The connections between drinking or not drinking alcohol and gaining or losing weight are obvious and well-documented. As I previously stated, one of my motivations in pledging to not drink for a solid year was to drop a few stubborn pounds. Thus far, not drinking has helped me to lose eight pounds with relative ease. Yet, for the past month, I’ve been going up and down in a range of two-three pounds, at the same “weight plateau” that has irked me since before my 40th birthday. Having given up so much this time, I am determined to break through and, once and for all, return to my goal weight. This raises two questions with me: Why am I at a plateau? And how do I push past it?
The Mayo Clinic does a great job of describing this plateau. It happens when your metabolism slows as your body gets used to the new level of reduced calorie intake, something they refer to as a “new equilibrium.” Unfortunately, there’s really only one way to push past it, according to the Mayo folks: “To lose more weight, you need to increase activity or decrease the calories you eat. Using the same approach that worked initially may maintain your weight loss, but it won’t lead to more weight loss.” Translation: losing 12 more pounds is going to be hard work.
Luckily, there is by far more helpful advice on this topic than for any other I have researched for this blog. Let’s check in with Jillian Michaels, weight loss and fitness guru, and the star of the “Biggest Loser.” She thinks the plateau is a myth, so I need to honestly ask myself a few questions. First, am I keeping track of my daily calories? Yes. I’ve been using MyFitnessPal to track everything I eat, as well as all of my exercise. Secondly, am I trying to lose vanity pounds? To answer this question, I need to understand how much of my body is actually fat.
Previously, I calculated my Body Mass Index (BMI). For my height of five feet, seven inches, a “healthy” BMI is between 18.5 and 25. Checking my current BMI at my weight plateau of 150 pounds, I see I’m in that range, with a BMI of 23.5. However, after reading more about BMI, including this NPR article with 10 reasons why BMI is bogus, I understand that BMI was developed over 100 years ago and is a straight formula based only on height and weight. It doesn’t really take into account anything important – such as gender, age, or musculature.
Sadly, this means I had to take out my tape measure so that I could estimate my actual body fat. I used this calculator from the U.S. Navy. I took three measurements: my waist at the narrowest point (29 inches), my hips at the widest point (39 inches), and my neck at the narrowest point (13 inches). This estimates my body fat at 27%. I know that is too high. According to this chart, it’s in the middle of the “average” category for women. I don’t want to be average. I want to break into the top end of the “fitness” category, which is between 21% and 24%. Some of you will, no doubt, debate this. However, my answer to Jillian’s second question is, no, I am not trying to lose vanity pounds.
Given that, I need some solid strategies to lose 12 more pounds to get to my goal weight of 138. Among several other suggestions out there, WebMD has 10 tips for moving beyond the plateau, as do About.com and ActiveBeat.com. I don’t know about you, but 10 things seems like a lot to keep track of. The solution to this, as with all things, is to create a spreadsheet. I tracked the tips from these three sources and found they contained a total of 22 different tips. I was able to scratch off a bunch of these, because I am already doing nine of these things, and, frankly, another five of them just seemed lame.
My analysis left me with eight things to focus on, five of which are diet-related and three about exercise. On the food side, I need to beware of calorie creep, celebratory calories, and restaurant overeating, and try to manage my hunger with low-fat protein and by eating more fruits & veggies. This seems like solid dieting advice. At the same time, I need to add in more exercise, particularly by trying to be more active during the day and by adding strength training.
Like I said, this is going to be hard work. Wish me luck!
Detours & Destinations 
Hi Sharon, I’ve been following your blog and finding it helpful in my own challenge. I quit drinking Coke!!!! I can’t drink alcohol due to medications I take for fibromyalgia. I stopped the soda a week before Christmas and I have also altered my diet, omitting all dairy except butter, pasta and bread to attempt to improve my mental health. I have lost like 16 lbs and am finding I’m at a “plateau” myself. I have repeatedly tried using my elliptical but even the minimum of 2 min twice a day is extremely painfull. Then the weather wreaks havoc also. Ok enough said. Just wanted to say your blog is helping me in a way I hadn’t expected. A goal is a goal no matter what you have to give up to get it. Mine is to have better mental health without meds and to loose weight to feel better about myself. I often want to just give up and treat myself like with a soda but I think about the cup of sugar it contains and so far has worked. Not as easy with no milk, cheese, pasta etc. I love to cook and bake so it’s been a challenge to come up with new recipes.
I do feel that journaling meals and your day in general is beneficial, but for me really really hard to be consistent. I also try and write down 3 good things that happen every day, even if it’s I took a shower.
I appreciate your challenge and wish you lots of luck. And look forward to your next post.
Sharon, your project is both gutsy and helpful to others (me). I wish you lots of luck. Thanks!
I worked with a guy who was way overweight, He obsessed over it, and would try weight-watchers and other things, with only limited success. After a couple years of this, I was beginning to feel a bit pudgy myself. He and I became ‘diet buddies’. Every day, we would tell each other, with complete candor, what we had eaten the night before, and thus far in our work day. It worked amazingly well. I took off 18 pounds, and he, I don’t remember but probably 60 or more.
The most pertinent thing for me was, I learned for the first time what my ‘ideal weight’ was, 144 lbs. At that weight, I felt great. Never better. If I took off a couple more pounds, I would feel less strong.