So, for the past two weeks my weight hasn't changed. I've been stuck at 144lbs and feeling completely discouraged. All I could think was that I can't possibly restrict my calories further than 1200 and I already exercise almost every day so there is just nothing I can do. But then, thanks to MFP, I decided to take an objective look at the weekly view of my calorie counts for the past couple weeks. Almost every single day was a least a little bit in the red, meaning I had gone over my 1200 calories/day limit by a couple hundred each day...and I had taken my regularly scheduled cheat meal last week as an opportunity to indulge in an extra 1000 calories over my budget. I had become waaaaay too comfortable with eating over my calories. For some reason I kept thinking, well it doesn't matter if I go over by a bit because I'm going to have to eat at maintenance eventually anyways, which I now realize is an okay mindset for someone who may allow themselves maintenance weekends or something like that, but not okay if I want to keep losing weight at the same rate as before when I hardly ever went above my 1200 calories/day. Even though I thought I was eating at a deficit, I was definitely eating at maintenance for two weeks and then blaming everything else for my "plateau" (I hesitate to call it a plateau since really it was just maintenance). So basically I'm posting this as a sort of PSA, that if you're feeling burnt out like I was, frustrated, or are currently in a plateau, it could be helpful to take a step back and really critically examine your calorie intake (think about how strict you really are with weighing, tracking condiments, etc.), exercise intensity and make sure that you really are adding everything up correctly. Though I understand that plateaus do happen, so even if you're already doing everything right your weight loss may still temporarily slow or stall. Today is the day I get back on track. No more maintenance days or cheat meals for a while until I feel confident that I can do so in moderation. Also, I thought I would throw in a progress picture just for fun/potential motivation. I've tried losing weight with fad diets in the past (teas, pills, you name it I tried it), but this sub really made me a true believer in CICO. I had no idea that it was such a simple concept (not always easy in practice though). so here's my progress from early January to yesterday This is basically a reminder to myself that CICO works, I just have to accurately track to get the results.
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