Don’t do it, Ginger. It’s only the February Stall; everyone has been getting discouraged recently.
Maybe your system needs a bit of a shake-up. Maybe you’re retaining water. Maybe you’ve dropped below your starvation trigger calories. Hell, maybe you just need some Metamucil.
Don’t give up. You’ll tempt the rest of us.
What’s Wendie? Oh, I found it. Yeah, ok, that’s right; just cutting calories can trigger starvation metabolism.
Let us know if stoking up on calories once a week works for you.
And don’t forget to track a measurement as well as weight.
I know what you mean. But please stick with it. Weight loss and being thing is a way of life. It is a change in your eating patterns. Even if you don’t lose for a while, please don’t go back to gaining! (Believe me, I know, I have too often.)
You guys haven’t retained what I’ve posted of my weight loss history. I began at 260, lost 70. Got pregnant, gained 50. I’m down 70 from my post-pregnancy weight. I am only 6 pounds higher than what Weight Watchers says is my ideal weight. I KNOW how to diet, I know how to lose weight, I know how to maintain my weight. It just feels that my body seems to have decided enough is enough.
Believe me, if I hadn’t learned how to eat by now, I’d have given up long ago. I began Weight Watchers in 2003.
Wendie-ing it might be the answer for those last few pounds. It might also be possible that the numbers on the page are just numbers on the page. I don’t want to give you an excuse to say fuck it, but sooner or later, you’re going to have to decide if what “they” say is healthy for the average woman of your age and height is, in fact, healthy for YOU. I’m inclined to think that if you’re within 6 pounds, you’ve been being really honestly working the system and the weight still isn’t coming off, then there’s a good reason for it. Your body “likes” being at this weight. Since it’s not in the realm of medically obese, maybe it would be better to call it a day and start your maintenance lifestyle. Maybe it would be worth it to see a nutritionist or physical therapist or doctor who can do an accurate body fat percentage test for you, not a BMI chart.
Gingy, the Wendie Plan is often the metabolic shake-up your body needs to figure out how to lose again. Remember, your body has gone through a lot in the past few years! It’s no wonder that every now and then you have these plateaus. You had them before now, too, and you always got past them. You’ll get past this one, too.
Do you lift weights at all? That’s the main thing that got me to actually lose when I was close to goal. I could do all the cardio I wanted and stayed the same, but anaerobic muscle exercise was the only thing that revved up my metabolism enough to lose the last few pounds. You don’t even need weights for the largest muscle groups in the legs, which are where you’ll notice the most results. Just do squats and lunges. The more muscle you have in your body, the more calories your body will burn.
As for me, I maintained one week, then lost .8 the next week, and was about ready to choke a bitch. I spent all lunch that second meeting moping to my friend Suzanne. And then the next week, I ate a wonderful meal out with my husband for his birthday, and while I paid attention to my points and wrote it all down, and made semi-good choices, I had everything I wanted while I was there. And I lost 4.4 pounds. Sometimes I just don’t get it. But I got my 10-pound ribbon, and then some! I’m down 12.4 since January 10th. My goal is to get down another 12 pounds before April 12th, when my husband and I go to Punta Cana for a week. That’ll get me my 10%.
I’ve sort of stabilized at around 86 kg. That’s still down 5.6 kg from my high, so I plan on just hanging on for a while, and then make another assult on my weight.
My wife has morning sickness quite bad, so I try and spend all my free at the house with her, since that seems to help more. I gain a bit during the weekends, since I’m at home and there’s a lot of snack food, and then lose it during the weekdays while I’m at work.
One nice thing about Japan is that while there are more drink vending machines than crazy religious zealots, there are fewer snack machines than crazy atheist zealots.
I’ve agreed with myself that I’ll skip the colas and other soft drinks, and I’ve been able to stop that. Without chips crying in walking range, then I do well at work.
If I can stop grazing at home, then I should do a little better.
I’m still bouncing around in the 143-145 range. I don’t know, maybe this is where my body has decided where it needs to be but dang, I’d still like to lose that last 25 pounds!
The good news is that the weather has finally become warm enough for long walks. Almost enough to stop wearing a jacket. Yay! I walked a record 5 1/2 miles the other day and have had several 4+ miles walks in the last couple of weeks. I’m even fantasizing about walking clear to my sister’s house, nearly 20 miles away! Hey, it could happen.
