.
I’ve been struggling with this. I lost over 90 lbs with WW after the birth of my first son, but I’ve had 2 more babies in a year and a half, the youngest being 3 months. The new plan has me scared, I’ve gone to the meetings but I was turned off when the people were all saying how much they hate brown rice and would “rather eat the extra points and calories with white rice” which is ridiculous because we all know there isn’t a calorie difference. It’s just discouraging when you don’t feel your leaders are competent. But I can’t do it alone, as much as I want to! So, hopefully I can try a new meeting. I have about 80 lbs to lose and it’s affecting my ability to get out of bed in the morning. I’m a musician and haven’t booked any shows because it was ok when I was pregnant, now I’m just fat. Sigh. I’m about to go to WW meetings every day, it will be like AA for me. I want to get back into the habit of setting myself up for success. Nursing a baby and taking care of 2 other little kids under 5 is exhausting, but it doesn’t make it any better when I sit down with a box of TastyKakes (yes, a whole box.) Hope you find success at your meetings!
I recently rejoined WWafter many years of taking a break, and doing it on my own. Yeah, that didn’t go so well. But I’m back as WW and it’s working! I think that the new plan is really great. It seems to be something that caters to people like you. People who know what healthy food is, people who make good choices (generally), whereas the old plan I felt like I ate a lot more crap, because it was low points. I started so many healthy routines the first time(s) I did WW, and this plan forces you to have even healthier routines.
The bright side is, if you continue nursing you get way more PointsPlus!!
Oh Em GEE! I can’t believe how profound this is:
Kathy { 03.30.11 at 9:17 am }
BEING FAT IS HARD, LOSING WEIGHT IS HARD, MAINTENANCE IS HARD…….CHOOSE YOUR HARD!
I have learned that I need the structure too. CAN I do it on my own? Yes … BUT the structure makes it easier and straightforward, no guesswork. I still feel like I have a lot of freedom to choose what I want to eat, but having a plan takes the stress out of it for me. I know what you mean … it is kind of like a hobby. I am an online member and use etools, so it is even easier for me now. I do find that I like the new plan, especially with etools.
I will be interested to know if you like the new plan. I’m sure I will get slammed for this…but I do not like the new plan. I think fruits have too many various nutrients (carbs, calories, etc.) to be ‘free’.
I need the structure of my plan! So, yes, I guess I need it!!
See I knew I wasn’t the only one who needed structure!
I have had five knee surgeries within the last year and a half. I used to be a big time runner and can now never run again. I’m also trying to balance college. When I was running, I weighed about 115 pounds. After my surgeries, I dropped to about 97 pounds. I thought once I started getting active again, I could maintain my weight around 105 which would be a good weight for my height: 5’3.” However, I’ve gained back all the weight I had lost and it’s very frustrating. I think my lack of a schedule is a main contributor. I would like to weigh 105 so that means about a ten pound weight loss. What do you feel is the main way to get back on a schedule in such a crazy hectic life? I know you’re schedule is as crazy if not crazier than mine with a newborn!
I need structure. I am following ww online. I am on the SFT method. I am doing online because it is cheaper, but if I feel that I am slipping and need the accountability or help with the SFT plan, I will pay for monthly meeting + online plan. I think it is about $39.00 per month. I also ordered Chalean’s Turbo fire. I just got it in the mail yesterday. I will start this week. I have to read and adjust me schedule for it.
Roni, I recently read on a nutritionist’s blog that getting the munchies is a sign of protein deficiency. It read that the most important times for our bodies to get protein are first thing in the morning and after a workout. ( I had the after-workout routine of some protein, but not first thing in the morning.) This nutritionist said to aim for 10 grams first thing. After eating exactly the same thing for breakfast (1/4 c oatmeal w/ 1 T pb, which is healthy but only a measley 4 grams!) for 6 months (and getting hungry/shaky 3 hours later) I thought it would be a good experiment. I started eating one cup of plain yogurt mixed with the same 1 T pb and right away I noticed lasting 4 hours before feeling hungry. The biggest difference, though was I had/have no afternoon munchies to stave off and it seems like I’m satisfied, in general, on about 300 calories less per day. (Maybe I will take off those last 5 pounds after all, lol!)
I’m obviously not recommending that you cut calories…rather, I’m wondering if , with nursing, your protein demands might be higher…??? It’s just food for thought. : )
I absolutely need the structure of the plan – I’d like to say I only need it for a while, but so far that is not true – once I stop being more strict (I’ve never been real strict) I tend to start to gain (or at a minimum maintain) – Stepping on the scale every day is what helps me not gain too much.
