[cherylmn]

I am still new to this website/forum, so I apologize if this topic has been discussed ad naseum. I'm just looking for advice/suggestions on two items:

1. Surviving the dreaded plateau without giving up, and
2. Knowing what the "right" weight for your body & lifestyle really is

Background: I've been on the Slimgenics (formerly Slim4Life) plan since December 1 of last year. I lost the majority of my weight (50.5 lbs so far) by early April, and have been creeping up & down the same pounds ever since. I also started incorporating exercise around that time in earnest with the goal of moving that darn scale. I did ONCE see 149 (OK, I was naked & had just run 2+ miles but hey...there it was!), but for the most part, I'm between 151 & 153.

So part II then is about our body's natural set point - is there one, and how do you know if you are fighting against it? I'm getting worried that I *may* achieve my goal weight eventually, but have no ability to maintain it over the long haul. Maybe 145 just isn't the right # for me? How did you chose your goal weight?

Looking forward to hearing from you. I am sooooooo frustrated, but not quite ready to throw in the towel. Frankly, maintenance scares the daylights out of me...

Cheryl

[danni]

cherlymn All discussions help you and usually someone else. You have made great progress so far.

I have lost the same weight over and over again the last several years.
Everytime by clothes got tight I would cut back again and lose.

I retired one year ago and decided to get healthy for the sake of my children and grandchildren. This changed my whole outlook. I am now eating healthy and exercising. I am not going to stop eating healthy - that is what makes it a life plan and not a diet. Since I hope to look and feel better a year from now I don't worry as much about the journey - it's all part of the plan.
This helped me realize that the most important part of this is that I will not allow myself to go backwards again.

Wouldn't you hate to start over again and lose those same 50 pounds.
Don't let numbers on a scale rule your world. Just hang in there with healthy eating and exercise.

[caribbeangirl02]

Hi Cherylmn, I am also new to this web site but love the concept of learning from others, as well as providing feedback from your own experience. In my opinion, this is what makes the Internet such a amazing development for us as humans!!!
Just wanted to give you my two cents on your interesting post. First of all, I believe each one of us has to decide what is the right weight for us. Nobody can tell you that. Now, in my case, besides looking at the mirror and seeing how I look, I have also ask for feedback from my husband, family and friends. I am 45 years so I won't look the same with those 110 pounds as I used to look when I was 25!!!
I believe that your body is resisting your weight loss as a natural survival mechanism, your brain truly believes that you will starve to death if it doesn't "conserve" those extra pounds in your thighs!!
Other than that, I don't put too much weigh (no pun intended) to this very primitive instict we all have. Since most of us, have readily access to food on a regular basis...
As far as how to break the plateau, I am sure that you have read plenty of articles and idea about it, but I recently experience one of my own, I got stuck at 125lbs for approximately 5 weeks, even thought I was doing cardio(1hour /5x per week), strenght training (apprx 30 minutes/3 x per week) and watching my food intake. I learned that the situation required a more drastic approach. I decided to incorporate biking into my excersice routine (instead of walking). I also switched to a Vegetarian diet, which is something that I always wanted to do. The combination of these changes had an almost inmediate impact, all of the sudden I lost 3 pounds within 10 days, which for me is a lot. At 5'2, loosing 3 pounds makes a difference!!
In any case, I'm not suggesting that you must take such drastic measures, just sharing what seem to be working for me and provide you anothe perspective.

Best of lucks in your journey!!!


Caribbean girl

[EmmaD]

Hi, Cheryl! Congratulations on your weight loss so far!

I am the same height as you and I have been struggling all year to get out of the 140s. I keep getting close then slacking off and bouncing up in weight.

Here are the only things I know that might help.

First, when I started exercising regularly (pretty much an hour a day - strength-training, yoga and training for a 5K), I stopped losing weight. I don't think I was eating more - I track everything. Anyway, I heard all these stories about how running helped people lose weight quickly but it didn't work for me. I think if I had kept up with it regularly, eventually some slow drop would have occurred. And I certainly *looked* better.

