Maybe the plateaus are vital for recovery?
Ooci
Posts: 247 Member
Anyone know how long you can losing weight? How long you can go on feeling starving, feeling shaky, feeling faint, near to tears with hunger? (I'm the type of person with a genetic predisposition to produce too many hunger signals, I want to eat 2200 per day, I only can have 1450 for weight loss to occur and that's with a lot of exercise)
It's occurring to me that rather than cursing and despairing at my since October plateau, I ought to celebrate it. On the days that I've broken my regime I've felt really great, shiny eyed and full of energy. My body is saying stop, you've done enough weight loss. My mind is saying I'm not there yet. The plateaus are the bridge between the two.
Gotta keep reminding myself how far I've come!
It's occurring to me that rather than cursing and despairing at my since October plateau, I ought to celebrate it. On the days that I've broken my regime I've felt really great, shiny eyed and full of energy. My body is saying stop, you've done enough weight loss. My mind is saying I'm not there yet. The plateaus are the bridge between the two.
Gotta keep reminding myself how far I've come!
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Replies
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Take a two week diet break. Best thing I've done in a long time.0
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If your second set of pictures is the after pictures, you don't look like you need to lose weight.0
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OR ... maybe they're just random noise in a stochastic, non-linear process.0
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SergeantSausage wrote: »OR ... maybe they're just random noise in a stochastic, non-linear process.
OK, I went to Oxford (they let anyone in these days) but going to have to look up stochastic! Like it!Liftng4Lis wrote: »Take a two week diet break. Best thing I've done in a long time.
I had one at Christmas. I stayed the same weight. Perverse!!TimothyFish wrote: »If your second set of pictures is the after pictures, you don't look like you need to lose weight.
That's a really lovely comment but you haven't seen the pouch! 5ft 0, now 9st 8, BMI 25.5 - NHS suggesting I get to 9st 5 to get in the healthy range.
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I tend to think that taking a break does help. I was still watching what I was doing, but for a month I pretty well slacked off on a lot of things and wasn't really losing or gaining anything. When I got back on track it started to drop off again. I think taking time to let your body do some healing and keep you from getting burned out is important and helps keep you on the path you want to be on.0
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Anyone know how long you can losing weight? How long you can go on feeling starving, feeling shaky, feeling faint, near to tears with hunger? (I'm the type of person with a genetic predisposition to produce too many hunger signals, I want to eat 2200 per day, I only can have 1450 for weight loss to occur and that's with a lot of exercise)
It's occurring to me that rather than cursing and despairing at my since October plateau, I ought to celebrate it. On the days that I've broken my regime I've felt really great, shiny eyed and full of energy. My body is saying stop, you've done enough weight loss. My mind is saying I'm not there yet. The plateaus are the bridge between the two.
Gotta keep reminding myself how far I've come!
You should never feel like this - that means you aren't eating enough calories to fuel your activity / workouts - your cut is too steep
go on maintenance for a couple of weeks then regroup at a lower weight loss goal0 -
Ooci, you know I think you look super-fabulous! At the same height and age as you, my plan for when I am under 10st is to eat my goal weight TDEE. I want to be around 8½ stone so I think this is at least 1750 and that is being light on the exercise. I figure I will still lose weight even though it will be slower, but by the time I get to goal I wont have to change my eating habits! That is if my scale starts to move again lol!0 -
You look great!0
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Plateaus are part of the process. They're tough to deal with but they're unavoidable for me. Pushing through them helps to power my resolve. To get through them I back off my daily goals a little and take it easy on myself. My trick is to not fall completely off the wagon.0
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How long did it take you to get from your "before" photo to your "after" photo? How much weight did you lose and over what time period?
I agree 100% with rabbitjb: If you're "feeling starving, feeling shaky, feeling faint, near to tears with hunger", then you're doing it wrong. You're eating at too steep a deficit.
You can lose weight at a smaller deficit. It will just be at a slower pace and therefore take longer. But that's okay, because it means you won't be miserable doing it, and you'll be much more likely to keep the weight off afterwards.
Maybe you didn't feel like you could lose weight eating more calories simply because it was coming off slow enough to not be noticeable in daily or weekly weigh-ins over the first few weeks. If you still have more to lose (and agreed, based on your "after" photos, I'm not sure you do) then when you return to eating at a deficit, start with 1800 calories and then just be patient -- eat that way for 2-3 months and you should see the weight coming off slowly.
The symptoms you described above are not healthy.0 -
I think plateaus are my system reaching equilibrium. I've also noticed inches coming off during plateaus, so good stuff is still happening.0
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I wouldn't necessarily say that just because you are above BMI 25 you need to keep losing. BMI is best used to understand populations and not individuals, and you could easily already be at a weight that is healthy for you individually. If it is inordinately difficult to lose more weight, then this may be a healthy weight for you. The symptoms you describe suggest that there is something medically wrong and/or you are eating way too little. You may want to get the medical side investigated.
