'I Lost And Gained The Same 5 Pounds For Years—Until I Used WW And The Nike Running App'

From Women's Health

My name is Stephanie Niknam (@wwchefsteph), and I am 24. I’m from Hudson Valley, New York, and I am a teacher. To hit reset after grad school, I joined Weight Watchers (now WW) and got hooked on running with the Nike Run Club app, and I've lost 89 pounds.

I used to feel out of control with my eating. I would think I was doing all of the right things with my diet, but I wasn’t seeing long-term results. I kept gaining and losing the same five pounds over and over.

I got caught up in following short-term, quick-fix diets for years. But eventually I finally felt ready to make a concrete change once I finished grad school in May 2019. I felt like I was beginning a new chapter of my life and wanted to make it a healthy one. I decided to start WW (formerly known as Weight Watchers) in May 2019.

I chose WW because I wanted rules to follow, given that I did not know how to eat in a healthy way that I could maintain.

The points system and the WW app are what convinced me to join, since calorie counting always seemed so overwhelming to me. When people ask me what kind of diet WW is, I tell them it is how you choose to experience it. The program is extremely adaptable and individualized to fit your lifestyle and eating habits. As long as you honestly track your food and stay in your healthy eating points zone, you will be successful.

I love the barcode feature in the WW app that allows you to scan anything with a barcode, and it will tell you the points value. The restaurant feature also gives points values for a lot of major chain restaurants, which is so helpful. Even when I go to a local restaurant, I just choose to track my meal as a similar one from a chain. I love the ease and adaptability of WW. It just fits my lifestyle every day. It’s the reason why I have been able to follow the program successfully for over a year now.

Here’s what I eat in a day now:

• Breakfast: Proffee (a Quest protein shake mixed with black iced coffee and a banana).

• Lunch: A turkey and Swiss wrap with grapes and baby carrots.

• Snacks: Protein bar and turkey jerky.

• Dinner: Butter chicken.

• Dessert: M&M popcorn.

When I started my WW journey in May 2019, I exercised almost every day.

I was doing great! By June 2019 I was already down about 15 to 20 pounds. But the funny thing is that working out in that way wasn’t sustainable for me long term. I couldn’t keep up with the constant exercising in my daily lifestyle without feeling starving after, and going overboard on food as a result.

Around July 2019, I took a pause from all major exercise and just walked every once in a while. I narrowed my focus on my diet. And I continued to lose weight! It wasn’t until July 2020, when I was down 70 pounds, that I decided to focus on exercise again. I finally felt in control of my eating enough to not pig out immediately after a workout.

I started running with the Nike Run Club app with *no* running experience. Seriously none. I struggled. But the guided audio coaching helped me a ton, and now I can run without stopping for four-mile trail runs. I definitely recommend the app.

These three changes made the biggest difference in my weight loss results.

• I was honest with myself and my tracking. If you are not being honest with your eating and holding yourself accountable, your tracking may not lead to weight loss. Even little bites of certain foods can have higher point values than most people would expect, and it can lead to going over the daily points value you thought you were maintaining. I make sure to be really honest with myself.

• I planned my meals. Keep it simple and try to plan as many of your meals as you can. I pre-track, or write out a basic meal plan for each week, after looking through the contents of my fridge and freezer. Meal prepping ingredients and lunches and having healthy snacks on hand can be fantastic if you are hungry. I am more successful when I have these things since they quickly cure my hunger and make me less likely to, for instance, eat an entire bag of Doritos.

• I remembered that each day is a fresh start. If you end up going over your points for a day, it is okay. You are not a failure, and your diet is not over if you have an eating day that goes beyond your points. I used to always give up on my previous diets once I had a so-called slip-up and would wait until the next Monday for my fresh start. With WW, I realized that each day is a fresh start—and that’s what allows me to stay consistent and keep going. One on-track day will lead to another on-track day, and then even more!

I have lost 89 pounds since May 2019.

I’ve learned that my self-worth comes from within—not from the scale. I frequently remind myself to not be so tough on myself. Again, losing weight does not increase your value as a person.

My entire habits have changed from over a year ago. But that doesn’t happen over night. Changes are gradual, and consistency is what will help sustain those healthy habits. Taking the time to invest in my health and myself is what has increased my confidence. I never expected to lose such a high amount of weight. As cheesy as it sounds, it has taught me that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to.

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