This is absolutely ridiculous and I don't know why I'm so upset with myself BUT I truly did everything right this week and even walked 2 miles a day everyday then WHAM get on the scale and show a gain. Now 1/2 lb doesn't sound like much but when you know that you did everything right - it's a little depressing. Even more so because my husband (although he never admits to being on weight watchers) lost 2 lbs. I know that probably next week it will show a loss but I still can't stop thinking about it every minute.

All food is not created equal. Just because you stayed within your points, you may have had higher calorie selections (I know we don't count them but they are there!), or had a lot of sodium that caused you to retain water. Did you take your measurements. If you are losing inches, the scale ususally doesn't go down. Did you have a lot of 0 point items? They may be 0 points but the servings add up. And finally, since you walk you may be adding muscle which weighs more.

Go back and look at your losses. We all develop a pattern and don't lose the same every week, even if we ate exactly the same thing every week. I have a large 3-4 pounds loss, then about 1 pount and then 2-3 weeks of next to nothing. And I'm strictly on program and I do watch the calories and fat. It's just my way of losing.

Unfortunately, men always lose faster. Its must be in their genes!

You did well, stayed OP and exercised. Congratulations! It will work.

This happens from time to time with no logical explanation. I went through a period of a month where I was 100% on program and either didn't lose at all or lost like .2 and then gained. Just don't get discouraged. Eventually, it works itself out. As for men they always lose faster. Years ago my brother and I joined WW together and even though in those days the men got more to eat, he lost 2 to 4 pounds every week and I was lucky to lose between l/2 and l. Good luck to you. Just keep plugging away. The program does work. Just be patient and don't beat yourself up. It's possible you may have a large loss next week.

Dear Sandi -

I certainly know how you feel. Now how about this one... I was upset because I stayed the same. Pretty feeble. However, I've got to be honest - I went over range on the weekend and - it had its undesired effect.

Ginaki and Quilter are right... men just lose faster and more Not fair. It's got to do with our nurturing reproduction genes, keeping the fat their as a cushion. grrrr. I have never been and probably will never be a stick. And it took me a long time to lose the 30 lbs I needed/wanted to. But I did lose it. Hang in there - it does work. Patch

1/2 pounds is a funny amount. If I lose half a pound, I feel like I've lost nothing and I get frustrated. But if I gain half a pound, all the sudden it feels like some humongous gain. Funny how my perspective can switch so easily.

I know it's frustrating- I've been there! But half a pound? It could be anything- maybe you were retaining water? Maybe you gained a little bit of muscle?

This happened to me a while back (gained 1.5 one week, and only lost .2 the next). I looked at my journal, and realized that I had been eating a basically FAT-FREE diet for nearly three weeks. I made an effort to include more fat the next week (and is it really that much of a burden? ;-) Well, I showed a 6 pound loss when I weight in at the end of that week.

It may not be the points themselves, but what those points consist of. Make sure you're not depriving your body of anything that it really needs.

Omigod, am I glad to see someone posting on this topic. Today I weighed in -- after a week of being on program, eating whole grains, veggies, little meat, at or just below my minimum points, drinking lots of water, exercising -- and up a pound. I understand completely that there are little "set backs" and numerous reasons for those gains ... but what suprised me was how it hit me. Keep in mind -- I lost a buncha weight a few years back and lived through the gains and plateaus -- I really do understand this is how it works...

...but now I'm finding I feel positively phobic about what I put in my mouth today. I'm way under points and can't seem to bring myself to eat anything more. I'm not hungry ... but I expect that's a mental trick caused by my absolutely unhealthy focus on that damn pound.

So now's the "pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep on keepin' on" part -- and its somehow harder than it looks. Tomorrow's another day and I hope most fervently that I'm able to focus on something that isn't that one pound gain.

Are you eating at your minimum points? If so, maybe that is the problem. Also, if you exercise, do you account for the extra points and eat them?

Believe it or not, we have to EAT to lose weight!! It's very hard to do, but there are times when I have banked say, 5 points for the weekend. If I don't use them, I'll have a special dessert or something even if it's the night before weigh in. (As long as it's not too salty!!)

Another case in point........A friend of mine lost 60 lbs and was 5 away from goal. She stayed the same for a few weeks in a row and her leader told her to bring in her journal. When the leader looked at it, she told her she was not eating enough. She was always eating at her minimum point range. The leader suggested for one week to eat at the highest point range and guess what..........she lost the 5 lbs. in one week!! I'm not kidding. She now is a lifetime member for about 6 months and still maintaining!!

Just my 2 cents!!