It sure feels good to be out and about like that again.
May those of you still deep in Winter’s grasp experience some warm walking weather soon too.
Not only that, but with as much weight as Ginger’s lost, I’m guessing she’s got a good six pounds of spare skin! I had a consultation with a plastic surgeon who told me I had 12-15lbs of excess skin I can have removed, and if I’ve got that much, I’m betting she’s got at least six.
As for me, I’m currently holding steady again, around 185. This seems to be my pattern as of late; drop five pounds, stay there for a few months, drop five more, etc.
I’m in for my hysterectomy this coming Thursday, and I don’t know what the recovery period is going to do to my weight. Obviously, I won’t be very physically active for a while, but then again, my appetite might take a nosedive, too. I’m not too worried about it, though. I’ll make sure to get all my protein (I bought some protein supplements in case I need them), walk (slowly) as much as I can, and whatever happens to my weight, I’ll deal with it when I’m recovered.
Y’all might not see me back until sometime in the March thread, because I’ve got lots and lots to do between now, and when I have to be at the hospital 6AM Thursday, but I’ll catch up with you sooner or later!
Got my weigh in today which I think is going to be a no-change as I went a bit nuts on Saturday and had probably about double my points allowance. I’m back on the wagon this week and will also be taking up exercise again (both walking and gym) as being lazy isn’t an excuse. Thanks J666 for the kick.
I know the thought of getting my eyes cut open freaks me right out. I can’t even put in contact lenses! :eek: But my sister has Lasik last year, and has nothing but good things to say about it! I hope you’ll be as pleased with your results as she is with hers.
All my tests are over and I’ve seen my new endocrinologist, who had bad news for me. It turns out that I was severely overmedicated with steroids, which has shut off my body’s production of cortisol completely. It may take years to wean me off steroids, and I may never get off completely, which means I may have to fight constant hunger and weight gain forever.
In addition, the steroid and weight gain have caused insulin resistance, and I’m on my way to diabetes. I have to see a nutritionist at my local hospital’s diabetes center to craft a new low-carb, low-fat diet with frequent small meals throughout the day. Medication for IR will follow once we get the steroid situation a little more stable–he’s switched me to a different med and is starting dosage reduction verrrrrry slooooowly. I’ve also got a fatty liver and high cholesterol, and all this because I have been overmedicated. My immune system is toast.
It appears that some things can be reversed or controlled with weight loss–the insulin resistance, the fatty liver, and the high cholesterol–but it sucks that the steroid is going to make losing weight very difficult. The doc said that even if I exercise constantly (which ain’t gonna happen), I’m going to have to go very low calorie to lose anything. I’m dreading calling the diabetes center, which is on my to-do list, well, right now, actually.
Follow-up: my appointment with the nutritionist is on March 12. They can’t see me sooner because they need a 2-hour block for the initial consult. That gives me 3 weeks to eat like a piggy, right? Right?
I was sick for a couple of weeks, so both my eating and exercise have been way off. While I haven’t gained any weight, the flab is making a return. I can feel the changes. Yuck.
I finally got back into an intense workout routine over the weekend, but I had a crazy social day yesterday, so I grabbed whatever junk food I had time to.
Well, this news about the meds does suck. I wouldn’t say it gives you three weeks to eat like a piggy, but OTOH, if you make mostly healthy choices and gain weight anyway, don’t feel bad about it. In other words, don’t starve yourself and spend three weeks miserable!
Sure Norine, be all reasonable and healthy and wise like that. I’m working on not being depressed about the whole thing, but it’s not easy. I’m really pissed at the old doc for overtreating me, and pretty pissed at myself for not questioning it all sooner. I can make all the excuses–I have 2 small kids, a job, responsibilities, etc.–but in the end, I trusted the doc to the point of not questioning him enough, and now I have more health problems than I had before.
On a happier note, Gingy you look great in that pic!
I’m working on not being depressed about the whole thing, but it’s not easy. I’m really pissed at the old doc for overtreating me, and pretty pissed at myself for not questioning it all sooner. I can make all the excuses–I have 2 small kids, a job, responsibilities, etc.–but in the end, I trusted the doc to the point of not questioning him enough, and now I have more health problems than I had before.