plateaus.

plateau.  


a period or state of little or no growth or decline.  [dictionary.com]


i, ali mahterian, am at a plateau in my weight loss journey.  i've been at this plateau for about 5 months.  i'm trying to think of the reasons why i'm not losing weight.  here are my reasons :


[1] i lost 55 pounds in 6 months.  that's a short period of time  i'm thinking that my weight loss is still trying to catch up with my body.
[2] i'm actually eating.  when losing weight, i didn't eat like i am today.  since i've learned the concept of portion control, i'm eating all of the foods i want to -- pizza, ice cream, bagels [all GF & DF, of course].   because i'm so excited to actually be able to eat the food i love, i'm not eating portions which would allow me to lose weight -- i'm eating portions that keep me at a steady weight.  not complaining there.
[3] since i'm not in school, i have more time on my hands to be bored, thus consume exuberant quantities of food because i have nothing better to do.  [good news -- i don't really do this]


those three reasons, i believe, are kind of why i'm not losing weight.  that, and the fact that i'm not exercising -- or wasn't.


exercise.  i've always told myself i absolutely HATE exercise.  detest.  loathe.  despise.  exercise is one of my least favorite things to do.  or was** one of my least favorite things. now that i'm 55 pounds lighter, i like exercising. [cam, you were right]. i went for a walk with annie a couple of nights ago, and i started off jogging.  i jogged up my street.  for those of you who know me, you know i hate running.  this little milestone of being able to jog up my street [yes, up. as in up a hill] made me realize how far i've actually come on my weight loss journey. although i may be at a plateau, i've come a long way.  and the only reason i stopped wasn't because my legs were hurting, it was because my lungs/heart were out of shape.  so i guess this means i've got a lot of working to do if i want to be in shape.  


and you know what?  after i exercised, i felt great!  for years i've literally refused to exercise.  and now i actually want to do it.  i have a desire to do something i hate.  this is a big thing for me to take in...  the hard part is getting my workout clothes on and starting.  because starting is the hardest part.  but once you're doing it, you feel great.  that's how it was with my weight loss.  once i decided to finally start, i felt great.  but before i started, i had the worst attitude -- i refused to change because i thought i was fine just the way i was.


exercising is like weight loss -- the hardest part is actually getting off your butt and doing it.


xx ALi