The good, the bad, and the plateau

I started counting calories on New Year's eve. I started exercising. The goal was not to lose weight, but to become healthier. And it worked for a while. I lost 30 lbs and two sizes, and felt the old confidence coming back.

What a time to get stuck. My weight has been stuck at 170 for the last two months. I have continued exercising through it all (yay!), but am returning to my pattern of over-eating when stressed (even though its mostly healthy stuff.) I know I need to dig in my heels and get past this plateau, but HOW?

Please share tips and advice on how to get past the plateau and stay motivated through it all. I'm mixing exercise routines and just started swimming, but yesterday I went on a weight loss fad diet website for the FIRST time. That's scary.

Wow- a 25 minute run! You must be really fit. Plus you must have biceps from lugging desktops..:)

I wish I had a good set of arm muscles. You are inspiring me to get the weights out again.

Yesterday's report- there was a definitely a difference in terms of night craving because of the high-fiber breakfast I ate in the morning. We'll see how today goes!

Great going on the high fiber breakfast! What did you eat?

That's good to know about the high fiber breakfast.  Night time cravings are the worst for me!  I'm such a wimp.

I'm really not in as great of shape as it might sound.  I have more flab than muscle on my arms...I don't move desktops around enough for it to really make a difference in my muslce tone there.  Unfortunately! 

As for running for 25 mintues...meh...I suppose I should be proud of myself because when I started I couldn't even jog 1/4 mile, so I know I made progress.  But it's not really anything to write home about.  I've always intended on getting up to 5k (approx 3 miles) & just haven't done it yet.  I lose my motivation before I get the stamina.  I started out just walking...I still love to walk & do it frequently.

Chatting here has really helped me keep it together.  Perhaps this time we'll both be successful in reaching our goals!

Lsami, I ate fiber one all bran cereal with some nonfat plain yogurt, splenda and blueberries! I always though all bran looked disgusting (you know the one that looks like little worms?) but it doesn't taste bad at all. Trying the same thing today and we'll see what happens.

Chrissy, you should be proud of yourself! I can walk for 5,6 miles easily, but can barely run a mile. Running for 25 minutes is impressive, and the stamina will come if you persist.

Now I'm at home and as usual wanting to sabotage myself. So far, I've had a peach and some really healthy thai soup after breakfast. Maybe that will help me get through the potluck lunch at work without doing too much damage!

We will be successful. Its a matter of time and persistence.

Chrissy,

You're a PC "geek", too?  When I was in desktop support, I had slightly better control of my weight due to all the running around I had to do at my facility.

But then I moved to software development, got addicted to caffeine; and rarely left the desk.  Then I got laid off, ended up in a support desk, and now I literally never leave my desk for 8 hours a day (save a 5 minute break here or there.)

Needless to say, things went from bad to worse and I ended up here looking for help.  I love IT, every part of it I've ever done, but there are definitely some unhealthy habits available to be acquired in this industry.

"We will be successful. Its a matter of time and persistence."

Thank you for that, nehajain!

Original Post by sammalone:

Chrissy,

You're a PC "geek", too?  When I was in desktop support, I had slightly better control of my weight due to all the running around I had to do at my facility.

But then I moved to software development, got addicted to caffeine; and rarely left the desk.  Then I got laid off, ended up in a support desk, and now I literally never leave my desk for 8 hours a day (save a 5 minute break here or there.)

Needless to say, things went from bad to worse and I ended up here looking for help.  I love IT, every part of it I've ever done, but there are definitely some unhealthy habits available to be acquired in this industry.

Yeah, I'm a geek. I love it...and from what you described I think I love my job even more.  I don't move computers each and every day, but frequently enough.  I do run around the building a lot.  I work at a university and right now we're between semesters so there's a whole lot of computer moving.  Maybe I'll see an extra lb or 2 drop off :D 

Sam n Chrissy,

 I can't lay claims to being a geek, unfortunately, but all my friends are! :) I'm sitting here smiling at the fact that I find friends online and they always turn out to be geeks.

One of the things I've seen the tech folks do here is walk up and down the hallways during lunch. (I'm at a univ hospital, and we have a walking path traced in the basement that's about 1.2 miles a roundtrip. I do it too, when its raining outside, but its right outside their offices and easier for them, I guess.)

Guess who resisted the cupcakes in the break room!

neha

Congratulations on resisting the cupcakes! If you find it hard to resist them on a constant basis, Maybe you could carry something delicious but low calorie with you to work. Sit in the break room, open your chosen food, breathe deeply and S-L-O-W-L-Y savour it.

