Just saying hi.

lmdh2o

First time commenting. I am 72 years old. When my husband of 50 years died a year ago I decided to do the only thing that seemed in my power at the time and try to get healthy. I've losrt 55 pounds and am much more active. I have been repainting and doing major house projects as part of my, staying active plan.
Thought I would reach out since I hit a plateau and then yesterday had a relapse and reverted to old eating habits. Time to make a few adjustments. I have 12 pounds to go to hit my preliminary goal weight . My diet is no name really, just Michael Pollan's advise., "eat food, not too much, mainly plants." And I avoid sugar and processed food.

AnnPT77

That sounds pretty perfect, as an overall strategy!

As a widow myself (though only about 21 years of marriage as he died at 45), I think it's really important to rededicate and reframe. I've seen some women retreat into isolation and grief, and the results are usually not positive.

A couple of comments:

First, context. I'm 67 now, lost from obese to healthy weight at 59-60, maintaining a healthy weight since.

How long was your plateau? It's pretty normal to stall for 2-3 weeks, maybe longer, from water weight weirdness. If loss has been going at a reasonable pace up to the stall, that's a likely explanation. (It can be longer than 2-3 weeks for women not in menopause, but I'm guessing that at 72 you're menopausal like me.)

Also, if the stall is a slowdown (not a full stop) from a fairly aggressive loss rate, that could be good. A slower loss rate when close to goal weight reduces stress on the body, so may better manage health risks.

When it comes to the "reverting to old habits": Honestly, one day (or even a few) is a drop in the ocean of life. The majority of our days determines the majority of our results.

I'd suggest considering whether the extra/different eating was triggered by over-restricting (a thing that can also gradually increase water retention after a while, from stress, and mask continuing fat loss on the scale). If so, adjustments in your plan going forward might be helpful to avoid repeats.

I don't know what your routine is, but we do see folks here cut out all treats and things they think of as "bad foods", and/or try to lose weight very fast, and that can backfire. For myself, I tried to think of patterns (eating and activity) I was willing to continue to stay at a healthy weight long term, and practice those during the loss process.

Regardless, the occasional day of extra/different eating isn't a deal breaker. It will tend to cause a scale jump (mostly water weight and digestive contents), but the majority of that will dissipate over the following week or two. Sometimes a bigger-intake day can also release some previous water weight, so a lower weight shows up on the scale once everything settles out (no guarantees of that, but possible).

The key thing is to go right back to a normal, healthy routine after that day (or few) - no catastrophizing, because it's water under the bridge, but incorporating any lessons learned into one's plans going forward.

It sounds like you're doing great: I predict success, and I'm cheering for you!

lmdh2o

I eat very healthy and prior to my 2 month long plateau was losing only about a pound a week or two, never more than that. I eat between 1250 to 1350 calories a day but I am am not as active as I should be. I really think that my plateau may be broken though. When I Weighed yesterday after a few very active days, I had lost a pound. In spiite of my eating too much one day. Hopefully it will start a trend