ETA you look really great!!0 -
The symptoms you mention should never be experienced when losing weight-- you should really check in with your doctor.
I agree with the above- you look great and may already be at your ideal weight. Again, your doctor can help you with what an ideal weight is for you.
I'm 5'10" and my doctor has recommended that I aim for 200 pounds (25 above normal BMI for my height) due to my build.0 -
Hi - I can't tell you how LOVELY it is to be able to get this off my chest, thank you so very much for listening and taking time to respond with such great ideas and support.How long did it take you to get from your "before" photo to your "after" photo? How much weight did you lose and over what time period?
I lost around 35 pounds over 10 months. On around 1700 -1800 a day. Then it stopped. 5 pounds between last September and now, on around 1400 but with millions of slips. I wanted to do it slowly, I've tried at 1600, 1700, 1800 cals. The scales stay stuck. I'm 41, 5ft 1 and my frame is small. Maybe I should give it longer at 1600 as you say, as 1400 is actually torture for me.
Yes I have health issues - I have stage three endometriosis so every month my body is getting all the growths ready for a bleed. It's a very debilitating condition that has been massively helped with weight loss but that hasn't completely gone away. Period week and just before I do eat 2000 and get away with it.
A lot of the reason for the shaky and faint thing is because I quite often undereat with a social plan happening in the evening. I kill myself through the day with hunger and then eat my fill at the family gathering or whatever it is. At the end of the week the weight's gone up or maintained and yet I've had that suffering. It isn't fair on myself but what can I do? Not eat over the 5 meals at the mother in law's 70th birthday weekend? Buy my best friend afternoon tea with all the scones and fancies and get my salmon salad out of my handbag? It's so very hard I'm afraid and I freely admit I don't manage it very well. It feels like steering through icy waters filled with rocks of Christmas, birthdays, holidays, friends visiting, anniversaries.
As for the extremely kind comments about not needing to lose more, the bare tum photo needs to be seen!! Taken just now at 9st 8! I think there's around 12 lb just sat on that alone. I can't blame childbirth for its shape as unfortunately endometriosis has made me completely infertile and I've never been able to conceive. I have had a lot of very invasive surgery and laparotomies which haven't helped.
Anyway I can sit here complaining and getting you great and generous people to give me advice but at the end of the day I know the answer is to just plug on and eat as many slow releasing energy foods as I can get away with, and accept it might take me another year to get to 8.7 xxxxx0 -
You have made so much progress
It might take another year .... and then this time next year you can post your "after" after picture 0 -
Okay, your rate of loss and your goals both sound healthy and reasonable. I don't see any cause for alarm.
If 1400 is "torture", then yes, try 1600 and just be really patient. You're smaller so the losses are gonna come slower. But it's like a molecule -- it's there even if you can't see it with the naked eye. Look for trends over time.
As for fasting all day to prepare for evening feasting, I understand 'cause I do that too sometimes. The thing is, everyone reacts differently to that. For some people, it's no big deal. Other people have symptoms like you describe, with headaches and stress and intense hunger. Sounds like you're one of those people for whom this plan just doesn't work that well.
Instead, try this: When you know you have a special occasion or social event, don't fast all day -- just eat smaller breakfast and lunch, but still eat them. If you're eating 1600 calories, eat 300 for breakfast and 300 for lunch and save 1000 for your social dinner. 1000 calories is a LOT and will feel nice and indulgent for dinner, without making you suffer needlessly during the day.
And, no need to put special food in your purse and skip the social meals. Eat what's on offer; just load half as much onto your plate. And say "no thank you" when offered seconds.
Good luck with it!0 -
Hi - I can't tell you how LOVELY it is to be able to get this off my chest, thank you so very much for listening and taking time to respond with such great ideas and support.How long did it take you to get from your "before" photo to your "after" photo? How much weight did you lose and over what time period?
I lost around 35 pounds over 10 months. On around 1700 -1800 a day. Then it stopped. 5 pounds between last September and now, on around 1400 but with millions of slips. I wanted to do it slowly, I've tried at 1600, 1700, 1800 cals. The scales stay stuck. I'm 41, 5ft 1 and my frame is small. Maybe I should give it longer at 1600 as you say, as 1400 is actually torture for me.
Yes I have health issues - I have stage three endometriosis so every month my body is getting all the growths ready for a bleed. It's a very debilitating condition that has been massively helped with weight loss but that hasn't completely gone away. Period week and just before I do eat 2000 and get away with it.
