I'm Really Struggling
 

I've been really struggling this last week or two, since before Christmas really.
On 18th December I weighed 16st 1.5lbs/225.5lbs and since then the scale has been up and down every single day.
It's been as low as 15st 12lbs/222lbs and as high as 16st 2.5lbs/226.5lbs. Today is my third day going up and is 15st 13.5lbs/223.5lbs. :?:
Granted my routine is out of whack as here in the UK we've had lots of snow so DD's school has been closed and I've not been able to get to the gym the last two days, but this is getting silly.
I feel so down about it, am actually near to tears today. I'm panicking that I've hit my first plateau or that I'm never going to lose anymore weight and I'm losing all control.
I really don't know what to do but I feel like I've been on a rollercoaster since before Christmas and I want to get off and get back on that ski slope I was on til then.
Does anyone have any words of wisdom please if you've been there and got through it?

I don't have any words of wisdom that come from having got through it as I'm right there myself. My weight's been fluctuating too. I'm not sure I can call it a plateau as I can't put my hand on my heart and say I've been on plan over the last few weeks (and we've had some similar weather as you).

My guess is to keep your head down and keep going. If you're right on plan with food and exercise then by the laws of physics/weight loss/whatever it is, at some point it will have to come off.

Even though we (*ahem* I do this a lot) anthpomorphise about our weight, it's not a conscious being, it's not sentient, it doesn't have a will of its own. It follows a set of rules - pretty complicated set, to be sure, but my point is that it's deterministic - and if we continue to put the right input into the system, the right result (weight loss) will come out of the system. Eventually ;)

As the thinking whole, we do have control over the system. Ok, we didn't make the rules, but at least no-one's tweaking them! It's your body. You control what goes in and what it does. No-one else. And because of that you can have confidence that whilst the time scale may not be to your liking (hehe!), it will happen. It will come off. The delay is not the black box stubbornly refusing to co-operate; it's the black box being a bit more complicated on the inside than we realise.

At least, that's what I'm going to tell myself! :D Best of luck and keep posting :)

Just popping in ...

LM - the snow! I was hoping to get back to routine and then ... You know the rest. :hug:

Remember that weight does fluctuate, especially around periods. 4 1/2 lbs is a pretty normal fluctuation. Keep on going and try to move around as much as possible if you can't get out. (For what it's worth, I've just done 2 x 15 mins walking up and down in a fairly small room, with a sandwich filling of 30 mins stretching).

How old is your DD? Could you get out with her? My DB has just come in covered in the white stuff.
Salsa - this is such a good thing for me to hear this morning! Thanks!

Hello from accross the pond! Loving, I know this is not how you feel right now, but losing over 50 lbs in 4 months or so is pretty darn admirable from my point of view. I don't know if eating changes are causing the plateau...If that's it, the "Three Day" (come **** or high water) plan will get you back on track. After three days it gets so much easier !!!
On the other hand, there are also other reasons: muscle gain, fluid retention, not eating enough for long periods, temporary adjusments and other mysterious and evil body tricks....this is where the lovingme part comes in...don't dwell on the scale...just take care of youself as you know you should. Every chick needs to know that it is all about getting up again.

My weight has not budged since October, so I know how you're feeling. Unfortunately, this has happened to me more than once, so I'm used to it.

I'm struggling with some depression over my plateau these past couple days, which is annoying but real, so I have to deal with it. It helps me a little to keep reminding myself that if I don't keep eating right and working out, I will stop being stuck, but my weight will go right back up again, and I don't want that. I never, *ever* want that.

So I keep plugging away. Sometimes changing up your diet helps break a plateau. Maybe if you found some exercise you could do at home while you're stuck inside, even if it's just stretching/yoga/abs or whatever to make yourself feel a little better.

Your weight will start going down again! You've done amazingly well already, don't lose sight of that.

Loving Me, I agree with the previous posters. You have made awesome progress! Don't let this blib in the scale get you down. Try doing some fun indoor activities with your DD. Make a craft, coloring, turn the music way up and dance--you get the idea. Also, this would be a great time to do something soothing and rejuvenating for you, like a bubble bath, give yourself a mani-pedi or a facial mask, etc. It sounds like you need to give yourself some TLC. You will be back on track in no time.

Also agreeing with the others. You've made incredible progress!

Also agreeing that you should make some indoor activity a priority. Put the radio and your dancing shoes on and get moving. Buy yourself a Walk Away the Pounds by Leslie Sansone DVD and get moving.

