Busted! My inclined plane took a dip

[sarpon]

Weigh in this morning -- down 3.2, for an even 61 pounds gone on Core. I wasn't exactly on a plateau, as officially defined by Weight Watchers, but my losses had slowed significantly, and for the last few weeks I'd been losing point two, which, while still a loss, and certainly better than a gain, doesn't graph with much of a downward inclination.

I didn't do anything differently, although I sorta kinda meanta. I've mentioned elsewhere that in the past, I've weighed around 175 for long periods of time and I think that is one of my body's set points, and maybe it was just a matter of "being there" for a while and gradually moving through it. I just hope I've past it for the last time ever. <-------waving at the 170's in my rear-view mirror>

[janek46]

Way to go!! That's fantastic!

I agree....our bodies can do strange things! ;D

Keep up the good work....

[Rita]

Sarpon - you deserve it! Congratulations!!

I think you're right about the body having a setpoint. Once you break through that you are in control once again. Keep it up!

[vita77]

Yaay! Congratulations.

I find that my body has set points, too. My losses have peaks and troughs. During the peak times, I feel undeserving, and during the troughs, I feel cheated. I think it just goes with the territory.

But I know how you feel...I don't EVER want to see a weight again that starts with a 2 .

[keliCAN]

Y A Y !!!

[katelight]

How awesome Sarpon, I'm so excited for you. What an acomplishment to have the patience to break through that slow time. Unfortunatly too many people lose motivation during those times and just quit. You are proof positive that working through it works. Congratulations!!

[ema2two]

Nothing beats the satisfaction of having persisted through a plateau (or period of very low yield for your efforts) and seeing the payoff.

YAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sarpon]

Thank you all. It's a funny thing -- I think of myself as being a pragmatic person and not at all superstitious, and yet on one level, and particularly in connection with weight loss I seem to be very susceptible to the power of suggestion and to certain influences. Some of them I've come to recognize and some take me by surprise.

For example, at the beginning of the summer, we had two meeting programs that I could tell would be trouble for me. In one, we set "summertime goals." Up to that point, I'd been setting a goal of losing 5 pounds per month, confident that I'd exceed that goal, but my inner voice told me that setting a weight goal would be a mistake for me at that point. So instead, I chose a summertime goal to fit into a certain dress. The second problem program was on dealing with plateaus. Hadn't had one up to that time, but right after that program I had a gain, then a loss of less than the prior week's gain, then another gain, then tiny losses for weeks -- my slightly inclined plane, my version of a plateau, and it took me a month to lose 3 pounds, while being on program almost all the time (I ate brownies and ice cream and didn't count the flex points two times in one week).

Another thing that happened during this time was that I learned that the doctor who ran the Topamax study in which I'd participated had resigned from the University of Florida and moved to Atlanta. I'd been looking forward to having a final appointment and, quite frankly, showing off my results, and it was a disappointment to hear that he was gone. (And as I'm writing this, I'm realizing that I was thrown off program when my WW leader resigned back in 1989, when I was 20 pounds from goal. I didn't make that connection before. Things that make you go "huh.") But this is one of those things I can recognize as a potential derailment now, and it was a minor blip.

They say timing is everything. It may seem facile, but it isn't: there are certain times in your life when the elements come together at the right point, when the experiences you've had and the forces presently motivating you and the resources available to you meld in the best confluence to enable you to accomplish what you have not been able to accomplish in the past. For me, this year has been that time, and Weight Watchers Core plan, and this support board and you wonderful women, a medication that allows me to make mindful choices about what I eat for the first time in my life, and a regular exercise routine -- I know I will succeed, and I am so grateful to all of you for how much you mean to that success.

Sorry, I didn't mean to get all "I want to thank the Academy" on you, but it does mean so much to me to have a place to go where there are people who really do understand. I'll shut up now.

[katelight]

you have so eloquently put into words exactly how I have felt through this whole process. That for some reason everything has come together, at this point in time, and I have been successful. Even the way I found this board was, in my opinion, a God thing. I am about the least computer literate person in the world, yet somehow I stumbled onto this site, and have met all of you.
I am so glad that you have been able to recognize things that have derailed you in the past and that you were able to work through them.
Here's to your continued success. YOU CAN DO IT!!!

[wdwbarb]

Sarpon, I see you wrote this a long time ago but I just stumbled onto it. Your words are very inspiring! I have been stuck (my plane has actually started to incline in the wrong direction!) for almost a year. I think you're right about set points. My body and even my mind were happy where I was - 10# from WW goal and 4 sizes smaller than before. I can identify certain things that happened a year ago (primarily my car getting vandalized at the gym) that got me off track. I am now ready to shake things up and tell my body that it's time to get back on track and break through this "plateau" (or whatever you want to call it.) If you can do it, so can I!