Hi all,
I don't post very often, but right now I want to thank you all for your words of wisdom & maybe help others stuck on a plateau.

I started October 12 at 185. It went slowly at first, then I dropped a total of 20 pounds by around Christmas. Then I was STUCK at between 163-165 for close to three weeks. It was driving me nuts. I exercise 5 or 6 days a week, mostly with a masters swim club (for 1.5 hours, over 3 km each time, very hard workouts); other days I go to the gym and row, cycle & jog, also for around 1.5 hours. My calories are between 1300-1600, usually (tons of fruits & veggies, lean protein, yogurt, oatmeal, hearty soups). Anyway, that was working fine until the dreaded plateau. So I spent some time reading threads on the subject, and telling myself repeatedly that if I kept doing what I was doing there was NO WAY, mathematically speaking, that I couldn't eventually start losing again. And I did, and now I'm dropping quickly again. (and I didn't do anything special to break through it, just kept on doing what I was doing). So thanks for getting me through that one.

By the way, I feel fantastic. I quit smoking 8 months ago, quit drinking (largely to help with WL and exercise), and while I eat "whatever I want", now that I'm 3 1/2 months into this I find that I rarely actually want junk of any kind. A couple of weeks ago I had a huge bowl of airpopped corn with butter, one of my favourite things in the world, and I felt awful after, so even though I like the taste, I'm liking feeling good even better, so I realise now I'd rather have a fruit & yogurt smoothie or a big bowl of soup. I find this a little astonishing! I do generally eat a little dark chocolate every day, if I feel like it.

One other piece of great news - I bought a bathing suit at Costco recently, size 12, for an upcoming trip to Costa Rica. Realised that it's too big (!!!), so I took it back & got a 10 (a perfect 10! , but my husband said, don't take the tags off in case you need to do it again! I suspect the 10 is a generous cut, since my training suit is a larger size, but who's quibbling? I haven't worn this size since grade 11 (25 years ago).

Anyway, here's testimony that if you keep it up, you'll leave the plateau behind. Don't let the "bad days" get you down, it's the long haul that matters.
Sue

Hey Sue I quit smoking 8 months ago too!

We rock

Yes, we rock. I'm so glad I finally licked that bad habit - weird thing was, this time it was really easy. I've quit before but really struggled. Guess this time, enough was enough.

Fantastic pictures of you, by the way. 105 pounds! My goodness, it's people like you who make my struggle seem less - and provide inspiration. cheerio, Sue

Wow, Sue, yay on breaking your plateau, and I, for one appreciate your post. I'm on that boat right now, and stepping up my excercise, and keeping my fingers crossed. Can't say I didn't know it was going to happen, though, I've lost this much before, and right around here, it always becomes a fight for every ounce.

Also, super on the no smoking! My hubby and I quit 2 years, 5 months ago, and now I can hardly believe I ever smoked! I still dream about it when I'm stressed out, though. LOL.

Anyway, I was glad to read your post!

Spring

All three of you are an inspiration to me. This is the first time I have quit smoking and tried to lose weight at the same time. Everyone always told me it was impossible. I have found this quit to be the easiest yet now that I'm watching what I eat. It takes some of the focus off of not smoking.

Sorry for the thread drift. Just wanted to congratulate all of you for successfully "kicking the habit".

Congrats! Glad to hear you are doing so well. I also noticed that I feel yucky if I eat non healthy food now that I am used to eating healthy choices most of the time.

Hey, Day by Day, I have found it easier to quit smoking and overeating at the same time (ditto for drinking). There is a great book called "The Heart of Addiction", which deals with all types (the aforementioned plus shopping, sex, gambling), and how often people just replace one with another, which is why so many people who quit smoking start eating too much - they haven't dealt with the actual addiction at all, just the form it takes. Makes a lot of sense to me.

For me quitting smoking was WAY easier than eating less/better. I think that's because you can just give up smoking entirely but you gotta figure out how to eat in moderation. If we could just quit eating entirely it would be simple, lol.

Hey thanks Sue, I have been sitting on my own stinking plateau for several weeks. I'm thankful that I'm not the only one and that there is hope.

Congrats! everybody on this site is an inspiration! Keep up the good work and don't let anything stand in ur way!!