Stuck on a plateau club - join me
 

Doesn't really matter whether you are 10 pounds down, halfway to your goal, or just trying to shed a couple of holiday pounds, these dang plateaus (or ruts as I like think of them) are FRUSTRATING!

I look at my calorie balance graph and man! I should be losing a pound a week - but NOOOOOO. I know a bunch of you are walking in my Nikes, so go ahead and rant, give it your best explaination, or your best incantation for getting over, under, or through it.

For me I think maybe part of it is because 3 weeks ago I started a really aggressive weight training program (todays work-out: 50 shoulder presses - 35#, 120 push-ups, 90 burpees jumping over the bar, and about a mile run split into 3 sessions with little or no breaks). I know I'm not building much "real" muscle yet, but I suspect I have all sorts of inflammation issues going on - or at least that's my story and I sticking to it!

Pam

Okay, Pam, I will climb onto your plateau and join you :D!

I'm frustrated I can't drop the two pounds still hanging on from the holidays, and even more so, the percentage or two of body fat. I know in my head that two pounds is nothing to complain about. My current weight is nothing to complain about. I think what gets me is that I know I was further along and I can't get to that place again...knowing that I was in my best shape ever, and I can't get that back. Some clothes are just a wee bit too tight, also.

More so than the physical, I'm frustrated with my mental attitude. I'm frustrated that I feel like I'm failing by not getting those two pounds off, or by not being able to stick to a more restrictive calorie schedule for the time it will take to do that. I'm frustrated that I didn't have enough self-control to avoid gaining them to begin with! I'm frustrated that I can't gracefully accept where I am. I know that the key for me will be to work on my mindset. I guess you could say I'm on an emotional plateau as well. So my best guess is to work on the trifecta: mind, body, spirit...and see where that takes me.

Thanks for starting this thread, Pam; it's good to have a place to put it out there. Good luck in moving forward!

I had been on a plateau for quite a while, couple months, and it took a week's worth of not eating (involuntarily) to break it. Now I'm at 140, and I feel like I didn't "earn" it. How messed up is that? :mad: The things we women put ourselves through.

I know that the closer you get to your final weight goal, the more difficult it gets to lose those pounds. But I am beginning to think my body is as stubborn as my brain.

Body: Your not the boss of me!
Brain: Who do you think puts food in your cells
Body: And who do you think triggers those insatiable cravings!
Brain: Oh yeah!
Body: Bring it!

I guess it's game on - brain vs. body!

I've been losing and gaining the same 5 pounds for 3 months now. For some reason, this time feels like it's gonna stay off. I can see the 120's on the horizon...hope to be off this plateau soon!

I am sharing the same struggle. I was happy last week when I was finally down two pounds from before the xmas holiday. But after super bowl I am back up those darn two lbs. Well hopefully after Valentines this will come off permanently.

We'll be there in time for swimsuit season!

I'm also in plateau land, but it's not my body that is so stubborn, it's my mouth. I just can't seem to keep to my budget. I've been teaching classes in chocolate making, so my house is full of the stuff and I'm having self control issues. I do really well allllll day long and then at 4:00-4:30 the control blows all to pieces and I eat like 400-600 calories in 2 minutes and then I'm toasted for the day. Nice eh? At the very least I can say I haven't gained any weight.

almeeker,
I am so impressed that you even try to keep up with your wonderful, creative cooking and baking activities. I loved your stories about gingerbread houses over the holidays and how since you weren't particularly fond of gingerbread it wasn't much of a temptation. But chocolate - that's really unfair :eek:.

You know, it really doesn't matter what I'm doing, that 3 to 4:00 PM time has always been difficult for me. Often I'm not really hungry, but a little bored with day, tired of work, but it's not yet time to settle into evening activities. In winter as the sun is starting to set I get a little bluesy. Sometimes, if I can get through it, I'll get a little burst of energy that will take me through till 6 or 7, but mostly I have to fight the urge to snack and/or nap :o.

