Weight Watchers - First week and weight loss--please help

I have just completed my first week of WW, and did my first weigh in this morning. It looks as though I've only lost 1 pound. I worked out 3 out of the 5 days, about an hour each day and running between 2-3 miles during that work out. I stayed within my point range each day including flex points, and I didn't use any of my work out points earned. Why did I only lose one pound? I have a couple of friends doing it with me and they all lost between 2-5 pounds. Why did I not lose more? I'm probably whining more than I am looking for advice, but I'll take what I can get. Will my weight loss speed up at all, or is this pretty typical? This program has reduced my caloric intake by probably 2/3, so I would assume that greater weight loss would be inevitable. *sigh*

Hi there :)

Only lose one pound? ONLY lose one pound?!

You've lost 1 whole pound!

Not only have you decreased your calorie intake, but you've probably greatly increased your activity. This is a lot of change in one week. It means your body is getting adjusted, and it will lose weight at the rate it chooses to lose, and it doesn't compare itself to your friends' weightloss and say "oh well, I better catch up!"

Even if you continued to lose 1 pound each week you'd have lost 52 pounds in a year. That's pretty much at goal for you isn't it? Not to mention that if you continue to eat healthfully, and keep up the exercise that you'd be losing fat, and not as much muscle or bone. You'd also be more likely to keep it off.

Who knows what will happen in the future weeks. I do know that if you stick with it, weight loss is inevitable. And if you stick with it some more, then maintenance is inevitable.

Focus on you. Comparing yourself to your friends will only be to your detriment.

Faerie, that was so encouraging~ it spoke to me; thanks :)

Absolutely what Faerie said!

What about portion sizes? Are you weighing & measuring everything? I find this to be extremely important during the beginning.

Faerie hit it spot-on! :cp:

You might want to keep an eye on your sodium consumption, especially right before weigh-in. Also, I know WW allows all sorts of fluids to be counted as water now, but I lose so much better when I drink enough plain water. Just a thought.

Thanks Faerie! I wish I was at a place where inspirational words helped, but I'm at the wanting to see pounds come off of the scale place. As of today, I've gained 1 pound since last week. I just DON"T get how that is possible. Yes, I'm watching and weighing every portion that goes into my mouth. I stay hungry most of the time, so I know I'm eating less. And I'm certainly eating better quality food. There is no way I couldn't be eating less. And I'm drinking my water too. Oh well. I wish I wasn't compelled to step on the scale every single day. But it's like an OCD compulsion.

I take it from your post that you're using all (or some of) your flex points. I know when I was doing WW, I would NOT lose if I regularly ate all or most of my flex points.
Also, you say you're hungry all the time -- everyone is different, of course, but I don't think you should be hungry MOST of the time on a well-structured diet. Are you getting your points from nutritious foods, or spending your points on processed foods or junk, or empty carbs? That could also be a factor in your slower-than-expected weight loss.

I stay hungry most of the time, so I know I'm eating less.

This isn't the objective of weight loss. In fact, if you're truly hungry most of the time, more quantity of food needs to be eaten. Make sure you are using your Flex Points. And that you're taking advantage of zero point foods such as vegetables. Also, fruits for lower points foods.

I wish I wasn't compelled to step on the scale every single day. But it's like an OCD compulsion.

I don't care if you have to lock up the scale during the week. Do not look at it every single day if you feel it's a compulsion. It is more important for you to build healthy habits that will stick long term than to think of the scale number as the be-all end-all goal.

Keep up what you're doing, if in a few more weeks the numbers are staying the same then it's time to reevaluate what's going on.

This is what I needed to hear. Thank you! I'd love to make a goal and stick to it that I wouldn't weigh but once a month--I really think that weekly isn't a good thing for me. My goal really isn't a number on the scale, but rather a clothing size. That's what is important to me at this point. That and being healthy, avoiding weight related disease later in life, and for my 3 year old to stop calling my breasts and belly "fluffy" lol (eve though she says it's a good thing)!

Thanks Faerie! I wish I was at a place where inspirational words helped, but I'm at the wanting to see pounds come off of the scale place. As of today, I've gained 1 pound since last week. I just DON"T get how that is possible. Yes, I'm watching and weighing every portion that goes into my mouth. I stay hungry most of the time, so I know I'm eating less. And I'm certainly eating better quality food. There is no way I couldn't be eating less. And I'm drinking my water too. Oh well. I wish I wasn't compelled to step on the scale every single day. But it's like an OCD compulsion.


