If you stick with the plan, don't cheat (other than your APs or WPs), and exercise, you can expect to lose between 0.5 and 2 pounds a week. That is what the book says, and that is realistic. WW is not a magic pill, it is a healthy, moderate weight loss LIFE STYLE plan.
I think people who look at it only as a diet are bound to regain their weight. At one point, I was down to 153, but I was eating hardly anything, and working out a lot. It is easy to LOSE weight, but it is hard to MAINTAIN weight loss. WW teaches you moderation and to enjoy whole foods. People who try to crash diet and lose more than 2 a week are going to gain most of that back (I've done it).
I keep looking at this like my permanent way to live, vs. a diet, and I think that will work for me. I know it is slow! I HATE only losing 1-2 pounds a week, I wish it were more, but it will pay off.
My husband called it a snowball affect---at first, it is really small, but each week you pack on more snow (lose more weight), and suddenly it will snowball and you will be down 25 pounds in a flash! Even one pound a week is 12 pounds over 3 months---that is sizeable! At least one clothing size
Also, people who are larger will lose faster. Keep with it and it will pay off!
I have only lost ounces the past few weeks, and i've been tracking, following plan, drinking water, etc. I don't think we can set a number in our head for a weekly loss because then it's easy to say well forget it, i only lost X amount this week. I've learned to take each week as it comes. It would be nice to have a big loss like 2 a week but i don't count on it. Too many variables with fluctuation, for me anyways.
Here's my take on it... I refuse to do anything that I won't do once I hit maintainance. My goal is that once I hit my goal weight, the only thing that I have to do is add in a few points, find my maintenance level of points, and maintain. There is no "well, I can't have that food until I hit my goal" or "I'll eat plasticy diet food until goal and then I can start eating real food again" or anything like that. I don't allow food to have that much power in my life anymore. If I want something, I eat it, but I stay within my points each week. And by points, I mean daily points + activity points + weekly points. Eating your weekly points is not cheating!!!!!!!!
I may not lose 5 lbs a week, but I'm down 23 lbs since the beginning of October and closer to goal. I can live this way for the rest of my life, so I don't long for the days of eating without control. What's the hurry? A few extra months is just a blip relative to the time you have left to live.
Also, if your stats are up to date, you've lost about 15 lbs in around 10-11 weeks. That's amazing!! Recognize your accomplishment instead of focusing on what you could have done.
Are you happy with the way you are currently living? If so, I say why make any changes just to increase your weight loss 0.5 lbs a week??
Since I started WW at the end of August up until the beginning of the year my average has been 1.5 pounds a week. The biggest loss was 4 pounds and one week I gained 1 pound. I had a few weeks where I didn't lose anything but the next week I usually lost 2. I can understand getting frustrated when you feel like you worked really hard but know that you are doing it the "right" way now, learning portion sizes, moving your body, making smarter choices.
And talk about frustrated - I hit a plateau at the beginning of the month I can't seem to break. It could be worse, I could be gaining. My plan is to step it up this week!
Not everyone will. Are you eating healthier? Moving more? Feeling better? Is the scale moving in the general downward direction, no matter how slowly?
Everyone's body is different. Just settle into your journey and don't compare yourself to others.
yea i am on ww new plan pro points and exercising i started in november first week i sts, 2nd and 3rd week i lost 2lbs and 4th week i lost 1.5lbs then had a 3 week break as the meeting was shut for xmas and i put 3lbs over xmas and then i lost 3.5lbs,1lbs and then sts. xxx
Here's my take on it... I refuse to do anything that I won't do once I hit maintainance. My goal is that once I hit my goal weight, the only thing that I have to do is add in a few points, find my maintenance level of points, and maintain. There is no "well, I can't have that food until I hit my goal" or "I'll eat plasticy diet food until goal and then I can start eating real food again" or anything like that. I don't allow food to have that much power in my life anymore. If I want something, I eat it, but I stay within my points each week. And by points, I mean daily points + activity points + weekly points. Eating your weekly points is not cheating!!!!!!!!
I may not lose 5 lbs a week, but I'm down 23 lbs since the beginning of October and closer to goal. I can live this way for the rest of my life, so I don't long for the days of eating without control. What's the hurry? A few extra months is just a blip relative to the time you have left to live.
This is me exactly. Lately I've been feeling like I wish I could lose more, but I've been averaging about a 1lb weight loss a week, but you made me feel better and put everything into perspective for me. I always wonder how much I would lose if I didn't use my weekly pts, but then again by the time my weeklies reset I am in the mood for something!! Whether that's a few beers, some chocolate treats or whatever. This is why I am on weight watchers. It's a lifestyle change. It doesn't feel like a diet when I stay on track during weekdays and then have a splurge on the weekends (using flex pts).
I started ww's oct 12 or so and have lost 21lbs or a bit more. That's actually amazing!
The funny thing is that I did WW years ago (like maybe 10-15) and people at my meetings were always losing in the 2-3 pound range. I would, too - but I was way younger then (in my 40s now). I can remember that if you would be down a pound or even 1.5 the weigher would ask what you thought you could do better on. So I do think the loss was quicker in those days. It never worked very long for me though, because I am extremely carb sensitive and had huge trouble sticking to plan back then (when "fat free" was all the rage).
I do think that a slow loss is more likely a permanent loss, though. So I am just going with that as well as adding the exercise to maybe speed it up just a bit.
