Weight Watchers (WW), formerly known as Weight Watchers, is a popular weight loss program that utilizes a points system to guide users towards healthier food choices. While many individuals have found success with WW, others experience frustration when they don't see the desired weight loss, especially after the first two weeks. This article explores the reasons behind potential weight loss stalls on WW and offers strategies to overcome them.
Understanding the Weight Watchers Program
The WW program assigns points to foods based on their calories, added sugars, fiber, protein, and saturated fats. The goal is for members to stay within their daily points budget, which encourages the consumption of more nutritious foods. While this approach sounds simple, consistently following the program in everyday life can be challenging.
Registered Dietitian Jamie, with over 8 years of experience, has worked with numerous women who have tried Weight Watchers. While some experience success, a significant number are left feeling confused about nutrition and may even weigh more than before.
Why Weight Loss May Stall on Weight Watchers
Several factors can contribute to a lack of weight loss on the WW program, even when followed diligently.
1. Calorie Deficit is Key
The WW points system is essentially a simplified way of counting calories. Ultimately, weight loss occurs when you consume fewer calories than your body needs, or expend more calories than you consume, creating a calorie deficit. If you're not losing weight on WW, it's likely that you're not in a sufficient calorie deficit.
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2. Inconsistent Tracking
Consistency is crucial for WW to work. If you track points for a few days, then stop, and then start again, consistent progress is unlikely. The program requires daily tracking to be effective.
3. Unsustainable Tracking
Tracking every single item you eat can be unsustainable long-term, especially when eating out with friends or enjoying holiday dinners with family. This can lead to falling off the program and inconsistent results. Tracking simply isn’t for everyone and can be unsustainable long-term or make you feel restricted. You might seek out the lowest-point foods all the time and fixate on your point budget instead of actually enjoying the wonderful meal in front of you.
4. Overeating, Even with "Healthy" Foods
Even though nutritious foods are encouraged based on points, the point system doesn’t actually teach you why certain foods are “better” than others. Certain foods are unlimited based on their points, which can make weight loss puzzling. These foods aren’t zero calories, and it’s possible to eat more than you burn throughout the day.
5. Hidden Calories and Under-Tracking
It's easy to underestimate your food intake. Studies have shown that even dietitians can underestimate their food intake by about 30%, and overweight individuals may under-report by as much as 40%. Be honest about when you are NOT tracking. What about the times you DON’T track? Your splurges could be killing your weight loss. Think about the meal after weigh-in, celebration meals, weekends, BLTs (bites, licks, and tastes) while cooking, finishing your kid’s leftovers, those few bites of your husband’s dessert or TV-watching popcorn, and evening or middle-of-the-night snacking. You might dismiss those extra calories, but your body doesn’t. Get real about binge eating. This has been a big one for me because I have a history of binge eating. One eating binge can counteract WEEKS (no joke) of healthy eating. You feel like you’re doing great because you have all these days in a row of eating healthy or even under-eating, but a binge or cheat meal or splurge of a couple thousand calories can mean you are still into the range of overeating.
6. Unrealistic Expectations
People like to freak out when they’re not losing weight as fast as their friend, brother, sister, significant other, or random person on the Internet who is talking about their hashtag fitness journey. Something to keep in mind is that weight loss is often faster when you first start, and when you have more weight to lose. The time it takes to see weight loss results on Weight Watchers or any other weight loss program can vary from person to person. When working with clients I often find that it’s not a lack of progress for them that’s frustrating. It’s that they started with unrealistic expectations, don’t understand why they can’t sustain the results they got when they started, or a combination of the two.
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7. Focusing Too Much on the Scale
Weight loss isn’t linear,” says Angela Goscilo, M.S., R.D. At times, you may stall or gain weight-and that’s completely normal. According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people often hit a plateau at around six months on a weight-loss program. To avoid feeling defeated, focus on non-scale victories, such as being able to hold a plank or play with your kids for longer, says Goscilo. “Celebrating this progress can help you stay motivated.”
8. Eating Too Little
Reducing calories (kilojoules) as much as possible can seem like a solid plan to lose weight, but it can backfire. “If you don’t eat enough, you’ll feel uncomfortably hungry and tired,” says Goscilo. “This means you won’t make decisions about food in a calm, relaxed manner.” In other words, you’ll be more susceptible to outside influences and more likely to make what Goscilo refers to as “unplanned” food choices that don’t align with your goals.“This approach is also just not sustainable,” says Goscilo. “It won’t work in the long-term if you’re hungry all the time and feel like you can’t eat meals out with friends because you need to be super restrictive.” That lack of energy and constant hunger from your ultra-light meals can also make it tougher to get motivated to exercise. While there’s no hard-and-fast rule of a calorie count to stay above, Goscilo says to look at your weight-loss speed. Losing more than an average of 1 kilogram a week means you may not be eating enough.
