[grneyedmustang]

Just wondering if anyone has transitioned from South Beach (esp. Phase II) to South Beach Supercharged. I'm thinking about trying the transition to see if it can get the scale to budge past 234.

I absolutely refuse to believe that 234 is the weight my body is "supposed" to be at, but I have gone back and forth with the same 6 pounds since the beginning of the year! I exercise regularly, but I'm thinking that I might need to change up the type of exercise. I even do interval training on the days I don't do weight training (most of the time). I understand that SB Supercharged does integrate interval training, but I think if I do this I'm going to follow the SB Supercharged plan to the letter.

Thoughts/ideas, anyone? If I do this, should I do another phase I (the supercharged way) and then transition back into phase II?

[beachgal]

GrnEyed, I'm ashamed to admit that I still haven't read Supercharged! I lost the book for a while and then I got into reading other things. Anyways, I'm sorry I can't address the differences, but I hope some of the chickies who have read it can help.

As for doing Phase 1 again--I wouldn't do that unless you feel you have cravings that are keeping you from losing.

You may also want to check with the maintainers and exercise forums for extra help. Maybe there are some exercises you can try to shake things up a little in your body. The maintainers are great for helping with advice on setpoints and on convincing your body that it's meant to weigh less than it thinks it should (as long as that weight is truly unhealthy for you).

I do think interval training is pretty key, though other kinds of cardio are also helpful. There's a lot to be said for endurance training, too. As frustrating as it is, you may need to look at your calorie intake (it can be enlightening to learn if some of the things you eat are incredibly caloric and you didn't know) to see if you need to try to eat less to get your body started again. How long have you been plateauing?

[grneyedmustang]

Beachgal, thanks for your response.

I did start using the daily plate about a month for calorie tracking. I usually average between 1500-2000 daily, and I'm exercising 5 - 6 days a week, at least 40 min per session.

I have been losing the same six pounds since the start of the year. Granted, there were a few occasions (New Year's, Cruise at the beginning of February) where I wasn't 100% on plan. After those occasions, I went back on Phase I and lost a few pounds - but never past 234. Since then, I have been totally on plan and killing the gym, and it seems that the scale won't budge past 234.

I have cravings periodically, but I don't think they're cravings in the physical sense - I'm an emotional eater, so usually my cravings are after some stressful event or sad situation that occurs in my life. Since I know this, I think I've gotten better at dealing with them; I try to focus my energies elsewhere until the craving has passed.

I think that my body may have gotten used to the exercise. Most days when I do straight cardio, my heart rate is decent, but my rate of perceived exertion is somewhere between light and somewhat hard. SB Supercharged does address interval training and has some specific strength exercises and diagrams that might help me "shake things up a bit".

234 is better than I used to weigh, but according to BMI charts (which I don't totally agree with) - I'm still obese. I would like to be under 200 pounds before I think that my body is "where it's supposed to be".

[beachgal]

I hear you, Grn! I felt like that at 200. I still had a really decent sized "pooch" of fat hanging off my stomach at that weight (sorry, TMI!) and I figured if I had that much actual fat in my belly area, it wasn't healthy. But I found it extremely difficult to get below 200 and stay there. I fluctuated between 202 and 198 for a year and a half. Basically, I was maintaining, but in reality, I was trying to get down to 175 and it just didn't happen. I'm not sure what I'll do this time, but I do know that varying what you do is the best way to shake up any plateau. Sometimes you need to eat different things, sometimes eating at different times helps, while at other times, doing different exercises does it. I do think interval training is a great idea. It seems to really be helping me now. Have you tried tabatas? There's some info on them in the 100 lb club forum and I think they are pretty interesting and worth checking out. You might try a class, like Jazzercize, Zumba, Nia, or anything else that gets you moving in a different way.

Have you checked with the maintainers? I think they are the experts on this issue. Most of them dealt with a time when they could not get past a block, but eventually they found their way around it.