Day 70: Plateaus

Day 70

Weight Loss: 23.5 pounds

Goal:  50 pounds

You always hear people talk about weight loss plateaus occurring after you have been on a diet for a while like it is a mysterious force fighting your body and your desire to get to your goal.  It is a great excuse to stop trying because clearly the diet "isn't working anymore".  Unfortunately for me, I have committed to keeping a daily journal of my activities and cannot get off so easily.

My weight loss has slowed and become less consistent since I started but so has my adherence to the Program.   I believe the dreaded Plateau is actually in my mind.  I am much happier with my weight and body since I have lost over 10% of my body weight.  I move around with less pain and have more energy.  I fit into clothes that used to be too tight.  In other words, some of my motivation for starting the journey has waned as I have made significant progress.  

Although I have developed new healthy eating habits, the novelty has worn off and I find myself drifting back to old habits.  It is so tempting to say that I can have that pizza now because I am doing so good, but I need to fight the impulse to stop my forward progress and revert to old behaviors.  There will be a time and place to bring back treats in moderation, but that is after I get to my goal weight.  And even then, I know that I must still use moderation and weekly weight tracking or I'll end up back where I started.  

There is some truth to your body wanting to revert to it's old weight, but I believe there is a mental component, as well.  I have been overweight for so long that I think of myself as a fat person and, when I lose weight, it doesn't change my mental self-image.  There is a conflict with what I believe myself to be and what I am becoming.  I think that I sometimes sabotage my own progress to bring my body condition back into line with my body self-image.

I am going to use a daily affirmation every morning and every night stating that "I am a healthy, thin person and I love my body."  I am going to do it twice a day for the next seven days and visualize myself in a bathing suit on my planned February vacation.

There is a famous weight loss program that allows you to take the weekends off, and I think that can be very harmful for several reasons. To begin with, we need to establish healthy new eating habits and that takes 21 days of strict adherence.  If you are having 5 days on and 2 days off each week, you will never develop new improved habits.  Plus, it will slow your weight loss down so much that you will lose your motivation.

I started off this week with a great weight loss and then attended a wine dinner and gained 3/4 pound back.  It took me a couple of days to lose that and get back to my low for the week.  I then went out to another dinner and gained a 1/2 pound, leaving me at a total loss for the week of two pounds.  If I had stuck to the Program for the entire week, I would have lost three to four pounds.

Therefore, my second goal for this week is to make a seven day pledge to strict adherence to the Capitol Hill Cookie Diet Program.  No going off program, even the smallest bit, for seven days.  I can do anything for one week.  Hopefully, the combination of daily affirmations and a one week behavior pledge will end my plateau once and for all and allow me to keep moving to my goal.