23 more pounds down!

Just went to the doctor today, and when I got weighed (the first time in
2 months) I was down 23 more pounds, bringing me to just two pounds shy
of a 50 pound loss! This has happened over the course of about 5
months, since May, so I'm very happy with the progress - a nice,
moderate rate, not too fast, not too slow.

I don't keep a scale at home, I just get weighed at the doctor every
month or two. Besides having a more dramatic loss to celebrate g it
also keeps me from fretting over those little daily fluctuations that
are meaningless in the long run.


--
M-C
401/353/?

wrote in message
...
Just went to the doctor today, and when I got weighed (the first time in
2 months) I was down 23 more pounds, bringing me to just two pounds shy
of a 50 pound loss! This has happened over the course of about 5
months, since May, so I'm very happy with the progress - a nice,
moderate rate, not too fast, not too slow.

I don't keep a scale at home, I just get weighed at the doctor every
month or two. Besides having a more dramatic loss to celebrate g it
also keeps me from fretting over those little daily fluctuations that
are meaningless in the long run.


--
M-C
401/353/?

Congratulations M-C. This is a wonderful rate for losing and keeping it
off, Let me be the first to congratulate you on the 50lb milestone as I'm
sure you'll be hitting it real soon.

Beverly

wrote in message
...
Just went to the doctor today, and when I got weighed (the first time in
2 months) I was down 23 more pounds, bringing me to just two pounds shy
of a 50 pound loss! This has happened over the course of about 5
months, since May, so I'm very happy with the progress - a nice,
moderate rate, not too fast, not too slow.

I don't keep a scale at home, I just get weighed at the doctor every
month or two. Besides having a more dramatic loss to celebrate g it
also keeps me from fretting over those little daily fluctuations that
are meaningless in the long run.


--
M-C
401/353/?

Congratulations M-C. This is a wonderful rate for losing and keeping it
off, Let me be the first to congratulate you on the 50lb milestone as I'm
sure you'll be hitting it real soon.

Beverly

Congratulations M-C. This is a wonderful
rate for losing and keeping it off, Let me
be the first to congratulate you on the
50lb milestone as I'm sure you'll be
hitting it real soon.

Thank you so much, I appreciate the encouraging words! Yes, I think my
average of around 10 lbs. a month is a good rate. My doctor was very
pleased, of course, but did warn me not to be surprised if I hit a
plateau sometime soon.

Question: I'm sure many of you have gone through the plateau thing. I
know it varies, but how long do they usually seem to last (assuming you
don't give in to despair and give up on your WOE)? And is it normally
just a lower rate of weight loss, or a total standstill for a while?

--
M-C
401/353/?

On Tue, 12 Oct 2004 17:50:52 -0700, wrote:

Just went to the doctor today, and when I got weighed (the first time in
2 months) I was down 23 more pounds, bringing me to just two pounds shy
of a 50 pound loss! This has happened over the course of about 5
months, since May, so I'm very happy with the progress - a nice,
moderate rate, not too fast, not too slow.

I don't keep a scale at home, I just get weighed at the doctor every
month or two. Besides having a more dramatic loss to celebrate g it
also keeps me from fretting over those little daily fluctuations that
are meaningless in the long run.

Congratulations on your great progress. You'll be looking at 300
before you knwo where you are.

I couldn't agree with you more about not wanting to see the daily
fluctuations. I try not to get on the scale more than about once a
month - it's the bigger picture that matters to me.

janice

wrote:
Thank you so much, I appreciate the encouraging words! Yes, I think my
average of around 10 lbs. a month is a good rate. My doctor was very
pleased, of course, but did warn me not to be surprised if I hit a
plateau sometime soon.

That's actually a possibility. I'm at a plateau after a similar (58lbs)
weight loss. I don't think it's a bad thing in itself. After such a
weight loss, many things, but on the physical and psychological level,
need to catch up.
Losing weight is a stress to your body; at first, this stress is small
in relation to how much the weight loss improves your metabolism, but
after 50 pounds, these tend to reverse. If you did a before and after
blood checkup, you might have seen huge improvements. So, my theory is
that a plateau is there to allow the body to recover from the weight
loss stress, when it has hit a state when it is metabolically stable
enough to afford to delay further weight loss.
Likewise, on a psychological point of view, 50 pounds are enough to make
you reconsider your whole body image. After such a loss, it's not
uncommon to have wildly shifting body image; one day, you feel grossly
obese, the other you feel slim, while the truth is that you are just
overweight. Also, the weight loss has a deeper psychological impact on
many part of your life : sexuality, seduction, relationship with others,
stress management...
I don't think of the plateau as an evil. If it's there, it is because
there is a need for it to be there. Just like the fat was there because
it was somehow "needed" (either psychologically or metabolically). Then,
the key is to understand why the plateau is needed, and how to do
without it, if possible.

