I HATE that my body won't cooperate! I am 100% on plan, drinking plenty of water (2-3 liters a day PLUS of just water alone, no additives etc.), I exercise 90 minutes/session x 4 days a week and have since I started, and this week I've GAINED 2 lbs. I don't eat my exercise points, I ensure I eat no more than 50% of my Flex points per week ON OCCASION, and I even packed 2 lunches and 2 dinners to take with me on two day trips I had scheduled this week, while everyone else gorked out on Wendy's and MacDo's (I took 4 points worth of veggie sushi, one banana for dinner, and 1 point of melba toast and 3 points of low fat chees plus 1 cup grapes and one pear for lunch each day...) So no junk food! Just fruit, veg, and home-made meals using weight watcher's meals. I weigh and measure EVERYTHING.
My weight loss is so completely non-lnear! Here are the last 8 weeks of weigh-ins -- -2.5, -3.0, 0, +0.5, -2.5, -2.5, -0.5, +2.0!!!! What the heck is going ON??!!!
GRRR!!! I am SO totally frustrated -- I wanted to be down a reasonable 6 lbs per month before my upcoming vacaion, but my body JUST. WON'T. COOPERATE. And I have to confess that I am now thinking about trying other plans so I could get the satisfaction of some &*(*&*&(*^(*^ SUCCESS!!!

Kira

You've still lost a lot of weight... you are probably just retaining water for whatever reason. Is it getting close to that TOM? I also had a week where I gained .8 pounds for no reason. But the next week I was down three, so I think it just took my body a little while to catch up. I'm sure the same will happen to you if you just stick to it!

have you tried talking to your doctor? They'll be able to tell you if you're actually on plan for weight loss, and then help you figure out reasons why you wouldn't have lost. There are a lot of medical reasons that could keep your body from responding.

Your body IS cooperating, and pretty darned well. You've experienced an AMAZING amount of "&*(*&*&(*^(*^ SUCCESS"!!!

If you weigh more than 400 lbs, you are doing well. If you weigh less than 400 lbs, you are making exceptionally amazing progress. If you weigh less than 200 lbs, you could even be trying to lose faster than you should be, and could be setting yourself up by trying to lose faster.

In 8 weeks, you've lost 11lbs in 5 of those weeks, and gained 3 lbs in 3 of those weeks. So in 8 weeks, you've lost 8 lbs!!!!!!! That is FANTASTIC progress. Far, from typical, amazing, in fact - so why are you complaining?

What are you expecting from yourself that you are disappointed with these numbers? I would be super excited with those results.

It is completely unrealistic to expect linear losses. Linear losses without no loss and even gain weeks, is not normal, and in fact, fairly rare. There are so many variables that play into your body's weight that you cannot expect consistent losses. The human body just doesn't work that way. A little bit of water retention, or undigested high fiber food... and a thousand other variables can cause weight fluctuations. It is not the weekly number that matters in the least, it's the long term results - and 8 lbs in 8 weeks is AWESOME, even if you weigh nearly 400 lbs as I did when I started.

I guess my issue is frustration with the fact that I have a weight GAIN whilst doing all the right things! I'm sure everyone can relate to that, especially given the changes that I've made and been consistent with. I've had significantly better results with another weight loss program, so I'm trying to get my head around super-slow weight loss as being desirable. I'm just frustrated, that's all ... and I don't really expect weight loss to be linear, but I was really really hoping that I wouldn't experience a weight GAIN without being able to pinpoint the cause (medically, I'm fine, so no medical cause there). I've read alot about plateaus, and that is where your weight stays the same, not goes UP. I wouldn't be this frustrated if I had a 0.5 lb loss or a 0 lb loss. It is the gain that is most annoying when I'm doing what I need to do. It makes me wonder what the point is, because if I continue to do the right things and keep on GAINING, then I'm better off not even trying, no?
Kira

I wonder if you are eating too little calories? You do a fair amount of exercise, you need to eat back those points, at least some of them. I would try eating all your flex points one week and some of your activity points and see what happens. I bet you will be surprised with the results.