Hi, Pam - I thought I'd check out some of the other threads to see if anything fit better for me. And I found you here. I admire that you're doing crossfit workouts! My husband does "modified" versions that he gets online at the "crossfit" site--he signs up for the "daily workout". I checked out a gym specific for crossit, but did nothing. I feel I have to get fit first just so I won't embarrass myself! So keep up the good work.

You mention inflammation. Years ago hen I did a marathon, triathlon or extremely hard effort, I would retain LOTS of water for a couple of days. I knew/felt it was related to the workout. Someone explained to me that water is retained in the muscles so they can "heal" and that made sense. You probably already know this.

So what thread would you recommend? Everyone seems to chat between themselves, so I thought I might find one that might be more for "newcomers."

Hi Sandi,
Welcome to the forums. Sometimes you just need to jump into a discussion and see where it take you. There have been several that I have started that went nowhere, and others that took off. Sometimes a topic really resonates with folks at a particular time and doesn't at another time - who knows why. For example last year we had quite a runners thread going in the exercise section, but this year nadda.

You know... my word to the wise about starting a new exercise program is that there is no time like the present! I have heard lots of women say that they didn't want to start an aerobics class, or a yoga class, or sign up for a fitness program until they had lost weight, and you know what? They never sign up 'cuz they don't lose the weight.

Hey watta ya think an exercise program is for :D.

My Crossfit gym has folks at all levels of fitness and in all sizes and shapes. The coaches are wonderful at adapting the workout of the day for the skill levels of the atheletes. And they seem to take special pride in coaching someone who can barely lift 5lb weight when they start, to hoisting a 35lb barbell over their head. Their job is to help you succeed. Your job is to show up and put in the effort.

By the way, when a thread goes off topic like this it is a called hijacking - and I am famous for it :p. But I'm not sure if you can hijack your own thread :rolleyes:

Pam

Hi Pam, I am also Pam.

I have been on this plateau since before Thanksgiving. Like someone else said, at least I havent gained any back, but I am not losing any either :(

I cant even pretend it is just my body adding muscle since I have been in a deep funk and havent done any exercize at all.

I am not sure where all my mental motivation went but it definately went and I cant seem to find it/get it back.


I am hoping that if I just continue to eat like I know I should be, and Spring draws near, my motivation will pop up like those 1st flowers of Spring.

Good luck to all stuck in hell!

LOL, I dunno if you can hijack your own thread. I'm famous for hijacking too, never have been diagnosed ADD, but I'm very easily distracted - oh look a chicken...

Hi Pam,
This winter seems to have gotten everyone down. All I can say is that Spring is on the way, hang on there girl! You've done so well and the holidays were just a pause in the plans. I'm sure you'll be back on a "losing streak" soon.

Any chance of at least getting a few walks in? I remember years ago someone told me that the only thing to do on a rainy day was to put on a raincoat and get out in it. If you stay inside wishing for sunny weather you just get bummed out. And you, whoever it was that told me that, was right. It works for cold and snowy weather too. (Up to point... anything below 0 I just can't dress warmly enough for, brrrrr).

Thanks for checking in!

Pam

Yes chocolate is a problem. Gingerbread I can have a little piece here and there and I'm okay with it, love the smell of it baking but it doesn't make me ravenous. Chocolate binges tend to escalate exponentially, one piece leads to 10 or 12. The other bad part for me is that when I get a craving for it, I want something very specific, and unfortunately right now I have allllll the ingredients on hand and events/people to make them for and well I wouldn't offer you something special that I hadn't taste tested myself right? And when I make confections, they don't all turn out perfectly either, so those are rather easy to eat as well. It snowballs and it's gotten ugly, thankfully I haven't gained anything, which for me this time of year is one for the win column. Thankfully I haven't whipped up any truffles or rum balls.

I one time read a study about the afternoon "dip" (although they called it something else). There is a formula to figure out when your body hits it. I want to say it's exactly between the hour you wake and the hour you go to bed, for me that's about 2:00pm, this is the point in the day where your body is gearing up for fasting/sleeping/etc so there is actually a chemical reaction you're responding to. It has something to do with the cortisone levels etc etc. Anyway like clockwork it hits me like 2:00-2:30 and I fight it well enough until 3:30-4:00, but once the kids get home and commence snacking, I have trouble.

