Dealing with the slow weeks - week 17

[Cerulean]

Hello again. My posts recently have been all 'Look at me in the pretty dresses!' and brimming with positivity - and obviously it's great to share the successes as reading about other people's successes in my first 50 days or so was practically the only thing that kept me going!

But - I thought that this week I would talk about what happens in a slow week (cos I'm having one right now and may actually have put on a lb this week ) - where the weight just doesn't seem to be shifting - because we all have to deal with that too (unless you're one of the lucky people that loses about 3lbs every week without fail!)

Since I've started I've had 3 weeks like this - it could be all manner of things.

1. TOTM (I know the chaps on here always laugh at that - but maybe men have their own TOTMs too!)
2. Exercise (muscle building)
3. Just one of those weeks
4. Constipation
5. Suddenly upping your water intake - eg from 4 to 6 - maybe your body has to adjust to absorbing the extra 2 litres before it flushes it all through
6. Lots of other things(!)

This week may be slow because I've had a couple of days where I could only get 2.5 litres down - it may also be because my muscle really is starting to build - I suddenly developed have those little scoops at the back of my shoulders like Madonna has!

My loss has also been so super speedy that I'm treating this slow week like a chance for my body to catch up with itself. The weight isn't actually that important.

My friends taught me a very valuable lesson this week.

Are you ready for it?

THE NUMBERS DON'T MATTER.

This came as a shock to me (I work in banking and the numbers definitely DO matter in my job) - you should see my weightloss spreadsheet and graphs! Every ounce is tracked and accounted for!

The numbers mattered because I've never been a thin adult, so I assumed that I would have to get to a BMI of 21 to find out. Turns out that I may be absolutely fine with being a 27 because I love my curves! So I decided on three new goals in order of priority.

Health (I will look after my mental and physical health)
Being sexy (I will take pride in my body and my appearance and revel in being damn fine for the first time in my life thankyouverymuch!)
Fitting into nice clothes (once my mind and body are sorted, lets wrap it up nicely!)

If you think about it...a dress label is your secret (unless you're like me and yours keep popping up at the back when you least want them to!), as is your weight and your BMI - we don't wear them on our lapels.

What isn't a secret is how you face the world - is there a spring in your step and a gleam in your eye? You can't count those things. There are no numbers attached to a cheeky grin because you just caught your reflection in a shop window and you looked goooooood or being able to run for a bus!

So the slow weeks are tiny reminders that it's not about the numbers. It's about what's happening to you inside. That's how I see it anyway!

[katie_oxo]

See now I agree with your friend, in weight loss the numbers almost don't matter in that they only matter to you. There's only you that sees them and can self congratulate on them but it's the difference in what others see in you that matters and the huge changes inside you which nobody, not even you, actually see.

You're doing amazingly well - stay strong in your slow week as it will be closely followed by weeks in which you lose lots.

Cath
x

[hippoellie]

Hi Cerulean- I am so grateful that you posted this. I am having a slow week, and my scales seem to be telling me I will be very lucky not gain this week- and I only had a 2lb loss last week, so I have been stressing, even though I have been telling myself- its the big picture, there are many reasons why etc. But the stress of not losing has been enormous- I suppose we get used to hopping on the scales and seeing them go down and down- and of course I know I shouldn't weigh myself, but hey I'm keeping all my willpower for not eating food!

Its true- your weight doesn't matter, its the figure you have and how well you feel within yourself- I have suffered from depression in the past and I am determined not to let that happen to me again- yet this week the stress of not losing has really made me very down. So I should concentrate on the mental health- I'm feeling great physically, I have plans for the future that will deliver me the lifestyle I want, all is growing in the garden- and not on whether a 1/4 pound has come on or off!

So thank you again- I'm going to focus on the wellness and forget the weight itself- it'll be great to annunce huge losses, but in the long term everyone will forget that I lost a load of weight, but my health and wellbeing is for life!
duky received!

[Tiger Girl]

Really interesting thread!
I've just posted elsewhere that I've been struggling with the number based goal setting since day 1. I think it's primarily due to the fact that I've no idea what I (and the emphasis is definitely on the 'I') will look like when I'm between 11-12 stone. Havent got a clue. I discovered the other day that someone who I wouldve guessed was around the 10st mark was actually 11 and a half st! Really made me think that I have no clue how much anyone weighs, so why worry about what I weigh and just focus on feeling great?

[Cerulean]

I stayed the same - which is no bad thing as I had assumed that I would be a pound or so heavier so it's nice not to have gone up at least!

But I am in hard ketosis so I assume that next week will be a good loss! If not it might be time to stop looking at the scales for a few weeks.

[Mrs Lard]

Hello Sarah/Cerulean

Just want to say thank you for such a great thread and to everyone else who added their comments. It's all so poignant.

Like Tiger Girl, I had no idea when I started LL, what I would really look like when I lost more weight. It seems, like life (sorry, that sounds a bit cliched), LL has highs and lows but the highs are fairly constant from week 2 onwards but then the lows kick in and...we panic.

As your friend says, in the great scheme of things, it ISN'T about the numbers but when you're in the middle of it (LL), the numbers do tend to matter!

Several of us have written on another thread (gaijingirl's) and I have come to the conclusion, several times over during the past 10 weeks, this diet really isn't about the food. Even calling a diet seems at odds with what I am getting out of it; I've had to really understand that it's my mind that needs the work.

Wishing everyone greater peace of mind and inner calm. And continued weight loss, of course!

Mrs Lxxxxxx

[In search of me]

To those who are struggling its well worth getting a test done at the gym that measures lean mass, fat mass, water etc so that in those "slow" weeks you can see the progress. When I had the 2-2 & 1 weeks of losses this showed that I had put on 2 ibs of muscle (great cos muscles burn cals at rest!! yahoo!!) plus was retaining fluid (1 ib) but my body fat % had gone down considerably! Also measue myself and now have lost about 30 inches in 6 weeks so while the actual weight loss of 23 ibs isnt as much as some I am happy with the overall...hope that helps? Hang in there girls! Hipp good to see you are here - wondered where you were as not seen you on March thread for a while....