# Nutri-Systems Weight Loss - What's going on? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 23, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutri-systems-weight-loss-whats-going-on/540485 "2010-05-23T18:23:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutri-systems-weight-loss-whats-going-on/540485/1 "2010-05-23T18:23:31Z")
I’m 61 years old, very active, 5’ 7" and as of a seven days ago I was 181 lbs. After 7 days of a Nutri-Systems regimen (their food supplemented by other low-cal/low-fat food) I am now 6-7 pounds lighter. This, verified by two scales. So, what’s going on? While I’m pleased with losing 6-7 lbs, that just doesn’t seem logical, even with the exercise I get (1 hour of aerobics and weights 5 days a week and 3-5 softball games a week). ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutri-systems-weight-loss-whats-going-on/540485/2 "2010-05-23T18:28:27Z")
Water weight loss. A healthy weight loss should be no more than one pound per week. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutri-systems-weight-loss-whats-going-on/540485/3 "2010-05-23T19:22:02Z")
The first 2 weeks of weight loss often happen at a much quicker rate than the subsequent weeks. Men, in particular, lose weight faster and more of it in the beginning - 10-12 pounds isn’t unheard of in the first week. When the rate drops (probably next week), it should be at an average rate of 1-2 pounds a week until you reach your ideal weight. Note that that’s an average - there will be some weeks you lose 3 or 4, and some weeks you won’t lose an ounce, and maybe even some where you gain a pound and want to smack yourself. Don’t, it’s all normal. As long as the average over several weeks is 1-2 pounds, you’re in the safe and most effective long-term weight loss zone. Source: Weight Watchers meetings ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutri-systems-weight-loss-whats-going-on/540485/4 "2010-05-24T01:04:59Z")
What they said. When I started Weight Watchers I lost something like 6 pounds in the first week (I was a little over 200lbs at the time, 5’ 10", 36 year old male, fairly active). However you’re losing it, that 6 pounds isn’t going to be all body fat. 6 lbs of fat represents about 21,000 calories. If you were eating 3000 calories/day before and you dropped down to 2000/day, then you would **still** need to do something like 2 hours of **vigorous** exercise every single day (for example, running 16 miles) to hit that kind of caloric deficit. If your activity level hasn’t changed much, I’ll guess that it’s a lot of water weight. If you stick with a sensible diet/exercise plan you may see a few more weeks of what seems like a lot of weight coming off but you’ll quickly come down to that 1-2lb/week rate which is the general recommendation for a healthy/sustainable loss until you hit whatever is a nice stable weight for your body. As **WhyNot** said, men do seem to lose more weight faster (at least in the beginning) than women. This is a source of endless amusement for couples who start a weight loss program together. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutri-systems-weight-loss-whats-going-on/540485/5 "2010-05-24T01:11:33Z")
There is just something about simple sugars (simple carbs) and water as well as sodium and water. Less carbs = body maintains less water. Further, less soduim = less water. Toss in a few real pounds of actual fat loss and a little less food in the gut and you can expect such results early on. Look for 1-2 lbs per week thereafter, although 2 lbs of actual body fat is quite aggressive.