A Big FAT Yippee & Weight Loss Math

After a six-week plateau, I lost a pound. 16 ounces isn’t much to get excited about, but I hope that it’s a sign the weight loss dull-drums are over. So how do I keep from making the same mistake again?

Weight Loss Math:

• Calories eaten > calories used = weight gain
• Calories eaten < calories used = weight loss
• Calories eaten = calories used = plateau

I’m not running a weight loss race. I’d end up out of breath, sick of it and celebrate with Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie. (M-m-m)  I’m doing this the slow, old-fashioned way, because that’s how I put it on. It gives me time to learn and adjust. Fast weight loss leads to the yo-yo effect. Do it quick, so you can be done with it and go back to the way you were before.

The way I was before is why I got fat.

So why did I plateau? Because the amount of calories I ate equaled the amount I used. Ideally, this happens at your goal weight. But here in the real world, it can happen at any point (or in my case, points).

My last winter plateau was a combination of mochas and beer. When my kids were growing up, I didn’t keep much alcohol in the house. Why have it around, when not everybody can drink it? It seemed unfair. When they went to college, I thought,"Why not?” At that point, I was cutting back without specifically counting calories and, of course, working the treadmill. To break the plateau, I started checking calories … and discovered beer is something I can live without.

And then, there were mochas – brainchild of an evil genius. Coffee was no calories. Coffee + Milk + Sugar + Chocolate + Whipped Cream = 400 calories. It was a 4th meal!

So this time, why did I plateau? I got off course. The first part of the summer, I was fine.  Beth was cooking larger meals than I’d been eating, but I was gardening and more active.  It balanced. After vacation, I shortened my treadmill time and sometimes dropped it. It caught up with me.

This proves I cannot diet. I have to change. Diets are short-term solutions to a long-term problem. I don’t want to be healthy for a little while. I want it all the time.