Weighty Wednesday -- Plateaus Equal Maintenance

So this last week I managed to lose 2.6 lbs. Yay!

I have a long way to go to get back to goal and maintenance, but at least it still isn't going up, right?

Plateaus were the topic of discussion this week at my Weight Watcher's meeting. A plateau is a stabilization in your weight where you are neither losing nor gaining weight over a period of a month.

Plateaus happen.

As frustrating as a plateau can be look at it this way--you aren't gaining any weight! 

If you are in weight-loss mode and have reached a plateau a couple of things might be happening.

• You are getting too relaxed in your 1) portion control--weighing and measuring, 2) tracking--you've stopped writing down everything you put in your mouth, 3) you've reached a weight that your body was stable at for a long time, or, 4) your metabolism has adjusted to the amount of exercise and nourishment your body is receiving. 

Plateaus can be a good thing. 

Look at it this way: Plateaus are a way of practicing how to maintain your weight when you reach your goal. 

Yes, I'm sorry, but you still have to be careful with your food choices AFTER you reach your goal weight. But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the occasional splurge.

This last week I ate a couple of pieces of pizza. The key here is that it happened one time during a seven day period, not three or four times.  You have to keep in mind that you have to keep making good choices when you are eating. 

Shaking up a plateau

So what do you do if you manage to reach a plateau and want to shake it up to continue your weight loss. 

You have to go back to basics

• portion control--start weighing and measuring again. Somewhere along the way you started 'eyeballing' the size of your portions and have let them grow.
• if you do nothing more than making a point of getting your healthy guideline boxes marked, you are well on your way to breaking out of your plateau. Eating the right quantities of fruit/veggies, FF milk products, healthy oil, whole grains and lean proteins will put you on the right track. 
• Write EVERYTHING down that goes into your mouth. If you ate a lump of brown sugar to satisfy a sweet craving, figure out how big it was, calculate the points, and write it down. If it embarrasses you to write something stupid down, so much the better! Don't eat it then. :-)
• AND don't forget to drink your water! This doesn't mean diet drinks, this means water! Yes, you can count the diet drinks toward your daily H2O, BUT you have to remember that your body thinks it's getting a sugary product and will treat it accordingly by releasing insulin into your system. Not something you want if your body doesn't have something to process. 
• Change up your exercise. Try a class at the gym. Take a different walking path. Whatever you do differently, it will charge your batteries again. 
• Stay away from processed foods. Stick to foods in their natural state as much as possible. There's a reason you can't eat just one potato chip. Flavorists (food chemists) design the processed products to make you want to eat more of them. If you can, just don't have processed foods in your house. 

And that's a basic list of going back to basics. 

If you've had the same problem I have had with gaining weight over the long winter hibernation, try these suggestions out and let me know how they work for you!

Later, Peeps! 

Weighty Wednesday -- Body Image

I don't know about y'all, but I know I enjoyed my three days off over Memorial Day weekend. Hubby thinks I'm on vacation all the time, but not really as there is always little stuff to do to keep the house and family running smoothly.

Anyhoo, I enjoyed my weekend: food, drink, family and friends. There were some social gatherings: helping Grandma move her art studio stuff from one location to another. And some family time: experimenting with various rubs and sauces for smoking ribs. And friend time: Hey, Y'all! *waving*.  And during this weekend all of us ate and drank as we hung by the swimming pool.

Even though I KNOW I over did it (food and booze) this weekend, I still walked and I still tried to eat healthy--if not healthier, then just until I wasn't hungry any longer--but I did enjoy margaritas and beer.

Guess what?

I didn't gain any weight!

I didn't lose any either, but I'm okay with that, because I DIDN'T GAIN!

This was the first social occasion of the season that I wore a swimming suit. In the past, I've worn swimming suits, but this is the first year that my measurements are the same as when I got married (except my waist--it's 2" larger--go figure). I had to buy a couple of swimming suits.

I looked good and I felt good. Hubster calls me TB (teeny butt) now, instead of WL (wide load).

--No, he never called me that! I'm just embellishing here!

But the interesting thing is that I THINK I look the same as I did 45 pounds heavier even though I KNOW I'm wearing a smaller size and weigh less.

I totally understand anorexic people who think they still look heavy even though they aren't.

Weight loss is such a mind game. Sometimes your mind doesn't SEE the change. They key is to find some way to reset your thinking.

For me, it's the scale. I've always been a scale jumper and I'll die being a scale jumper. I want to know HOW my body's weight fluctuates throughout the day. This familiarity keeps me sane, while it would drive other people bonkers.

I know I'll never become anorexic because I enjoy my food too much, or bulimic--ewww!, but I will always have to be on the lookout for the weight gains.

Remember--body image isn't just about how you look on the outside, but how you feel on the inside. It's the stuff on the inside that gives you the confidence and attitude to tackle anything!

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Graph Time!

Up 0.4 lb this week, with a total weight loss of 43.2 lbs!

Though I'm up a little on my weight, and I've been plateauing for quite a few months, it doesn't mean there isn't room for celebrations!

I had to buy clothes on Monday. I ended up with four blouses, one pair of black jeans, one pair of capris and two pairs of shorts. The blouses are smalls and the jeans, Capri and one pair of shorts are a size six. The second pair of shorts was a size FOUR.