Second, you (we) are not even considered "overweight" now (although I am certainly "overfat"!!!) so whatever weight loss that happens now will unfortunately be excruciatingly slow.

Third, goal weight is a vexing topic for me. Weighing less than 145, I am still 34% fat or thereabouts. So while I might be happy at a *lean* 145, I think I have to go below 130 to have my old body back - the goal weight on my ticker is 127!! - WHICH I now think is a completely unrealistic goal, given that so far I can't seem to go less than 140. So I guess I kinda gave up on even having a goal weight.

By the way, I've read stories of maintainers who reach their goal weight, start "maintaining" and drop more weight until they stabilize. I have considered just calling myself a maintainer and seeing what happens. Otherwise I just feel like a failure that I can't reach my arbitrary goal.

Like Danni said, it's a life plan. So the things I am trying to do to stay on track in the face of a uncooperative scale are:

1. Shaking up the diet. Aiming for increased protein, cycling calories, whatever, just something different than what you have been doing for a while ... I am trying limiting my grain intake and aiming for only ~40% of my diet from carbohydrates.
2. Fitness goals instead of weight goals. Could be time minimums (I tried an hour/day but am not there yet!!) or a goal like being able to run 5K without stopping or running a 10-minute mile, whatever.
3. Focusing on measurements or body fat % rather than the number on the scale. Easier said than done, hehe.
4. Trying to get more activity in day-to-day life. Not just going to the gym for one hour and sitting at my computer for the rest of my waking hours. I definitely lose weight when I have a LOT of walking in my life.

As a perpetual featherweight, that's what I can think of that has helped me. Hang in there and enjoy your new healthy lifestyle.

[yoyoma]

I think "set points" can be overcome and reprogrammed to a lower level-- at least it seems like I can. There have been many times that my weight loss has stalled or even trended up a bit when I was faithfully on plan. If I feel I am really doing what I can, I usually just stick with it and generally see some progress after a few months. Since I tend to lose weight slowly, it can be hard to see progress with all the noise from daily fluctuations.

Other times, when the weight loss has been stalling, I do take stock to make sure that I am really measuring my calories accurately and not letting my calories slide into starchy carbs (this is a real problem for me). Earlier this year when I stalled I decided to avoid all bread products (I had been eating 1/2 WW bagel once in a while) and strictly limit any starchy food (upping protein instead) and I also stopped buying natural peanut butter (which I simply like too much and it's too easy to be a little generous measuring a tablespoon). This got things going again, but slowly.

One thing I've done recently is I've started standing instead of sitting all day. I really did this for health reasons (google sitting and health -- recent research was pretty terrifying to me). But I also figured that by making this change I should be able to count on burning another 300 calories or so a day.

I went cold turkey. I elevated my laptop at work and home and I only sit if I really need to. In the short run (2-3 weeks) I actually put on a little weight (my leg muscles were probably holding onto more water). But now it is clear that I am losing at a faster rate than normal for me (closer to 1 lb a week than 1/2 lb a week).

[cherylmn]

Thanks for all of your kind & helpful responses. I have taken them to heart & am doing what I already knew I needed to do - - mix it up. I use the Livestrong website to track my calories & nutritional intake. I have noticed that my sugars always exceed the RDA for my caloric goal. I don't think it is problematic long term as the # is not that high & it comes from 2 basic sources: dairy & fruit. And both of those I really do limit.

So, for the next week only I am going to cut out both from my diet (will replace fruit with non-starchy veggies). I do take calcium/magnesium/Vit D supplements as I had already greatly reduced my dairy intake when I started on this venture, so I'm not worried about that. The fruit is something I'll re-introduce after a week - I only eat 2 small servings a day anyway.

I'm also upping my lean protein and think I'll give the treadmill a bit of a rest for a week with a focus on strength training (pilates, 30DS, tae bo). I am TIRED, ladies. It is a really stressful time right now, and the lack of sleep isn't helping - - maybe I'm just pushing my body in a few too many ways.


Thanks again & stay tuned!! We'll see how these changes work out in the long run.

Cheryl