What I've learned from this plateau

oedipa_maas

First of all, it's not a real plateau. My bouncing back and forth between 4 pounds for 2 months is a direct result of not measuring etc. religiously and overeating. My body hasn't settled on anything. I've settled on it. Oy. So there's that.

Ironically, it's also because of undereating. I don't eat enough, then I overeat to compensate. That's working well. I had an ED for almost 20 years, now mostly recovered, but that is a killer to unlearn.

I forget this is a marathon, not a sprint, and sit down hard on the ground when I'm not perfect. I'm not perfect? You don't say! All or nothing thinking. A lifetime struggle.

But something good is coming out of this understandable stall. I just absolutely refuse--REFUSE--to do this again. I just won't do it. I never sustain good habits over longer periods of time. I give up, especially when life is stressful or upsetting or in the least bit hard. I always turn to food. I don't replace how I deal with stress with more non-food-based ones. There is nothing wrong with a little food comfort. Food is good, it's wonderful, I love it. But not every time things hurt. It's crucial to come up with strategies to deal with stress. Do I do that? No. Wait, I take that back. I have kept up exercising. That's a big deal for me. So okay, more like that, please.

I have myriad health problems and disabilities, and I sometimes feel defeated by them. I accept that feeling; it's legit. But there really is stuff I can do even as I struggle; I need these feelings to be *passing* feelings. I shouldn't give up all the little things that push me forward. And I need to have patience. I don't have to measure myself by anyone else, at the same time I can feel inspired by others (like my friends on here especially). I take my medication like I'm supposed to and don't screw around with it.

I need to be better to myself, without yelling constantly about not being where I "should" be. Whatever, as long as I'm moving I'm where I should be. And every time I yell, I shut down. Challenging myself? Great! Lashing into myself how I'll never be good enough? Yeah, that hasn't worked for me. It just leads to treading water, or drowning.

Plateaus for me aren't "mysterious." There are reasons, pretty clear ones. What really matters here is to ride it out and not toss it all over.

We should never toss it all over; if we do, we'll look back and go, "I wish I was back at that plateau, instead of XX lbs. heavier like I am now (and again)."

eldamiano

Newsflash - plateaus are make-believe in the weight loss world. There is no magical force preventing from losing weight.

oedipa_maas

Newsflash - I just spent a whole post saying that.

GauchoMark

sucks to feel like you are putting out effort and not getting results, but glad you were able to learn from it! I've never met a "plateau" that couldn't be broken by reducing net calories - either from being more diligent at logging or actually reducing calories.

On a side, you might be able to use your undereating/overeating pattern to your advantage. You just have to learn to control it a little. Look into calorie cycling, intermittent fasting, carb cycling, etc. These can be very effective if you control it and do it right. Use your "bad habits" to your advantage!

eldamiano

oedipa_maas wrote: »

Newsflash - I just spent a whole post saying that.

You didnt. You spent 95% of the post waffling on about your dieting history.