Let's Be Honest...

So the fabulous Kristin over at My Journey Being Banded did a post today on breaking through plateaus.  She offered wonderful tips on how to change up your diet or workout routine to bust through those annoying stallmates.  She inspired me though to add one more tip to her jar...Be honest with yourself.

I've seen a couple posts recently about this...the one standing out to me is from the all time fav - Amy at Sunkist.  The fact is, sometimes you aren't experiencing a plateau, you just aren't doing what you need to do to lose weight.  It FEELS like a plateau because you aren't gaining weight.  But here's how I define a plateau...it's when you're doing EVERYTHING right but you're still not losing weight.  You're still tracking your food, exercising as much as you were and eating all the right things.  But the scale won't budge.  THAT'S a plateau.

I really think that for most of us, when our weight loss stalls, it's a direct result of something we're doing.  I have been banded for about a year.  For one year, I have devoted my time and energy to getting healthy.  I've been the most committed to this endeavour than I have ever been in my life.  And I have.never.plateau'd.  It's true.  "But MandaPanda!  You went about 2 months without losing ANYTHING.  Wouldn't you say you were on a plateau then?"  No, I wouldn't.  My lack of weight loss over the summer was entirely my doing.  I stopped working out religiously.  My portions had grown bigger and I was eating crap.  That's not a plateau...that's a lack of commitment.  Did I gain?  No.  I hovered in the same 2 lbs range all summer.  But I wasn't doing what I needed to do to lose weight.  Old habits started creeping their way into my routine - like a nightly blizzard or mcflurry..even a small one can pretty much fulfill your calorie allowance for the day.  So before you get all huffy about being "stuck at a plateau" ask yourself some questions.

1. Am I really sticking to my portions?  Am I measuring like I was, using the same size plate as I was, eating until I'm just "satisfied" or am I waiting until I'm full?
2. Am I making the best food choices?  Am I still choosing good, solid proteins or am I eating more slider foods and carbs than I was?  Have I started incorporating a night time sweet snack again?
3. Am I snacking more?  Maybe I need to write down or log everything I'm eating in a week to see if there are some hidden calories I'm not counting in my head.  Even too much healthy food can add up to unnecessary habits.
4. Is there something in my life I need to change?  Am I getting enough sleep or am I under too much stress right now that may be causing me to change my priorities?
5. Am I working out as often as I was and am I pushing myself as hard as I was?  Am I phoning in my workout and not giving it my best effort or have I stopped working out altogether?

If you answer these questions honestly and you're still doing everything right but the scale isn't moving, you're "stuck."  Go read Kristin's blog for great advice on busting through it.  But I think these questions are an important reality check to some people who believe they're "stuck" but just aren't seeing the small changes that can add up to no movement on the scale.

Primal Day yesterday - still no good. Better...but not great.  Still working on it.  But I'll always be a work in progress.  And that's OK.  Have a great Hump Day!