Eating all your points on WeightWatchers - does it slow down your weight loss if you don't?

[Bodenbabe]

I'm on 21 points a day but can usually manage on 18. So if I were to eat 18 would I be likely to lose weight quicker or do you think my body would then go into that 'famine=conserve fat' thing that it does, and so I wouldn't lose weight as easily? I know that happens when you eat drastically less than your daily intake but would a point or two really cause that?

Also, I know that you have to go down a point for each stone you lose so would I be likely to struggle on that next stone if I'd already been eating fewer poitns anyway?

I know that slow and sensible is the way to do it but, as per my other thread, I have a dress that I'm desperate to fit into in 3 months time and I'd love to lose as much as poss by then.

Slow and sensible is the way to go I'm afraid, it is so much easier to keep it off if you do it on a manageable pace.

My mil ate very little when she was dieting she lost weight quickly but has to virtually starve herself to keep it off.

Could you not just have a banana or something to bump you up abit but healthily?

Furball, I can easily eat my points, that's not the problem, I was just wondering whether I could choose to eat fewer points. dollshouse, do you think it only affects keeping it off though - what if I eat fewer points now but go back to my regular points once the 3 months are up?

To answer your question, you'd effectively go from 'safe dieting' to 'crash dieting' and I'm certain you'd end up experiencing starvation mode/famine response or whatever you want to call it quite quickly. People who crash diet tend to find it more difficult to maintain the weight-loss... and very easy to yo-yo back to their old weight.

The WW points system does lead to undereating if you don't follow it to the letter. It assumes for a start that members are getting 200-300 cals a day from 'free foods' like vegetables. Many don't and this already starts to cause problems. Then there are the exercise points... members often don't bother to use these thinking it'll help them shift the weight quicker. But they end up having too big a gap between their 'energy in' and 'energy out' which causes problems and stalls in weight-loss. More choose to save up too many points for weekends and that can be a disaster as well. Slow metabolism all week.... some extra food at the weekend ..... Weight gain!

So if you've got 21 points a day I would really recommend that you make the most of them, plus any exercise points, plus as much free food as you can get.