# plateau'd



## timbla (Jul 8, 2011)

was doing really well with the weight loss. have been walking around 4 miles a day, most days, for a few months now and saw about two stone drop off. seemed to come off my backside and legs though, so still have a bit of a belly going on which i'd like to see gone.

the thing is, for the last couple of weeks, my weight has remained stable. weight loss has stopped. a quick googling suggested i had reached the 'plateau', and that this was quite normal with dieters who tended not to mix up their exercise regime. 'confusing' the body by doing different exercises seemed to be the most oft-quoted advice.

does this jibe with anyone else's experiences? i was pretty pleased to see the initial progress made, but i am only halfway to hitting my target weight and thought i was on a roll. well if i was, i am clearly not rolling anymore and need some suggestions!


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## MargB (Jul 8, 2011)

Oh yes, sounds very, very familiar!!!

A strange piece of advice is to have a blow-out as that will jerk your body awake!


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## Casper (Jul 11, 2011)

MargB said:


> Oh yes, sounds very, very familiar!!!
> 
> A strange piece of advice is to have a blow-out as that will jerk your body awake!



This worked for me - I plateaued, then decided to treat myself to a chip shop portion of chips and curry  ate all of it, suffered with indigestion/bloating, but 2 days later, I had dropped another 3lbs!

Gone back to reduced portions now though, lets see what happens


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## Andy HB (Jul 11, 2011)

Interesting thought about having a blowout. 

I have been wondering for a while now what the processes are going on with weight loss and how they all interract. For instance there are several types of energy stores in the body (fat in different locations being one). It would be good to know which get used up first and under which conditions.

My feeling is that the first fat to go is that surrounding the internal organs (visceral fat). I've also noticed that my weight loss has concentrated around the bum and leg areas (possibly because I've been doing a lot of walking and rowing). Although, having said that, my waist measurement has decreased by 6" too.

I also wondered whether a mixture of exercise (e.g. my walking and rowing) helps the process. The rowing is a higher intensity for shorter periods, whereas the walking is medium intensity for longer (60mins per day Mon-Fri, 90mins at the weekend).

I also understand that the initial weight loss is boosted because of water loss when certain energy stores are depleted. Once this has been 'used up' then further weight loss is due to actual fat loss (hopefully - if not done properly it could be muscle loss - not good) and this is harder to do. I've heard that 1lb fat is equivalent to 3,500 cals, but I remain a tad sceptical about that number.

Finally, I think that if you keep up the weight loss regime (and are keeping an eye on those little treats which sneak in round the corners unnoticed), you will resume the weight loss. I certainly had periods where the weight actually climbed a bit before resuming the downward trend again (I can show you a graph if interested!).

Andy


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## MargB (Jul 12, 2011)

That is interesting Andy.  I know from SW that the weeks when I reckon I will have a gain as I have been out, eaten the wrong foods, etc are usually the weeks when I maintain or even have a loss.  After a 'treat' day then I am extra careful and think that can cause confusion in the body.

When you feel you are on a plateau, that is the time to take measurements again as you may well find you are losing inches rather than pounds.  Both are good.


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## timbla (Jul 12, 2011)

thank you to all for the input. most of my weight has dropped off the bum and legs too, because my main exercise is walking. i still have the belly, and i am determined to lose the moobs eventually, but figure walking is probs not the best way to achieve that aim.

it could be time to start swimming i guess.

not sure about the blow out though. while i would love it at the time, the blood sugar spike would scare me for one, but more than that, it would be a sad reminder of the life i have left behind. i figure if i just stay off the stuff i love to eat and drink it will get easier not having it in my life, whereas if i cheat from time to time, it will make it harder to really pull away from the memory of my 'lost love(s)'. gosh, i havent had a pint since april, and i could kill for one. but if i have one thatll be it. i'll have three or four, the taste will be back, and it will be harder to leave it consigned the past.

perhaps this is not a healthy approach but its the only one that i can deal with in these early stages post diagnoses.

thanks again. 

used to row a lot as a kid. would love to get back into it, and being near the thames, one would think it was easy enough to do, but alas, its a little cost prohibitive for me right now.

thanks again to all.

tim


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## Northerner (Jul 12, 2011)

Hi Tim, your palate does change and the things you think you crave are quite possibly things you wouldn't actually enjoy any more. I had a 'Day of Indulgence' a while ago and actually found it really hard going:

http://diabetespoetry.blogspot.com/2010/10/food-glorious-food.html

Sticking 'with the program' really does work - well done on all your achievements to date, I am sure that you will start losing in the areas currently proving stubborn. I have that problem too - I'm actually pretty skinny, but a bit flabby on the torso, so I turned to Gay Gasper and she's definitely helping at only 15 minutes a day for the 'abs' workout!


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