Frustrated with Myself

I have developed eating habits now.... when I plateau, I just keep going. It's not like I will stop when I reach goal anyway. It's for life.

I did up my calories a bit... seems to be helping.

Just don't give up. It happens to most everyone.

I hit a plateau once for about five weeks.. I was nuts...then I changed up my exercise.. alternating strength ( P90X) with cardio ( treadmill/running)....and upped my calories just a bit..weight loss kicked back into over drive.... hang in there.. when you hit a plateau change it up... increase your exercise or change the type you do.. what most people do not realize is that if you do the same exercise every day.. you will not gain the benefits as quickly if you change it up. It worked for me!! I am down to my last ten pounds that I need to lose...and those are the most stubborn.. so I am due for a change up again this week ( after my half marathon) hang in there!!

First and foremost 2 weeks isn't a plateau and it is bound to happen so maybe you need to re-consider your expectations. You will not lose every week!!

If I stall for a while I tend to analyse it to death. I will look at what I'm doing to make sure I'm being really strict with weighing/logging etc and then look at what I can change. i.e change my workout routine a little or perhaps even go up to maintenance level for a week or so. I would not be expecting immediate results from these changes so it may be 2, 3 or even 4 weeks of 'playing' with things before I see the scale move again but in the meantime I feel like I am taking some action and that will keep me motivated.

I recently started lifting and increased my calories, went 4 weeks with only 1/2lb lost and just had to wait until my body adjusted I think, but have now lost 3lb in the last fortnight which is really good for me.

So my advice would be that if the scale stops moving then try to figure it out rather than lose hope and if all else fails, go up to maintenance, but make sure it is ONLY maintenance and then re-focus in a couple of weeks time. This way you at least don't put the 8-10lb back on!!

Here's a little project for you...

I like that you've filled out thost 3 areas on the left in your profile but I'd suggest you take them one step farther and set some solid achievable short and long term goals. and I don't just mean "lose x pounds by x date" because those can be tricky, even if you give yourself plenty of wiggle room. I mean more like fitness goals, healthy eating goals - I'll walk 2 miles 3 times per week or I'll get at least 3 servings of fruit and 3 servings of veg every day or I'll cut out soda completely by x date. Follow me?

Once you do that, you've got something to strive for and something to check up on when you have these days where you feel like it's not worth it. Also, download a bunch of motivational memes and save them under your profile pics so you can look at them when you need to.

Now as far as the plateau goes. First, as someone else mentioned, a plateau isn't just a week or two, it's more like a month or two. A week or two could be a myriad of reasons mostly involving either water weight or constipation. Example: for the last week or two, I've been up a few pounds because of water weight from humidity, PMS and a couple high sodium days. We're not just saying this to you to sound like know-it-alls, we're shaing this info with you because it's important to know and to remind yourself of when you get stuck. It's just a bump in the road and it will pass.

Second, instead of wasting your time and energy feeling discouraged and beating youself up, use that time and energy to come up with a plan. Maybe you need to change up your diet a bit or change up your workout routine a bit. Maybe you need to get better about planning and preparing meals or tracking more consistently or drinking more water. All of these will very likely help you push past these short term blips.

Above all, never give up. You'll never get to your goal if you keep quitting!

Lots of good advice here. I have been in your position before, where I gave up when I hit that point where I couldn't go any further. This time around I realized why it even happened, all due to the food I was eating. I was working out like a madman yet eating too many cals thinking that I could get away with it. It ended up that I was eating all my exercise calories back and my weight loss calories since I wasn't logging my food.

This time around, I've realized that even if I don't work out, I make sure I log my food and ensure that I don't go over. I plan plan plan like no tomorrow, it's kind of what I do for a living (FA) so it comes a bit naturally.

Don't give up and the results will appear.

I am feeling the same way. Except, I tend to do it when I lose five or so pounds. When my clothes feel loose, I get excited and go overboard with celebratory eating. REALLY frustrating!! I am down to very minimal clothing in my closet that fits me. Have no choice but to lose weight at this point. Wedding approaching and definitely do not want to buy a new wardrobe. UGHHHHH!!!! I have decided to set small goals for myself this time instead of unrealistic goals. If I can only remember that this takes time and consistency is key, I should do ok.

I think you answered your own question--when a plateau comes mix it up and fight thru it...

it's happened to me in the past.

Now? in this month and something that i've been here, I am not giving up. I am accepting that this is a journey, that it will take a while, and that there will be steps forward and steps backwards and maybe some standing in place.

It's all good!!!