Question: I'm sure many of you have gone through the plateau thing. I
know it varies, but how long do they usually seem to last (assuming you
don't give in to despair and give up on your WOE)?

My girlfriend had a one year plateau. Her weight loss was mainly due to
an kind of "epiphany" after which she started to eat whatever she wanted
up to her satiety level. After a while, she hit a stable weight and
stood at it for a year or so. Then, she dropped 20 extra pounds in a few
months and is now at a new plateau. This mostly happened while she was
not doing anything specific about her weight, actually, she was
weighting once every few months during that time.
For myself, I have been on a plateau since the middle of June. I don't
know if/when it will end. I'm starting a psychotherapy (mostly
cognitive), since I have the intuition that I'm keeping the weight
partly for psychological reasons (though my body certainly needed a
break from rapid weight loss too).
One positive side effect of a plateau is that it allows you to
experiment with maintainance.

And is it normally
just a lower rate of weight loss, or a total standstill for a while?

It depends. My girlfriend remained very stable (except for natural
female variations). One thing of note is that it was also very resistant
to change of lifestyle. My gf stopped exercising (gym club went under
along with the year she had paid in advance), but this did not trigger
any regain, the plateau just remained stable. Likewise, she went through
different eating (holidays, eating at home while unemployed, eating at
the restaurant while employed) and psychological patterns (high anxiety,
light depression, feeling well...) patterns with little effect on her
weight.
I remain pretty stable on the short term (I alternate cycles of 1-1.5
lbs gain and loss), but I do skip a cycle once in a while and
"capitalize" on the loss. As a result, I lost 6 pounds since June.
That's not much, but it's not a real standstill either.
However, the plateau seems weight gain resistant. For instance, I gained
an extra 3 pounds during a holidays break (kind of stressfull), but I
lost them all within one week of returning home.

wrote in message
...
Congratulations M-C. This is a wonderful
rate for losing and keeping it off, Let me
be the first to congratulate you on the
50lb milestone as I'm sure you'll be
hitting it real soon.

Thank you so much, I appreciate the encouraging words! Yes, I think my
average of around 10 lbs. a month is a good rate. My doctor was very
pleased, of course, but did warn me not to be surprised if I hit a
plateau sometime soon.

Question: I'm sure many of you have gone through the plateau thing. I
know it varies, but how long do they usually seem to last (assuming you
don't give in to despair and give up on your WOE)? And is it normally
just a lower rate of weight loss, or a total standstill for a while?

--
M-C
401/353/?

You're right - most of us have gone through the dreaded plateau. They can
last from a couple weeks to a couple months. I've found they become more
frequent as you near your goal. The other thing that often happens is the
overall rate of weight loss slows down after the first month or two. The
recommeded weight loss is 1-2 pounds a week and you're right on target.

Don't become discouraged when it happens. I know that's easier said than
doneg When this happens it often helps to be sure you're drinking plenty
of water, watch portion sizes, change the exercise routine slightly, etc.
Currently I'm 6 pounds above my goal and it's a struggle to lose them. I
often find when I go above goal it's because I'm overloading on carbs or
neglecting to exercise as often as I should. I also concentrate more on
body fat % than weight at this time.

Many in the group have experienced them after they've lost a significant
amount of weight such as the 50lbs you've lost. Maybe our bodies just need
a little time to adjust.

I don't know your current daily intake of calories but keep in mind as you
lose weight you'll probably need to adjust it a little lower to fit your new
weight.

If and when you hit a plateau you'll find many in the group who can offer
great suggestions that have worked for them.

Beverly

"Lictor" wrote in message
...
wrote:

That's actually a possibility. I'm at a plateau after a similar (58lbs)
weight loss. I don't think it's a bad thing in itself. After such a
weight loss, many things, but on the physical and psychological level,
need to catch up.
Losing weight is a stress to your body; at first, this stress is small
in relation to how much the weight loss improves your metabolism, but
after 50 pounds, these tend to reverse. If you did a before and after
blood checkup, you might have seen huge improvements. So, my theory is
that a plateau is there to allow the body to recover from the weight
loss stress, when it has hit a state when it is metabolically stable
enough to afford to delay further weight loss.
Likewise, on a psychological point of view, 50 pounds are enough to make
you reconsider your whole body image. After such a loss, it's not
uncommon to have wildly shifting body image; one day, you feel grossly
obese, the other you feel slim, while the truth is that you are just
overweight. Also, the weight loss has a deeper psychological impact on
many part of your life : sexuality, seduction, relationship with others,
stress management...
I don't think of the plateau as an evil. If it's there, it is because
there is a need for it to be there. Just like the fat was there because
it was somehow "needed" (either psychologically or metabolically). Then,
the key is to understand why the plateau is needed, and how to do
without it, if possible.

