No weight loss in what I thought was a successful week...

Because eating 1200 calories a day and exercising away 600 of those leaves you at having consumed 600 net calories that day. Starvation central for anyone who's not extremely obese. Read these:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

My first week at WW I GAINED 1.8 lbs. Talk about discouraging. I went on to lose 52 lbs though and made it to my goal!

Keep up the good work (well add some more calories I think, the respondants are right) and you will have NO problem.

Yeah, agreed! One of the most important things I ever learned was 'to lose weight, you have to eat' - I figured if I ate very little and exercised every free hour I had, i'd lose the weight so much faster. Wrong, it didn't happen that way at all. As long as your net calories remain at 1200 and not 600 like yours currently, you will find your body reacts in a positive way as far as losing weight is concerned!

Just posting to say that I agree. Whenever I think I am going to be clever and cut corners and not eat my excercise calories it always backfires! Oh, sometimes i might lose some but then it comes to a screaching halt. Our bodies were meant to eat and excercise! Yea!!!

Read posts by Banks/ SHBoss...search the archives. He has some great stuff!!

don't forget, if you're doing strength training you may be building muscle which is heavier than fat so even though the scale doesn't go down you could have replaced fat with muscle. I recommend taking your body measurements periodically to be more accurate in that respect. Good luck

I can only say what worked for me. That was exercising plenty and eating plenty. I never ate only 1200 cals. Right up until I met my goal weight, I was eating around 1400 on non-exercise days. And when I worked out, I ate at least half back.

Everyone is different. You might need a bit of trial and error to find out the right combo of calories and exercise will work for you..but definitely make sure to eat ENOUGH. Think of your body like a gas tank. You can't leave it empty or over fill it. And look at food as the fuel.

Also, know that even if you are doing everything right. Exercising, eating some back, etc...there may be times your body takes a break. I think our body chemistry needs to take a breather now and then to catch up to what we're putting it through when losing weight. So, a plateau can be very normal. I hit a few during the 16 months it took me to hit my goal weight...but they never lasted more than a week because I'd shake it up. I'd bump up my exercise or maybe have a girls night out..(Fun!)....and it kind of kicks your metabolism in the butt!

Also, you ARE successful anyway. Just because the number on the scale doesn't move..it does NOT mean you haven't done well by staying on track, exercising, etc. Remember that. The scale is just a number and it's really not a great way to measure success in weight loss or changing your lifestyle.

:flowerforyou:
-Tami

I agree with most of what I have read here. 1200 is already low. If you are exercising, eat at least 3/4 of those calories back. And, make sure you are getting ample protein for building muscle. Remember, muscle is heavier than fat, so that could also be a factor. But, my guess would be that you are in starvation mode, which could lead to more fat storage and less muscle.