Kelly Brown Says: Take it off | Week 34: The "P" Word

It was bound to happen. I've been denying it for the past two weeks but I knew it was coming. This morning when I weighed in I had no choice but to admit the truth to myself: I've hit a plateau and I am sad about it.

I am stuck at 180 and it blows. I haven't been cheating, I haven't been a lazy bastard, I haven't been swapping out my water for soda or anything ridiculous like that. For all the miles I've covered in running the past few weeks I am still exactly where I started. I am fairly sure the running is actually the culprit so I am going to change things up a bit.

Here's my plan to try and get out of this slump:

include two extra ounces of protein a day on the days that I run.
start doing some muscle building exercises on days that I don't run.
get more sleep. This will be next to impossible but I am going to try. I am going to start using my lunch break again to take 20 minute power naps.
rest on days when I need it instead of pushing through.
continue to track every bite I take

Basically, I am gonna keep on keepin' on.

Even though I am in no way throwing in the towel, I'm disappointed and feel somewhat defeated. I'm a slow loser and after all the extra hard work I've put in lately, this is adding insult to injury. My self-imposed timelines have been blown over and over. While 40 pounds might seem like a lot of weight to most people, for me it feels like the home stretch. And when the days tick away with no loss, I become increasingly frustrated with my body. Forty pounds feels like nothing to me and in my mind should just fall right off.

So why the hell doesn't it?

I just want to be done. I want to be in transition. I want to go shopping for clothes in one size and know that I will not have to turn around in a month and replace my entire wardrobe again. Actually the reality is that I want to get out of my too big clothes because I refuse to replace my entire wardrobe until I get to goal. I want to wear things that fit properly! I want to exercise because it means maintaining and not because it means fighting with the weight that won't come off. I want to be able to move onto the next stage of our life that is currently on hold until I get to my goal weight.

I'll get there. Come hell or high water, I will get there without stopping. I refuse to give up on this because I know this program works. I have 60 pounds of proof and a pile of too large clothing to back it up. I just need to change things up a bit. Hopefully these modifications will work.

In other news, I am about to start week 4 of the C25k. I did day 3 of week 3 two times (got that? or do you need a calculator?) because I didn't feel confident that I could complete 4:1 without stopping during the runs. I'm also officially signed up for a 5k on November 20th.

My dietician Jennifer and my friends Amanda and Alison are running with me. I am quite sure they will make it to the finish line before me but it will be nice to have them waiting there at the end. I'm excited to finally meet Jen in person. We have talked nearly every Thursday for the last 8 months. It will be nice to put a face to this awesome source of support.

I had a couple of nice NSVs over the weekend. My sweat pants have become far too big and I've been meaning to get new ones for a while. When I started Medifast I was wearing size XXL yoga pants from Old Navy that were stretched to the limit. Saturday at Kohls I bought a size Large. I didn't have a chance to try them on but when I got them home I discovered that I really should have bought a medium. :D

The best NSV though was a game of tag with my daughter. I haven't attempted a game of tag with her in ages because I would get so winded. If I never lose another pound, this will be the greatest thing I've gained from all of this. I can run and play with my daughter without ending up out of breath and exhausted.

So that's it. I'm stuck and frustrated and I will get through it. Because for once in my life I will finish this.

Month One: -16 lbs

Month Two: -5 lbs

Month Three: -6 lbs

Month Four: -6 lbs

Month Five: -6 lbs

Month Six: -8.5 lbs
Month Seven: -7.5 lbs
Month Eight: -5 lbs

Week thirty three: -0 lbs

Week thirty four: -0 lbs <insert sad face>

Total: 60 lbs gone forever!
Current weight: 180 lbs
Distance from goal: 40 lbs!!

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*FTC Disclosure: Medifast provides their products for my personal use for free. I am not paid or compensated in any other way for mentioning their products. All thoughts written here are mine. I love complaining so I would tell you if I didn't like something in the program. :)