A lot of the reason for the shaky and faint thing is because I quite often undereat with a social plan happening in the evening. I kill myself through the day with hunger and then eat my fill at the family gathering or whatever it is. At the end of the week the weight's gone up or maintained and yet I've had that suffering. It isn't fair on myself but what can I do? Not eat over the 5 meals at the mother in law's 70th birthday weekend? Buy my best friend afternoon tea with all the scones and fancies and get my salmon salad out of my handbag? It's so very hard I'm afraid and I freely admit I don't manage it very well. It feels like steering through icy waters filled with rocks of Christmas, birthdays, holidays, friends visiting, anniversaries.
As for the extremely kind comments about not needing to lose more, the bare tum photo needs to be seen!! Taken just now at 9st 8! I think there's around 12 lb just sat on that alone. I can't blame childbirth for its shape as unfortunately endometriosis has made me completely infertile and I've never been able to conceive. I have had a lot of very invasive surgery and laparotomies which haven't helped.
Anyway I can sit here complaining and getting you great and generous people to give me advice but at the end of the day I know the answer is to just plug on and eat as many slow releasing energy foods as I can get away with, and accept it might take me another year to get to 8.7 xxxxx
First of all, you do look great. I don't think it is crazy that you want to lose some more weight, but you've accomplished a ton and I think you look much better to the rest of us than you may to yourself. If losing weight means having those symptoms it's definitely not worth it (in my opinion) unless you know from your doctor that further weight loss would really help your conditions.
Medical issues make this very tricky, and it makes being accurate about everything so much more important. I definitely can sympathize that you don't want to feel left out or like a non-participant in your social life. It might be worth experimenting with that though (e.g., bringing your own food), and see for yourself if it might be worth it to you.
Personally, I don't like to eat less on days I will be going out as I think it sets you up for having slips and just generally is not a great way to manage it. I think if you want to adjust for it should be by cutting out 100 calories a few days before and after the occasion. Or just go a bit higher on intake and exercise more.
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Thanks so much for that advice girlviernes and segacs, I'm going to try to be kinder with myself and more patient. I think the advice to not get stupidly hungry just because there are things coming up is very good. I also hadn't considered clawing back on another day.
I think also this coming weekend I'm going to experiment with taking my food as I did not choose this social engagement and I feel resentful at my mother in law scuppering January's weight loss with an entire weekend of feasting when she also helped to make December unsuccessful. It's mean to blame other people and to end up hating them for this - yes I think much better to take tupperwares of calorie counted food.
- The compliments mean a lot, I know UK size 12 people look good in clothes and I include myself in that. But that apron of fat is not a healthy thing at all.0 -
Are you weight lifting? I'm thinking that this will help a lot with changing your body even more. Along with a small deficit, you won't be hungry but you'll still see changes. I'm at the last bit of my weight loss and it's going to move very slowly - I'm giving it a year to really lift a lot, have a 10% deficit and keep going. While the changes will also be slow, I can handle this sort of 'diet'.0
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Ok, I'm going to try adding in weight training to my regime - not lifted any for many years. Thanks. And good luck with your last bit too!0
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I think your incredibly cute xx
Ironically there was a show on about Endo last night, my heart goes out to you. These women were in chronic pain.
The only advice I can give you is have some patience, easier said than done I know. I've lost 11kgs in the last 3mths pretty easily, but I'm down to my last 4-5kgs and now I'm losing around 1kg a month!! It's painfully slow, but I'll get there eventually, and I reeefuse to lower my calories any further!
As someone else mentioned, try weight lifting. I've seen some wonderful results....... on other people lol myself, I'm going to start soon ;-)
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I'm definitely a fan of taking a break from deficit eating once in a while to reset and release some stress. Holidays are a great time to do that since there's so much food-centric social activity. Just make sure that your break is temporary, and that you set a date in advance for when you're going to get back on the wagon, and stick to it.
When you do, try to find foods you like that are lower calorie, higher bulk, like veggies. Then make sure you add: protein, healthy fat, and fiber. Those three things, in addition to the high bulk veggies, will keep you feeling fuller longer.
I've found that cooking with coconut oil makes me feel satisfied for much longer (I don't buy into the coconut oil woo, but I tried it for the high smoke point, and liked it for the effect on satiety.) I've even made a frosting out of coconut oil, cocoa, a touch of honey and cinnamon, to spread on whole wheat crepes, and ended up feeling stuffed. That has become my go-to when I'm feeling like snacking all day, and it's very satisfying and stops the desire to snack for the rest of the day, for less than 200 calories.0 -
The whole wheat crepes - are they in the supermarket? Or do you make from scratch? Sounds good.SnuggleSmacks wrote: »I'm definitely a fan of taking a break from deficit eating once in a while to reset and release some stress. Holidays are a great time to do that since there's so much food-centric social activity. Just make sure that your break is temporary, and that you set a date in advance for when you're going to get back on the wagon, and stick to it.
