When you hit a wall……..take a week off

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missjelika
missjelika Posts: 115 Member
in Success Stories
First I would like to apologize for the length and typos:blushing:

So i'm gonna start by saying that when I put in hard work and see no results, i get frustrated just like everyone else and I just want to quit.

This happened to me two weeks ago. for an entire week,, I worked out for about 90 minutes a week. I tried to eat back some of my exercise calories, I lifted weights, ate healthy. The whole shabang.. when i weighned in the scale stared back at me screaming I had lost nothing. not even a pound or an ounce, NOTHING. the exact same number form a week before was staring back at me.

To say I was screaming in frustration is to lie. I wanted to grab my scale and fush it down the toilet. This had happened to me before. I was excersing a lot and was not seeing any changes in my scale numbers. after reading a bit about it on MFP. i found people who said that their trainers would suggest taking a week off exercise becasue their bodies where becoming acustomed to their daily toutine and were not burning as effectively. one even suggested that taking every 8th week after 7 weeks of exercise would do the trick.

The first time I did it, I tracked all my calories and almost always went over my 1200 but i never went above my maintenance. I LOST 3lbs. the Most I had lost in one week since I started to actually dilligently tract my weight loss.

So last week when I hit the wall again. I promised myself I would take a week off. It was hard. I was afraid that I would gain back the pounds I had lost. But I made myself not go to the gym. I would wake up at 5am and lay in bed debating wether I should just go coz i was awake anyways. but I knew that my body needed a break, that i needed to jumpstart my weight loss.

So today I step on my scale and I have LOST 4lbs. I wanted to marry my scale. Jumped up and down infront of my mirror and sang crazy songs.

I needed this. to remind me that i can do this, that I dont have to be so intense all the time and that I need to listen to my body.

Anyways. back to the gym today.



PS. I also drank crazy amounds of water and green tea. I think that really helps.

Replies

  • alexbowser
    alexbowser Posts: 322
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    Definitely something I'll try next time I plateau.
  • nenamartinez
    nenamartinez Posts: 140 Member
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    This seems to be a pretty common thing... I have to keep it in mind for whenever I hit that wall.

    Congratulations on your losses!!
  • Christina1007
    Christina1007 Posts: 179 Member
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    I wanted to marry my scale.

    I wish I can marry my scale one day. He still doesn't quite fancy me.
  • kmbrooks15
    kmbrooks15 Posts: 941 Member
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    I'm glad you posted this. I've been on a forced break due to gallbladder surgery. I was hoping that the break might help kickstart things when I'm allowed to get back to it fully. Glad to hear that it works!
  • THISisTARRAN
    THISisTARRAN Posts: 487 Member
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    VERY GOOD TOPIC! Yep, totally agree. I like to say that weight loss is like taking off nail polish... sometimes it comes off a little easier if you put a fresh coat on top of whatever has been there a little while. LOL
  • bllowry
    bllowry Posts: 239 Member
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    I'm going to try this; my left knee 'popped' out of place Wednesday and is swollen and painful. According to the scale I've gained 2 pounds even though I've been at or slightly under my calories all week, so I'm sure its water. I pushed my kneecap back in place, now it just has to settle down, so I'll see where I am in a week.
  • ogottwald
    ogottwald Posts: 60 Member
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    What a great Post and thank you for sharing! I'm just starting out but when I hit a flat point in my weight loss I will give your approach a shot!
  • briggsl23
    briggsl23 Posts: 15
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    What an great post, and very inspiring,..I am facing a majory surgery 4 days after xmas, I have been working out and eating healthy for 2 months now, and Ive lost 20lbs to date, but ive been confused on if I should increase my calorie goal of 1200 because I was working out 6 days a week..and normally after working out for the first 4 days, I see a loss on the scale, but I actually gained 2 lbs one week, and then nothing at all the next so just been completely fearful that I will gain my weight back while im in recovery, and will not be able to workout for atleast 3 weeks.. so reading this post, really inspired me that, I can do this!!..I promised myself that I will not weigh myself for awhile and just workout and eat right until surgery day... Thanks for the post, and glad to hear your losing again!!>.
  • jaybee25
    jaybee25 Posts: 117
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    Hmmmm maybae I need to give this a go ... My platau has really staqrted to bug me !!
  • zyzz_brah
    zyzz_brah Posts: 16 Member
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    agree 100%. the times I've plateaued taking an entire week off from the gym and not being so strict(but don't crazy) with the diet got my weight loss going again once i started everything back up. I also recommend maybe trying a new diet also if you plateau, that to has helped me in the past.
  • tangiesharp
    tangiesharp Posts: 315 Member
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    True, true, so true
  • BeanyFrog13
    BeanyFrog13 Posts: 161 Member
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    I take a break every so often as well, still log everything, and then get back on track and lose! It's awesome that it's working for you!
  • sc1572
    sc1572 Posts: 2,309 Member
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    Wow...that's AMAZING! Congratulations! The scale can definitely be the enemy...I have weeks where I don't change, and nothing happens. Then, I go off and have a night out and go way over, and lose weight.
  • MariaAlbinaxoxo
    MariaAlbinaxoxo Posts: 290 Member
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    thanks for posting this! I had been hundreds of calories over my goal for three days thanks to my TOM this week and couldn't exercise due to pain and felt like a failure. Hopefully because I was not over my maintenance that it helps me out.
  • Sookie_182
    Sookie_182 Posts: 72 Member
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    bump thanks a million ive hit a major wall... been constant for 3 weeks now! mind you I have been picking a bit more and not exercising as much coz college is on top of me at the mo... hopefully I can get back on track with it next week!
  • crudd12
    crudd12 Posts: 63
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    I appreciate your post! I've been losing and gaining the same 5 pounds for a year now! I've tried everything so I think I will eat my maintenance calories for a week and see what happens! thanks for your post! I'm so discouraged I feel like quitting!
  • traceracer
    traceracer Posts: 303 Member
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    Vey inspiring!! Thank you!!
  • Gerald_King
    Gerald_King Posts: 2,031 Member
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    I will be trying that great advice thank you for sharing
  • jennykcmo
    jennykcmo Posts: 101 Member
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    I totally agree with this!!!!!!!!!! It doesn't make sense logically but I do think our bodies respond better when we give them more calories for short times. Maybe it's because we reassure our bodies that they have plenty of nutrition and don't need to hold on to any stored fat. I am so glad you did this and had these great results! I will have to remember it for when I have my next plateau.

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