The Joy of Plateauing
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
In February 2012 I'd been losing weight for 9 months & I'd lost a total of 61 pounds. At 170 pounds I hit a plateau & couldn't shift the last 11 pounds to reach my goal of 159 pounds (normal bmi). I struggled for several months to keep at that weight or lose more & got fed up. I stopped tracking food, logging exercise & weighing myself & put on 39 pounds.
*sigh*
A very familiar story. Looking back, my first thought is: what was wrong with plateauing at 170 pounds? I'm now over 200 pounds again. & would love to be stuck at 170!
I'm writing this blog to remind myself, when I hit a plateau next time, that plateauing can look great from the perspective of inexorable weight gain. I should keep it in the right perspective.
I'm also not setting a long term weight loss goal. My goal is no more than a few pounds at a time. That way, when I reach my goal, I can decide to carry on or stay there for a while. My goals are more about health now - I'm reaching the age when more & more family & friends are facing the consequences of unhealthy lifestyles & I really want to clean up my act. This includes yo yo dieting.