Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
JJFigure
New member
Time for my two cents. Weight watchers is a good starting point; they teach you how to eat better and be portion conscious. However, if you're trying to get relatively lean, not just lose weight, then weight watchers won't get you there. That plan fails on two points - the point system doesn't focus on clean nutrition - if you want to waste some points on a candy bar, that's perfectly acceptable. Second, by focusing on points per food group, it doesn't really teach you what to do when your diet stops working - and it most definitely will. You can't follow the same diet plan all the time and not expect your body to eventually adjust itself to the program.
If you want to get leaner and the weight watcher's system is no longer working, you should focus on increasing your LBM. Lifting with your husband is a great start in that direction. Next, make sure you eat ample protein. Most of us eat at least 1 gram/protein per lb. of bodyweight. I'm currently in a cutting cycle - I'm at ~137 lbs. right now - and I'm eating about 180 grams of protein/day. By protein, I mean eggs, chicken, turkey, fish, and lean beef. You can supplement with protein powder, but you lose the thermogenic benefits of eating real food. Protein is more difficult for your body to digest, so it works harder to digest it - hence a thermogenic boost.
Next, try to eat 5-6 times per day. Again, as your body digests food, your metabolism will run a little higher. You can split your meals into even kcaloric portions, or have three larger meals and two snacks - whatever works best for you. Make sure you're getting protein in each of those meals. If you're eating carbs, try to always eat good, clean, complex carbs such as oatmeal, rice, yams, etc. Also eat lots of fibrous carbs (veggies!) to make sure you're getting your fiber and vitamins.
Be very portion and kcalorie conscious and rotate your kcalories. If you're eating more kcalories than you're expending, you won't lose fat. By rotating your kcalories, I mean don't eat the same amount every day - keep your body guessing. I've been staggering my kcalories as much as 1000 kcalories - for example, last Friday I ate 1200 kcals and Saturday I ate 2200 kcals; if you average my weekly kcals, I come in around 1600 kcals/day. By staggering your kcalories like this, your body is less likely to go into starvation mode and drop your metabolism to conserve energy.
Finally, live a little every once in a while! Unless you're getting ready for a competition, enjoy the occasional dinner out with your husband - complete with dessert. It's a good mental break from dieting, and life's just too short.
If you want to get leaner and the weight watcher's system is no longer working, you should focus on increasing your LBM. Lifting with your husband is a great start in that direction. Next, make sure you eat ample protein. Most of us eat at least 1 gram/protein per lb. of bodyweight. I'm currently in a cutting cycle - I'm at ~137 lbs. right now - and I'm eating about 180 grams of protein/day. By protein, I mean eggs, chicken, turkey, fish, and lean beef. You can supplement with protein powder, but you lose the thermogenic benefits of eating real food. Protein is more difficult for your body to digest, so it works harder to digest it - hence a thermogenic boost.
Next, try to eat 5-6 times per day. Again, as your body digests food, your metabolism will run a little higher. You can split your meals into even kcaloric portions, or have three larger meals and two snacks - whatever works best for you. Make sure you're getting protein in each of those meals. If you're eating carbs, try to always eat good, clean, complex carbs such as oatmeal, rice, yams, etc. Also eat lots of fibrous carbs (veggies!) to make sure you're getting your fiber and vitamins.
Be very portion and kcalorie conscious and rotate your kcalories. If you're eating more kcalories than you're expending, you won't lose fat. By rotating your kcalories, I mean don't eat the same amount every day - keep your body guessing. I've been staggering my kcalories as much as 1000 kcalories - for example, last Friday I ate 1200 kcals and Saturday I ate 2200 kcals; if you average my weekly kcals, I come in around 1600 kcals/day. By staggering your kcalories like this, your body is less likely to go into starvation mode and drop your metabolism to conserve energy.
Finally, live a little every once in a while! Unless you're getting ready for a competition, enjoy the occasional dinner out with your husband - complete with dessert. It's a good mental break from dieting, and life's just too short.