When you do, try to find foods you like that are lower calorie, higher bulk, like veggies. Then make sure you add: protein, healthy fat, and fiber. Those three things, in addition to the high bulk veggies, will keep you feeling fuller longer.
I've found that cooking with coconut oil makes me feel satisfied for much longer (I don't buy into the coconut oil woo, but I tried it for the high smoke point, and liked it for the effect on satiety.) I've even made a frosting out of coconut oil, cocoa, a touch of honey and cinnamon, to spread on whole wheat crepes, and ended up feeling stuffed. That has become my go-to when I'm feeling like snacking all day, and it's very satisfying and stops the desire to snack for the rest of the day, for less than 200 calories.
I've never had coconut oil - I wonder if we have it in the supermarket in the UK?
Will look.
Such sound advice about the balanced diet - the difference between eating as you describe and eating junk is massive in terms of how you get through that diet day. I'm trying to ditch things like white bread and rice, and trying to include veggies at every meal. It takes effort. But well worth it.christinev297 wrote: »I think your incredibly cute xx
Ironically there was a show on about Endo last night, my heart goes out to you. These women were in chronic pain.
The only advice I can give you is have some patience, easier said than done I know. I've lost 11kgs in the last 3mths pretty easily, but I'm down to my last 4-5kgs and now I'm losing around 1kg a month!! It's painfully slow, but I'll get there eventually, and I reeefuse to lower my calories any further!
As someone else mentioned, try weight lifting. I've seen some wonderful results....... on other people lol myself, I'm going to start soon ;-)
Good luck! And thanks for the sympathy with the endo - I went through a very painful year with a 10cm cyst on the left ovary, since it was removed I've been given a new lease of life. The new healthy diet and weight loss is stopping more big cysts growing, I think. xxx
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Good for you - you are doing amazing. You look great. I love your attitude as well. Best of luck going forward 0
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Congratulations on your weight loss. You log terrific.
I've been on a year plateau, on purpose though. I love maintenance.
Oh, if you're feeling like you're starving, you might need to see the doc. You should not feel like that.0 -
Shaky and faint would last about two minutes - the time it took me to go to the kitchen and get something to eat. If you feel like that on a regular basis, you need to call a doctor.
I eat a lot of healthy food, so hunger isn't really an issue. Do you have any idea how many fruits and veggies you can eat for 1000 calories? More than you'd want to eat! Hunger never needs to be an issue.0 -
To me, plateaus are a product of iffy measuring practices. If I hit a plateau, but I'm still staying under my calorie goal, I start weighing in a little less often for a while. Even on a major plateau, I'll see some benefit after three weeks between weigh-ins rather than three days0
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Thanks guys. I think this thread is a good wake up call for me. I need to make a lot more effort with veg. And take the weigh ins more slowly - I weigh several times a day and tear my hair out needlessly.
I did Slimming World to begin with and lost around 25 pounds on that and then it stopped working. For those unfamiliar with the plan it's unlimited Free Food that must be cooked from scratch without fat. Fruit, veg, lean meat, pasta rice potatoes and pulses are all free food. The naughties are counted as "Syns" and you can have 15 points worth of those per day - a chocolate bar, or a couple of glasses of wine, for example. It seems to work brilliantly for high BMIS and for people who've been having a terrible diet.
But it isn't very good for ladies on the smaller side in my opinion. I can easily eat 2200 cals on a Slimming World day. So, I switched to My Fitness Pal, and the absolute freedom of it has led me back to old habits- a little cereal at brek, fruit, perhaps a sandwich at lunch, a 100 cal treat, a calorie counted normal dinner.
It isn't as good as having a big cooked breakfast with mushrooms and tomatoes and beans and then a huge bowl of soup at lunch. I know that, I need to put the work in to avoid the hunger. My day is often physically hard ( for example I've 5 solid hours of tennis today) and it's no good not having proper fuel at breakfast and lunch.0 -
I feel your pain, I would like to lose another 7/8kg and I've hit a wall since September last year..... I do my 1200 calories and exercise 40minutes a night on my treadmill, people tell me I'm fine the way I am but I'm not happy till I get this weight off :-( I just give iPad to how it's ever going to budge... Good luck with your goal :-)0
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So sorry to hear about all the medical things you are having to contend with, that must make this journey so much harder. You have a great, positive outlook though. I have no doubt at all that you will definitely reach your goal
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