[jhinako]

So I've been on Weight Watchers for nearly 4 weeks. The first two to two and a half weeks, I was doing fine, I was losing--but I wasn't exercising at that point. It was about 3 lbs a week. After the first two weeks, I decided to start incorporating exercise in also. I am a daily weigher, even though I know Weight Watchers is a weekly weighing system(in the AM, first thing, no clothes--once per day). Literally, my weight loss slowed immediately after that first day. Ok, I understand that muscle weighs more than fat and muscle repair causes water retention, blah blah blah.

Well, it's been two weeks now and I haven't lost any weight, I've actually gained a pound. I'm getting my sleep, I take a vitamin/calcium supplement, I drink my water, I take fiber, I exercise at least 5 days a week, I eat well--I'm alway within a point of two of my daily target points. I personally, do not use the weekly points or activity points, though. I try to always have dinner and finish my eating for the day by 6pm. I track everything that goes in my mouth, food/drinks. I am completely on plan and I'm not losing anything. It seems sort of early in the journey here to be stuck at a plateau, only 7 lbs in.

I don't plan on stopping my plan, I will continue most definitely, but it is frustrating to not see results. As far as non-scale related indicators, yeah, I think I notice a small change in clothing. But I have nearly 40 lbs to lose and I know I won't be "thin" at 187 no matter how much my body readjusts itself and moves stuff around.

Thoughts for me?

[kaplods]

Two weeks without a loss isn't really a stall. It's not at all unusual for a person (especially a woman person before menopause) to go a couple weeks or even more without a loss. Some people call this "losing in whooshes."

Also, there is no "only" about losing 7 lbs in less than a month. I've never experimenced a single 7 pound loss month "this time." I lost much faster when I was younger, but I don't anymore. If I let that frustrate me, I'd have given up long ago.

If you're frustrated now, when you're making far above average progress, you're going to be even more frustrated if your pace slows to a more normal one. You really are doing above average, so understanding what "normal" weight loss looks like is going to be key for you controlling frustration so that you don't give up thinking that you're failing, when you're actually succeeding quite well.

It's only "frustrating" because you don't realize what good progress you're making.

[shcirerf]

Some wise person here at 3fc, don't remember who said, "weight loss is not linear." This is so true.

Hang in there. In the meantime you are learning better healthy habits. Good for you no matter what.

Instead of worrying so much about the 2 weeks, track your daily weight and after say 60/90 days, go back and look at the trends. It will give you an idea of how your body loses.

[LindseyLou]

It's certainly frustrating when the scale isn't moving, I think we can all relate to that. (I've lost about 2 pounds this month...super slow.) But, stick with it and the scale will get back to moving once again! Like shcirerf said, in the meantime you'll be learning healthy eating habits.

[kaw]

In addition to what others have said about monthly cycles, an enormous amount of water is stored in the muscles. This makes sense, because as much as we like to think of muscle as being "made up of" protein, muscle tissue is something like 85% water.

It's quite common for people who are just starting to exercise to experience a bump in water weight, because their muscle tissues draw water in as glycogen stores are replenished. This bump-up typically goes away after a couple of weeks.

Tx is the same, i.e., patience.

//b strong

PS. Pet peeve: muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat, which weighs the same as a pound of feathers and a pound of cheddar cheese.

[brookelynne]

Originally Posted by kaw

In addition to what others have said about monthly cycles, an enormous amount of water is stored in the muscles. This makes sense, because as much as we like to think of muscle as being "made up of" protein, muscle tissue is something like 85% water.

It's quite common for people who are just starting to exercise to experience a bump in water weight, because their muscle tissues draw water in as glycogen stores are replenished. This bump-up typically goes away after a couple of weeks.

Tx is the same, i.e., patience.

//b strong

PS. Pet peeve: muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat, which weighs the same as a pound of feathers and a pound of cheddar cheese.

+1 on the pet peeve.

Muscle is more dense than fat, so it takes up less volume than fat. You are correct that a quantity of muscle does not weigh more than an equal quantity of fat, but if you have a portion of muscle weighing a certain amount and a portion of fat weighing the same amount, the muscle will take up less space than the fat.

I too have experienced the phenomenon of stalling or gaining weight while OP and exercising. My co-workers who are on WW, but not exercising, are getting great results on the scale. I am sometimes tempted to slack off on the exercising and focusing on just the PPV. But I know that in the long run, what I am doing is best. It may take me longer to get to goal, but I believe that when I get there, I will be toned and strong.

[sfree13]

I completely understand your frustration. A couple of suggestions I would try---how much water do you drink? If you are working out 5 days a week, you could be dehydrated and retaining fluid if you aren't replenishing what you sweat out.

Also, how long are you working out, and how intensely? if you are doing hard-core workouts, like intervals where you are burning 500+ calories each time, you might not be getting enough food to compensate, so your body isn't getting enough calories. Have you tried adding a couple extra AP's or WP's daily? that could help.

My weight loss has slowed too, and I'm wondering if I should up my daily PP a bit (using AP's and WP's), because I am often quite hungry. I want to stay on plan, so I've been staying within my daily target, but I already eat a lot of veggies and fruit, so I can't up those zero points foods anymore than I already do (5-7+ fruits and veggies a day, if not more).

Keep with it! It sucks that it is slow, but your health is what is important, more than the number on the scale---also, do you measure your body parts? Seeing changes in waist or hips always makes me happy

[Sheila53]

As others have said, try a few different things like eating some AP and WP or drinking more water, etc. For me, eating more when working out helps me lose--when I don't eat some of the WP, then I don't lose as much. Every body is different, however. I always notice a weight gain of up to two pounds the day after I lift weights so I've adjusted my weigh-in day to take that into account.