Don't give up!! It took me 3 weeks to see my first loss. I gained a few pounds too..even tough I had reduced my caloric intake and was exercising daily. Once I started loosing it was steady though--I lost 6 pounds this week. You can do this but you will have to stay the course over the long haul..some weeks you will stay the same..you may gain a pound or two even though it seems impossible..but eventually you will lose. :) Try to focus on how much better you feel and other benefits until you see major scale changes. Good Luck!

Thanks for the encouragement! My question is though, why would anyone GAIN after exercising and reducing calories? It seems like that would defy the laws of physics or something!! In my mind, after I see the first 10 pounds go, it's always so much of a boost for me. Now, just to get there...

You're right. I am feeling better, and I am proud of myself after I finish that super tough hour at the gym. Something has to give in my life and I want this weight to go. I think I may just be dedicated for the long haul this time. Thank you EVERYONE!

Thanks for the encouragement! My question is though, why would anyone GAIN after exercising and reducing calories? It seems like that would defy the laws of physics or something!!

It does... sort of. Our bodies are built to work efficiently. And this means that they are able to learn to do what needs to be done with few calories. They also are stubborn and don't like change. Our bodies don't actually want to lose weight to begin with. They are built to store fat, and they don't want to let go!

So... as much as we've all heard the math 3,500 calories = 1 pound... and this is true to an extent... our bodies don't "do math" they do what they want and what they were built to do.

Also, they need to get used to things. So like you were saying, you reduced calories & started exercise. The body might begin by thinking "ACK! This is all wrong" But give it time, and your body will start to work with you instead of against you. Especially as you feel stronger and healthier from better habits.

Today was my 1st WI I lost 3 my 1st week, but @ the meeting this am this was our topic! 1 lady there gains 1 week then loses the next ... She works out alot spin classes & such. The instructor told her to make sure you eat your points including flex & add up your act. points also.....

We can gain after activity because hard (for the person) exercise will cause micro damage to your muscles. When they try and repair to come back stronger they retain water and nutrients in order to heal. Don't worry, one step at a time and you will make it to goal. Great job on getting to the starting line.

If you exersize eat your pionts wroth in the exersize! =) what your doing if you dont is adding muscel mass. So your losing the fat but keeping the muscels. What I saguest is running or bikeing, so your working on your heart to pump the blood. Eating your points after you exersize helps lose the whieght too because if you dont eat them your body thinks its starving and holds on to the fat tissues. By eating you daily points and your earnd active points you should see a difference too. Also like they said Veggies can be your best friend let them fill you up and not use those points for snacks.
Becca

Hi - I'm new to the forum but not to weight watchers but I have a similar dilemma. Today will be essentially my fourth weigh in and so far in a month I've lost 2 lbs, this morning no change again.

I'm on 17 points a day but when I convert this to calories its only about 1200-1300 and I've read that this might be too low and can cause your body to go into starvation mode. I work from home, from a desk and as such don't get much activity, hence the low points allowance. I'm quite discouraged and because my point allowance is so low I'm often quite hungry so I end up adding 1 or 2 points on in fruit which obviously doesn't help.

I'm going to start exercise classes next week and going to the gym in the hope it will kick start the whole thing properly but I'm in two doubts about attending tonights meeting as its quite shameful to not have lost anything this week....again....

Anyway, I just wanted to say, I feel your pain!!

2 lbs is a big deal when you only have 13 lbs to lose! That's 15% of your total weight loss goal!

Good job!

Hey new to this forum, but not to WW I have been on WW for 6 weeks now and I finally hit my 5% goal yesterday.:D... My leader says when you increase your activity you normally gain that week cause your body is in shock. But you should have a good loss nest week:carrot: Keep up the good work and don't get discouraged!!

Did you happen to take your measurements that first week before you started? I took mine (though I wasn't very scientific about it and they're probably not too accurate - which was silly of me). Last week (week 3) I only lost 0.2 pounds, but I still lost some inches - so I know things are going fine.

I scale hop too, but I don't get very worked up about the number. I find that my weight will bounce up and down 2 pounds during the week. Since my home scale can show me my body fat %, it reminds me that even if the number is higher, that it will show a lower body fat % - indicating that it's just water making the number higher. Also, I can see that the lowest number I see on the scale in a week is getting lower every week. The number is just a number. It isn't the only measurement of success.

