Okay, okay, I know we've all heard this before. And we'll hear it again, because the frustration factor forces one to either vent or quit, and I 'm not quitting.

I've been at 204-206 for six weeks. During that period of time I've been plugging away on plan with the exception of a few days while traveling for work. After all the travel my weight returned to 204 fairly quickly. I was 204.0 this morning. I haven't done anything extreme to try to break what is obviously a plateau, but I am ready to scream and kick my feet. I'm completing six months of successful weight loss with a whimper.

I do understand and celebrate that I have lost 65 lbs, several sizes, plenty of inches, had lots of fun pulling IN the strap on the recent airline seatbelts, and so on. It's not that I don't appreciate progress. I do. I appreciate it SO much that I want to continue losing pounds and inches...

I am VERY close to several major mini-goal landmarks, not least of which is Onederland - yet they might as well be a million miles away.

And so I'm feeling demotivated. Angry. Like I'm not doing a good enough job. Like somehow I didn't use portion control, exercise, careful selection of foods, planning, etc. to lose the initial 65 - I suppose I'm irrationally upset that the ole body isn't rational or even a little empathic.

My partner's solution for this plateau is Atkins. Of course, his solution for everything weight-related is Atkins. I dislike unbalanced approaches to weightloss, but I might try it just to see what happens.

In the meantime, I'm trying to drum up some positive vibes for myself, reminding myself that if I never lose another pound I will STILL be 65 lbs lighter and a lot healthier than I was six months ago.

Thanks for listening...end vent.

Calluna,

Vent away, we all understand. I am so glad that you understand and celebrate your 65 pound loss because you really have done great!

Now, let's ask all the standard questions when someone has plateaued.
* What is your plan? It may be time to start tweaking.
* Are you weighing and measuring everything you eat?
* How much are you exercising?
* Getting enough sleep?

With a little more info we may be able to make some suggestions for you. Regardless, I want to give you a hug - Hang in there!

Vent away, by all means. You've more than earned it! I'm sure you're frustrated beyond belief. But I don't believe you're done losing. I just don't. You have done magnificently and altered your life for the better. But I think there's more good stuff headed your way. With a bit more patience and perhaps a tweak here and there that body of yours is going to HAVE to give up the pounds.

So on that note, you know we gotta ask, so here goes:

What plan are you following? Calorie counting? If so how many are you consuming? Are you measurements accurate? How consistent are you? Are you accounting for every lick, bite, taste, crumb and sip? What TYPES of foods are you eating? How about exercise? Are you doing it? What kinds, how often? What about strength training? Are you doing it?

You seem very determined as you chose to vent and not give up - which is a good thing and like I said I think there's more weight to be lost for you, so please give us some insight and maybe we can make a suggestion or two so you can shake this thing.

Hang in there Calluna. You've done great!

rockinrobin and time2lose ~ I love that you two posted at almost the exact same time and said pretty much the same thing. The support on this forum is AMAZING! I am sooo thankful I found 3FC.

I got a big plateau 2 weeks ago. I bumped up my excerise a mile extra a day and I have lost 10lbs in 2 weeks...I just changed it up a little and things started going down again.

Hope your changes soon too. It is very hard

I guess I should have posted these answers in the initial post, eh?

My approach has been calorie counting and exercise, like so:
Calories run a range, but mostly about 1500. As low as 1200, occasionally as high as 1900. I have tried eating a little more and eating a little less to see if calorie levels would impact anything. I prefer a balanced approach, making sure I eat lots of fiber-filled foods (vegetables, fruits, whole or steel-cut oats, lentils, etc), good fats (I cook with olive oil) and good proteins (have a freezer full of salmon, eat chicken, occasionally beef, etc). I avoid refined sugars, white potatoes, alcohol, and most breads like the plague. I don't eat chips and that sort of thing; I do occasionally incorporate a serving of quality chocolate into my day - without apology -- now that I'm capable of having it in the house and not gobbling. I do weigh and measure to be sure that portions are correct, and drink at least 4 16.9 oz bottles of water each day.

