So I wasn't so sure about dipping into some of our weekly extra allowance points, I used maybe 20 of the 35 points we had, and I made sure to excercise this week 4 times! I earned close to 9 work out points, mostly cardio.

And sadly enough to say , tuesday at weigh in, I gained 1.4 pounds.

This has kind of thrown me for a world wind and I really don't feel like weight watchers is for me or something, I feel like i'm almost to a point where im so dicouraged week after week that I want to give up!

But I tell myself that isn't going to help! So I feel helpless and like I don't know what to do , the leader at the meeting told me this is going to happen because i don't have much to lose but i just feel like that dosent make sense.

The same thing is happening to me! I've been in WW for 9 weeks, and not doing so well. The weeks I don't work out, I do better than the weeks I do work out. I brought up the subject and was told much the same as you were. It'll be slow. Personally, I think the extra allowance points are what does me in. They let me make selfish choices, like "I can have 3 fat free fudgicles." This week I'm giving it 100%, with eating and working out. I actually wrote that on my weekly points book.
*Also* I hadn't been weighing in at home at all, and to my surprise, this morning I weighed in at home and was 159 lbs. At WW at 7 pm I weighed in at 164.4.
I do value WW for helping me keep track of what I am eating and being more responsible, and I am going to keep with it.
Good Luck to both of us!!

Seems like there are a couple of people having similar problems right now. It's really hard to say what's going on... Between eating, exercise, water intake, hormonal fluctuations, all of that, you never can tell why you're losing or gaining. What's helped me move forward is to recognize that I know I need to clean up my eating habits, and that's only going to happen in the long term. (Eating well for a week does not mean my habits are changed.) So I'm sticking with it for the long term, and if my weight follows me down, then that's great! You know?

There is the possibility that your muscles are holding water to assist them in repairing themselves if your exercise this week was unusual for you. That could help explain it. Otherwise, I'd look at how you are spending your Flex Points, as that can end up mattering just as much as whether you use them or not. Also, are you eating your activity points? How were you losing before you started adding in FPs? Have you thought about following Core for a week to see if that jumpstarts you?

I'd encourage you not to give up yet!

What are you eating with your points? Would you mind posting a menu?

It's true that the less we have to lose the more our bodies hold onto the weight. It may be slower for you. Your body is unique and is going to do what it wants.

One more week. Plan. Focus. Keep exercising. Access the scale at next weigh-in.

The FP aren't just for eating extra desserts. I mean, they can be used for an occassional treat, but perhaps if that's all we're eating with them then it will make a difference on the scale, in the wrong way. 3 fudgicles doesn't translate the same nutritionally as 3 apples would, even if they're the same number of points. What we eat matters.

About the scale: #1 Your home scale isn't the WW scale that you usually use, so it's going to be different. #2 Our body weight fluctuates through-out the day. Most often going up. At 7PM you're going to weigh more than at 7AM. It's natural. Which is why when weighing in, it is suggested that we do so at the same time and on the same scale each week. Gives us a more accurate picture of how much we have lost.

That's got to be annoying!

This hasn't been true for me, but I have seen other people on the boards post about similar things. Exercising a few times a week, just to see the scale stay the same.

What I've seen suggested, is this: When we exercise, we are burning up a few more calories. And logically we think "Well then I'll lose more weight", but since our bodies don't always like to use logic, we don't necessarily lose more weight. Sometimes, we have to eat back a few of those calories that we've burned. (Using some AP) in order to see the numbers on the scale drop. It seems counter-intuitive to eat back some of the calories we've burned, but I've also seen people post that it works very well for them.

Just one idea. May or may not be true for you, as well.

Eitherway, I'm glad you're feeling better with few pounds gone! And I hope you start seeing the results you'd like!

My two cents: maybe you're right, maybe WW isn't the right plan for you. I have watched my mother use every diet on the market: Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, WW, Atkins, South Beach, the list goes on...but she always felt that while WW was a great eating plan, it left too much up to her, and she couldn't be trusted! She tried the WW plan at least a half dozen times, with varying success, but never long term. Recently, she started seeing a nutritionist who has her drinking shakes all day, tracking her intake, and exercising. Because the rules are so strictly laid out, she is having great success (I know, the shake thing sounds unhealthy, but I don't think it's as bad as it sounds). My point is that for some, the freedom allowed on the WW plan just doesn't work.
One more thing -- please don't start believing that exercise is going to make you gain weight! I mean, you KNOW that exercise is good for you, I don't care what that scale says! Perhaps it's muscle, perhaps it's water, who knows. But what fit and healthy friends do you have that say, "Oh, how did I get this killer body? I stopped exercising and took up sitting around all day! It worked wonders!"
Good luck whatever you decide to do!
S

im currentley on the weight watchers plan and i did GREAT the first week no joke i stuck to the plan very religiously and i lost 10 pounds in one week with moderate excersize ( i walk around the block 3x at night ) and now im into week 2 with no progress ..... i dont use any of my extra points as i am afraid it may hinder my weight loss ...... i think maybe at first when your trying to get into the groove of loosing weight maybe the extra points shouldent be used because your likley to make poor choices

i agree, I'm going to keep up with the excercise and stop using the extra points... I weighed myself at home today and weigh less than the ww scale so we shall see... Thanks guys! This is just so difficult but yet easy, it just can get extremely frustrating... weight loss is hard work!

i've been on ww for 35 weeks now, and i have absolulely no idea why some weeks are golden and some weeks not so much. for instance, last week should have been bad, i am grateful it wasnt, but it should have been. i was 8 points OVER my weekly allowance, and when i weighed in , it was the biggest drop i'd seen in weeks, down 4 pounds!! go figure. i know i had pizza at least 6 times that week.
then some weeks i dont dip into my weekly allowance at all, and i may only drop a pound. i dont know, weird.
but here is what i DO know. if i am checking off all those boxes for veggies/fruits, water, milk and oil; and i mean consistantly and honestly, everyday.......i will have a loss at the scale. in the 35 weeks i've been doing this i have not missed not one single day getting those requirements in, and i have to say i think there is something to those daily requirements and weight loss.

and here is one more thing i know, i have tried every diet under the sun, even one that had me lugging around a jug of some chinese tea all day long, and none of them have worked FOR ME, and none of them tought me how to eat, ww works for me AND has tought me how to eat. i am curious though, for those of you that are struggling a bit:
Are you getting all those boxes checked? Everyday are you getting those requirements in?

wow, piper, what great inspiration! I think those boxes are the best part of WW, esp the fruits and veggies.

I always thought the boxes were just for the core plan. Maybe I should start checking them myself. That sounds like something worth trying!

Wow Piper GOOD JOB and good inspiration! You've lost almost 100 lbs! WHOOO!