I was thinking of starting a new threat, however this post is on the Plateau topic so I'll do it here.

I have been losing differently this time around. I will go ten days where I lose fast then 7 -10 days with no loss and even a pound or 2 gain - then off it goes again. I've hit my 3rd cycle of a no loss week. My average is almost 2 pounds off a week for the 6 weeks I've been at it. It's just hard to deal with the no loss weeks. My calorie count and activities have been fairly consistant.

I'm a scales addict. At least this time I've stuck with it through the no reward phases and recognized this pattern. I am going to start entering the gains so I can keep better track of it and see if the mini plateaus occur at the smae pace and last the same length of time. Hopefully that will make them easier to handle. I hope this one ends before my "official" weigh in day tomorrow.

Mary

I just started Fitday a month ago, lost 6 lbs pretty quickly and felt so proud of myself. Now seems to be slowing down....am trying to get myself motivated again. Haven't really tried tracking carbs etc, had just cut down on total calories and also started Jazzercise. Maybe I need to switch gears and do something different with my diet? Any ideas?
I normally eat oatmeal with milk for breakfast, have a regular 300-400 calorie lunch of pasta/rice/sandwich and a yogurt, then have some veggies for dinner, always making sure I don't exceed my limit (except on two occasions of eating out!).
Thanks for all your ideas and encouragement!

Hi Alka

Are you getting enough protein? I find journaling my food intake and activity very helpful. Then you can look at your nutritional balance. Sticking with it works. I know how hard it is to stay motivated when the losing goes on hold for a while. Having a food plan you can live with -- treating this like a life style change - not a diet helps. Hope the weight starts coming off again soon.

Make sure you check for other changes -- loose clothing or looking better in your clothes or feeling better. I'm a scales adict and like to see the numbers going down but getting into some of my smaller clothes is rewarding too.

Mary

Thanks for the reply, Mary. No, I guess I haven't added protein to my diet. It's mostly carbs right now. Yes, I should make that change and see if it helps...

I'm on a plateau as well. I was all excited because I lost five pounds right off, but I am now about a month in and not losing anything at all. Some days, I've even gained!

I'm a life-long excerciser, so I know clinically I shouldn't be so concerned with the number, but it definitely is playing tricks with my mind.

My clothes alternate between tightish and nicely loose, which I think is water weight and muscle building at present...but man, I'd like to push past this plateau and move on! I've stepped up my workouts some, but there's only so much more I can actually do, with a full time job and mommy duties. :( I do think I look better and my energy is better most of the time. But gah! It sucks to work out for an hour a day, four or five days a week, plus a long run on weekends, and see no change on that stupid scale! :o(

Thanks for starting this thread - it feels great to say something about this to someone who gets it!! DH is all "You look great, like always". Not the point!!!! I wanna meet my goals!

Add me to the group! Although I am still under my goal weight, I had gotten down to 116 lbs. last summer and stayed there until Christmas. Over the holidays, I put on 4 lbs. and it seems like I lose a pound, then it's the Super Bowl. Gain it back. Then I lose a pound and it's Valentines Day... you get the picture. Lose a pound during the week, gain it back on the weekend. Very frustrating. A recent injury has also kept me from my usual activity level so I've even cut my calories back accordingly but still nothing. I know from past dieting that I just have to hang tough and eventually my body will give it up.

So, keep doing what you're doing and don't give up. Frustration is a formidable foe. Keep positive and picture the end result... you'll get there.

persistence and patience...
 

... ARE RUNNING OUT:eek:

OK I feel better, sometimes ya just gotta yell!

...will...hang... on... another... week :D

I just have to ask, are you slipping in to Capt Kirk mode or cartoon Batman?

Tee hee,
It's Capt. Kirk, all the way!

If it's Capt. Kirk, it should be "Will....hangon...another...........week." :p

How right you are, Lizzy ;)

Hmmm. is this a plateau or not
 

I have a big question for all of you:

So, while the scale hasn't changed much, I have actually reached my size goal of petite size 4. Does this count???

