Sigh - it happened again

Posts: 20,925
11/20/12 9:03 A

Take a DEEP breath. STOP beating yourself up, making explanations, and getting frustrated.

Now, there are a couple of realities that have nothing to do with the number on your scale.

1. EVERYONE'S weight FLUCTUATES - it goes up, down, and bounces all around ALL the time, not only from day to day but from hour to hour and sometimes it starts rolling down hills, hits a bump and rolls back up TEMPORARILY. That is JUST what weight does in our bodies. Is there anything you can do about that bouncy bounce? Not really - except wait it out. Imagine that ball rolling down hill, when it rolls backward, doesn't it eventually roll back down and ends up lower? So will your weight. This is one reason a lot of people give up the scale, why I only COUNT my weight one day each month even though I weigh myself daily, and why a lot of people use this as an excuse to quit eating healthy because it OBVIOUSLY doesn't work. Actually it DOES work but not perfectly and not necessarily on our schedule or by the math.

2. Your post indicated you have been there before - what happened before? Did you then stop eating healthy and thus NEVER went below 208? OR did you stick with the healthy eating and exercise and NEVER went lower? Is this a MENTAL thing - like a block that lets you off the hook, or the point where you are comfortable, or the point where you start WANTING some of the things you are NOT letting yourself eat? ALL of those reasons are common. Look back at some of the other times and see what you did, why you did it, and whether MAYBE there might be something you could do differently. Use what you know from the past to help you over THIS bump.

3. I don't know what you are eating, but the comment about NOT sneaking Milky Ways might be telling - HAVE a Milky Way but NOT SNEAKING IT. WHAT???? Yes, maybe you really DO want one. Maybe you are starting to feel deprived. Milky Ways fit into my eating plan quite nicely - not often and usually NOT the BIG ones, but I can fit them into my plan OCCASIONALLY and it doesn't hurt anything (not even my blood sugars). When you feel deprived it is easy to get discouraged and to start to resent all the WORK for so little benefit. Make sure that whatever you love is allowed sometimes and in reasonable amounts so you don't start to feel like you are ON A DIET. This has to work for a lifetime and not for a few days, weeks, months, or even years. Diets END and then the weight returns. A lifestyle change is forever and you can stick to it because you don't HAVE TO BE PERFECT.

4. You may have simply hit a plateau. If so, change up your eating (eat more some days - when you exercise more especially and on the lower end of your range on other days - days of rest especially), change up your exercise (add a new routine, go a little longer, go faster and then slower), make sure you are getting enough QUALITY sleep (our bodies refuse to let go of weight unless we get adequate sleep - there are whole articles on here about that). Keep doing what you KNOW is working, but juggle things around. Eat more protein today and less tomorrow, more healthy fats, healthier choices of food that eliminate some processed, high fat, low fiber items and replace them with choices that provide more nutrition for fewer calories.

5. It may be time to adjust your calorie range if you have lost enough that your previous LOSING range is now closer to your MAINTENANCE range for your NEW weight. It doesn't take as many calories to maintain 210 pounds as it does for me to maintain my 300+ pounds. When I get close to 200, I will have to cut out some of the calories I am now allowed at near 300.

Most important, do NOT give up on yourself and do NOT beat yourself up. YOU CAN DO IT.

current weight: 276.0

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SparkPoints: (158,833)
Fitness Minutes: (112,042)
Posts: 46,222
11/20/12 9:00 A

Hi HILLYLILLY,

What if scales never existed? Would that mean all your hard work and effort were for naught?

Absolutely not! The scale is just one tool for measuring our progress, but as you so wisely pointed out, our body's weight will and can fluctuate by as much as 7 pounds in the course of single day. BUT that does not mean your body is not benefiting from the exercise you are doing and healthy nutrition you are consuming.

Remember food is fuel for your body. If your body is not getting enough fuel to aid in normal biological functioning (repairing muscle damage, growing new cells, fighting off illness, regulating blood pressure, heart rate and respiration, etc) in addition to fueling your workouts, your body will actually hang onto fat in order to survive...many experts call this hibernation mode. However, changing the calories burn goal may or may not change your calorie range as your range is based on other factors (current weight, time frame you chose to lose the weight, amount of weight to lose, etc).

Lastly, it may take a solid 4-6 weeks for the changes you are making to show up on the scale so try not to let the scale be your tool for progress.

Hang in there!

Coach Nancy

0 Days until:  The Historic MC 1/2 Marathon

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Posts: 4,646
11/20/12 8:50 A

Encouragement being sent because I have the same problem. For me its 200. No matter what I do I can't seem to get out of the 200 club. I am considerably more than that right now but it is entirely my fault as i have been making not so smart choices. I am not exercising the way i used to or eating the way i used to. I am vegan raw primarily and have been eating too many non-vegan raw foods. I feel my energy has depleted and I am hungry all the time. I am craving sweets and that never happened while I followed the lifestyle religiously.

But even when I followed it religiously and did my bodyrock, zwow's or surges every day, I couldn't get past 200.

Not sure what you are doing as I don't normally look at trackers, But just keep on. Think about the reason you really want this. I don't want to lose weight or be fit necessarily, I want to be healthy. I want 100% funciton of body, mind and spirit without the evidence of disease. I see a picture of my 8 month old nephew and my newly born great niece. I have two other nieces and one other nephew. I am doing it for them so that they have a healthy aunty. I want to dance at their weddings, I want to hold their kids, I want to be able to run and keep up with the youngest. Keep your big why in mind. When you don't think you can do another squat or you really want that chip or extra serving, see your big why. Ask yourself is this helping you achieve your goal? If not, either do the extra squat and I bet you will do five more and put down that extra serving or chip.

Good luck and God Bless.

current weight: 250.0

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Posts: 529
11/20/12 5:50 A

I seem to never get down to 208. Don't know if its mental or what but I started doing everything SP tells me to do with a renewed vigor and dropped about 1.5 lbs per week over the past month and so excited. I got to 209.2 and I"m back to 211.

I never have been able to get that barrier and I swear I'm not sneaking in Milky Way bars or anything. I think its the birth control pill myself but I don't have an annual checkup until July to talk to the doc....

I've been working on TurboFire for the past week if that helps. I am losing fat but I can't say its muscle tho I am more trimmed than I was last year...its hard to keep motivated when I bouce back up the scale like this.

Oh and maybe 2 weeks/month I get the message from SP that I'm burning too much caloies but haven't adjusted my settings. Can that have something to do with it?

Encourage me please!

Edited by: HILLYLILLY at: 11/20/2012 (05:52)

Pounds lost: 5.2

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