3.28.2008

no, no . . . not that!

i'm afraid there's no way around it. it's here, and it is . . .

the plateau
.

i have hit one and, unfortunately, it does not in any way resemble this:


for the past couple of weeks i have been in an exercise slump. sure, i still go to the gym five mornings a week. but i'm not working out as hard or as long as i was when i started out, and i've become lax in watching what -- and how much -- i eat.

i'm holding steady at 150, which is good, but i still have five more pounds to go if i am to meet the goal i set for myself in january. if you were to go to my sparkpeople page you would see that the date by which i was hoping to achieve this is a mere four days away. so that's not going to happen.

the questions i have are these: how do you work through a plateau? how do you get un-slumped?

i welcome any and all suggestions for re-motivating myself.

10 comments:

Kelly said...

I have a whole new workout motivation that's working wonders for me. (Who knows whether it would be useful for you, but I thought I'd share just in case!) Airan got a little iPod Nano as a going-away gift from his last job. I have commandeered it and downloaded past episodes of TV shows I've missed (catching up on Lost now). This strategy gets me to spend a full 42 minutes on the elliptical machine -- I usually bolt after 15 or 20, max. I don't know what I'm going to do when I run out of TV shows to watch, but it's working for now!

MeganBritt said...

AMO, I should have told you this the other day when I noticed, but you look great! Not only am I impressed by your dedication to this goal, but also the results (hopefully that didn't sound too creepy...). So, while you are not quite where you want to be, I think you can rejoice in the progress you have made!

Audrey said...

Ah, yes - plateaus. I've found that the best way to get through them is to sign up for a race or event to keep me motivated. Maybe a 5k run/walk or a biking event that can keep you working towards a time or endurance goal?

Also, finding ways to make changes to your workout can really help. I love the exercise section of Health magazine, because it give me new strength exercises to try that usually target muscle groups I didn't even know existed! Also, I really love strength training classes and have found them to be THE BEST way to keep chugging along. Something about being in a room full of people keeps me working hard and pushing myself.

Congratulations on 3 months of hard work! You should be proud of yourself:)

Stuart Shea said...

You could think of a different goal--i.e. this week, work on losing one pound. It's worked in our house before. Peace.

Anonymous said...

you need to adjust your diet. Eat like a caveman for a few weeks and you'll be fine. You can even eat like caveman during the week and then eat like a regular person on the weekend and you'll see losses. I'd definately suggest it.

Ann-Marie said...

how, exactly, does one eat like a cavemant, anonymous? (truly, i'm curious!)

simplicity said...

Yes, I too would like to know how this eating like a caveman works?!?

Kelly said...

I would guess that eating like a caveman involves killing your meat and eating it raw. But that's just a guess.

Anonymous said...

caveman is becoming a popular diet. Basically, if it comes in a box you don't eat it. A caveman would eat meat, nuts, fruits, vegetables, etc. but no processed breads, crackers, sweets, etc. It's really not hard to do it during the week and then eat like a regular person during the weekend. You'll still see benefits.
For breakfast, make some eggs. Bring some fruit as a snack. Eat a chicken breast and a tomato for lunch, eat some almonds in the afternoon. Make some chicken or fish or even a hamburger (no bun) for dinner. I guess it's sort of low-carb, but that's not the point. You can eat as many carbs as you want, just not processed ones because cavemen couldn't have eaten those.

Anonymous said...

Here is a link to one site with resources:
http://paleodiet.com/