I stepped on the scales this morning and it has not moved an ounce! This is both ridiculous and a wake up call. While overall my eating is better, it looks as though I need to take an overview of exactly when and how much I am eating and start journaling my meals. I hate food journals. They are tedious. What's more, my tendency to get obsessive about things poses a real problem during weight loss. Check out my entry for the 5 Stupidest things I ever did to lose weight post. But, it is necessary. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying a plateau isn't to be expected, but plateaus usually come when someone has reached a leveling off point after a "significant" weight loss. This point comes for different people. A person with only 20 pounds to lose may hit a plateau after losing 10 pounds, but a person who has 100 pounds to lose shouldn't hit a plateau before at least 25 pounds in. Women are especially prone to plateaus, as certain biologic functions cause our weight to fluctuate throughout the month, but that's not the issue here.
I know I have not been drinking water as I should either. This is an issue with me. Diet soda is just so gooooooood! And I have a real affinity for coffee. I am not willing to sacrifice my coffee with real sugar and cream. I am a bit of a contradiction in that regard. On the one hand, I have no problem whatsoever drinking a chemical filled diet soda, but on the other, I hate to defile my morning coffee with the artificial stuff. While I may not need to give it up completely, I don't have to drink it until 2pm each day. Maybe I might sleep better as well, if I cut down on the caffeine and sugar, and sleeping better also aids weight loss.
At any rate, here we go with the journal! Don't worry, I will spare you all the gory details of my food journal.
Sorry about the disappointing news, and good luck with the journal.
ReplyDeleteEven if you hate doing it, I do think it's a good idea to try, even if only temporarily, to give you a good sense of your daily calorie intake over a week or so.
Thanks 43! You are right, and I know it's important, but I'm kicking and screaming along the way!
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Maybe you could make it more fun by using lots of colored markers and stickers or something? Make it more of an art project than a science experiment?
ReplyDeleteP.S. I really enjoy reading your blog, by the way. :)
This used to happen to me every time I would go on a diet. Almost no weight loss the first week. Finally I tried a really strict low calorie high volume water diet and I dropped 10 lbs the first week (everyone does). And lost consistently the weeks afterward. I am at goal now.
ReplyDeleteI suspect if you saw no loss than you are eating too much - volume wise. After my experience with that plan I came to the conclusion that there is a weight to the food you have in your body. The first week of a diet people drop 6 lbs of "weight" and people say that is water. But it isn't (or not all) it is just the intestines clearing out and not being replaced with heavy or large amounts food. Like what happened to me where I consumed mostly water for nutrients (shakes and soup).
When people go off a diet and gain 5 lbs in one week, it is purely volume in the intestines. One week of going back to eating less and clearing them out, you will be back down again.
Of course calories were cut on the plan but I think there is a direct relationship between the amount of weight you lose in the first week and how much you will lose overall. For instance you lose 10 lbs the first week you have a 1000 calorie deficit; if you lose 6 lbs the first week you have a 600 calorie deficit. I think the calorie thing shows up in the second week.
My suggestion is to switch to high volume low calorie foods such as soup... salad... yogurt.. and see if that gets things moving.