With both my kids I tried to start the program right away and was not successful – but then again I am someone who stops tracking when I go over my points which should not be the case. I definitely needed a ton of protein not to be hungry all the time. But even with more cheese and chicken I did eat a ton – but I really wish I had tracked that “ton” – I gave up when the 10 extra points (on the old system) wasn’t enough.
But I did allow myself a ton of the lactation cookies – yummy oatmeal/chocolate (and they helped!) so i didn’t feel as guilty :)
But I agree with all the other posters that tons of protein is key not to be famished and keeps your supply up. Crap is just going to make you feel more sleep deprived than you are.
Roni,
You are only 2 weeks postpartum! You must not worry! Your hormones are just resetting. Seriously! Wait a little for the meetings…your top priority is sleep and healing now….please take care of yourself. Sending hugs.
First let me say that you are doing so well with all that has happened in the past couple weeks! When we are sleep deprived our brains send out a message to eat carbs. I myself am guilty of feeding my “tired” instead of giving me what I really need which is sleep. Of course you don’t have control over that right now but I think it helps to know that craving carbs is a normal body response to the lack of sleep.
Now to your question. I definitely do better with a structured plan that I can tweak to fit my personal needs. WW has always worked well for me for just this reason. I have a framework within to work and enough room to customize the plan to fit my personal needs.
Wishing you much success Roni – I have no doubt that you will soon be back where you want to be!
I’m a new mom, although he is almost 3 months and I am amazed that you are taking/finding the time to do this. Good for you! I’m still struggling with the lack of sleep and trying to manage everything in the household…and I don’t have a 5 year old. Be kind to yourself as you get back into your groove. A daily reminder of taking it easy on yourself isn’t a bad thing. You had a baby TWO weeks ago.
I do sort of need the structure of a plan, but committing to it at the wrong time can also be a bad idea. I know you, and you WILL rock the weight off and there’s no doubt about that, but please give yourself the time you need to recover from birth and get your bearings. It sounds like you have so much to deal with right now.
With that said, I can understand that maybe this could be something to take some of the load “off” knowing that you’re back in action doing that you need to do in that respect.
For what it’s worth, I love the new WW plan. I’m not hungry like I was with my measly 19 points on the old plan. I think it you give it a shot, it’ll work for you, but you need to get the old plan out of your head. Wipe it clean. You can’t mix the two or it won’t work.
I am actually struggling with this decision right now. I was on WW for about 2 years, then pretending to do it for about one year. I decided I had to cut the ties and stop pretending and thought I might be able to go the intuitive route – eating whole foods, only when hungry, etc. But so many things have been happening of late, including a recently diagnosed herniated disk, that I’m thinking I do need to go back to the structure of the plan. I hadn’t really gotten too far into the new plan when I stopped pretending but I think I could make it work….such a timely post, thanks Roni (and the divine intervention that had you post it now :))
Roni – in light of the # of comments received, do you have any interest in doing a WW challenge on your blog where we could join you. I’m personally just re-joining WW with about 80 lbs to lose – not that familiar with PointsPlus. Might be fun to get a group going here. Not to hijack your site or anything. In any event, congratulations on the little one and GL with WW.
If I knew what worked for me, I wouldn’t look and feel as poorly as I do.
I am glad to hear your honesty. Good luck, I hope that your effort will help to motivate me.
I need structure too just like you said for a couple of months to get back on track. I had my first child October 2010 and though I walked out of the hospital 20lbs lighter, I had 25 more to go, so when he was a month old and a week before my 30th birthday and 2 weeks before Christmas, I went back to WW after losing 60lbs and keeping it off 9 years ago, it was hard to go back, but it helped me a lot and I personally fell in love with the new plan I find it so easy to follow, so hopefully you will feel the same. I am happy to say that my son is 5 1/2 months old and I am 2lbs away from what I was when I got pregnant, it has come off at a good pace . While I still have a long way to go with toning, going back to weight watchers was the best decision I made, no matter how many people told me to relax I had just had a baby, but I was feeling heavy and I did not like that feeling again. Good luck you did amazing while you were pregnant and before you will have no problems I am sure. Congrats on the new addition, he is adorable! Can’t wait to read your progress!