Question: I'm sure many of you have gone through the plateau thing. I
know it varies, but how long do they usually seem to last (assuming you
don't give in to despair and give up on your WOE)?

My girlfriend had a one year plateau. Her weight loss was mainly due to
an kind of "epiphany" after which she started to eat whatever she wanted
up to her satiety level. After a while, she hit a stable weight and
stood at it for a year or so. Then, she dropped 20 extra pounds in a few
months and is now at a new plateau. This mostly happened while she was
not doing anything specific about her weight, actually, she was
weighting once every few months during that time.
For myself, I have been on a plateau since the middle of June. I don't
know if/when it will end. I'm starting a psychotherapy (mostly
cognitive), since I have the intuition that I'm keeping the weight
partly for psychological reasons (though my body certainly needed a
break from rapid weight loss too).
One positive side effect of a plateau is that it allows you to
experiment with maintainance.

And is it normally
just a lower rate of weight loss, or a total standstill for a while?

It depends. My girlfriend remained very stable (except for natural
female variations). One thing of note is that it was also very resistant
to change of lifestyle. My gf stopped exercising (gym club went under
along with the year she had paid in advance), but this did not trigger
any regain, the plateau just remained stable. Likewise, she went through
different eating (holidays, eating at home while unemployed, eating at
the restaurant while employed) and psychological patterns (high anxiety,
light depression, feeling well...) patterns with little effect on her
weight.
I remain pretty stable on the short term (I alternate cycles of 1-1.5
lbs gain and loss), but I do skip a cycle once in a while and
"capitalize" on the loss. As a result, I lost 6 pounds since June.
That's not much, but it's not a real standstill either.
However, the plateau seems weight gain resistant. For instance, I gained
an extra 3 pounds during a holidays break (kind of stressfull), but I
lost them all within one week of returning home.

Lictor:

I really like your thoughts on the plateau, especially the effects weight
loss has on our lives. You're very right; it's a huge adjustment and it
takes times for everything to catch up. I'll remember this the next time I
hit one.

Thanks again.

Martha

--
---
Martha
182.5/162.5/140
www.bastmagazine.com

On Tue, 12 Oct 2004 20:38:12 -0700, wrote:

Congratulations M-C. This is a wonderful
rate for losing and keeping it off, Let me
be the first to congratulate you on the
50lb milestone as I'm sure you'll be
hitting it real soon.

Thank you so much, I appreciate the encouraging words! Yes, I think my
average of around 10 lbs. a month is a good rate. My doctor was very
pleased, of course, but did warn me not to be surprised if I hit a
plateau sometime soon.

Question: I'm sure many of you have gone through the plateau thing. I
know it varies, but how long do they usually seem to last (assuming you
don't give in to despair and give up on your WOE)? And is it normally
just a lower rate of weight loss, or a total standstill for a while?

When I was losing (~120 lbs. over 2 years) I sometimes had total
standstills for around 3 weeks, and sometimes periods a few weeks
longer when I'd only lose 2-3 lbs. But it never occurred to me to
feel despair or worry about it, as for me it was never about rate of
loss but about sticking to my new WOE forever. I averaged 5
lbs./month -- never even in a single month lost as much as you've
done. But there are lots of factors that influence rate of loss --
how much overweight you are at the start, gender (I'm female), age
(I'm 56), activity level (I'm quite active), basal metabolic rate (I
have thyroid disease -- treated -- which slows down metabolism, and am
menopausal, which does as well), and of course the calorie deficit one
is consuming. When one's maintenance level is around 1600 calories
(as is typical for women my age), more than 500 calories per day
(about 1 lb. per week loss) would be difficult and unhealthy. At your
weight, if you're eating 1500 calories per day (which I think you said
elsewhere), your rate of loss is probably pretty realistic. But you
will experience plateaus anyway, I expect.

Some people find that if they're eating quite a bit less than their
body wants -- and you might be in that group -- that their body at
some point just sort of digs in its heels and says, "I'm not gonna let
go of any more fat, because I need it to keep alive if this person
isn't gonna feed me." I'm not sure this so-called "starvation mode"
has a strong scientific basis, but many people seem to experience it.
If at some point you think you might be in that mode, ask here and
you'll get lots of advice :-).

And congratulations on your progress so far!

Chris
262/138/ (135-145)

wrote in message
...
Just went to the doctor today, and when I got weighed (the first time in
2 months) I was down 23 more pounds, bringing me to just two pounds shy
of a 50 pound loss! This has happened over the course of about 5
months, since May, so I'm very happy with the progress - a nice,
moderate rate, not too fast, not too slow.

I don't keep a scale at home, I just get weighed at the doctor every
month or two. Besides having a more dramatic loss to celebrate g it
also keeps me from fretting over those little daily fluctuations that
are meaningless in the long run.


--
M-C
401/353/?

Wonderful progress, M-C -- that is very exciting to hear!

Mary