Went shopping today 'cuz I really didn't have any decent pant for work. Pretty much everything I tried on that fit and looked good was a size 4 :eek:. I seriously do not remember ever being a size 4.

Last fall when I went back to for a check up with the Diet Doc, I went with the intention of losing 10 lbs. ( I was 138 at the time) He said based on his experience and his knowledge of me, that it was probably not a very good personal goal to expect to get to, and maintain, 128. But he asked if I had a size goal and I said yes: size 4. This, he said, was quite possible if I added some weight/resisitanct training.

So here we are: about 4 weeks into a serious weight training program, 135lbs and at size 4 (BTW I'm 5'4" medium build)

So what do you all think? is 128 just a number???

I reasonalbly happy with my figure. I think my body fat is in the mid20s, but heck, I am 53... what are your thoughts.

Pam

My two cents?
 

I think if you're happy where you are, everything else is just a number.

Goals change. I had a goal weight, then it went to a goal body fat percentage, then it started morphing into fitness goals. Now it's goals for my motivational thread (I keep typing that as "threat" by mistake; take that, Sigmund Freud. But I digress). I'm trying to shift from quantitative to qualitative goals, because as much as I like numbers and data, I don't want to live and die by them.

I say, if you can get out of bed each morning and feel happy and comfortable where you are, then the rest of it be damned.

Thanks Cassie,
But aren't you up a little late?
Never the less, I appreciate your wisdom.

Pam

Well said. And much appreciated from a fellow plateauer.

Pam - First of all, congrats on the size four! I was like O_O reading your post, because I'm also 5'4"-ish, and my weight goal is somewhere between 120 and 140 (whatever feels good and comfy to maintain). Seeing you say that 128 was a size 4 -- holy moly, I have NEVER been a size four. I remember very distinctly being a size 7 in a Halloween costume --- in 7th grade!

The thought that being of a similar height and weight as you could even put me anywhere NEAR a size four makes my brain hurt!

Now, I'm a curvy girl (thanks grandma!), so size four might never be feasible, but even getting close to that is a WOW, what a motivator!

As much numbers-obsessed as I am, I keep telling myself that once I hit my "goal weight threshold" which is 140, I'll take a good long look at myself to see what I want. If I want to be leaner and meaner, I'll go for it. If I feel perfect at 140, I'll stop. If I feel like I want to try 130 or 120 on for size, I'll try it. If I just want to focus on strengthening, I'll do that and let the numbers fall where they may (within reason :D) I think cj said it wonderfully -- goals morph and change, and you gotta go with the flow and be in-tune with yourself and what you really want.

That might change, and you gotta be cool with it. You're the only one who knows if you're plateau-ing or not! :D

I was on a plateau since mid-January and was able to break it by spreading out my calories more evenly throughout the day. (Eating something small throughout the day, rather than 3 meals.) Give it a try. :)

size vs pounds
 

First off... congrats Quinn! Sometimes just changing things up a bit helps - well done in grazing with a purpose :p. I think I may be off the plateau too as my body has finally gotten used to the new exercise routine. Hooray for shear dogged perserverence!

But what I really want to respond to was taubele's comments about size. You know, when I first decided that it was time to get a little thinner I was 170lbs, and a size 10-12. I really wasn't all that unhappy with my size (at the time) I just wanted to be a better athelete. When I met with the diet Doc, my goal was to lose 30lbs and be a size 8. I really didn't have much comprehension of how sizes related to pounds.

After losing the first 5 lbs diet Doc asked if I had dropped a size. Wow, thought I, it only takes 5lbs???? For me it was actually 10 lbs before I was an 8. But all of a sudden I had a new image of me - and I kinda liked it ;).

In truth, I reached my goal of 30 lbs (140) which was a size 6 in 3.5 months. Lost a few more over the summer and pretty much held there for a half a year of so while I was making exactly the assessment you talk about. The kinds of thought exercises Cassie and others mentioned - am I comfortable at this weight? If not, why not? Am I trying to make up for something else? etc, etc, etc. Ultimately I decided why not? Let's get into the 120's and get body fat closer to 20%.