I have actually lost 15.2 pounds in 4 weeks - but it is so weird, the first week I lost 10.8 ! I have no idea how or why. I mean I stuck to the points and plan but still ... I kept thinking that my weight was falsely inflated after the holidays. Although this week I found an old tracker from when I was trying to diet on my own last summer and I was up that high (even a bit higher ) then, too. So who knows. After that initial whoosh I have only lost about 4.4 pounds in 3 weeks. And I think I may actually be up a pound at the moment. Ugh.
I'm not giving up, though .... it will all add up if you stick with it. Right ?
Last edited by karendisney; 02-02-2011 at 08:48 PM.
Here's my take on it... I refuse to do anything that I won't do once I hit maintainance. My goal is that once I hit my goal weight, the only thing that I have to do is add in a few points, find my maintenance level of points, and maintain. There is no "well, I can't have that food until I hit my goal" or "I'll eat plasticy diet food until goal and then I can start eating real food again" or anything like that.
I absolutely agree with this. The only way to keep the weight off permanently is to make PERMANENT changes in my eating habits -- starting now! I am using this time to figure out what works, what doesn't and what changes I can make that don't leave me feeling horribly deprived.
I have been a WW member several times over the last 35 years . I love the new PointsPlus program -- best program yet. By making carbs so "expensive" the program has forced me to cut back on carbs for the first time in my life and the result is that I no longer have "longings" for food. Hungry -- like rumbling stomach hungry--yes. But no cravings nor "longings" for a snack every hour! I eat all my daily points, some of my weekly points (less than half) and none of my activity points and am losing about 1-1.5 lbs a week.
Here's my take on it... I refuse to do anything that I won't do once I hit maintainance. My goal is that once I hit my goal weight, the only thing that I have to do is add in a few points, find my maintenance level of points, and maintain. There is no "well, I can't have that food until I hit my goal" or "I'll eat plasticy diet food until goal and then I can start eating real food again" or anything like that. I don't allow food to have that much power in my life anymore. If I want something, I eat it, but I stay within my points each week. And by points, I mean daily points + activity points + weekly points. Eating your weekly points is not cheating!!!!!!!!
I may not lose 5 lbs a week, but I'm down 23 lbs since the beginning of October and closer to goal. I can live this way for the rest of my life, so I don't long for the days of eating without control. What's the hurry? A few extra months is just a blip relative to the time you have left to live.
I like the above idea.
2 lbs a week is certainly possible, but I wouldn't count on it every week. I think it would take a lot of super dedication. A more realistic way to look at it would be if over a period of say 3 months you averaged a 2 lb a week loss.
One thing I have learned is weight loss is not linear and no matter how dedicated you are your body may not always cooperate.
The first time I did WW a few years ago, it took me 10 months to lose 51 pounds. I thought that was great. It took me 3 years to put back on 25 of those, so I figure if it only takes me 5 months to lose them, yay for me!
I'm way more working on thinking maintenance, I know I'll get the weight off, it's keeping it off for good this time that is my ultimate goal.
I'm way more working on thinking maintenance, I know I'll get the weight off, it's keeping it off for good this time that is my ultimate goal.
Me too! I've really been focusing on what maintenance will look like. I've been lurking over on the maintenance boards here and on the WW website and reading a few blogs of people who have been maintaining their losses. Whenever I've lost weight in the past, I never thought about what happened after I hit goal weight. Heck, the only other time I lost a significant amount of weight, I didn't even ever set a goal weight. What was I thinking? Also I've realized that I'm not going to be fat all the way until the point that I hit my goal and then at that moment I'll be thin - that it's a progressive thing and I don't need to be in a hurry. Sometimes we focus so much on the goal that we forget that we should enjoy where we are and where we came from during the journey to goal. Instead of thinking negatively about how much more weight I have left to lose, I choose to think about how amazing it is that I've lost as much weight that I have so far! Weight loss is such a mental thing...
... There is no "well, I can't have that food until I hit my goal" or "I'll eat plasticy diet food until goal and then I can start eating real food again" or anything like that. ...
I totally agree. That's why WW is one of the few if not the only one that works for me. As soon as I am not allowed to eat something I crave it 24/7. Diet food doesn't satisfy and I want to live my life. Especially since I don't want to be on a diet for life. It is all about changing your eating habits and planning, planning, planning.
The first time I did WW (with 40 pounds weight loss) nobody knew what I am doing. They just suddently noticed that I am getting thinner. It is so flexible that nobody noticed that I changed my eating habits.
I have always lost 2-5each and every week with ww.i did it for 4months than took a break and now it's been 3 weeks in and same results!i never eat my extra points or activity points do 60-90mins of intense excerise and 30mins a day of light Pilates.i also count fruit after the first serving as 50cal a point so an apple would be 2points cause roughly 105 cals Basic measuring and cal counting. I don't over eat anything and even measure my veggies for potion control,I take pgx for extra fibre and never use artificial sweeteners, eat only whole foods and drink 3 cups of green tea.good luck to all on your journeys,weight loss is hard but the results are worth it!
. I love the new PointsPlus program -- best program yet. By making carbs so "expensive" the program has forced me to cut back on carbs for the first time in my life and the result is that I no longer have "longings" for food. Hungry -- like rumbling stomach hungry--yes. But no cravings nor "longings" for a snack every hour! I eat all my daily points, some of my weekly points (less than half) and none of my activity points and am losing about 1-1.5 lbs a week.
Also I've realized that I'm not going to be fat all the way until the point that I hit my goal and then at that moment I'll be thin - that it's a progressive thing and I don't need to be in a hurry. Sometimes we focus so much on the goal that we forget that we should enjoy where we are and where we came from during the journey to goal. Instead of thinking negatively about how much more weight I have left to lose, I choose to think about how amazing it is that I've lost as much weight that I have so far! Weight loss is such a mental thing...