Frustration is normal, but it's made significantly worse when it's coming out of false beliefs and expectations, which from your post it seems you have a fair number. There is no program that can guarantee that you will never have a no-gain week. There does not have to be something wrong with you, for you to gain occasionally, or for small gains along with the losses. There doesn't have to be an obvious cause. Some fluctuations are easily explained (such as if you tend to gain fluid retention weight during a certain phase of your menstrual cycle - for some women that's at ovulation, or during the period, and can be as much as 5 to 10 lbs or even more for some women - even after losing 64 lbs, I still can gain up to 10 lbs, occasionally even more of just water rentention), but some causes of weight gain can be harder to detect, or even impossible to pinpoint - that IS normal.

You say " if I continue to do the right things and keep on GAINING, then I'm better off not even trying, no?" - that's a perfect example of a false belief - you might have a point, if there was any sign that gaining was a trend for you. It would be true if you had gained 11 lbs in 8 weeks, but there's absolutely no indication in the least that you're at risk for gaining any weight.

Suppose you got on the scale this morning, then immediately drank 2 huge glasses of water and jumped back on the scale and saw a 2 lb gain. You could say "I'd better not drink water ever again because it causes weight gain. What's the use of even trying, if I'm going to gain 2 lbs after drinking 32 ounces of water."

You're doing the same thing to yourself, in only a slightly less blatant way, when you are trying to expect to never, ever experiencing a small weight gain, ever. That's just not how the body works unless you're eating so few calories that there's no chance of normal fluctuations muddying the water. I understand that some programs are so depriving that there is virtually no risk of ever seeing a no-gain week - but those programs are not healthy.

A week just is not a long enough time span to tie to "cause." It sounds like you would be less frustrated, if you lost 1 lb every week, with never a gain or non-loss. You still would have ended up with the same 8 lb loss, but you would have never seen that discouraging rise in number on the scale. But the results would have been the same. You lost weight nearly 3 times as often as you didn't, that's not an indication that you could or would "keep gaining."

It seems you still don't realize how common it is (regardless of the program) to have no-loss and even gain weeks. It's entirely normal for that to happen - even with CRASH diets, and there doesn't have to be a medical cause. When you're exercising intensely, you may even be more prone to it, because muscle repair is one of the body processes that can cause extra fluid retention as part of the repair process - it's temporary, and not a sign of "real" weight gain.

I would guess that 99% of dieters, even those doing "everything right," with no medical or health issues, will have frequent gain or no-loss weeks. Some people seem to have a weight loss pattern that looks like two steps forward and one step back for their entire weight loss - and there's not necessarily anything wrong or abnormal about it. It's just how some people's bodies work. As long as you're making more steps forward than back, you're doing fine.

You've got to learn not to take those small (100% normal) gains personally. They aren't tied to you doing anything wrong - and changing your program isn't a guarantee to prevent it, unless you're on such an intensely depriving program that it's likely to be unhealthy.

I appreciate your input and I take your comments seriously to heart.
I am a veteran dieter. I understand about weight and weight fluctuations. I have no false beliefs about dieting, and believe me, I've done everything short of gastric bypass/lap band. I am making a sincere effort to change my diet, my fitness levels and my overall health, and I want to make this change permanently. After my crazy diet plan phase, I successfully dieted from 244 lbs to 158 lbs over a period of a year with Weight Watchers, slipped and fell off the program, and regained a total of 44 lbs before I caught hold of myself this past time. However, I held off the bulk of the weight for over 5 years before I slipped. Believe me, I know diets. My source of my frustration is that the last time that I went through WW, I never, EVER had a week of weight gain. I had many 0 lb weeks, and several plateaus, but never a gain. Which is why this time around is somewhat frustrating. That is all I intended to express from my post.
So I am sure that you understand that I find your comments such as "so why are you complaining?" and "it's made significantly worse when it's coming out of false beliefs and expectations, which from your post it seems you have a fair number" to be not helpful nor are in the spirit of what I thought this forum was for -- a place to express frustration and seek support from those who are or have gone through the same thing as I am experiencing now. I think I must have hit a hot button with you because I am feeling a bit flamed right now. I am simply expressing my frustration with recent scale numbers and was looking for some support.
Perhaps someone else out there can lend me a kind shoulder to lean on, just for a moment or two til I catch my breath?
Kira

I was in no way trying to be unkind, and I'm sorry it seemed so. It is frustrating to me, and it may have shown, that you seem to be seeing amazing progress as failure. I've seen it derail so many people, myself included in the past, that it IS a hot button topic for me. Far, far too many people quit their weight loss attempt out of frustration, because they see failure where there is none, and you are seeing failure where there is only success - amazing success. I'm not trying to be angry or hurtful, I'm trying to show you your success, perhaps by inappropriately passionate means.

