Diet Day 116

[darkemeralds]

I guess it's fair to say that at about 35% of the way into my planned weight loss, I'm in the middle phase. The thrill of starting is over. The excitement of conquering initial obstacles (like hunger) is over. I'm not yet to another major milestone in clothing size or number on the scale.

Right now, it's just the long, long slog. And on top of that, I've been stuck on an annoying plateau for almost two weeks. All the science and logic says that I'm still burning fat at at least a pound a week, but the scale isn't yet concurring. Bloat, water, inadequate "throughput"--these are the likely explanation.

Tonight, for the first time in the nearly four months since I started this project, I've had the following Bad Thoughts:

• Maybe this isn't worth it
• Maybe it's stopped working
• Maybe I'm secretly cheating, or eating in my sleep, or lying to myself about my food (Note: I'm not.)
• Maybe my body defies the laws of physics or has a special kind of metabolism that prevents any further fat loss no matter how carefully I stay under my calorie limit
• Maybe there's some "catch," some trick I haven't learned yet, in the absence of which I will never get off this plateau
• ...and so on

Well, it is worth it--and it's not as if this diet is any trouble or causing me any discomfort. I'm in the groove, and it's easy. I don't feel deprived--just a little disgruntled that the same efforts which were burning off fat at a nice steady rate throughout late December and January should suddenly seem to stop working.

I need some perspective. This is a very large project. It's an organic, biological process. It doesn't proceed in straight lines. I don't yet know all there is to know about it, and there's a long journey ahead. If I leave the chosen path after so small a test, I just return to the wilderness.

I like the path. It's way too soon to think of quitting.

Comments

[alex_beecroft]

This week I was certainly down 2.5lbs. I won't be completely confident that I'm back on track of losing weight until I find I've lost again next week, but at least this still finds me lower than I've ever been since I started, which is reassuring.

I also drank lots more water, stopped eating sugar and salt (except in the restaurant) and started taking Starflower oil again to regulate my hormones. So I can't be entirely sure which one of those did the trick - I'll just keep them all up and hope :)

[darkemeralds]

I had to look up starflower oil, and now I'm really interested in it as a remedy and tonic.

That fact that you were down 2.5 lbs seems like a very positive sign of getting off the plateau! I was down nearly 2 pounds today, which took me to the lowest point so far in my diet--like you!

Until I have one of those body-composition scales that measure fat and lean body mass through electrical impedance, I'm going to be happy with any and every downward movement of the scale, and as sanguine as I can be with plateaus. But I'm glad that this one seems to be over!

[alex_beecroft]

I've used Starflower oil for a long time for PMT. My husband now recognizes the symptoms enough so that if I'm weepy/angry/irritable/anxious for no reason he knows to hand me the pills, and it really does change my mood within about 20 minutes of taking it.

So I knew it worked for that, but I noticed that on weeks where I took it, I lost dramatic amounts of weight - up to 4lb a go. On weeks that I didn't take it, I'd lose within a range of 0.5 to 1.5 pounds. If hormones affect the way our bodies process food - and I think that's a known fact - then it makes sense that something that can alter your hormones can alter your weight loss too.

Glad to hear that you're over it too! It really was very disheartening, but at least if there's a next time we'll be much more sanguine about what's going on, and be able to persevere without all the doubt :)