Now, I've always had a pretty compact little body, and I am quite active (did the screen name give it away?) but I have a feeling, my dear taubele, that size 8, 6 or even 4 is well within your grasp. But as we all know, it really isn't the number that is important, it is how you feel. So I love you plan to hit the goal, give yourself lots of kudos for your success, spend some time figureing out how to maintain in your new svelt body, and then see where you are mentally and physically.

I gotta a feeling, in a few months, you will be writing this post!

I just have to say this week, that time of the month I was happy that I did not gain any weight. The funny thing is I was sick for a week and did not exercise at all three days last week. Maybe I just needed the rest. I have been cycling at around 149-152, exercise at least 1-1 and half hours. I am at 149 so I am hoping this plateau has finally ended. Although I reached my first goal of 150, (I am 5'3" with medium build) I wanted to get down to 140. I am a size 12 and reading the above posts I am a bit envious. A size four I think might be a little bit out of reach but I would love to be at most a size 9-10. One more size just is going to take a little more effort. I plan on sticking to my plan and hopefully will see results soon. Good luck to all of you fellow plateauers, we will get there soon enough.

I actually stuck in plateau but didn't know. Finally I try something new. I actually doing Atkin for 2 weeks which limit my carbs for 20g a day. Today is day 6 and I loss 2.6 pounds. I am happy and it give me motivation. I think I can get my goal.
Mai

I know I could never follow the carb restriction of Atkins, but I agree that when in a plateau, changing your usual ratio is a good way to snap your body out of it. The body gets used to what you do and changing anything (including exercise) sometimes wakes it up and breaks the plateau. Thanks, Mai, for reminding me of that.

Climbing off the plateau
 

'Morning all,
Well, I thought I was seeing the signs of it last week, but I've been fooled before. But the weigh-in this morning was a strong indication that the plateau is over. Can't say that I really changed anything up the way others have, although I am back at the mountain house over the weekend, so back to the land of ice and snow (I usually reside in sunny Southern Calif).

For me it was sheer presistence - I just refused to give up, or in!

So, don't you guys give up or in either. You are the boss. Just stick with it, change things up if that seems in order. As many have said: Staying the same weight sure beats gaining weight!

Pam

Oh man, I certainly hope so Pam :D

I'm quite discouraged at the moment because I've only been at this for about two months now, and I've hit this weird little plateau right above 200 lbs. that I can't seem to shake -- for almost three weeks now, the scale has been bouncing up and down, barely budging in the right direction. I keep telling myself I will get through it, but it seems like every week there's just a little thing to set me back :) I know I just have to power through. Maybe 200 lbs. is a mental as well as a physical barrier (or maybe even moreso!)

I really appreciate the encouragement, and I'm just looking forward towards the day when I finally blast through this first plateau. I'll figure myself out. Whatever size the final goal is, I know that I'll feel better than I have in my entire life, and that feeling is worth more than gold. We'll just see!

Hi Guys,

I'm joining in too on this thread.

So tell me: is it a plateau if I've been here for like oh um 30 years on and off? I seem to keep juggling the same 10-20 pounds over and over depending on my mood and motivation.

The only times I stayed really thin were when I starved myself and/or worked out like a maniac. I can no longer do either!!!

Help!!! Help!!! Captain Kirk to the recuse?!?!!!???

Hi Canary,
Welcome back, I hope you are OK. I was thinking about some of your posts the other day and realized that I had not seen you screen name in a while.
:D A plateau is a plateau no matter how long is last :D So you might as well come on up and enjoy the view.

taubele, I think the weather and season is wrecking havoc on many of us. Sometimes I think that is why New Years resolutions fail. Who can stay motivated when it is cold and dark out. It is just so.... uncomfortable. It just makes me want to hunker down indoors. (And I live in Southern Califorinia :D) Now if we made Spring equinox resolutions, I think we all would be much more sucessful.

Come to think of it... I will try to remember to initiate a Spring Resolution Thread on March 20. But If I forget, I'd appreciate it if someone else started it.

Pam