Perhaps your past experience is creating the obstacle to seeing your success. To have never had a gain when "doing everything right" in your prior weight loss, you were extremely lucky. But perhaps that luck is interfering with you seeing the amazing success you are experiencing now, of 8 lbs in 8 weeks.

I'm sorry that you're "doing everything right," and still seeing occasional gains - but it's completely normal. And if you really accepted that it is normal, I don't think you'd be nearly as frustrated, but you're judging your current self, by standards that may not be true anymore. When you compare yourself to anyone who is losing faster, or more consistently, you can get frustrated and hurt easily - and it doesn't matter if the person you're comparing yourself to, is a previous you. You were very lucky to have never had a gain week in the past, but that's not you anymore. I don't mean that as a flame, I mean that as a look at your progress - it's great - congratulations, it's worthy of celebration.

The most common reason people give up weight loss and weight maintenance attempts is not because they aren't losing, but because they aren't losing fast enough, or consistently enough. They don't see the big picture, and I'm just asking you to see the big picture. You're succeeding, not failing. Frustration is the feeling of not succeeding. I'm just trying to point out that you are doing great, and if you refuse to see that, then you're going to give up. I don't want that for you.

Hi Kiramira, I completely get where you're coming from. It can be so frustrating to be doing all the right things at the right time, and gain weight. Hello!!! I can gain weight without trying, and have a much better time at it than exercising and eating on plan. Jeez, body. QUIT BETRAYING ME!

I can't believe you've only had this happen to you once, when it seems like it happens to me all the time. You're lucky! after a week or two of gaining or standing still, I usually significantly up my calories or carbs or fat for a day and that seems to shock my body into behaving again. Just be careful to not get cravings going. That's my biggest problem.

Anyway, keep on keeping on, it can be discouraging and it can be hard, but ultimately worth it. It's just one week, sometimes bodies need some time to adjust.

Thanks so much for the kind words! I'm going to up my calories a bit -- GASP -- as angela105 suggested, but I have to tell you that this is so totally against my nature! Arghh! Panic!!! I guess life is an adventure and so is this weight loss buisness! I'll post again in a week...
hugs
Kira

Hi Kira,

Wow- I can't tell you how much I relate. I have had a VERY similar experience with WW. I've tried eating more to compensate for exercise, and it did work, but then the following week I would maintain...then last week I gained. This week I dropped 1.6. I haven't really been doing anything differently (I've ALWAYS stayed on plan), but my body also doens't like to cooperate. I don't have any magic advice for you other than to tell you that I feel your pain, and you're not alone. I continue to be frustrated by my progress as compared to the amount of effort I'm putting in. Some of us just have uncooperative bodies, and it REALLY sucks. It's not fair. I hate it, too.

BUT- I believe that your body will eventually make up for that 2 lb gain. I'm trying to remember that everyone is different and some people lose weight like us (slowly and painfully). Keep at it, because I believe it will work for both of us.

I've chronicled my struggles with this very issue in my blog, if you're interested.... Just know that you're not alone!

Good luck

My daughter was going through the same thing when she started 2 months ago. She stuck to her points never went over and exercised. We finally spoke to the leader about it and she asked her how many of her allowance points and activity points she was using. She told her none. The leader told her to eat all of her exercise points and half of her allowance. Then the weight started to drop.

Maybe that would help.

Give your body some time to catch up. I think a lot of this society is a "get fast results" society. The fact is, our body isn't. Our body is on its own schedule and will drop the weight when it wants to. Just go with the flow.

Welcome to my world! In 9 weeks I've lost 8 lb. I totally feel your frustration. I, too, found it easier in 2005 to consistently lose 1.5-2 pounds per week on WW. This time around? Not so much.

so, if it helps any - I'm going through the same thing!

While I wish I could lose faster (esp. when I see people on the boards losing 10+ pounds per month) I just have to be happy with the fact that I'm losing ANYTHING, and, more importantly, that it's STAYING off.

~Choirgirl~