A trick my wellness coach taught me was to approach food like an alien. Feel it and register its texture. Pick it up and register what you like or dont like about its texture, temperature, appearance and smell. Sniff it (sounds funny, but smell is a really important component of flavor and satiety). Then bite into it and slowly turn it around in your mouth, registering all the flavors.

Also put the piece of food or utensils down between bites while you register whats in your mouth.

All this sounds trivial, but you may just find that when you eat your snack, you enjoy it so much that you turn around and look at the cupcake and think, hmmmmm..maybe not...dont want to spoil this wonderful experience!

Yay on resisting cupcakes!!

Lsami,

You are right! Its funny that I learned the same technique in mindfulness training. The instructor would make us eat a single raisin over a minute, smelling, rolling it over the tongue, tasting, and then slowly chewing it. I remember feeling full with that one raisin!

Unfortunately, I like to do most of my eating while on the computer/reading. Its an old, bad habit, and maybe its time to change that. Thanks.

Well, I lost a full pound this week.  Could it be the plateau is losing its resistance?  I dunno; but if I break into the 230s next week, it will be the first time I've been that low in probably 6 years.

I'm getting to be afraid of the scale now... for 2 months, every time I've seen progress I jumped right back up for no discernable reason.

I will have a mini-celebration if I can repeat this next week! [crossing fingers]

Congratulations!! That is absolutely awesome. Your lowest weight in 6 years- you definitely have cause to celebrate!

I'm still stuck where I was, but keeping at it. :)

Congratulations sammalone! This gives me so much hope! Thats fantastic!

I thought I had finally beaten the plateau but I gained weight this week due to hormonal changes and water retention.

Waiting for the tide to turn and think the best policy might be to ignore the scale and work on maintaining new healthy eating habits.......I will eventually get where I need to be!

Good luck all!

I think I may have lost a pound!

Its hard to tell with my analog scale, but I think I have. Its got to be thanks to the high fiber breakfast cereal- it keeps the night time binging in check.

And i received the Instinct diet in the mail today- I read the whole book, and really it looks just like another eat- healthy-and-low-calorie diet. The spiel is that you won't feel hungry with all the high fiber-high volume foods, so I'm going to try it religiously.

Tomorrow's menu:

Breakfast: 2 slices low-carb toast with 2 tsp low fat cream cheese, 1 orange, tea.

Snack: 6 oz low fat sugar free yogurt

Lunch: A big salad plate with 1/4 cup legumes and low cal dressing.

Snack: 2 part skim mozzarella cheese sticks ( I dont really like this part, may substitute with cereal and milk)

Dinner: Steamed tofu and mixed vegetables with peanut sauce

Dessert: chocolate tipped strawberries and cream.

Wish me luck!

Hi Nehajain and others, can I join your group. I was reading through it and would like to be a part of it. I have lost 15 lbs so far since last 1.5 years but I am stuck at 143-145 since last 6 months or so... I need a close group of a few people to motivate me, a group I can be accountable too.. I am bad at putting my calories on CC, I eat mostly indian and its hard to find calories in that....

lsami,

Thank you for the celebratory words, and if you've been off the plateau once you'll be there again.  I have a love-hate relationship with the scale, where I switch between daily and weekly weigh-ins.  Sometimes I like the daily, because at least once during the week its off the plateau --- and weekly where I lost nothing or gained is torture.  But daily is rough too, because you'll be seeing "gains" all the time, and you can only think "well, it's water weight" or "muscle gain" so often before "aw, heck, it's fat."

I've lost 2 more pounds.. officially hitting the 230s.  It's hard not to think that getting the tips and support from this thread is the reason I've finally (crossing fingers) broken the plateau.

nehajain,

Woo hoo!  Sounds to me like you've got my first "off the plateau" week of 0.2lbs loss beat!  Keep it up!

I've been eating high fiber granola bars for my between meals snack, and I do think it helps me keep the hunger away longer.  I definitely need to try the breakfast cereal.

Good luck this week to us all.

Welcome, skinybum!

I have trouble from time to time staying on top of entering my calories also.  The only thing that works for me is realizing that whenever I don't put everything on here, I always eat more than I think I did.  That's just a setup for missing the goal.

But you know it can work; 15lbs lost is great! It's tough seeing that same weight week after when you've been successful before, but you have to trust the system.

Congratulations nehajain and sammalone!

Thanks guys! Well, for the record, I was back down (off the plateau) again a couple of days ago but this morning I am back on.

Not paying too much attention to it, although weighing is important to keep track, just like calorie counting!

Focusing on how great I feel. how I love to exercise, how I am so much better now at portion control and mindful eating, and my wonderful community here on CC!

Love you guys! You rock!