03/18 201.4 after the food poisoning
03/19 201
03/20 201.3
03/21 201.1
03/22 201.4
03/23 201.6
03/24 202.3
03/25 201.5
03/26 200.9
03/27 200.9
03/28 202
03/29 201.5
03/30 201.9
03/31 201.6

Today's a weekly weighday and I've lost nought point 7lb this week, nought point 3 last week, that's a pound in 2 weeks.
Put another way - I weigh the same today as I did 8 days ago.
Put another way - I've gained half a pound over 10 days.

Is it a plateau yet?

I don't know if your stalled weight constitutes a plateau, but it would be driving me TOTALLY FREAKING INSANE to be so close to OnderLand and to not be able to cross that line! AAARGH!! And it doesn't make sense to me that you would be stuck for this long when you are keeping your eating in line, etc.

So, the big question would be: what next? How can you break through the tupperware ceiling? (And I bet you have been trying all sorts of things to do just that, so I apologize if I mention things you have already tried.)

You are drinking at least 2 liters of water, right? You could up that some (if nothing else, the increased trips to the bathroom could burn some more calories. ) You could do interval-type training in whatever exercise you currently do, where you mix normal training with short spurts of very high-intensity training.You could make sure you are getting a couple of servings of dairy a day, provided you still stay within your calorie budget.

And you could just plain try shaking things up --- calorie cycling, or even drop to 1/2 your calories for a day, or add a completely new kind of exercise for a little while, adding strength training if you don't already do that, etc.

You could burn some extra calories by destroying your scale.....

Hang in there! We'll come up with something to get you unfrozen!

Ailidh

I am going to speak frankly here, because I think you can handle it.

I don't think you should weigh yourself every day. It clearly drives you to distraction and upsets you. The truth is... weight loss is not linear. It makes no sense, sometimes. Trying to impose your will on it, or make sense of randomness, is just a recipe for disaster and disappointment. Why subject yourself to this kind of emotional roller coaster?

Now, I am a daily weigher. But, I learned long ago that the scale goes up and down in ways that are seemingly unrelated to my efforts. In fact, adding new, healthy things often cause my weight to spike and/or stall for quite some time. When I started lifting weights this month, I gain FIVE pounds and kept it on for almost a week. Did that upset me? Well, a little, because it was so much... but the weight dropped off eventually and then some. I have learned to accept that the scale is only one measure of my success. In fact, it is the least important one. How I feel, the way my husband looks at me now, the self confidence and pride I gain from sticking to my plan.. these things far outweigh any number on the scale.

I have experienced what you are experiencing, and at at the same place.

Look:

Tuesday 30-Sep-08 202.0
Wednesday 1-Oct-08 202.4
Thursday 2-Oct-08 201.4
Friday 3-Oct-08 202.2
Tuesday 7-Oct-08 201.0
Wednesday 8-Oct-08 202.8
Thursday 9-Oct-08 202.4
Friday 10-Oct-08 201.8
Tuesday 14-Oct-08 202.0
Wednesday 15-Oct-08 199.0

That's two weeks, where the scale basically stayed exactly the same. But, eventually, I lost 3 lbs "overnight" and never went above 200 again. I know this is not what you want to hear, but you need to get over this obsession. It's unhealthy and not helping you. Maybe just take a break from the scale for a few weeks, and focus on eating on plan and exercising. I would bet money if you do that, in two weeks the scale will be below 200.

Take it easy...

Peace, Heather

ailidh- I know it's really frustrating. I, too, have been stuck at the same weight, starting at pretty much the exact same time, lol. And I am stuck right on a line that I have been dying to cross (the 150's/140's line). I can't help but wonder if it's a mental thing... I know you have been anticipating onederland for a while now! I really think our bodies just need time to catch up. Eventually, they'll start losing again, I just KNOW IT! I think these times are the most challenging in weight loss, because we work really hard and we feel like we get nothing back for it... but, since we're going to be living this healty lifestyle for the rest of our lives... well, I think we just need to be patient. Maybe our bodies are preparing themselves for more losing, and they are just taking breathers? That's what I have been telling myself anyways, lol. Good luck hun, I am SURE you will see a loss on that scale soon. Just keep the faith... the weight loss will come when the body is ready.

