I’ve been surprised that my weight is holding steady for the most part during a prolonged fitness slump. It’s not that I am not exercising at all or am not partaking in any kind of daily activities. I just have not been working out as rigorously as I had been up until maybe a month ago. I realize that these things will happen, I was nursing a back injury, which seems to have resolved itself, excess stress, my fibroids acting up and I injured a toe (who would have thought a pinky toe could cause so much pain and balance issues), not to mention the heat of the summer finally kicking in just in time for our central air to break down.
I try to do what I can, when I can, just so I don’t revert back to zero fitness, which I have done many times in the past. I tend to get into the habit of working out regularly, then I get sick or something happens and thus the slump begins. While I may not be yogaing my brains out as usual, I do get in about an hour walk daily, sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on whats going on. I have to remind myself of these things so that I don’t guilt trip myself. In addition to that I try to do little things like taking the stairs at work, which a couple times a day is better than nothing. I may not be doing a full 60-90 minute workout, but maybe 20-30 minutes here or there keeps me going.
One of the things I learned from Weight Watchers is that physical activity does not have to be things we generally associate with fitness and exercise. The point is to be active and to keep your body moving — this can be done by simple things like cleaning the house. Sure, doing house hold chores may be boring and un-fun, but you are keeping your body moving and burning calories. It is better than just sitting on the computer or watching television.
Fitness slump aside, my eating habits fluctuate, sometimes I eat more, sometimes I eat WAY more and sometimes I eat less. The important thing is that I am not gaining weight. I’ve been keeping a close eye on my weight daily to chart the fluctuations and right now my low is 161, my average is 162 and my high is 163. I’ve been on the Weight Watchers Maintenance Plan for a few months now, I am still losing weight, just more slowly, I was 169, when I switched over. I tend to lose 1-2 pounds a month instead of 6-8, which I am okay with. I think I need to get through a cycle of toning the loose skin, getting rid of the stretch marks and regulating my fibroid flare ups before I can and will progress towards losing the 6-16 pounds, which would take me to the weight range that I would like to settle into for the duration. Honestly though, even if I didn’t lose another pound I would be okay where I am with my current weight.
Everyone goes through fitness slumps, the reason why it’s hard to keep weight off is because a lot of us are creatures of cycles. We do something, and we feel like we accomplish it, then move on to something else. But when we move on to “something else” is when we forget to keep up all the healthy activities that helped us get there. People think when they lose a bunch of weight they’re done. That’s not the case. You have to keep up everything to maintain and stay in shape. So the main thing for you now is to establish habits you find relatively easy and very enjoyable, that you can maintain over a long-term. Stuff that makes you feel really good to do and that you will keep coming back to, even if you get off-track for a couple days or weeks. Something simple that will help you stay on track when you feel the urge to eat three pieces of cake on a bad day or don’t exercise for a few days due to icy weather outside, or heaven forbid you injure yourself. Making yourself feel bad about not doing what you think you should be doing isn’t the way to go – we all just feel worse later and end up doing other bad things to feel better. Instead find the easiest thing you can do – it could be walking up and down the steps 5 times fast or cleaning the house or drinking a glass of water whenever you feel hungry before eating to see if you really are. You’ve been building good habits over the last few months, now you want to maintain them without getting bored. If you feel bad about not exercising try to channel it into something good – even if it’s not exercise – like a book you want to read or learning a new healthy version of a recipe of some food you love. Like if you’re tired and having a bad day – actually exercise does help you get energy back and put you into a better mood.
The plateau at “the end” of your goal is always the hardest. It’s like the 80/20 rule of project management. To hit your 80% goal, you are at a certain point of a curve which maximizes time and labor input with output. To get above that 80% goal to the 90-100% range, the time and input needed can sometimes be a lot more work than the first 80%. I know in sports, you work really hard to train – then you hit a plateau… That is not when you give up nor work 100-% harder but instead move laterally, cross-train, and work on your persepctive of things and one day the plateau will be crossed and you will be back climbing that mountain to a new high. Sorry for lame cliches.
However, whatever you decide about your weight and fitness, to keep on trucking or to stop now and accept it for what it is – you’ve done an amazing job. The important parts are that you can do it, and you feel healthier and your body will work better, and to keep up with easy, enjoyable habits that will help keep you staying in shape.
Thanks! I’m learning to embrace the “if you fall down, get back up and start again” mantra. Its okay if I slack for a little while or don’t actualize my full fitness potential. I’ll get back up and start again. If I need a little bit of a breather or down time, I will allow myself such simple luxuries. I think the reason I feel somewhat guilty is that I’m just being lazy and wallowing in the “i’m not in the mood to exercise”, when really I know it is the one thing that can and will pick me up out of my slump.