Argh! I’m up a pound. This is definitely a plateau. I hate that word, mostly because I hate spelling words that have three vowels in a row. What’s with all the vowels? Don’t the French fear a vowel shortage? They better not come running to us when all they have left are consonants.
I hate this plateau because I don’t really know what’s causing it, aside from my Easter binge. I’m pushing myself in my exercise. I moved up from the Beginner’s Pilates DVD to the Intermediate DVD. I’ve also been adding running spurts to my treadmill time and increasing the incline when I’m walking. My eating is the same as it ever was, I think. I’ve been eating a bit more fruit lately, but that shouldn’t hurt, right? I dunno. I really don’t think I should be flatlining like this, but I am. Hopefully it’s just temporary and if I keep doing what I’m doing I’ll keep losing again.
These last 65 pounds really are going to be hardest, aren’t they?
erin says
May 6, 2006 at 12:36 pmI really like your blog. You are such a good writer. I hope you don’t mind some unsolicited advice, but you might want to consider more weight training as you get closer to your goal. oxygenmag.net is a great source, their “way” has really helped in the home stretch. This is not spam by the way. Good luck!
Marly says
May 6, 2006 at 5:20 pmI know how you feel. I’ve been trapped in the high 130’s – low 140’s for all of April and now extending into May. I lose a few and get to the 130’s, somehow justify celebrating with a treat, go back up to 140, get depressed and eat and go up to 142, then panic and get back down to 138. However, I recently revamped my eating plan, so hopefully I’ll be steadily losing again soon.
Val says
May 6, 2006 at 7:07 pmI eat a lot of fruit but I take it out my dailies.
It’s really weird. I gained around Easter but not from the Holiday. My mom visited and I used some extra calories I deep down new I really didn’t have and didn’t exercise as much. We all make mistakes.
Gary says
May 6, 2006 at 8:32 pmTime to look into Weight Watchers…..
Sujaz says
May 6, 2006 at 10:23 pmWeigh in time! I’m so sorry about your plateau. I wish I could help but I really don’t know what will help you get off it. Maybe you should mix up your routine a little. Add some weight training, Do different types of activities. Walk somewhere you don’t usually walk. You need to do things that keep your body guessing. Maybe try other gym equipment then the treadmill. The fruit shouldn’t hurt, if you are working out you’ll burn up the good crabs and sugars from the fruit anyway. Just don’t pig out on fruit.
I hope your plateau goes soon, good luck!
Len says
May 6, 2006 at 11:22 pmHey don’t be so hard on yourself, considering the fact that you’ve been really exercising I think you might have gained so muscle, hence the scale is not going to be going down.
If your clothes are getting baggy that means you’ve lost some fat, but have gained muscle
Hey if you’ve got time, or just need a boost check out my diet blog
http://diet–programs.blogspot.com
Karen says
May 7, 2006 at 2:39 amI don’t know if this will help or not and I am still working it out in my own mind but…I have noticed that when you have a starting weight of over 275 it seems that everyone plateaus somewhere in the 220s. I noticed this in myself in my previous weight loss effort and I have noticed it in other women on the various weight loss/diet boards. People then start to get kinda frantic and up their activity tremendously or cut their food intake drastically. But I think that might be self defeating. They do indeed break the plateau but the draconian changes to their food and exercise regime is such that no one could really stick to it for life. So they end up giving up and go off the rails completely.
Maybe we just need to be patient and allow our bodies or metabolism or whatever to adjust to the large amount of weight we have already lost. Once that has happened then I think the plateau ends and more weight will be lost. These are just my fairly nebulous thoughts and I could be wrong, but for what it’s worth here they are. Hope it helps.
scone says
May 7, 2006 at 11:39 amI agree with Karen, above. When you lose a lot of weight, the body almost has to “pause” at some point to recalibrate the system. If you think about it, you now need far less blood, lymph, adrenalin, estrogen, etc. than you did before, because you are so much smaller. And because all these substances are interrelated, virtually every system in the body has to be “reprogrammed” with new values. And while this happens, to some extent, along the way as you are losing, at some point the body just calls a timeout.
It’s a bit like software. You can keep tweaking an old legacy system, adding function and fixing bugs, but at some point you have to stop, because the old stuff is just too antiquated, and all that patchwork starts to generate its own bugs. You need a new system and needs analysis, so you can start over with a clean slate, version 1.0. And like all software projects, this process always takes more time than you would think. At least you don’t have to worry about going over budget. ;)
Kalmia says
May 7, 2006 at 12:11 pmHave you looked into the Shangri-La Diet to help with your weight loss? I roared with laughter when I first heard of it, but after investigating it I’m reconsidering.
Calling it a “diet” is a misnomer. It’s not a diet, it’s about taking a supplement twice a day that lowers your set point and your appetite while you eat a healthy diet, such as South Beach. The supplement — get this — is either a tasteless oil (extra light olive oil, *not* extra virgin olive oil) or sugar and water. You don’t eat or drink anything except water for an hour before and afterwards (this includes chewing gum, tea, coffee, cigarettes — i.e., anything with taste, including toothpaste if you brush your teeth).
I’m not going into the author’s theory here, but the premise is that taking in a small amount of food (calories) containing no taste tricks your body into lowering your set point. In the meantime, you continue with South Beach, or whatever healthy diet you’re on.
There’s information all over the Internet about this “diet,” but here’s a good place to start: http://calorielab.com/news/2006/04/15/interview-shangri-la-diet-author-seth-roberts/ . As usual, there’s a huge amount of anecdotal evidence on the Web as well.
Like you, I’m also on a plateau right now and am desperate enough to try it. It can’t hurt and might help. (Naturally, I plan to do the oil and not the sugar.) I’m skeptical, but have always believed in taking an empirical approach with things like this. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Kalmia says
May 7, 2006 at 12:21 pmI forgot to mention: another key point with this approach is to vary what you eat. Change it all the time. Eating the same foods day after day (according to Seth Roberts) tells your body that this food is plentiful so it’s time to store lots of fat for the hard times to follow.
Fat Bitch says
May 7, 2006 at 3:55 pmHi PQ,
I feel badly for you.
I agree with Erin – you are a wonderful writer.
This whole weight loss thing can sometimes be a real pain in the derriere, but with perserverance (and humor) we’ll get there, I know!
Jester says
May 8, 2006 at 7:54 amPasta –
As with other commenters, I can empathize with the frustration. It’s one reason why I get a little ticked when people say that weight loss is
“just simple math – take in fewer calories than you expend.”
It isn’t just simple math – your body has it’s own approach, and sometimes the numbers just don’t add up.
But you seem to have the right attitude, no matter how long it takes you, you’re on the right road and you’re determined. Eventually, you’ll get to your destination.
To quote Red Green (Canadian TV show, if you’re not familiar), “I’m pulling for you. We’re all in this together.”
little miss ess says
May 8, 2006 at 9:15 amI know from experience how frustrating this is. Just keep doing what you know works–following your eating plan and exercising. Eventually the scale will start to move. It will. And you can remind me of this the next time I start bitching about being stuck :)
Shannon says
May 8, 2006 at 10:02 ami dont know why no one else has mentioned it yet, but you are exercising like a crazy person. muscle weighs more than fat, and you are probably gaining muscle like mad. i know it isn’t much consolation, but just know your metabolism is going weight up, and when your muscle growth slows down you will be back to losing weight!
Laura says
May 9, 2006 at 9:20 amI agree with Karen and scone above about the plateau around the 220’s–I went through it myself, but I was impatient and tired and didn’t push hard enough to break through it the first time. You’ll get there, though–be strong!
Your blog ROCKS. Love it, love it, love it.