So say you lost big last week, and then this week comes around, and you were good through the week, but still gained... What do you tell yourself to motivate yourself or to "pat" on your back?
If I lost BIG last week like more than 3lbs, I usually tell myself that my body went into starvation mode and that my body just wants to save every cal for fat storage. So I stick to my schedule and realize that not only am I staying on plan and working through adversity and that I am also still getting healthier by not reverting back to old habits. The weight usually continues to come off the next week and I'm back to being motivated and if it doesn't and you hit a plateau still stick to your plan just shake up the exercise and "confuse" your body about it.
I go back through my healthy living journal and evaluate my week. What did I eat, what was my fitness routine, did I gain weight but lose inches? If I find I had a bad week due to giving in to cravings or emotions then I give myself a pep talk without beating myself up. If I find I have gained weight but lost inches then I give myself a mental high five and keep on truck-in on.
If ive gained i really havent been doing something right....
i havent gained since i started this second bout of weight loss....
n thats bin two months now....
I just went through that SAME thing. I lost HUGE one week and was one lbs up this past weigh in...dang it. But i took some measurements and noticed that i had lost in measurements. So that made me feel better. But then i realized it was that time of the month AND i had salty food a couple days prior to weigh in. So that explains it. Now i am already back down to the previous low weight, so am sure it was TOM and salt. But sometimes there is no reason for my weight to fluctuate and i just think, well, i can either stick to my plan or i can go back to easy old habits and be 30, 40, or more pounds heavier this time next year....uh, i think i will stick to it and know that those stubborn pounds cant hang there forever. Stay STRONG!
Great topic, since I lost about 8 pounds my first two weeks, then this week stayed the same (although yesterday I was down 1.5 pounds, but Monday is my official weigh-in). Maybe it will all be for nothing, if I weigh tomorrow and Wednesday and show loss again, but still, today was no fun :-) I sure am glad I measured last week, because at least I did lose some inches.
Some people just can't weigh everyday because the ups and downs drive them crazy. But I really wanted to see just what ups and down my body does, and whether they correlate to anything. Anyway, I think by weighing everyday, today was easier to take - First, because I know I was less yesterday so it will probably drop back to that. And second, because I saw a *lot* of ups and downs those first two weeks, and still ended up 8 pounds down.
But having the measuring tape to fall back on for encouragement really helps.
But I may be singing a different tune if this week isn't better :-)
It depends on how much I gained. If I gained 5lb, and I KNOW what I ate and did was not equal to 5lb gain, it's probably water weight. You tell yourself next week that scale will show me a good number. I'd be proud of losing big the week before.
i think id try and remeber everyone is different.but personally, if i gained, i would put the scales somwhere out of sight, and try and go do some extra exercise and keep on track and try and ignore it. problem with set backs is if u pay too much attention to them they can become critical so just have to remain positive and think forward not backwards.
I basically have two voices. If I have lost weight its "you're doing awesome, keep going!" and if I've gained/stayed the same its "keep going, you'll knock those pounds out yet!" Basically the important part is 'keep going'. I don't really worry about the scale a whole lot. So long as overall the number is headed downwards I'm happy, even if it goes up a few pounds sometimes.
I tell myself that it is just water weight and it will go away in about a week, and it will probably take an extra pound or two away with it. It' sort of like my body is trying to hide all the real weight loss going on inside by disguising it with water bloat, and wants to surprise me when the bloat goes away!
I tell myself that the water weight is coming from either having too much sodium that week, and/or exercise may have caused my muscles to plump up with water to help repair the micro-tears, and/or it could even be just a hormonal thing (pre-TOM). In short: there are lots of reasons for an unexpected (temporary) bloat, and it's just gonna happen from time to time so don't worry too much about it.
I also remind myself that the scale WILL keep on a downward trend as long as I keep eating right and working-out--it has no choice in the end!
I also tell myself that maybe my body is trying to fight me on this and trick me into giving up, but it's not gonna win!
Thank you so much everyone! I lost 0.6 lbs before and 3.4 lbs during TOM, and gained the week after. I did have salty food over the weekend so maybe that's what did it. I learned a lot of helpful tips for this journey that is to come! Thanks again!!
I try and focus more on the behavior goals than the scale goals...If I follow plan (even loosely) I will loose the weight eventually....also once I loose the weight I will have to stay on plan in order to keep it off. Reguardless of how long it takes I'm going to have to stay on plan forever...I just tell myself that I followed plan for a week and it was a victory because it was another week of programming my behavior change.
I usually don't look at the scale. If I notice my pants are getting baggy I will weigh and see. This isn't a race, I can lose weight at a slow pace as long as I am still losing.
This happens to me from time to time, usually 1-2 pounds. I always tell myself my body is adjusting and to just stick with it. After all the work I've already put in, no way I'm giving up!
What do you tell yourself?
