3/1/12 247.2
1/4 177.2
1/11 175.4
1/18 176.8
1/25 177.0
2/1 178.0
2/8 177.4
2/22 178.0
3/1 178.0
3/8 178.0
3/14 176.6
(Confession: much of the post to follow is lifted from my SpireSpire post from two years ago, "Greetings from the Plateau"... I could just rewrite it, but part of what's helpful about blogging is occasionally revisiting previously written entries for encouragement or reflection. So let's not consider it self-plagiarizing, let's think of it as reminding myself of these truths I hold to be self-evident!)
This is what my plateaus look like...usually not standing still, but a small gain followed by a small loss followed by a small gain followed by a small loss, and it can last as little as four weeks or as long as twelve. These things mess with my head.
Plateau fallacy #1: I gained for no reason this week, so next week's loss should be huge! Like, 3 or 4 pounds!
Found myself caught in this mental trap last week, which is why I was a little disappointed to see a number I would've otherwise celebrated (1.4 pounds is a great loss, nothing to feel bummed about at all). After four weeks of hard work and no movement, I feel entitled to a big payoff on the scale, and that sense of entitlement is what I need to let go of. There will come a day when I hit my goal and learn how to maintain, and at the end of a week of hard work, my GOAL will be to see no change, or (more likely) teeny tiny gains followed by teeny tiny losses, ad infinitum. So I need to learn to be okay with hard work not resulting in scale rewards.
Plateau fallacy #2: Obviously, my diet's not working anymore- time to change everything.
I am convinced that the way I'm eating and exercising is sustainable and will lead to good health. Sensible portions, lots of water, 20 to 30 minutes of exercise several times a week. If I'm still in this pattern after another three or four weeks, I'll take a look at changing things up. But for now, I'm just going to be patient and persistent.
Plateau fallacy #3: The scale's not moving, so my efforts have been for nothing.
This is the one I struggle with the most. Losing weight is hard. We went to the movies last weekend and Chris and Natalie got snacks and I couldn't have any. (Well, technically, I could've had a LITTLE something, but a little something is never enough when it comes to movie snacks.) I hit the McDonald's drive through and came out with nothing but a Diet Coke several times (I'm obsessed with McDonald's Diet Coke, have I mentioned?). I make sacrifices every day, and when I don't get a good result, I think, "Well, that was a waste of effort. Should've had some movie popcorn. Should've gotten some french fries." But I know that if I had, if I had let my diet go off the rails, the scale would've been even tougher on me.
Plateau fallacy #4: My body hates me.
I love my body, and I've asked a lot of it over the years. I've piled the weight on and taken it off over and over. It's always responded to my efforts- I just need to let it take its time. Seventy pounds is a big change. If I tried to pick up my dog and both of my cats, I'm not sure I could make it up the stairs- but that's about as much excess weight as I was hauling around on a daily basis back when I started. No wonder my feet used to ache so badly I nearly crawled to the bathroom in the morning and walked with a noticeable limp after spending more than fifteen minutes sitting down.
Here's hoping that this week's loss is the beginning of the plateau breaking up rather than just another little temporary dip!