Hello everyone!! It has been a while but I am back for now :) I think one reason I have been rather quite is that I have went through a new experience that has taken some work. My project has been overcoming a weight plateau. I have had plateaus in the past but they have been a couple of weeks at a time. Most all of us who have embarked on any weight loss experience have had to deal with the fact that at some point your weight loss seems to go into hibernation. You are moving right along and all of sudden it feels like someone put on the brakes! I have had the experience of going two weeks without losing any weight and feeling overwhelmed. Having said that, this last bout with the Plateau has been tough!! I went 5 weeks before I saw some positive results. I tell you this to say, we all have to deal with Plateaus. I have been changing my life for over 2 years but I still have to work at it! During my recent struggle with the evil plateau I found my self getting very frustrated. I was exercising hard and I knew that may calorie intake was within range of where it should be, yet the scales did not move. It was amidst my frustration that I learned something very important. Something that would change my number on the scale and also something that changed my perception about food.
I have already mentioned the important role the personal trainer has played in my journey. It was after consulting with Mandy about my diet that I came to the realization of what I already knew deep down, which was all calories are not created equal. I had been eating the same things for the past two years with great success but it was not working anymore. I was so confused by the fact that my calorie intake was lower than what I had burned but I was not losing weight. After Mandy and I looked at my food log she was able to help me see that I was still taking in some calories that were not the best. I did not take this news well. I was willing to make changes but I did so kicking and screaming. I had changed so much in my life over the past two years that I did not want to make another change! After some pouting and mumblings I was ready to change. For me the issue was that I was taking in more carbs than was working for me. To get myself over the plateau I would have to limited my carbohydrate intake for the next several weeks. My metabolism needed a boost and this was the way to go. I took the advice and made the changes. After 5 weeks, I finally saw the scale move in the right direction!! After the first week of making the changes I lost 3 pounds, the next week 2 more pounds, and this week 2 more pounds!
Plateaus can be so overwhelming but they can be broken. Maybe a week or two is manageable but when you go into 3, 4, 5, or 6 weeks with no loss, it is terrible! Your mind starts playing those old painful messages and mind games. All of a sudden you start doubting yourself again. You begin to fear what if this is it, what if I never loose another pound? Have I come this far to fall short of my goal? All these feelings are normal and were definitely part of my thought process these past few weeks. The good news for me and for anyone else on this journey is that you can and will break through the stale mate of the plateau. Positive changes in the diet will move you in the right direction. Sometimes a simple change can do the trick but other times it may require a bigger change. The good news is that the changes you make may not have to be a "from here on" type of change. Sometimes your changes can be short term until you get moving in the right direction and the weight will continue decrease. I am proud to say that I have fought the plateau and I won!!! Well I won this last round anyway :)
