Over the past three months, I've been very stagnant on my weight loss. That's why I decided to take an exercise class this month. I wanted to catch up. I thought it was my fault for not losing it. In the first week, I lost three pounds and I was very excited!
Then I stepped on the scale this week.
Those three pounds are back and the scale reads the same old number I've been seeing for months. And it's not just my weight. I measured myself and found that I not only didn't lose any inches anywhere, but I actually gained in some places. I'm so god damn frustrated. I've tried all sorts of diet adjustments. Various exercise levels. It just isn't coming off. The worst part is that I was warned about this from my primary - that I would hit a weight plateau. I just thought it'd be closer to my target weight. And, even worse, my target weight is still 15 pounds more than what I should weigh. And I'm 26 pounds from my target weight.
Not to sound like a whiny teenager, but it just seems so unfair. Losing weight is hard enough. Hypothyroidism takes that difficulty and multiplies it by 100. I have to fight for every pound I lose - and every pound I don't lose. I gain for absolutely no reason. And don't even get me started on motivation.
Even worse, I did some research. I'm already on a restrictive diet. It seems like, in order to lose any more weight, I'm going to have to restrict myself even more. No more high-sugar fruits or dairy. Absolutely no breads, not even low-cal, low-carb ones. I'd be limited to certain proteins and certain vegetables. If I wanted any kind of diversity, I'd have to give up my pescetarian diet. And, when and if I do lose the weight, I'd never be able to go back or I'd gain it all back.
I understand restricting yourself to a healthy diet, but where does it cross the line? When is it no longer worth it? To never eat another slice of bread again? Or maybe only once a month and then have to bust rear to get it off?
I'm starting to wonder if I should give up my weight goals for this year. But it was one of my big three. I seriously feel like curling up in a ball and crying. What's the point in having goals when I can't even meet them?
I wouldn't give up on your goals altogether, maybe just restructure them. Instead of "My goal is to be X amount of pounds" maybe you could change it to something along the lines of "My goal is to have a happy and healthy lifestyle?" Emphasis on the happy part. I wonder if stress has anything to do with your plateau? It can't last forever, can it? Eventually if you stick to eating healthy and exercising I would think that you'll start losing again.
ReplyDeleteI'm no nutritionist but are you getting your RDAs of vitamins and minerals? I just recently started planning my meals so half my plate consists of either fruits or vegetables and the other half is part protein, dairy, and grains. It's a lifestyle change that doesn't come easy! Just have to keep working on it!
Given that the plateau has lasted 3 months, there's a good chance it could last forever and even make me start to gain weight as I age. A lot of it has to do with the hypothyroidism. Everyone's experience with hypothyroidism is different. I'd have to switch to the diet at this point.
DeleteAlso, switching the goal to something like that makes it immeasurable. A good goal is something you can track and verify progress on.
Also, I've been eating healthy for months. Just not this specific diet. With this diet, half of my plate would have to be a white meat (no reds), and the other half would have to be very specific veggies. No grains, no dairy, no fruit essentially. I'd be extremely limited. Eating outside the diet, even just as a snack, would have ramifications for days. It means no cheating unless I want to deal with a sharp, sudden weight gain (among other things) for a bit.
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