What I learned on my seven month plateau

JeanneTops

I'm a big believer in plateaus. I think they help prepare us for how we're going to live the rest of our lives once we're happy with our weight.

I've recently (in the past two months) started losing weight again after seven months of staying within a two pound range. I'd given up on expecting to lose more weight and focused on learning how to maintain my weight or, as I prefer to think of it, to not gain the weight back. Here's what I learned:

1. That I can go on vacation, eat what I like, come back and lose the extra pounds.

2. That I can eat healthily and enjoy exercise even when I don't lose weight.

3. Logging what I eat and exercising every day is not a burden - it keeps me on the right path.

4. That my weight goes up and down from day to day and week to week but over the long run - over months - stays the same.

5. That what I weigh now is the normal me. I am not a fat person who has lost weight. I am not a thin person who has gained weight. I am just me.

6. That I like the way I look. I look like me.

I know some people are going to wonder what I did to get off the plateau. I'm tempted to not say since I think it's a big mistake to do something different just to get off of a plateau. I know, in the past, I've worked extra hard to get weight loss started again only to not be able to sustain it in the long run. I don't see any point in losing weight if you end up gaining it back.

What I think caused my weight loss to start again wasn't something I did in order to start losing weight. I had some MFP friends who were exercising in a way that sounded fun so I decided to try it as well. Succeeding at it gave me a sense of accomplishment and success that I've really enjoyed. Because of those feelings, I know that I will keep it up. The weight loss has just been an added bonus.

So my advice: find something new to do that you enjoy and makes you feel successful. Will it make you start losing weight? Maybe only if you don't care whether it does or not. Just enjoy life!

Jeanne

arewethereyet

Thanks J! Will read again when I return home from a long day at work!

TavistockToad

great post!!

meredith2780

I love your post! Especially when I came down to #6 how you love yourself. I think that's the aspect that people don't get. They don't know how to delve down in the inside and show how wonderful a person they are, it's all about the outward appereance. I always say that God made us the way we are for a reason so why fight it? The thing we can all do it keep this shrine healthy and love it, nourishe it properly. Until then we will never be excepting of ourselves. I'm with you happy where I am. My body tells me that I shouldn't be under 165 but I feel good. I've accepted it and I just workout to maintain to feel good, to get that nautrual high from the workout. We need to stop looking at the number and go by how we feel. How our clothes fit. A number is just a number that's all it is. The muscle in the body, the pumping of the heart, the fresh air in the lungs, softness of the skin and beautiful smile on a face outweighs any number on a scale. Thanks for posting your plateau thoughts.

thistime38

I love your post! Especially when I came down to #6 how you love yourself. I think that's the aspect that people don't get. They don't know how to delve down in the inside and show how wonderful a person they are, it's all about the outward appereance. I always say that God made us the way we are for a reason so why fight it? The thing we can all do it keep this shrine healthy and love it, nourishe it properly. Until then we will never be excepting of ourselves. I'm with you happy where I am. My body tells me that I shouldn't be under 165 but I feel good. I've accepted it and I just workout to maintain to feel good, to get that nautrual high from the workout. We need to stop looking at the number and go by how we feel. How our clothes fit. A number is just a number that's all it is. The muscle in the body, the pumping of the heart, the fresh air in the lungs, softness of the skin and beautiful smile on a face outweighs any number on a scale. Thanks for posting your plateau thoughts.

Love this!! I agree it is what is inside that counts. Our body is our shrine and it is our soul people remember long after we are gone.

pukekolive

bump