9. Prioritising Exercise Over Sleep
One of the ways to find the time to work out is to set your alarm earlier and cut back on sleep. But if you go that route, try to go to bed a little earlier as well. That’s because getting enough sleep-according to the Sleep Health Foundation - Australia’s leading advocate for healthy sleep, inadequate sleep, of either duration or quality affects 33-45% of adults-can affect your overall well-being and impact your weight. One study from the University of Colorado, showed that people who logged only an average of five hours of sleep a night gained an average of one kilogram in less than a week.Sleep deprivation triggers changes in the hormones that regulate hunger and fullness, such as ghrelin, leptin, and peptide YY. It also dampens your ability to self-regulate, which makes you more likely to overeat, says Gupta. Aim to get at least seven to eight hours of shut-eye each night. Experts recommend this amount because it’s linked with better health, such as a reduced risk for heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and depression.
10. Forgetting About Protein
You know protein is important, but you’re likely eating the majority of it at dinner. Why does that matter? Because when you’re missing protein from other meals or snacks, say by only eating wholemeal toast for breakfast or a green salad for lunch, you can wind up feeling hungry a lot sooner. “Protein gives your meals staying power,” says Su-Nui Escobar, RDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist in Miami, United States. “It takes longer to digest, so you feel fuller for longer.” According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, protein increases satiety more than carbohydrates or fats. Protein also maintains muscle, which burns more calories than fat, says Gupta. One of the best approaches to protein is to eat it throughout the day, so add eggs or Greek yoghurt to breakfast and nuts or cheese with your afternoon snack.
11. Underestimating Portion Sizes
There’s no question that portion sizes have grown substantially since the 1970s. For example, an average serving of snacks, such as potato chips or pretzels, has gone up 60%. And when people are served more food, they tend to eat more, says Goscilo.Because it’s so easy to underestimate serving sizes (British researchers found that people think they eat up to 46% less than they really do), Goscilo recommends measuring your portions to figure out exactly how much you’re eating. You don’t need to do this forever, just long enough to learn what an actual portion looks like. Not willing to pull out the measuring cups at the restaurant or office kitchen? We get it. You can also use your hand as a quick guide: A 85g serving of meat is roughly the size of your palm; 30g of cheese equals your thumb; and your fist is about a cup of pasta or fruit.
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12. Skimping on Water
Some studies suggest that drinking water promotes weight loss, but there’s no definitive research showing that’s true. One certainty: H2O helps you stay hydrated for zero calories and zero sugar. Swapping it for soft drinks and juices can reduce your daily calories, says Escobar.Sipping water also delivers a long list of other health benefits, including boosting mood, preventing headaches, and fending off fatigue. How much H2O should you drink? Everyone has their own specific needs, but a general rule of thumb is to drink enough so that the colour of your urine is pale yellow.
13. Snacking Mindlessly
Snacking is a great way to add nutrients to your diet and take the edge off your hunger. But sometimes people snack out of boredom or wind up getting too many calories from grazing. To prevent overeating, have a snack strategy: Time snacks three to four hours after a meal, and look for satisfying options. “Grabbing a bag of chips or pretzels won’t fill you up for long,” says Goscilo. Look for snacks that have both fibre and protein, such as wholegrain crackers with cheese or Greek yoghurt and fruit.
14. Forgetting to Meal Plan
Meal planning can sound overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be-and it can make a big difference in both your stress level and how you eat. That's because a meal plan takes the guesswork out of shopping, prepping, and cooking, and ensures that you’ll have a healthy option. “Start by planning out just one meal,” says Goscilo. Make sure that you have all the ingredients and enough time to cook and prepare it. Then, after you’ve mastered planning out one meal in your day, add another meal and snacks.
15. Following Trendy Diets
When a friend swears by a new fad diet-say, a juice fast or a low-carb or no-carb plan-it may be tempting to give it a whirl too. “But they’re not sustainable over the long run,” says Goscilo. These plans usually work by cutting out entire food groups or avoiding a long list of foods. “That’s not reflective of real life and how people eat," says Goscilo. When you eventually stop the diet, chances are you fall back into your old habits. This can set the stage for yo-yo dieting.Research shows that the most successful weight-loss strategy is the one that you can stick with. A good approach-one that WeightWatchers centres on-is creating lifelong habits, focusing on eating a variety of nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, and lean protein.
16. Bumping Exercise Down Your To-Do List
You meant to hit the gym or go for a long walk, but then your day just got too busy. Sound familiar? Yes, life happens-and sometimes that means workout plans don’t work out. But it’s important to make physical activity as much of a priority as possible: Research shows that it’s one of the biggest predictors of long-term weight maintenance.One review of 33 studies found that people who exercised regularly and changed what they ate lost 20% more compared to those who only dieted-and were more likely to keep the weight off.“The best workout is the one that you’ll keep doing,” says Goscilo. Go for a bike ride, have a dance party, or do strengthening moves while you cook. You can also break it up into small chunks: Try squeezing in 10 minutes of exercise (walk the dog, tend to your garden, or race your kids) throughout your day.
