When weight loss stalls....

[PrincessFiona]

I have been weighing in weekly since the end of April....and...I am now down 28 pounds. This week was the first week that I went in and was up .2 pounds. Up until recently I had been losing 1-3 pounds/week.

I expected not to lose because I'm struggling to stick with it lately. I have gone from 3 miles/day to 2 and noticed that I was starting to snack more. In order to lose weight I can only have about 1000-1200 caloreis/day. It is harder because even though I have lost this amount of weight, it isn't noticeable visually really. Boohoo. I have lost 2 clothing sizes...and I FEEL much, much better. That is important. But whenever I look in the mirror or Thomas/one of the kids takes a picture of me I end up feeling depressed.

Can someone help talk me over the hump?

Kris

[scrub-jay]

I lost 55 lbs last year and I know exactly what you are going through. Although frustrating, keep up your good habits, plateaus are terrible, but you will pull through this!!

First bit of advice - up your water consumption, even if it is already a lot - drink more.

Second bit - don't lose track of why you are doing this, put on an old (bigger) pair of pants - it sounds silly, but it always helped keep me on track!

Third, remember, this is only one week - up 0.2lbs is nothing until you make it everything! Just set the restart button and make this a new week - add a new goal (see the first bit - water is easy!).

The hardest part for me was those up 0.1-0.2lbs but you have to learn to forgive yourself and not let something so small become huge...you've really come too far (28lbs !!!!!!!!!!!) to let such a small amount derail you. Just stay on track and all will be fine (I promise, I've been there!)

And really, hang in there. This stall will pass, and you will start losing again. I'll add more later!



-C

[PrincessFiona]

Thanks...both of those are great suggestions that I will definitely do. I don't think I'm drinking enough water at all...and the bigger clothing thing is a great idea.

Congrats on your 55 pound loss!!!!!!

Kris

[DCJenn]

Definitely make sure that you're drinking enough water throughout the day.

I also try to change things up as much as possible to keep the muscles learning and the exercise interesting. I have a pretty good-sized selection of yoga and pilates dvds that I like to do on the days that I don't get to the gym.

It's too damned hot here to do much walking so they have been a lifesaver for me. Everyone knows that in my house I'll do any dinner prep after I walk in the door from work and then the next hour or so is MINE. Nikolai plays in his room and on the rare chance that my husband is home, the two of them hang out. It's like a law. Don't bother mommy when she's doing yoga.

Jenn

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

What about adding light weights to your routine. That can be a big help with weight loss. So even if you can only go 2 miles/day, can you do it carrying some light weights? Even if you don't want to do weights, could you do some body weight exercises? I do dips on our kitchen counter while dinner is cooking and you can also do knee raises. While it might not make you lose tons of weight, your body will tone up and that can make your clothes fit very differently.

I know whenever I do the same routine for a while, my body becomes accustomed to it. You could also add hills to your walk/run to increase incline and jump start weight loss.

No matter what, you should be proud of what you've accomplished so far - that's very wonderful in and of itself!!

[alison]

Congrats on your progress!

Wait, did you say .2 pounds? As in less than a half a pound....?

Don't get down on yourself. I think it's normal to have fluctuations of 1-2 pounds at any given time during the day, depending on what you've done (or haven't done).

But yay! You're doing great!

[GrayMatterWife]

I have been weighing in weekly since the end of April....and...I am now down 28 pounds. This week was the first week that I went in and was up .2 pounds. Up until recently I had been losing 1-3 pounds/week.

I expected not to lose because I'm struggling to stick with it lately. I have gone from 3 miles/day to 2 and noticed that I was starting to snack more. In order to lose weight I can only have about 1000-1200 caloreis/day. It is harder because even though I have lost this amount of weight, it isn't noticeable visually really. Boohoo. I have lost 2 clothing sizes...and I FEEL much, much better. That is important. But whenever I look in the mirror or Thomas/one of the kids takes a picture of me I end up feeling depressed.

Can someone help talk me over the hump?

