Frustration when close

I have 7 pounds left. Just 7. But I have had them for a while now. I have hit a plateau.

(And, depending on whose count you go by, I could have up to 12 left, but I decided on a higher goal than that).

It is so disheartening.

Please give me some ideas to remotivate myself.

I eat pretty well, I am keeping up with the exercise schedule, as promised (lifting, running, pick-up sports games in the park, and cardio on the gym machines). But now, I'm just plain stuck.

Help?

Thu. Nov 10, 10:17am

kick it up a notch. Now is not the time to get discouraged, you're soooo close. Add another workout during the week.

you can do it!

Thursday, November 10, 2005, 6:13 PM

Often, when people plateau, they are actually cheating on their diets/workouts just a teeny bit more than usual! If this is the case, fess up and remember how you were actually behaving when the original weight came off. Even one fun-sized candy bar, or a handful of nuts, or a little cheese/mayo on a sandwich can make the difference between losing and not losing over periods of time.

I'm not trying to be mean, b/c I'm in the same boat. It's easier to justify a little bit of junk food or skipping a day of exercise when you're more happy with how you look, you'll feel less guilty. I'm at a plateau too - I actually met my weight goal, but some of my favorite clothes are still too tight, so, I made a goal of them fitting better! But, now that I'm happy with the number, it's way easier to justify eating just a little bit more junk and not being mad at myself. Let's try to break through this plateau together! Back to what we were doing before!!

Friday, November 11, 2005, 9:43 AM

From personal experience, plateaus are definitely not always because I've been eating more or exercising less. I just recently broke a 2-month plateau, and I was eating and exercising exactly the same before (when I lost 8 or 9 pounds) as during (when I obviously lost none). My guess is that it's often that our bodies get used to what we're doing to them with the healthy food and exercising, and they work to maintain the status quo.

I broke through my most recent plateau by shaking things up - first I took a week-long break from working out, then I added 3 weight lifting sessions to my weekly workouts, and I started halving my portion size at dinner as often as possible. I eat dinner very late, so this hasn't made me more hungry in the evenings. It's actually made me feel better - less stuffed and sluggish before bed.

Hang in there! Plateaus can be so discouraging, but I try to look at is like preparation for when I've met my weight-loss goals and switch over to maintenance mode, which is going to be life-long, and therefore significantly harder than just the weight loss. The longer I've spent on a plateau, the more practice I have at maintaining!

Friday, November 11, 2005, 12:54 PM

I hear this. Plateaus are horrible! I've been through 2. I agree with the above poster to mix it up. I also believe something though...once you're only 7 pounds away, you start to think, look how far I've come, and I loook so much better than I used to. I think it makes us lax and a little less dedicated to get to the final goal of the weight you really want to be. Then, it takes longer for the weight to come off and sometimes you end up going backwards. I think this is when you start to revisit why you started doing this in the first place and find why you really want to get to that number.

Saturday, November 12, 2005, 9:02 AM

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