I’d like to suggest that sometimes one only SEEMS to be losing the same 5 pounds. From day to day, my weight fluctuates in a 2 pound range. (I’m not talking during the day which depends on hydration and what I eat–I mean, weighing myself in undies/flimsy nightwear first thing in the morning after going to the bathroom). Exception–Miss Flow.

So it looks like I’m going up and down, up and down if I look at it over a two week period. But since I use a computer instead of a manual food diary nowadays, I realized that the two pounds now are four pounds lighter at both the top and bottom than the two pound range I fluctuated in, three months ago.

Now this isn’t a huge difference, and I’m actually at a healthy weight for my height (although I’ll confess it would be nice to lose another 5 pounds of midlife ribcage/midriff/belly fat purely aesthetically) but I thought I’d point out that sometimes you don’t realize you’ve lost weight over time if it’s a small amount. In my case, the difference between my weight then and my weight now isn’t really a size difference–but I feel better in more form fitting clothing.

Additionally, I’m realistic about holidays and vacations and although I don’t see them as licenses to pig out, I generally up my daily maintenance calorie allotment around 20% while on vacation so I don’t feel deprived, and feel I can easily adjust my weight after if I gain a pound or two–and likewise over the holidays, I’ll give myself one small indulgence allowance a day while there are so much holiday treat foods floating around…. I did gain around 3 pounds between Thanksgiving and January 1st this year but they came back off easily enough. I actually think that a bit of weight cycling is kind of normal–even when I was young and skinny in high school and averaged 95 pounds, I weighed something like 93 in the summer and 97 right after the holidays…

I’d also like to point out that the “maintaining for a while even though you’re not done” idea is not only valid for practicing maintenance, it is really helpful in keeping weight off longterm because your body adjusts to a lower weight as “normal” and a new caloric intake as non-dieting. I lost what I did very slowly, and rested in the middle to let my body adjust, twice. In order to weigh 20% less than I started at, I’ve had to up my activity/walking levels and eat around 75-80% of my original daily caloric intake. That’s not dieting–that’s maintenance. So someone with more pounds to lose might end up gradually having to halve the daily calories eventually–an awful prospect if one tried to do it suddenly, but something really do-able if one lost no more than 10% of one’s current weight at once, rested for a few months and then went back to weight loss…

It’s really about lifestyle change and the longterm. And I TOTALLY think food diaries are a great way to keep yourself honest. I got lazy after a while writing down what I ate and gained a few pounds over the winter. Doing it electronically on a smartphone or ipod (there are “apps” for iphones and android out there) helps keep one’s intake in check–AND really helps to analyze things like fat intake, or saturated fat, or sugars if those are concerns too! (It’s also FUN.)

permanently.
.-= Miz´s last blog ..Companies MizFit loves: Oiselle Running. =-.

The last time I got stuck (about 10 lbs ago) I had to take a serious look at what I was eating and change. I added more fruits and veggies in and started losing again.

I’m currently working on what I need to change to keep a steady loss. Of course, I had a stressful month of May, so I’m thinking my less-stressful summer should makes things start moving in the right direction again.

Thanks for the hints.
.-= Leah´s last blog ..Two Small Victories! =-.

Seriously, I’ve been stuck at 170 for like two months. I’ve been changing it up, TRYING EVERYTHING to get over this plateau. Changing workouts, taking a week off, upping my calories, lowering my calories, eating at maintenance, severely cutting calories, upping my protein, upping my carbs, upping my fat. You name it, I’ve tried it. The only thing I haven’t tried is bulking, which is looking like the only option if I don’t get over this wall very soon.
.-= Tony the Pink Panda´s last blog ..I Am Like a Vampire =-.

I worked for weight watchers and weighed people in and I can’t tell you how many times the same people would lose one week, only to gain it back the next and then lose, then gain! I always felt bad because they were paying money and not getting the results.

I think the most positive part though to be honest, is at least most of us keep trying again! So that’s good!
.-= Jenn@slim-shoppin´s last blog ..Nutrition + Exercise is the key + kale chips? =-.