You are such an inspiration. I hope to be where you are in a years' time.

We'll *put you with you* in any capacity that we can get!

I love you rockinrobin

I totally messed up that post/response to you -

It was supposed to read:

We'll *put up with you* in any capacity that we can get!

You must love me, you even know what I mean, even when I get my words all jumbled.

Make no mistake about it, you my dear are equally loved - and valued.

Keep us updated. I want to know how everything turns out for you. It sounds like you've done an awesome job so far.

What an amazing accomplishment! You are a great inspiration.

I have read lots of places that cutting calories to low and working out to hard can cause a shut-down. I think you have accepted some great advice!

my calories were not actually that low! 1500 is not what I would consider low at all at under 200 pounds. I honestly really truly think my body just needs a break.

cfmama,
Just curious, how many calories are you thinking about for a maintenance level?

U have such patience. I would've lost it after a few weeks of being on a plateau. You're body has lost alot of weight in a short amount of time and probably does need to recuperate a bit. Good luck on your summer of maintenance. U have been an inspiration to soo many especially me. Thank u!

Well apparently my maintenance level is just over 2200 calories... but I was thinking of doing around 1900-2000 and seeing how that goes. I'm at 1700 (up from 1500) right now. I know there could be a very temporary weight gain but if it goes up more than 3 or 4 pounds I'll have to reevaluate this lol!

CF - I feel you. I plateau'd for MONTHS, and worked my butt off. Do you know when I started losing again? When I had knee surgery and was on, essentially, forced cardio rest while I did physical therapy.

Sometimes, our bodies do what they want to do, logic/calories be darned.

Do what feels right to you, practice your maintenance skills, and see what happens.

You've made very smart decions thus far--this one's right there with them too...

I think that's a great plan - and the key word there is PLAN! You are doing amazing, and your determination to stick through this plateau and come out on the other side is very inspiring! I have had times lately (like right now) where I've been stuck for a few weeks at a time, and when I get to feeling frustrated or 'poor me' you know what? I tell myself that if people like you can come as far as you can and deal with plateaus, then I can deal with mine.

And keeping true to your plan, not letting negative emotions derail you, there's no way you can do anything else but succeed.