The Art of Beating Plateaus... - ThinnerTimes - Gastric Bypass Forum, Lap Band Forum, and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Forum

tiaaya · 06-19-2009, 08:38 AM

Early on, my trainer and I talked about "shocking" my system to avoid plateaus in weight loss. I didn't really buy into it until I met my nutritionist and asked her about it. She said that it's one of the most effective ways to keep weight loss going strong. (There are a lot of articles about this around, you can probably Google it.) Anyhow, I decided that, when I reached the 100 lbs weight loss goal (which is when I actually started to see the weight loss taper off), I would begin this practice. I did it for fun, sorta...and to keep things interesting. It's paying off big time and I haven't ever hit a plateau. I'm still losing...a year and 3 months later, my doctor; nutritionist and trainer are all sitting back waiting for me to stop losing. I have no intention of stopping, of course, because I have my goals and I'm stubborn.

People always ask me (at the gym) what I do to keep it coming off (inches and pounds) and I tell them that I never stick to the same thing for too long. I also tell them that I listen to my body. I never stay with the same type of cardio for too long. Your body gets used to it and you don't burn off as many calories after a while. I make it a point to have fun and play a little roulette with the machines weekly. Monday, I may start on the treadmill, come back later and do the stair climber. Tuesday, I'll weight train and hit the elliptical. Wednesday, I just go for a brisk walk. Etc. Etc...No week is the same and, if I'm tired and out of it, I rest or take it easy. I also make it a very serious point to eat 6 times a day...every four to three hours to keep my metabolism and blood sugars stable. I change up my meals a lot too. It's a bit of a challenge to keep up with this because I'm a creature of habit, but I'm pretty determined to succeed.

I don't know if this type of system works for everyone but it has been a huge success for me and I have my nutritionist and my trainer to thank the most for guiding me in the right direction. For the first time ever, I love my diet and my exercise routine. I even love that stupid stair climber at the gym.

Kimberly76 · 06-19-2009, 08:55 AM

Thanks for the tidbits of information in your post.

psst.. yas gotta try a spin class.. but! beware of the bicycle seat, it is a killer on the tookus.

Rebirth_103008 · 06-19-2009, 09:09 AM

OMG thanks for this thread! I hit my first very big plateau last month and only lost 4 lbs. I'm only 8 months out, and I walk 5 or 6 days a week. Apparently, my body is used to this. I was wondering if I should rejoin the gym so I could at least have some variety and wouldn't have to let the weather determine if I can get my exercise in or not. I'm going to rejoin the gym today so I can rotate the bike, stairclimber, treadmill, aerobics classes, weights . . . ). Thanks a bunch!

tiaaya · 06-19-2009, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rebirth_103008

OMG thanks for this thread! I hit my first very big plateau last month and only lost 4 lbs. I'm only 8 months out, and I walk 5 or 6 days a week. Apparently, my body is used to this. I was wondering if I should rejoin the gym so I could at least have some variety and wouldn't have to let the weather determine if I can get my exercise in or not. I'm going to rejoin the gym today so I can rotate the bike, stairclimber, treadmill, aerobics classes, weights . . . ). Thanks a bunch!

I have to say, and please don't take this wrong, but 4 lbs in one month isn't a plateau! That's awesome! Are you kidding??? I lose on average 2 to 4 lbs a month now. I don't consider that a plateau at all. That's a huge success! To me, a plateau is not losing at all for a long stretch of time. Be proud of yourself girl...you're going strong!!

Rebirth_103008 · 06-19-2009, 09:38 AM

Thank you. I considered it a plateau cause I was averaging a loss of 14 lbs a month. The funny thing is early out I rarely exercised and just recently got serious about it. So to my dismay, to lose 4 lbs after all this sweating and soreness was very disappointing. I know I've gained muscle, but jeesh! I'm still joining the gym. They have a special for $9/month going on. I might even go tonight on a Friday--who would've ever thought I'd be at the gym on a Friday night????

joy1968 · 06-19-2009, 10:03 AM

Thank you for the post. Interesting concept. I've heard that same thing from my nut.

tiaaya · 06-19-2009, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rebirth_103008

Thank you. I considered it a plateau cause I was averaging a loss of 14 lbs a month. The funny thing is early out I rarely exercised and just recently got serious about it. So to my dismay, to lose 4 lbs after all this sweating and soreness was very disappointing. I know I've gained muscle, but jeesh! I'm still joining the gym. They have a special for $9/month going on. I might even go tonight on a Friday--who would've ever thought I'd be at the gym on a Friday night????

Muscle is a big, big factor, but it's important you keep building it. Focus on the inches lost and how good you feel inside. The scale is not everything. I stopped focusing on my weight. It was making me psychotic! I never in my life ever believed I would fit into a size small and I do now...(and I haven't reached my doc's goal of 150 yet). Exercise and weight training take your body to another level and the scale isn't where you should look to see your success. Success is about being healthy and strong...AND especially to me, it's about being able to stick to my guns and making this a lifelong committment.

Rebirth_103008 · 06-19-2009, 11:21 AM

Thank you. That's why I got rid of my scale. Because at 219, I still feel very obese. My mom told me this morning, I was getting skinny. I was pissed! I am by no means skinny. I'm in a size 16 and some 18s depending on the brand. I have a pair of size 14s I can get into too. I'm trying to focus on how I feel and look, only if I could get the number on the scale out my mind. It's all a numbers game for me--how much I weigh, what size I wear . . . I feel so bad because I should be so happy I've lost 90 lbs and went from a size 24 or 26 to the size I am now.

Mike&HisMotorcycle · 06-26-2009, 02:22 PM

I've been at a plateau for about 6 weeks although I've been training for a marathon running 30-40 miles per week. However, I just lost 3 pounds last week after competing in a sprint distance triathlon. That was a huge shock to my system where I was basically going all out for 90 minutes through the 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike and 5K run. My heart rate was well above my usual training zones and I guess that "shock" helped.

befree · 07-09-2009, 12:08 PM

I searched this forum for "plateaus" because I'm in one...had surgery 2-25-09 and have lost 58 pounds with little effort since then, averaging 2-3 pounds/week for the last couple of months. But the last 2 weeks have only lost 1 1/2 pounds total. Of course, do I exercise? No, not much...just water aerobics a couple of times weekly, which really isn't a prolonged session of cardio. Do I lift weights? No. Do I even stretch? No. So I'm kicking myself in the butt, and hereby publicly swear I will exercise at least 5-6 days weekly. Besides just the weight loss, I need to do some serious weights for the sagging skin I'm now developing on inner arms and inner thighs.
Also, I wonder if my habit of a 4-oz glass of red wine nightly could be part of the reason. I took this up a couple of weeks ago because I read that it can help prevent gallstone formation, and thought I would add it to my Actigall for the next 6 months. But I will stop it immediately, just in case the alcohol is slowing my metabolism. I'll check in next week with a report on how it all went. Glad y'all are here to be my accountability partners!