Plateau talk

Hey there!

So, I'm not sure why I'm even concerned because over the past 2-3 months I worked off my 11 pounds and am now at my goal weight of 120, give or take a pound, depending on the scale gods...

Now, I'm having an issue with lightening up on my obsessive work out / calorie intake. And part of me thought 'well keep losing because 115-117 would be amazing, and it gives me some breathing room if/when i take it easy. But from roughly June 1st until now, despite continuing to burn more than I ate, seems like I just hover around 120. (yesterday I was at 120 1/2)

Which is fine, but it makes me curious: calories in vs calories out, does this mean i'm burning less than I think I am or eating more than I think I am? I'm a math person, and I try and record conservatively / have a calorie watch even. If I calculate -3500, I expect to see a result regardless..? Isn't that how it works?

I continue to just work out and eat reasonably, and I now allow myself days where calories in pretty much equal calories out, which makes sense that it would slow down results... which is fine...

My experience with Plateau's over the past two months is 'it just seems like a plateau because we're obsessed with results and are checking in frequently. Just keep working out and suddenly, after some real time has passed, you'll see results'

do you guys find this? Are there other factors involved besides the math?

I have struggled with the same problem - obsessing (somewhat) over my little plateaus. I came to a disturbing discovery and it may not be the same for you. I found that because I was trying so hard about not taking in too many calories, that my problems became opposite to my goal. I did not gain weight, but neither did I lose it as fast as I thought I should for all my effort! Here is the thing (and again, I don't know if you are the same), my iron was WAY too low - to the point where I was lathargic and "like a sleepy lump." My mother told me if you are not getting enough iron, your..."indoor plumbing" for lack of a better term does not work properly. I do eat spinach, I love them in salads, but sure enough, I went almost a whole week without a whole lot of "movement." I started taking multi-vitemins and the plumbing problem improved. The scale is a little kinder now and I feel a lot better. They also say you need to get some of the "right kind of fats" in order for your plumbing to really work well and then there are all of those probiotics and prebiotics. It is such a complex science sometimes and I find it frustrating.

Again, I don't know if you can relate to any of this, but I have been wanting to share it with someone for a while now. So not right when we are working so hard and our bodies are holding on to everything way to tightly and NOT LETTING GO!

Hope this helps you out a little bit, or someone.

I don't know if that's me, but you've actually inspired me to start taking a multi vitamin. I actually was already considering it (only draw back is it's a pain to remember/do, but not really an excuse because... it's just swallowing some pills.. how hard can that be?)

i guess that was the shove I needed to give it a try (again).

My mom has low iron. But for her it was a B-12 issue I think, she had trouble absorbing the iron... so she could take supplements but they did no good. I think the B-12 helped her..

It's all a little beyond my education, really...