17. Not Keeping Track
Whether you jot it down in a notebook or log it in a weight-loss app, keeping a food diary increases your chances for losing weight-and keeping it off, according to a study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. It can help you determine if you need to make any changes, says Kathryn M. Ross, Ph.D., an Associate Professor in the University of Florida’s department of clinical and health psychology, United States. “It’s hard to evaluate progress if you’re not tracking it,” she says. “It’s like trying to go on a road trip with a car that doesn’t have a petrol gauge.”To get started, take notes on the kind and amount of food you eat, along with the time you ate it, at each meal and snack. “That said, something is better than nothing,” Ross says. If you can’t track every bite, focus on the meals that you tend to struggle with, such as weekend lunches and dinners.
18. Dreaming of “Cheat Days”
With cheat days, the idea is that planned breaks in your diet can help you stay on track. You stick with your diet for six days, and let loose on the seventh. But the concept of “cheating” is a red flag, says Goscilo. “It’s a sign that you’re depriving yourself on all the other days,” she says. “All foods should fit into an overall weight-loss plan, including burgers and pizza.” And that’s not cheating-it’s living.
19. Medical Conditions and Other Factors
Some medical conditions, such as thyroid disorders, PCOS, or hormonal imbalances, can impact weight loss. Lack of sleep and high stress levels can affect your body’s ability to lose weight. It’s also possible for a woman’s weight to fluctuate by 3-5 or more pounds throughout the month due to shifts in fluid retention.
Strategies to Break Through a Weight Loss Stall on Weight Watchers
If you're experiencing a weight loss stall on WW, here are some actionable steps you can take:
1. Re-evaluate Your Tracking
Get real about when you are NOT tracking. What about the times you DON’T track? Your splurges could be killing your weight loss. Think about the meal after weigh-in, celebration meals, weekends, BLTs (bites, licks, and tastes) while cooking, finishing your kid’s leftovers, those few bites of your husband’s dessert or TV-watching popcorn, and evening or middle-of-the-night snacking. You might dismiss those extra calories, but your body doesn’t.
2. Weigh and Measure Servings
A study showed that dietitians underestimated their food intake by about 30% and these people are experts. Research shows that overweight people have an even harder time being accurate, often under-reporting their food intake by 40%. You are probably under tracking something. We all do it, myself included. Along your weight-loss journey, measure your portions to figure out exactly how much you’re eating, says Goscilo. Not willing to pull out the measuring cups at the restaurant or office potluck? We get it. You can also use your hand as a quick guide: A three-ounce serving of meat is roughly the size of your palm; one ounce of cheese equals your thumb; and your fist is about a cup of pasta or fruit.
3. Prioritize Whole, Unprocessed Foods
Opt for whole, unprocessed foods as much as possible. These foods are generally lower in points and more satiating than processed foods.
4. Incorporate Lean Protein
Protein-rich foods can help keep you feeling full and satisfied. Include lean proteins like chicken, fish, tofu, beans, and legumes in your meals. “Protein gives your meals staying power,” says Escobar. “It takes longer to digest, so you feel fuller for longer.” According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, protein increases satiety more than carbohydrates or fats. Protein also maintains muscle, which burns more calories than fat, says Gupta. One of the best approaches to protein is to eat it throughout the day, so consider adding eggs or Greek yogurt to breakfast and nuts or cheese with your afternoon snack.
5. Load Up on Vegetables
Vegetables are low in SmartPoints and high in fiber, making them a great choice for weight loss.
6. Stay Hydrated
Drinking enough water is essential for overall health and can also help you feel full.
7. Incorporate Physical Activity
Regular exercise is important for weight loss and overall well-being. Find activities you enjoy and make them a regular part of your routine. You meant to hit the gym or go for a long walk, but then your day just got too busy. Sound familiar? Yes, life happens-and sometimes that means workout plans don’t work out. But it’s important to make physical activity as much of a priority as possible: Research shows that it’s one of the biggest predictors of long-term weight maintenance.
8. Vary Weekly Points Usage
If you aren’t currently using them, try using more of them. Be careful with “eating back” physical activity points. WW used to reward physical activity with giving you more food, and then for years they dropped that feature. I’m interested to see they added it back but I have some concerns.
9. Address Emotional Eating
Pay attention to emotional triggers that may lead to overeating.
10. Review and Adjust
Regularly assess your progress and adjust your approach as needed.
11. Consider Alternatives
If you are really struggling, maybe WW isn’t the system for you. That’s fine. Try Healthie (formerly itrackbites) app which is a WW knock-off. Keep a paper journal of what you eat. Some people recommend Noom, which has a Green, Yellow, Red food system.