If you're not eating any of your weekly points and you're hungry (and already into week 2), you might want to eat some of those. I make sure I never have more than 35 weekly + activity points left at the end of a week and try to have less than 20 left of the combined. Right now, I get quite a few points every day, so I'm not always hungry enough to eat a lot more when eating a lot of filling foods. Before WW, I wasn't eating too many filling foods.

I use some of my weekly points for something I have a big craving for every week. So, last week, that was macaroni and cheese. I reworked my recipe and made it a lighter by using lowfat cheese in my white sauce made with skim milk and replacing the macaroni I was using before with a combination of whole wheat macaroni and roasted cauliflower. Still - that meal was more points than a usual meal with WW. If I never ate mac and cheese though, I wouldn't be happy. This week, it's cheesecake. I've been wanting it all week. I'm making a mini cheesecake today and reworked my recipe to use yogurt cheese instead of cream cheese. I guess I don't know if it will actually taste good - but there's only one way to find out. If it doesn't taste good - it will become garbage and I'll try something else next week. All of my daily points go to very wholesome foods. Most of my weekly/activity points do also, but I go with a 5-10 point indulgence each week to help me manage cravings.

I'm so glad I found this thread! I have exactly the same problem- increased exercise, decreased calories but absolutely no change on the scales :(

How can I increase my calories without filling up with bread, biscuits etc? People have said eat more veggies but I thought that they had few calories anyway. Any suggestions please?

Thank you!!

Adding good fats might be a good way or lowfat dairy products (like skim/lowfat milk or lowfat/fatfree yogurt). Good fats would be things like natural peanut butter and avocados or oils like canola or olive. If I find I'm not eating enough points, I often will choose the PB or avocado because I love them both and those monounsaturated fats have a lot of health benefits. I often put slices of avocados in sandwiches - in lieu of mayo or something else.

You can also choose whole grains - air popped or 94% fat free microwave popcorn (lots of salt though), quinoa, or oatmeal for snacks or fruit (which has calories) like oranges, bananas, apples, pomegranates, clementines, etc...

Also, when you're just starting an exercise program you shouldn't expect big losses in the first week or two. A bunch of chemical reactions happen in your body that help your muscles store fuel (glycogen) so that it can be available for your new exercise routine. Glycogen is stored in the muscles with water molecules, so you might have an unchanged body weight due to that additional water and glycogen, but still lose fat in that first week or two. The glycogen + water storage does not result in an increase in muscle size or anything else - but it does affect that scale number.

Ah thanks so much for that explaination Ariashley - i feel a little better now :) Oh and i looove avocado so i'll get a couple of those in- thank you for your help!

Be moderate with the Avocado - they are high in calories. But a few slices is a great way to make a sandwich or salad stick with you longer and add some extra calories if you're eating too few.

huh, I've never tried avacado. I think I'll have the DF pick one up at the store & give it a try. Any other ideas on how to eat it besides putting on a sandwhich?

Before you eat it, it should be pretty much black and a little less than firm (not squishy though). To use it, slice it in half, twist open and whack a knife into the pit and twist that out. I then take the skin off by scooping everything out with a spoon. If you want to store some for later - leave the pit in that half and store that half.

You can cube avocado and toss pieces in a salad. You can mash it and mix it with a bit of salt, chili powder, and lime juice and use it as a dip for carrots or other veggies.

Thanks! I'm adding it to my grocery list right now. I like to try a new healthy, whole food every week.

A couple of weeks ago it was grape tomatoes. No bueno!! :( Blech.

What did you do with the tomatoes? Grape aren't my favorite kind though - I prefer the Cherry. I love them with some homemade balsamic vinagrette, a little basil and some feta.

I just put them in my mouth, bit down & spit them out. Yuk.

Might try cherry sometime if I'm feeling brave.

Feta is a new one for me! It was on a salad I ordered in our cafe a few weeks ago & I fell in love. LF too, which is very awesome.

I just started eating vegtables last year (seriously) and now I eat a salad every day. Funny how things change.

I'm on 17 points a day but when I convert this to calories its only about 1200-1300 and I've read that this might be too low and can cause your body to go into starvation mode. I work from home, from a desk and as such don't get much activity, hence the low points allowance. I'm quite discouraged and because my point allowance is so low I'm often quite hungry so I end up adding 1 or 2 points on in fruit which obviously doesn't help.



Hey recheck your points that sounds really low. just make sure. =)

I actually thought the point minimum was higher than 17...