I would also food journal really, really tight for a few days (weeks?) - every bite, sip, lick, taste and crumb. It's a great way to *see* if any improvements can be made. And a great way to put an end (if they exist) to those few nibbles creeping in and derailing your hard efforts.

Make yourself a big pot of warm yummy soup to have on hand. The cold weather is also a good time to do some re-organizing in your home - now THERE'S some instant gratification. Hang tough. Have some patience, though it might be difficult. Ride it out. Persevere! Time passes VERY quickly and with it so will these ups and downs. Well the downs are okay, it's those ups we're looking to do away with ;).

LM Hang in there!

I completely understand where you are coming from. I got completely excited when I finally hit the 220s, then I bounced back above 230 and stayed there for almost a month.

I was getting totally discouraged and frustrated!!!

But you CAN stick with it, because you've proven you already have.

One thing I would recommend is to scutinize your food plan and see if you notice any subtle changes. I did this and in my calorie count was roughly the same, but my food choices were slightly different.

I went back closer to what I was eating when I was losing faster and shazam!

Of course, it could just be coiincidence-- but it made me feel like I was doing something.

I'm of the totally unscientific opinion that when it's really cold our bodies hold stubbornly to every pound.

You've come so far! You can get through this, I'm sure of it.

I would stop weighing yourself every day--those daily fluctuations can make you crazy. I used to be an everyday weigher (in fact, I would weight throughout the day, I thought it was interesting that it went up after I ate and down after I went to the bathroom).

Weighing every day worked for me in the beginning to make sure I was on track, but now that I've familiarized myself with eating healthy, I only weigh once a week. The daily changes started making me crazy!

Thanks so much girls for the advice and encouragement, I really appreciate it as I've no-one in my daily life who gets it lol.
I'm feeling a little better this afternoon thankfully. DD's school was open today so I went straight to the gym after dropping her off and had a good workout. Felt really tired during it and it was hard, but did it all the same, although didn't help that my ipod was totally flat and I didn't know til I started my workout lol.
I know I've still been on plan food wise, but have probably had more sodium than normal the last few days, so I've upped my water today to see if I can flush it out.
And I think paris81 is right about the daily weighing not working for me. I was doing only a weekly weigh in up til just before Christmas and changed because I'd only had a tiny loss one week, but I think the daily weighing is just making me more obsessed and at the moment at least sets my mood for the day, which isn't good. Tomorrow (Friday) is my official weigh in day so I think I will weigh in then and then go back to my weekly weigh in only and see if that helps me.
I'm just hoping and praying that I can get myself back on an even keel routine wise and the number on the scale starts to co-operate again.

Thank you for sharing your struggles! I think you should be proud of the awareness of your body that you have gained. At least for me, I always know I'm in trouble when the gain on the scale is too hard to admit or look at...so I just push it out of my mind. (You can probably imagine what happens afer that!) Be proud that you are facing this head on and that you are finding ways to surpass this hurdle. I say "Congrats!"

Everyone else said everything I was going to say! Just know that I understand HOW you are feeling... and my holiday swings were those of up to 15 POUNDS and not just two or three... lol!!!!

Hang in there.... if you are working your plan then your plan will work for you!!!!

wanted to add a quick hang in there! Christmas was only a couple of weeks ago, and even sticking on plan it can take the body a little while, a week or two, to register that. remember long haul, ha. plug away and you will see results.

I know a lot of people weigh every day and it works for them, but I started doing that and it drove me batty; sometimes I do it more than once a week, but cutting back on that has helped me mentally.

Well I'm still struggling even though I've been sticking with it the last few days and have managed to get to the gym again.
I just have this feeling of panic and dread that this is it, no more weight loss allowed for me.
It's my birthday a week today and the one present I'd love is to see a lower number on the scale than I have before so I guess I just need to keep plodding along.

Could you be putting too much pressure on yourself for a birthday loss and that is freaking you out (and psyching you out)? If you find ways to work in activity/exercise and eat everything you need to be healthy than your body will change. Heck, your body may be changing (for the better) now and you just can't see it in the scale yet. I read your posts and it seems like you're panicking a bit, and seem on the verge of giving up. Every day you KEEP GOING on your weight loss journey is a victory and you keep adding enough days and you will see the scale go down. You have come SO FAR and I know that if you keep going things will start going down again.

Maybe make some mini-goals to meet? Like "today I will add in non-exercise activity (dancing around, jumping jacks, march in place random times, etc etc)" or "today I will only drink water" or anything else that might shake things up and maybe make you feel better. Some very good advice I've read, lately is "change makes change".