I know how you are feeling. It helps me if I dont weigh daily . I get so upset and cry sometimes and even throw adult temper tantrums. But then the loss comes and makes it all better. There is some good advice above....maybe you can try some of Numina's suggetions to get the ball rolling again.....???? Hang in there!!! You can do it!

Lock your doors, I'm swimmin' across the 'big pond' and taking your scale away from you!

Staying at the same weight for a week, two weeks, or up to three weeks--and then losing 2 to 4 pounds overnight--is my typical pattern. And, I would venture to guess, it's a common pattern for many who are losing weight. The reason is that as fat is lost, the cells apparently fill up with water as a replacement. And it takes a while for the body to then release the water. I believe today I am on my 14th or 15th day of weighing the same, but I know that there will be a drop of a few pounds sometime soon.

I really think you should take a lot of deep breaths, relax, and start to see the daily weight as simply a reported number. It doesn't reflect what you did yesterday and it shouldn't dictate how you feel about things. Become an objective observer of the numbers and the process will be easier for you.

Thanks for all the replies.

Believe me, it would Really upset me if I only weighed weekly and found after all the effort - and I certainly believe I'm trying, I mean I may be doing something wrong but not on purpose, I haven't slid off plan yet - that I'd lost just under or just over half a pound.

I'm trying to understand why I'm having this wee stall, and it helps me to post it so I can see it; of course there's a mighty augh! at the scales every morning because it's frustrating but it doesn't depress me, I've gone past that:
I haven't wavered off plan
I'm far more active than I've been for years
I believe I'm eating a sensible number of calories
I'm eating far less and far healthier than I have for years

This Has to produce a loss eventually. I do NOT meant that like 'I deserve it', it's just logical.

Thanks for the suggestions, Numina. I could do to up the water, definitely, and I need to be a bit more persistent about the exercise (although the days the numbers bounced up a bit were exercise days). I know it will pass.

You calorie count right... I think a calorie shifting plan my high jump your weight loss into action. I know that high and low days keep my metabolism guessing. Maybe that would work for you!

Thanks, cfmama - I've been doing that the last couple of weeks!

I appreciate all suggestions though.

Either there's something I haven't got quite right yet (notice I don't say 'wrong', because the word wrong has moral overtones) or it's just one of those things and it'll whoosh off. sometime.

04/01/200.6 My fat is clinging onto the edge of the 200 cliff by its fingernails. Gonna stomp on its fingers now.

04/02 200.6 Still stomping!

Grrrr, you're so close! My weight does this, too. I was stuck at the same weight for nearly 3 weeks and then, seemingly overnight, lost 4.5 pounds. That was a week ago; now I'm hovering at my new "current weight" with no movement. This pattern has happened to me twice in a row now so I'm trying to just relax and wait for the big drop. It's frustrating, though; I like the immediate gratification of seeing the scale move down a little more frequently! Instead, I should be happy that I can pull off my old jeans without unzipping them! I had to buy a new pair so I could go on a weekend trip with my sister. So I KNOW I'm doing the right things; I just want the scale to confirm that for me.

Maybe this is the Universe's way of teaching us patience!

I feel your pain. I have been losing and gaining the same six pounds since the start of the year. I know that weighing myself every day is not helping my efforts, so I'm trying to stop looking at the scale.

Yesterday, someone at the gym came up to me and told me that they could see the efforts I've made this year. That made me feel a bit better, so I'm really going to try and leave that darned scale alone.

Hang in there! I'm sure 199 will come to you any day now.

Thanks, ladies! Yes, I'm sure this really is character-building! And sympathies that you know the feeling!