Week 34: The Dieter's Plateau

I apologize for not having a post last week. I noticed my weight starting to plateau, so I did a few slingshot days and did NOT want to weigh in during the middle of it.

A "slingshot" week (or in my case, 4 days) is when you change up your diet for a bit. Our bodies get used to our diet the same way our minds get used to schedules. Once my body has fully adapted to my diet it stops losing the weight and instead stores extra fat. You can only consume less than your daily calorie expenditure for so long until your body hits that "starvation" mode and decides it needs to store the energy. During my slingshot days I eat high carbs and up my calories for 4-7 days straight - which then causes me to retain water and the scale to be a bit deceptive - hence the lack of desire to weigh in. However, these "slingshot" days basically tricks my body into releasing stored fat instead of storing more fat.

Unfortunately, many people trying to lose weight will hit a plateau and instead of giving their body what it needs (energy) they try to eat less and exercise more, doing exactly the opposite of what they should be doing. When this doesn't work they might give up. Plateau's can be the end of a weight loss journey, that is why many refer to it as the "dreaded dieter's plateau". It is not so much the physical battle of getting over the plateau that is challenging, but the mental battle. Have you ever tried to lose weight and plateaued? What did you do?

So....last week.Mentally, coming off the plateau was difficult. I had spent a week not losing weight even though I worked incredibly hard. I was looking forward to Saturday's weigh in, but was terrified for it at the same time. I changed my diet, then changed my diet again, and my body was not responding well. I was already tired by Tuesday morning and it just got worse and worse as the week went on. By Friday I was exhausted - physically, mentally, and emotionally. Yes, I wanted to keep fighting for my goal, but I just did not have the energy to do it. My desire and will-power was there, but my fight and energy were gone. My older sister called me on Friday - to check in and to chat. I told her what was going on and she recommended that I take the evening off. I have no idea why that felt so foreign to me. Could I actually do that? So I did...kind of. I went to physical therapy but skipped band practice. I focused on me for the rest of the night. I woke up on Saturday feeling refreshed and got out the scale for weigh in...

3.4 lbs is a GREAT loss for one week. I would love to have seen a bigger number for 2 weeks, but honestly, I am just so happy that I finally got past 228. I'm nervous/excited for this Saturday's weigh in as well. I hope I am under 225, but I'm nervous/scared that I'm not quite over this plateau. I am not a very patient person and weight loss requires patience. Ugh.

After my 6am weigh in I met up with my Bishop and some guys from my stake for a hike. I expected a few more people to be on the hike, with at least one more girl, and I was hoping for someone close to my fitness level. Nope. I got 3 super fit guys and my super fit bishop. As soon as we started the hike two of the guys took off. It turns out there is some awesome climbing on the side of the trail and they wanted time to climb, so they raced to the rocks. David and my bishop stuck by my side and allowed me to set the pace. The hike was about 6 miles and it was so fun. The worst part wasn't the uphill climb, it was the descent! We hiked up for about 3.5 miles and down for 2.5 miles, so you know the downhill was steep! I was super sore the next day but SO proud of my pace. I may have slowed them down a bit (especially on the downhill..) but I was still SO proud of what I accomplished.

I love hiking.

I'm going again on Saturday.

I can't wait.