Fixes for stalled fatloss....Today's post:  Thursday, 8-8-2018

Isabel de los Rios is a fatloss coach.  And while she mostly works with women, she often has wonderfully good advice that can and does help anyone working to lose fat they keep off.

The fix for stalled fatloss is simple to describe but can be hard to do.

She & I share that we want to help people do it successfully anyway!

To fix stalled fatloss takes two things:

1. Keep doing the things that you are doing right.

2.  Find and use something that removes the blocks to the things that stall fatloss in your particular case.

To do that, you need to keep going when you are stuck or feeling stuck and have less fatloss than you want.

(In the next part I add my comments in these kind of [  ] brackets.)

In her post from last Friday, 8-3-2018 that she sent by email Isabel says this:

“AM I DOING SOMETHING WRONG?

After a few posts of people celebrating their weight loss success, I sometimes see comments like, “I only lost 2 lbs. this week,” or “I ate so well, but only lost 1 lb. Am I doing something wrong?”

The short answer: No!

What you may or may not know is that the average weight loss goal is 1 pound a week. Just 1! It may seem slow, but it’s a healthy way for your body to adjust slowly and it increases your chances of keeping the weight off long term.

Now, sometimes if you try a cleanse or a detox, [or a fast], you’ll lose more than a pound a week.

Or if you have a lot of weight to lose, your results might be different. That’s great!

But if you’re seeing a steady loss of 1 pound every week, you’re doing everything right and you’re amazing for doing it!

Really, if you’re eating healthy, you’re doing the right thing no matter what the scale says. But when you see such big losses from other people, it’s easy to think you don’t measure up.

So when you feel down about your progress or wonder why you aren’t getting the same losses that you’re seeing in the community, here’s a few tips to help you stay positive.

Don’t Compare and Despair

It’s hard to stop comparing yourself to others. Though it might seem like someone had a huge victory, while you saw much smaller results — you don’t really know the whole story.

Let’s say you’re comparing yourself to someone who lost 10 pounds in a week. Well, what we don’t know about them is their starting weight, what their diet was like before they started a new plan, how much [they are] sleeping, or anything else about their life.

Here’s a different way to think about it. Imagine you and another woman are waiting tables (boy, waiting tables, that takes me back!). Your coworker gets a 50% tip, while you only got 20%. Sounds like your friend had a huge win, right? Until you look at the whole picture. Turns out, she got a $5 tip on a $10 bill, while you got a $20 tip from a $100 bill.

Obviously, my tipping scenario and weight loss aren’t exactly the same, but when you compare yourself to someone else (especially when it’s only based on what they post on social media), you never really see the full picture.

So, say congrats to your friend and be happy for them, and know that their ups and downs really have no impact on your own personal journey.

Think Beyond the Scale

It’s always tough to step on the scale and not get the results you wanted. But there’s so much going on that the scale can’t measure.

The scale can’t measure how much your blood sugar levels have improved.

[Quite true!  I once had a 115 fasting glucose reading.  And not only have I NOT gained weight since then, the eating upgrades I have added since dropped my fasting glucose to the 73 I just got!]

The scale can’t measure how your estrogen and progesterone levels are balancing out. [Testosterone and free testosterone for men.]

And the scale can’t measure the cellular changes that happen as your body heals from years of processed and toxic ingredients.

When you eat well, all these amazing changes are happening inside your body all the time.

But the scale doesn’t give you any credit!

That’s why it’s so important to let the scale be only one tool you use to track your progress.

Instead of just measuring your weight, think about how your clothes fit differently, how you feel in the morning, and how much energy you have. When you think about all the ways you’re feeling better, a sluggish scale isn’t so bad.

And trust me, the scale will catch up eventually.

Celebrate the Little Victories

Usually people think “I’ll celebrate when I reach my goal.”

By all means, celebrate when you reach your goal (I’ve got “Celebrate Good Times” ready to play on my Spotify list just for you!). But in the meantime, you should celebrate all the little victories that get you to your ultimate goal.

Were you able to buy a Medium shirt instead of a Large (even if the scale didn’t really change)? Celebrate!

You chose a piece of fruit over the ice cream your husband brought home? Celebrate!

You were able to play tag with your kids without getting winded? That’s a huge reason to celebrate (especially if your kids are anything like my boys, they could outrun a marathoner ??)!

When you celebrate the little things, it makes the journey more fun.

And when the journey is more fun, you’re more likely to stay on the path and make it to your final goal (and an even bigger celebration).”

In my case, I already am 100 pounds lighter than people who don’t know to do what I do with eating right and exercise.

This is something I remember when I see someone with a belly twice as big as mine.  It reminds me that even though I have more belly fat than I want, I AM ahead of the game from what I’m already doing.

I am getting stronger from my strength training which I celebrate.  I know that when I can use heavier weights it will help my belly become smaller. I’ve done the prep work to make that likely which I celebrate.

I haven’t used it well enough or long enough, so my Bullet Proof VIBE whole body exercise plate, has yet to give me the effect I hope it will and remove a few pounds of fat from my belly.

BUT I did successfully get it after solving a difficult delivery issue; AND I’m already doing better on the exercises I do on it. 

I’ve already found three ways to upgrade the exercises I do on it. 

I celebrate the progress I have made and can see that if I continue it, I may well see my waist get quite a bit smaller.

(Particularly in men, though in women too,  people who strength train --once you lose or don’t gain the fat people have who eat badly and don’t exercise, losing inches from your belly matters far more for your appearance and health than losing pounds on the scale.)