Hello everyone,

I started Weight Watchers in January as a new years resoloution and lost about 10 pounds i 5 months (not great). But it was very slow with only an average of 1/2 pound loss a week! I thought id try something different and so went to slimming world and got all the books and did ok in my first week but still only lost 1/2 pound! i didnt go for 2 weeks and i put on 3 & 1/2 pounds! gutted!! i was wondering if any of you thought that going to the doctor may be any good? if anyone has any words of wisdom or anything to help that that would be great!! thanks, charlotte xxxxxxxx

Hey Charlotte -

Well, you're not going to like my answer much, I don't think, but you are VERY close to a healthy weight for your height. At your current weight, being as close to goal as it is, you're going to have a rough time losing faster than 1/2 lb a week...in fact, the fact that you're consistently hitting that is GREAT. As we get smaller, our bodies lose slower, so any sort of consistent loss is a good thing.

You may want to head over to our "Featherweights" forum, for those with less to lose than others that may be here...it's a great place to discuss the frustration that comes with the slow pace of weight loss close to goal.

I agree w/ Mandalinn, but I would also like to add something too. I'm actually like you in height & weight, so I should tell you what I do: I workout like a crazy maniac! I lift weights w/ my hubby (like a man), but I use lighter weights than him, of course. I think that's a huge important thing to do because it'll boost your metabolism. I do this at least 3 times a week. I also do lots of cardio 6 days a week and on the 7th day, I stay active by walking my dog. For instance, yesterday, I did a bootcamp class outdoors for 1.5 hours. Then, at night, I swam for 30 minutes (breast-stroke burns a lot of calories). My reward was 10 minutes in the jaccuzi.
If you suspect that you might have a thyroid condition or some other medical issue, then you should definitely go to your dr. However, most likely, you need to be patient w/ your weight loss (easier said than done, I know!) and maybe bump up the workouts.
One last thing: I suggest you journal all your foods for a week and see how many calories you're consuming. Then, check your Resting Metabolic Rate (online calculators can be find on Google) and that will tell you how many calories your body burns at rest. Then, you could eat a little more than that and experiment w/ what works. Good luck!

In general, I lose on average around a half pound a week if I'm not very active. Recently, I've added about 1.5 hours exercise most days and I am losing faster. It seems to be over a lb per week (makes me ecstatic, btw) but I haven't been at it long enough to know how reliable that figure is.

A 10 pound loss in 5 months is excellent. I agree with Mandalinn, you are very close to a healthy weight for your height. And it is true that the less you have to lose the the slower it goes.