I rejoined WW in January. I followed the plan as written, but the weight loss was at a glacial pace. Finally, I threw my hands up in frustration and began to eat intuitively. My weight loss notably increased. What I learned from the experiences is that we need to find what works for ourselves – for some that will be WW, for others, it will be something different. We are all unique and different, so for each of us the definition of structure should be unique.
It’s crazy that you wrote this today, because I’m going through something so similar. I had a baby 5 months ago, and I’m also feeling completely out of control. I’ve got a house full of 3 kids all under 5, I run a business out of my home, and I’m just pulled in so many directions right now.
I started out with WW online, but I see that I need the structure of the meetings. So, I’m planning to go on Saturday, and hoping that having that accountability will help me get back on track.
I used to hate everything about planning and structuring every single thing that I eat, and used only guidelines to help me lose weight. But since it never really worked, I now know that I need more structures. That’s what I’m trying right now, and your success makes me reconsidering going to WW.
As of your feeling out of control, I totally relate to this. It was the same for me while I was nursing my son. I had a super easy son and wasn’t that tired, but somehow, I just kept eating, like you said, sometimes just because it was there or just needed something else to do beside taking care of my baby and keeping the house clean.
I think I gained more weight the months after I gave birth than during my pregnancy. At some point, I thought I was having some kind of hormonal imbalanced, but maybe, like you, I just needed to get back on track with routine and structure.
Good luck, you’re a real inspiration and I know you’ll do good again!
YES! YES! YES! I do need the structure of a plan!!!!! I function best with a plan, with regimen, with recipes, calendars, routine and schedules. It has taken me 35 years and an amazing son to recognize that aspect of my personality but thank GOD I finally have! No wonder I get my knickers in a knot when toddler and I are “off schedule”. No wonder I am so inspired by you RONI and your weight loss/life journey with the help of the weight watchers plan! I am only hoping that when my baby number two arrives sometime during the next four weeks I can jump on the WW online bandwagon and get on with living my life in a conscience, healthy, active way. The most out of control, out of whack thing about me is the way I eat. I have to ‘fess up to the interweb and greater universe that I am a closet binge eater with a mad, mad sweet/junk food tooth. I recently have found myself praying to the Easter Bunny to get on with its rounds so that I can stop buying the bags of cadberry mini crack eggs every time I’m at the grocery store. But alas, I know I’ll just be on to the next temptation once the eggs are gone. Sure, part of this out of control eating is in part due to pregnancy cravings but I have to be real about it. I am definitely giving in to the self defeating thoughts like “oh well, F*** it, I might as well wash down that bag of chocolate eggs with a couple coca-colas, what difference does it make now I’ve already sabotaged myself?” OR “I’ll stop and get things under control as soon as I’m not pregnant” etc.
Truth is, I’ve never been quite as “bad” about my eating and activity level as I have been these past 36 weeks, and it scares me to death.
Knowing that I am a PLAN type of person and after finding heaven sent hope and inspiration through Roni’s Weigh, I am investing a lot of confidence in WW online being the key for me and how I want to change the way I am currently living my life. HOWEVER, I live in a really rural area, the closest WW meetings are 90 miles from my town. Being a full time “homemaker” Mom with a new baby on the way, impending sleep deprivation, a 21 month old busy boy, a sweet tooth/ junk food junkie skinny husband and a crippling habit of eating for comfort, eating out of boredom, eating because guilty food is my drug of choice, I am just plain scared that I am putting too much stock in an online weight loss plan. I am scared there won’t be enough accountability for me not to give in to the temptations and “guilty pleasures” all around me. I need accountability and plans and structure. Otherwise I don’t know if WW or anything else will work for me. HELP!
I have to have the structure. I even tried online only for 3 months and did nothing for 3 months. The meetings are almost like therapy for me (weird huh?). I felt myself going on track over the past month or so & gave myself a “get-it-together” talk. I told myself if I didn’t track this week and get control… I would have to stay for the “new members” part of the meeting. :) It’s working so far — back on track. Also, I discovered – 5 meals in one hour which has been a lifesaver this week… I’ve been able to modify the meals to WW friendly and it has taken the stress out of dinner time. As a full-time wife, mom, student and employee — I NEED THAT!
I need the structure too. I was acting just like you mention and then made the decision to get my act together and then, boom, I got sick with the stomach flu and there went my structure. It’s been over a month and I just have not been able to start back up. You and others are inspiring me to just start but I’m struggling to push myself right now. I’ll get there…