Saturday, September 06, 2008

Plateau - Not Just A Geological Formation Anymore

My weight loss has tapered off. I am officially in the midst of what Weight Watchers terms a "plateau".

Their suggestion? Persevere!

Not really the advice that I was looking for, but at least it is sound.

Now, I understand that every once in a while your body decides that it needs to hang out at a particular weight for a while and to be honest, this is the first plateau that I have hit during my entire weight loss journey.

But it still sucks.

Here are my stats since I got back from vacation:

August 6: gained 0.4 pounds current weight 185.8
August 13: maintained (no movement on the scale)
August 20: - 2.2 pounds (YAY! I thought that it was just a hiccup and that the weight would start coming back off)
August 27: +0.6 pounds (what the??)
September 3 : -0.6 pounds (Big Ass Eye Roll) Current weight 183.6

Now, don't get me wrong... I am pleased as punch that I am still technically losing. But losing 2.2 pounds in 5 weeks is driving me crazy!!!!

After becoming used to losing an average of about 7 pounds per month, this is torturously slow.

I have been looking into why my body is just not dropping weight as quickly and there are a few scenarios that come to mind.

Number one is that my body has reached a point where it doesn't want to drop any more weight for a while. Some people term it the body starvation point. Everyone's body has a different point where it thinks that starvation might be setting in. Since I was so heavy, my body hasn't realized that my starvation point should be about 45 pounds lower than it currently is.

Number two, I am still working out, but typically work out 3-4 days per week rather than 5-6. Life has been so busy I just haven't been able to get to the gym quite as much. Next week I will be there every day for 5 consecutive days so we will see what happens.

Number three is that although I am still sticking to the plan, I have been enjoying a few BLT's (bites, licks, tastes) and maybe haven't been tracking them accurately. I am going to cut them out completely and see if this will make any kind of change.

Don't worry, my journey is far from over and I have no plans to chuck it all and go back to where I was. That was so much less of a life than the one that I am living now I couldn't bear to go back.

6 comments:

Mrs. Hairy Woman said...

You certainly have made the right choice to stick with it even through tougher days where you may not see any signs of weight loss.. You have done a tremendous job of staying healthy and the amount of weight you have lost is unsurmountable.. You continue to rock girl!Keep it up.. We have faith in you..

BTW how was your vacation? what did you do and where did you go?

Churlita said...

You will hit more of those, the thinner you get. The hardest thing will be just sticking to it no matter what. Instant gratification is wonderful, but it isn't always going to happen. I know it's hard, but just try to remember that it's about being healthy and you can stay healthy and not always lose weight at the pace you want.

Hang in there. You are still a rock star.

Skyzi said...

I am going back to read your archives now because have done an AMAZING job with your weight loss journey and the fact that you are not content with stopping really says a lot about you!

Anonymous said...

Hey, gorgeous--
Remember, too, that muscle weighs more than fat. Your numbers on the scale may not go down as steadily as they used to and yet you may well still be losing weight.

A good way to check this is to take your measurements; I am the kind of person who usually loses more inches than pounds--and an inch IS a pound.

You have done such a great job at this and I know you'll see it through to your perfect, healthy weight. I admire your strength and determination more than I can say. Go YOU!

~Diamond~ said...

I'm glad to hear you are sticking with it and not letting this get you down. You have done a GREAT job losing weight, I KNOW you will continue your journey to a healthier you!

Not so little Woman said...

The point is that you are losing the weight and you are still committed. You will get there. Your body will catch up with your mind. :)