Everyday Systems

I started doing No S on September 7, 2009, and it's been smooth sailing so far. At the 7-month mark I had lost 46.6 pounds.

Then came April. I do a lot of income tax preparation, and my birthday is April 15th, so I'm used to a pattern of stress eating followed by the birthday blowout. I did eat more those first two weeks of April, but I still kept to No S (my one failure consisted of a single shrimp). My plates were fuller, and my weekends were more indulgent. The past two weeks, though, I've been back in a groove, and even got back on the treadmill this past week. Judging by how hungry I am at meal times, I am NOT overreating!

I didn't feel like I was losing weight, and when I stepped on the scale this morning I found that I GAINED 1.6 pounds since April 7th. It's so frustrating, although I have been expecting to hit a plateau. I still have plenty of weight to lose (I'm barely under 200 pounds now).

Now, I know if someone else had posted this I would tell them "Don't weigh yourself. Focus on habit and be happy that you're back eating the way you want to." But the fact is, I did weigh myself, and now I have to deal with the weight gain.

So, long-timers, how did you handle plateaus? Will I eventually start losing again? I'm walking now, and I dug out my hand weights, so I can add a different kind of workout, but I doubt my ability to stick with significantly increased exercise.

I have two plateau theories:

1. Your body has come to a point where it needs to adjust to the weight loss. Just keep doing the right things and eventually weight loss will resume.

2. I'm not a huge Biggest Loser fan, but last season or the one before Bob and Jillian said that if you're losing weight and don't lose for a week, you either need to decrease the calories further or increase the exercise. It makes sense because the less you weigh, the fewer calories you need.

wosnes wrote:I have two plateau theories:

1. Your body has come to a point where it needs to adjust to the weight loss. Just keep doing the right things and eventually weight loss will resume.

2. I'm not a huge Biggest Loser fan, but last season or the one before Bob and Jillian said that if you're losing weight and don't lose for a week, you either need to decrease the calories further or increase the exercise. It makes sense because the less you weigh, the fewer calories you need.

I go with #1 for a short plateau (under a month) and #2 for a long one. I have NEVER lost weight without hitting a plateau at some point. If I just keep on, it's usually followed by a more-sharp-than-usual drop. If I get bummed... well, then it hangs around, or I actually gain.

Have you taken some measurements? A lot of times during a plateau, the scale will be recalcitrant BUT measurements change. It's like the body is "settling into" a new size. It's good to triangulate measurements with the scale.

So, hang in there!

I was stuck on a plateau, with my weight see-sawing around one point from AUGUST until April. But I stuck with No S, and now I'm losing again. The last time I was on a long term diet, I stayed on it pretty much that amount of time, and lost over 60 lbs. And then got pregnant and gained it all back.

I think the process of No S is the reward, not the numbers on the scale. Trust your body to know what size it should be.

I agree with all the good advice already given. While frustrating, 1.6 pounds isn't a huge gain and could be related to things like normal hormone fluctuation or the change in your exercise routine (I've experienced a temporary gain/plateau when changing up my exercise routine, especially when I've added in weights. During these times I've lost inches.) I'd keep plugging away at what you're doing. Hopefully the scale will start heading down again soon ...

Starla,

You've lost 45 pounds. That's fabulous! I lost 19 pounds between September 8, 2008 (215 pounds) and June, 2009 (got to as low as 196.6). Since then, I went up and then back down and now I'm down 2 pounds from last June.

How I've dealt with it is to average the weight loss to one pound per month and say that I'm doing fine if I average one pound per month. I'll adjust my diet if I cannot maintain that loss.

I did change my diet recently to try to move below where I am, and I'm just under 200 as well. I weighed 194.4 this morning.

I'm patient. This diet is easy, and I can follow it for life. That's what's important, not the speed of weight loss.

Kathleen

I know when I've gotten stuck in plateaus, what works for me is exactly what Wosnes said. I'll cut back on my food for a few days, and then my body seems to settle in at a new, lower weight, and I maintain at the lower weight (unless I start eating too much again). Increasing my activity always helps, too.