Do you have a "wall"?

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CattOfTheGarage
CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
edited March 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
A podcast I was listening to brought up the concept of a weight loss "wall" - a weight that you struggle to get below, not because of physical difficulties but because you have a mental block - you just can't imagine yourself being that light and so when you approach the boundary you self-sabotage or quit. The interviewee said this happened to her several times at the 200lb mark before she finally got a handle on it.

Anyone else identify with this? I think I have a bit of a block about 12 stone - somehow it just feels like the difference between being "fat" and being "almost normal" and I struggle with the idea of being lighter than that - it sounds wonderful but at the same time impossible and a bit scary. It's the point I reached last time before I stopped logging and made a wrongheaded attempt to maintain without logging or weighing (of course I put all back on plus 7lb). As I'm approaching 12 stone again, I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts on this idea.
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  • leoniemcdee
    leoniemcdee Posts: 21 Member
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    I've definitely experienced a wall. Weirdly, mine was at 12 stone too. It took me 6 months (in which I gained about 6lbs) to break through. Now I've broken through I seem to be mentally stuck again. Did the podcast provide any useful tips for overcoming it?
  • size102b
    size102b Posts: 1,370 Member
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    12 stone too I get just past it then stop it's really frustrating
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
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    You mean something akin to the set point theory?

    I think it's a common experience for a lot of people and damn annoying.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Yeah mine is 190's. After reaching onederland it seemed I lost steam. I bounce between 190-195. It coincided with 6 months of being in a deficit which is usually when diet fatigue sets in and with 2 family members having a serious illness.

    The positive note is I can maintain for 2 months lol!!

    I've gone back to zig zagging my calories as of yesterday, it seems I like having high and low calorie days. I'm getting back on track with my workouts too so stay tuned I'll bust that wall and hit 180's soon!
  • missh1967
    missh1967 Posts: 661 Member
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    Yep. I hate it.
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
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    I'm currently running up against a wall... Bloody annoying too!

    I'm below obese BMI (barely but below). I'm just 4kg off from being lighter than I've ever been as an adult. I've been stuck in the same 2kg range since December. It's a bit of a strange idea to think I'm that light and can't really seem to wrap my head around that fact. In my head I'm still 30kg heavier and I'm laughing at the idea that I might be creeping closer to normal weight. Sorry girl, but that can't be true (it is... in case you're wondering).

    I know what I need to do to get lighter, but between my incredulity that I might be that light and the fact that my appetite has been enhanced by a low dosage hormonal BC (side effects: migraines and an appetite to rival a dragon's. The others I tested were a lot worse), I've hit the wall - HARD.

    I'm actually proud that even with all of that, I'm maintaining my losses and not stuffing my face silly (which I totally would if I weren't tracking my food intake). If I can manage to shift those 4kg to reach 'lightest I've ever been as an adult' within this year, I'll be ecstatic (I had planned with a 10kg loss for the year, but that plan has been scraped). The reality will probably be closer to: spending the year in maintenance to try and develop strategies to deal with the appetite so that I can again cut my calories lower without that gnawing feeling of hunger creeping up into my brain and devouring everything in its path on the way up... I'll also need to develop strategies to deal with my silly brain. Yes brain, I DO deserve to be that light, so go bugger off please!

    Since I'm a bit stuck (hormones be damned!) I'm using the opportunity to work on my fitness goals:
    - run a 5k (I can run it, I'm just not sure if I wouldn't currently be faster walking, so I'm trying to improve on my speed)
    - do 10 unmodified push-ups in a row (I can do them with my knees to the ground... so getting there)
    - Stronglifts 5x5 has become my new best friend (loving how my jeans are fitting right now...)

    So even though my scale is currently stuck and I can expect little to no progress on that front, my body is changing for the better. It's a learning experience and I'm definitely up for the challenge.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
    edited March 2017
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    msf74 wrote: »
    You mean something akin to the set point theory?

    Not really. Set point implies a physical tendency to be at a certain weight. I'm thinking about a psychological barrier. A head problem.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Duplicate post
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
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    leoniemcdee wrote: »
    I've definitely experienced a wall. Weirdly, mine was at 12 stone too. It took me 6 months (in which I gained about 6lbs) to break through. Now I've broken through I seem to be mentally stuck again. Did the podcast provide any useful tips for overcoming it?

    I think mainly awareness and changing mental attitude to challenge the belief that you can't be lighter. As @jelleigh said, the Success Stories forum could be a good source of inspiration.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
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    150 ish ...i seem to be hovering lately :p Been here a month hoping to break through soon, I have hit 145 on dehydrated days, but no matter what i do i keep getting back to 150 xD And thats with walking 5-10 miles a day and a semi large defecit
  • kristikitter
    kristikitter Posts: 602 Member
    edited March 2017
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    How interesting!!

    The more I consider it the more I think, for me, it's 10 stone - when I get there I'm like Oh right, I'm skinny now. I'm 5' 4", for reference.

    I would actually look better with another stone off (a weight I haven't been for, like, fifteen years). My optimum slenderness is probably closer to 8 stone!! And I can't even picture it - to me that involves not eating anything and agonising over every bite.

    I do have a lot of psychological blocks, including just not being able to understand how people can't eat enough to maintain a healthy weight. I look at a Mars Bar and gain five pounds... or it seems that way.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Seems simple enough to deal with. If you are eating at a deficit and nearing your "wall" then just quit weighing for a couple of weeks so the next time you weigh you are past it.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Yes. For me it's apparently 115. I've regained a couple of pounds from there. I think I'm going to get back to there and maintain and recomp. I wasn't accounting for loose skin and what the weight of that was doing to me.

  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    I hovered around the upper end of the 160s for a long time last year, losing incredibly slowly. Some of it was my mental health and some of it was just struggling with compliance because I was basically back where I was at my smallest as an adult. More about dress size for me psychologically as it's only since losing I've used a scale. I was a large 12/small 14 (US 8-10) and my whole life I felt totally cool with being that size and when I started that was the size I wanted to get back to. Getting smaller felt entirely alien.

    For whatever reason I got over myself at the start of this year and I'm now in the 150s nearly a size 10 (US 6) and have got my eye on a healthy BMI, which is in the 140s. I'll admit, it feels pretty good!
  • Glasscandle
    Glasscandle Posts: 134 Member
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    Major kudos for tearing down that wall!! Great job!
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
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    TimothyFish wrote: »
    Seems simple enough to deal with. If you are eating at a deficit and nearing your "wall" then just quit weighing for a couple of weeks so the next time you weigh you are past it.

    That's an intriguing dodge, I wonder if it would work or if I'd still find reasons to eat extra and sabotage myself.

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