I'm starting to enjoy the view from this plateau

[darkemeralds]

I'm not sure there's a precise definition of "weight loss plateau," so I'll say that mine really got underway twelve days ago.



The plateau is evident on my Hacker's Diet chart:



The diamonds are my actual recorded weights. The red line is the trend--the most probable actual weight smoothed for daily fluctuations in water and stuff. It's obvious where my body slammed on the brakes. Why is another question, though there may be a clue here:



Both charts cover the same time period, December to the present. This plateau started when my average calorie intake (the orange line) declined sharply.

I tried jolting myself off this plateau with high-calorie days, but I was really uncomfortable with that approach. It felt out of control, like the thin end of a very familiar wedge. Next I'd be riding waves of ice cream with a pound cake surfboard, and that would be the end of that.

Theories about altering the ratio of macro-nutrients (fat, carbs and protein) very quickly started to feel like the old magical thinking (Atkins diet! Whee! Eat as much meat and cheese as you want! It's magic!), distracting me from the basics of energy in and energy out.

So, after much sturm und drang over this frustrating setback, I've decided just to carry on, with a slight nudge back up in daily calories. My body simply can't decrease its metabolism forever--even if I were in a coma and the feed tubes were delivering my current calories, I doubt if I would gain any weight. Since I'm not in a coma, eventually the fat cells will just have to surrender their greedy grip on the groceries.

Meanwhile, I feel strong and well, and very far from comatose. And what, after all, is a two-week plateau in a diet that's going to last well over a year?

To change things up a bit and get more information, I just ordered the Withings, which not only measures weight, fat, and lean body mass, but sends the data wirelessly to the internet. So pretty soon I'll know for sure what's what in there. And hey! So will Twitter*

*Optional

Comments

[verilyvexed]

Thanks! And I have to agree, just based on my short experience. I tried tapping on a headache once, and it worked - but only for a few minutes. Tapped again, same thing. Would've been easier to have popped an aspirin, granted.

Oh, you should with the measurements! It's a more concrete way of seeing your progress other than with the scale. Your clothes fit differently, true, but you might've lost 2" off your thighs due to gaining muscle and trimming up even if the scale doesn't move. I take measurements every 2 weeks and a photo monthly. And if I could figure out some way to stick those photos in a spreadsheet and have something intelligible come out, I'd be all over it. XD

[darkemeralds]

There's more than one way to visualize data! Your photos will make a great "video"--paste them all together in a series of stills, one fading to the next. I would love to do that! I was planning on taking a series of photos, once a week or something, wearing black leggings and a black turtleneck, standing in the same place with as close to the same pose as I could manage.

Sadly, the first set I took was so shocking that I've never had the nerve to take any more, even though I know things are improving. I'll probably wind up with about three pictures: before, almost after, and after. I'm already regretting not capturing the in-betweens.

On the headache: yes, from everything I've understood, EFT works on underlying issues better than on symptoms, and the principle is that the underlying issue of most kinds of pain is stress. Stress makes all pain worse. The sessions on pain all suggest starting with a few questions like When did this start? What was happening in the 24 hours prior to that? What does this remind me of?--and then tapping on stuff that arises from the answers. But yeah, for a fleeting tension headache, a couple of aspirin and a glass of water are probably a faster, simpler solution.

[darkemeralds]

I just thought what a cool animated gif icon the transitional photos would make. The Amazing Shrinking Woman!

[verilyvexed]

Hee!! That would be awesome - but mine are me in pyjama bottoms and a tank top rolled up so my tummy's showing. I think my stretch marks might break the internet. XD