Hi Everyone
I have a question that I hope I can get a few responses from.  I’ve started Weight Watchers a few weeks ago, and it’s going great so far.  I’ve been losing a pound per week, which I’m happy about.  Sometimes I get a little discouraged when I hear people say that they’ve lost 5-7 lbs in one week...and I wonder...How did they do it?? 
Well, anyway, I’ve been having some pretty serious cravings, and I’ve been hungry.  My stomach actually growls after only a few hours of eating.  I try to eat good food, so I’m not starving my body of nutrients, but I don’t understand the hunger.  I try to drink water to “fill me up” so I don’t get hungry ...and sometimes that works.  But usually if I wait to eat...I’ll binge.  And I don’t want to do that either. 
If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. 
Have a great day!!

Sounds like your doing pretty good so far.  You should be hungry a few hours after eating, if your not it means you’ve eaten to much.  Scott did a podcast a while ago that really clicked with me.  Eat...Two hours laterish you should start to get just a little hungry and your metabolism goes into high gear...in three hoursish you really hungry and time for a small healthy snack to keep your metabolism chugging along.

Hi, I guess I didn’t realize it was normal to be hungry after a few hours.  I guess in the past I did overeat.  I guess I’m not crazy! I will look for that podcast and listen to it!
Have you had to deal with chocolate cravings or sugary cravings?

well everyone says eat fruit, and it does work believe it or not. Me, I like oatmeal (the instant stuff but not flavored), add it some fruit and maybe a little splenda and its a bowl of warm chewy goodness.  And sometimes its just better to have that little piece of chocolate.  If I’m really craving it I can have a small piece now or try to ignore the craving and end up bingeing on a whole chocolate bar later.

Keep in mind feeling hungry is not a bad thing (that took me a long time to figure out) It mean your body is empty and ready for refueling!

Great information Khrystyne

I also like oatmeal and fruit.  I add some of my own spices like cinnamon or nutmeg on occasion too.  The nice thing about oatmeal is that it is high fiber and takes longer for the body to process, and therefore keeps the cravings away a little longer.  Listen to your body, eat when you are hungry, (and make sure it is real hunger and not boredom or something else), stop when you are satisfied, and cut back just a little.

5 to 7 pounds of weight loss in a week isn’t realistic or healthy over a long period.  Frequently a large short term loss is just from loss of water.  If you watch shows like the biggest loser, the people there are being monitored by a personal trainer, nutritionist and several specialists to keep the metabolism going, and are doing lots and lots of exercise designed to maximize weight loss.  It’s best to follow a diet plan that you can live with and not try something you go on to lose weight, then go off and regain the weight.  If you lose 1 pound a week after 20 weeks you reach your goal.

Hi guys,

In terms of the 5-7 pounds loss a week: I agree with Paula that it doesn’t sound particularly sustainable.  While I’ve never been on weight watchers, I’ve been told that sometimes what they do is wear most of your clothing for the “before” weight, and then strip down nearly to underwear the next week for your “after” weight.  Voila!  You’ve just lost 5 pounds… of clothing!

Small changes sustained over time work wonders.  Like Paula said: if you lose a single pound a week for a year, and blow off the week of Christmas and Thanksgiving, you’ll still be down 50 pounds at the end of it!  How cool is that!

Cheers,
Julie

July, you are so right!
I am a fellow Weigh Watchers member and the first meeting you weight yourself with your regular clothes.  The next week you take your sweater, your shoes, your sunglasses and everything else.  Some members start to wear thin clothing to weight less.  This is why they loose 6 lbs in one week. 

As for me tis so hard to loose even 1 lbs a week.  Sometimes all I loose is .2 and I just have to remind myself that its .2 less then what I came in with. 

I think Scott made a point yesterday when he discussed doing things 1% at a time.  Weight Watchers has the mentality of 1%.  They always talk about how people don’t gain weight from one day to another, that it takes time to gain weight and its going to take time to take it off. As long as you do it little by little and consistently you will achieve your goals!