Exercise goes about 5 days a week - typically 3-4 days "on" and then a rest day. During week days I will do cardio (bike or swim) for a minimum of 30 minutes, sometimes 60 on a day when I don't do strength training. I lift weights - about 30 mins where I focus on upper or lower body, but typically not both on the same day. I do about 10 minutes of abs work every time. I try one day a week to do something different and strenuous - a long bike ride or a hike, usually. In the winter, sometimes a "swim day" with the kids where we are at the pool for several hours. On an average weekday, my workout is an hour to an hour and a quarter. If I have a truly strenuous workout day, I make sure I have a snack somewhere in there.

Sleep - I think so. Occasionally I have a rough night, but most nights I get 7-8 hours sleep.

The only exception to that pattern was a recent trip for work when I was on planes (many thousands of miles) and in hotels for about 10 days. I did use the workout centers and did a reasonable job with eating, but it wasn't possible to be as rigorous as usual and I made a decision in a couple of instances to eat a non-plan meal (e.g. I had good Indian food - not buffet! - and ate a piece of naan bread with it). I came home bloated, but within five days I returned to 204 and stayed there.

hope this helps -

WOW - I don't have any suggestions. It seems to me that you have all the bases covered. I really believe that you are going to keep losing. I bet you wake up one day to a big whoosh!

Another thought - could it be your scale is not working correctly?

Just realized that you are at 204. Have you realized how many people post about a plateau around the 200 pound mark? There just seems to be something about that number.

Cheryl, I hadn't thought about my scale being correct or not. It could be, I suppose. I shall check into it, but I think this is an honest-to-goodness plateau.

On a more rational day I'd be delighted that I didn't plateau until 65 lbs in, but I'm not feeling all that rational today.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Are you measuring? Are you losing inches through this?

If you are losing inches, you're losing fat, and you're just seeing water or something on the scale.

My other thought is just that the stress (even if it's good stress) of such an elaborate trip may be playing a role. When did you get back?

Shmead, I'm due up for measurements pretty soon - I mostly do measurements once a month. I did lose some inches in May, but can't speak for June. I also lost some poundage in the early part of May.

You make a good point about the trip - I got back on the 14th, so about a week and a half.

Calluna, it sounds like you're still on track...it will budge. I hit at 6-7 wk plateau at 202 and wanted to scream...some mornings I'd wake up and and I'd see 201, then then next day back to 202. I ended up really going crazy in the gym for about 3 solid days. I wouldn't leave until I could ring sweat out of my hair and I felt like my legs were beyond "jello" point. I think that was just to get my frustration out and the plateau broke. Not sure if it was the gym that did it or just time. I wanted to scream when I hit that plateau; I was in the worst mood ever because I knew I was doing everything I had done before and that stupid scale wouldn't move! All I kept thinking was I'm 5'1" (barely) and there is NO WAY I'm going to be stuck over 200 lbs eating as well as I am now.

Hang in there...it's bound to show on the scale again. You'll see a whoosh and you'll be in onderland soon!

Wow, time2lose and myself really did have a similar post, we even started with the same exact words - vent away..

Anyway, I agree with time2lose once again, I think you really DO have everything covered. And yes, I do believe there is a nice woosh coming your way.

The only other thing is that I would perhaps try to eliminate those 1900 calorie days, even though, they don't appear to be all that often.

I too agree with Shmead that perhaps somehow this is tied into your trip. But of course there is no way of knowing.

I would just keep plugging away and plugging away and at some point the calorie deficit that you're creating is going to HAVE to result in fat loss. I hope this resolves quickly for you, enough is enough.

This is exactly what I was going to say! Many of us plateau there. There's just something about that particular milestone. I got stuck at 203 for at least six weeks.

It will keep moving. You just have to hang in there.

Have you tried increasing your daily activity outside of exercise, like increasing your steps? (Pacing, an extra walk, making yourself walk upstairs to the bathroom, etc.)

I am beginning to think of it as the Onederland curse!