Kris

My thought for encouragement:

Go out and buy something that makes you feel SEXY! Like a beautiful, flattering negligee or something. Put it on and remind yourself that you are absolutely gorgeous as you are, RIGHT NOW. (You husband thinks you are!) You don't need to lose weight to be perfect to all the people that matter.--including yourself. And, you deserve it! You've lost about 25 pounds or so? That's amazing! Congrats! (I couldn't imagine ever having the self-discipline to eat 1000 calories a day...)

Then, get right back to it and keep going! Not to become something that you aren't now, but because losing a bit more weight would help you more readily and often feel how sexy and beautiful you already are.

I know people who are trying to lose weight never like to hear words of encouragement from people who don't struggle with significant weight issues. But everyone has body image issues of one manifestation or another. (I have adult-onset acne that takes all sorts of medications to control--it gets me really down sometimes, when I look particularly awful.) The way you defeat the issue is to not let it define you--and certainly not let it prevent you from experiencing the wonderfulness of being you!

[MarissaNicole]

.2 don't worry that is nothing, and sometimes during the summer with humidity you can gain several pounds of just water weight just depending on the weather!

If it makes you feel better I have gained the past two weeks (for a total of 3 pounds - which is 20% of my weight loss considering I had only lost 15 and now its only 12) I am trying to focus on how far I have come and you need to do the same. Focus on the positive and do not dwell on the .2. Also if you picked up snacking lately, write it down - that sometimes makes you realize how much you consume in the bites licks and tastes that can add up!

Also make sure you are eating foods high in fiber so that you feel full and it is okay to indulge every once in a while so you don't feel deprived!

Great job - I am impressed! Keep up the great work!

[Vishenka69]

Kris, 28 lbs is great! You should be proud of yourself. Just remember that you're doing this for you and the end result is to feel healthier and sexier.

[Meenah]

You are doing a great job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PrincessFiona]

Thanks. I hit the -30.4 at my last weigh in. That feels like a real milestone to me. Even though I'm still at one of my highest weights (boohoo) my clothes fit me better than when I weighed less. I wonder if it is because of all of the exercise? I can wear clothing now that is a size smaller than I could wear when I weighed 15 pounds less than I do now. Does that seem possible? Bye Bye steroid weight!

Kris

[moonlight]

I just wanted to say congrats on getting past that plateau fairly quickly. When I was losing weight during the past couple years, I had 2-3 really yucky plateaus. Once i was stuck at the same weight for over 5 weeks. I nearly cried every single day. Eventually I got so darn MAD at the scale! The best thing is to just stick with it No Matter What.

30 pounds is wonderful! That is a significant amount of weight towards your goal!!! Yay!!

[MarissaNicole]

Thanks. I hit the -30.4 at my last weigh in. That feels like a real milestone to me. Even though I'm still at one of my highest weights (boohoo) my clothes fit me better than when I weighed less. I wonder if it is because of all of the exercise? I can wear clothing now that is a size smaller than I could wear when I weighed 15 pounds less than I do now. Does that seem possible? Bye Bye steroid weight!

Kris

That's awesome! A perfect example of why you shouldn't only look to the numbers on the scale - you must have gained quite a bit of muscle - which will help you continue to burn calories and keep the weight off!

Congrats on your progess! Hate when a plateau hits! There are a few things you can do to try getting over that hump:

-Take an exercise break! I take off a week every 4-6 wks.
-Change up your exercise routine. Your body adapts to your exercise. I change it up every 3 wks, sometimes weekly. Depends on my mood.
-Add strength training. I lift heavy 3x/wk, meaning I use a heavy enough weight that I fail by 12 reps for 1 set. Works wonders!

I, too, have 5 kids and it's been tough to get into a regular exercise routine. But, my kids have adapted to my exercise schedule. I never do more than 45 min.

I don't know if you're into workout DVDs, but I've been using Chalean Extreme since Jan and it's the best workout I've had in a LONG time! And I've done P90X and Cathe. It's all inclusive: strength and cardio. The workouts are less than 45 min. the shortest one around 32 min. It's a great workout program who has limited time and space. Short and intense.