Change in weight (2/1/21 – 2/8/21):  +1.6 LBS

I am a bit frustrated right now. I have been in denial about that fact that I’ve been stuck on a plateau for a while now. I have gone up and down and today weigh the same amount I did in mid October. I call it a lonely plateau, because despite the fact I know everybody goes through these, it feels like I’m alone while the rest of the world is moving forward.

I know all the common responses to hitting a wall. I am even getting fed up with myself for when I feed my own head the cheesy “break through” type of comments. In reality, I need to just own the situation, embrace it, diagnose some reasoning, and plan my next steps.

As I have started thinking about moving on from this plateau, I wanted to remind myself of some longterm goals. First, I have two weddings this coming fall and will need to purchase at least one new suit. I want to be closer to a goal weight/fitness by then so that I am not spending a lot on something that will not fit for long. Second, I want to run a couple 5Ks this year and a 10K in the fall. Third, I want to get stronger and also develop some more upper body muscle (I have huuuge legs, so they don’t need a lot of extra love right now).

Now that I have some good long term aspirations to keep my eyes on, I need to call out what has been causing more difficulty.
1-I have not cared as much about my portion sizes with dinner. I have been very good about breakfasts and lunches, but am blowing calorie counts in my dinner meal

2-I have been snacking more with little regard to consequences

3-My home situation is DIFFERENT. New baby, less time, less sleep. Work around this and make it work.

4-I have not been properly fueling myself leading to more fatigue and more empty calories.

I set a simple goal for my upcoming week. I need to track every bite. I say this all the time but I need to track even the random cracker, when I eat a leftover off my daughter’s plate, and so on and so forth. I also want to maximize the time I do have to work out. This means more targeted workouts and make sure to emphasize recovery on days where I have less time.

I do not like to set weight targets week after week, but I would like a good bounce-back week. A type of week to remind myself that I can accomplish this stuff when I put my mind to it and I am capable of overcoming the current frustrations.

Finally, I could use some encouragement. I feel selfish in asking for it, but hearing some feedback from some of you goes a long way. I, to a fault, am a personality that relies on hearing affirmation from others. So I am humbly asking for some. Let’s see what next week brings!

Leave a like or a comment. Is anybody else struggling? What are you doing to move beyond your plateau? Don’t forget about following my instagram @a_better_ben

Action Plan:

Every day goals:
1.Drink 10 cups of water
2.Track every bite
3.20 Body weight squats

Daily goals

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Walk	Walk	Walk	Walk	No Walk	Walk	Walk
Low impact Ride	Upper body Strength and stretch	Power zone, Wk3 Day 1	Power zone, Wk3 Day 2	Power zone, Wk3 Day 3 Strength	Power zone, Wk3 Day 4	Stretch and recovery
Meal Plan	Meal plan	Meal Plan	Meal Plan	Meal Plan	Modest takeout	Meal Plan

Please stay tuned for more updates. If you have been enjoying this, please become an email follower or a wordpress follower. Having this public audience has been a positive motivation for me to continue working towards my goals and so I really am thankful for all of you!

Date	Change in Weight
12/1*	–
12/2*	-5.4 lbs
12/9	-5.4 lbs
12/16	-3.4 lbs
12/23	+2.8 lbs
12/29	-1.2 lbs
1/6	-1.4 lbs
1/13	-1.6 lbs
1/20	-1.4 lbs
1/27	+0.4 lbs
2/3	-1.2 lbs
2/10	-4.6 lbs
2/17	+0.4 lbs
2/24	-1.6 lbs
3/2	-3.2 lbs
3/9	+1.8 lbs
3/16	-3.2 lbs
3/23	-0.6 lbs
3/30	+0.4 lbs
4/6	-1.6 lbs
4/13	+0.8 lbs
4/20	-1.8 lbs
4/27	0 lbs
5/4	+2.4 lbs
5/11	-5.2 lbs
5/18	0 lbs
5/25	-1.0 lbs
6/1	-1.2 lbs
6/8	-0.4 lbs
6/15	-0.8 lbs
6/22	+0.8 lbs
6/29	-1.4 lbs
7/6	-2.4 lbs
7/13	+2.4 lbs
7/20	-1.6 lbs
7/27	-0.4 lbs
8/3	-1.2 lbs
8/10	+0.4 lbs
8/17	-1.4 lbs
8/24	-1.4 lbs
8/31	-0.2 lbs
9/7	-0.6 lbs
9/14	-1.4 lbs
9/21	+0.2 lbs
9/28	-1.8 lbs
10/5	-0.2 lbs
10/12	-1.0 lbs
10/19	-1.0 lbs
10/26	+0.8 lbs
11/2	-1.4 lbs
11/9	+2.0 lbs
11/16	-1.8 lbs
11/23	-0.4 lbs
11/30	+0.2 lbs
12/7	-0.2 lbs
12/14	-1.2 lbs
12/21	+1.8 lbs
12/28	+0.8 lbs
1/4	-1.2 lbs
1/11	-0.4 lbs
1/18	0 lbs
1/25	N/A – no weigh-in
2/1	-0.6 lbs
2/8	+1.6 lbs

* I first weighed myself on a Sunday night and began the regular weigh-ins the following morning

-Ben