I have NEVER worn a size four in my entire life--EVER . . . even when I weighed 116 lbs! So either sizes have gotten larger or it is due to the low slung waist on the current clothes. I don't know and I don't really care because . .  .

the decreased clothing size is something to celebrate.

But I'm going to talk about graphing your weight. With Weight Watchers you have access to their etools, and one of the tabs is the ability to watch your weight graph. It gives you the big picture of what is going on in your weight loss.

This is my graph from when I started losing weight last summer to yesterday.

Notice the dramatic decrease in weight for the first part of the graph when I was losing weight quickly? I was tracking my food, exercising daily and marking off my daily healthy checks.

Notice the graph since the pink dot on the right.

This is a beautiful plateau line. But if you also notice, it's a very, very gradual decrease over the last four months.

AND I'm okay with this.

Don't get me wrong, I want to reach goal and become a lifetime member, but I'm willing to do it slowly.

Why?

Because for over 20 years I was stable at this weight, in the 1980's until 2000 (preggers).

During that time I had a stable weight at 133-136 pounds . . . my current weight.

So the purpose of this blog is to remind you that your body will periodically stabilize. It's up to you to keep on track and switch up the game enough to fool your body to start losing weight again.

The way I'm doing this is by taking a second walk while my kidlet is at swim practice. I walk for about an hour, which gives me 3 activity points.

I have faith that you can do this, too.

Later, Peeps! 

Weighty Wednesday -- Those Last Five Pounds!

I finally hit MINUS 41 POUNDS!!

Er, I've been flirting with the forty pound mark (both sides) for months now, and tell you what, I'm sick and tired of it!

When I went to WW today, my leader asked me whether or not I had a weight goal set. And my comment was that I did and these last six pounds were the worst! Two of the life timers within my range of vision were nodding their heads. Good to know that I'm not alone in this.

I listed off the factors that I think contributed to this:

1) I used to weigh around this weight range for years

2) my body is stabilizing

3) Though I'm exercising, I've probably converted all the fat I can at this current pace of calorie burning

4) I've become lazy with tracking

5) I've stopped weighing and measuring

So what needs to happen?

I need to shake things up--yes, we've already had this conversation, but obviously I wasn't paying attention at the time.

There are a few things that play to my advantage:

1) Ash Wednesday is next week; the start of the Lenten season, in which, I'm giving up alcohol (wine and Bailey's mainly) and sugar (candy and desserts). Forty days to buckle down and focus.

2) Spring is coming. I'll be out doing more yard work and spending more time outside instead of inside trolling for food

3) It is warmer and it's staying lighter longer. And I'm taking advantage of this by adding a second walk during the day.

My goal is to reach 130 pounds by Feb. 29th, then I'll have six weeks of maintenance to do during Lent. With diligence, I should make lifetime by May/June.

Does this mean the weight challenge is over? 

Oh, no--It just means I've won the first battle, the war will continue my entire life.

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Plateaus: Good, Evil or simply Frustrating?

Everyone who has gained and lost weight has also experienced plateaus. By the Weight Watcher definition, a plateau is where there isn't a weight loss over a four week period.

I've been on a semi-plateau since Thanksgiving. I haven't stayed the same, instead I've lost/gained/lost/gained, etc. When I gain, it's usually less than the amount that I originally lost, which provides for an overall weight loss. The only way to verify this is by plotting my weight chart. overall there is a decrease in the chart, though not very dramatic.

Plateaus are a normal part of losing weight, and there are numerous reasons for them, which is why I think they are good, though frustratingly evil.

I will point out that I haven't done an in-depth scientific study, instead these are just my observations.

Why do I think plateaus are good?

1. Plateaus show an ability to MAINTAIN a certain weight
2. Plateaus happen when the body adjusts to a new weight after a weight loss
3. Plateaus happen when a body loses weight and stabilizes at a previously stable lower weight

The body wants and needs to stabilize at a weight before it has the ability to lose more weight. Plateaus can happen at any stage of the weight loss journey. But think about it. Your body will lose weight in the same pattern as it gained weight. If you plateaued while gaining weight, it would make sense that you will plateau while LOSING weight. For example: Prior to my gaining so much weight, I weighed in the range of 135-145 lbs for YEARS. It only makes sense that my body was/is happy at within that weight range.

Plateaus are evil and frustrating.

. . . er, YES.

Eventually, if you maintain your low/balanced healthy diet along with exercise, you will eventually start losing weight again. But the problem is we want it NOW. Humans don't have the patience to wait. 

So when you reach a plateau and you want off it, then you need to do something to jump start it.

1. exercise--increase time or intensity
2. diet--track, track, track, and decrease the carbs and add more fiber, which means more fruit and veg while decreasing refined grains.
3. Overall eat less food

I'm happy with my current exercise program and if I try to increase it, I'm afraid I'll burn out.

I should track better, but I don't want to go there again at this point in my weight lose journey.

I have a goal to reach my goal weight (130 lbs) by the end of February.  And I think I can do it, but if I don't seem to be getting there, I'll kick it into gear around Feb. 14th.

I REFUSE to regain the weight I've lost. PERIOD.

Plateaus happen. It's how you deal with them is what counts. If you freak out and start eating, then you need to buckle down and rethink your plan. Or you can learn from them, realizing that plateaus happen and if you keep to the program eventually you'll start losing weight again.

Later, Peeps!