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So I’ve been at a “plateau” for a while (supposedly) and trying to figure out what to do about it.  I’ve had a few conversations with my trainer about it and we’ve figured out that actually I have not really been at a plateau.  Over the summer my progress was slow for two reasons: 1. I wasn’t training as much as I needed to with Dwayne (we were working together about once a week.  Not enough), and 2. I was cheating on my diet, the diet he set out for me which was cycling carbs (3 days no/very low carbs, 1 day clean carbs before 1 pm).

Now over these months I talked about cycling carbs, I thought about cycling carbs, I wrote about cycling carbs, but I wasn’t cycling carbs.  Not even a little bit.  I probably didn’t go a day without a carb.  Not one, that I recall.  If I had had one carb free day I would have been proud of myself.  But I can’t say that I did.  So while my progress didn’t stop, it definitely slowed way down.

So we’ve been trying to figure this out for a while…at least what to do about it…and Dwayne says he thinks I was getting bored and rebelling, which is probably true.  I lost focus somewhat, dietarily (as I’ve noted elsewhere, I stayed on the cardio–thank God!).  I was way focused on irrelevancies and emotions of training, instead of my goals.  Ultimately a waste of time.  I’m better now.

Another issue is the fear factor of getting smaller than I had ever been before.  That’s part of the reason I was stuck in the 14 for a LOOOOOOOOONG time!  I have never been smaller than that as an adult.  It took a while to get my brain around moving past it.  The mental transition I think has been the biggest thing for me to overcome.  But now, after a month or so of being more on the training (3 times a week) and better on the diet (and now really on it), I am past it.  I’m wearing a 12.  And it feels good, surprising, and good.

But the thing that has occurred to me as I figured out what to do, that part of my issue also has to do with a metabolic adjustment.  I think since I lost this 50 pounds that I have had to adjust what I’m eating too.  Not only what I’m eating, but how much I’m eating.  The “cheating” on my diet didn’t help of course, but I also think now that my body is smaller I just have to eat less in order to lose fat.  Weirdly, and this is a conflict with what I just said, I am actually eating more (volume) food now that I’m my diet–you’ve got to eat a lot–of lean protein and vegetables to fill yourself up–when I’m eating right, I eat a lot…still.  I have a tough time getting down all my lean protein.  In an effort to be more accountable and precise I bought a food scale so I know how many ounces of protein I’m eating.  It’s the third day of the diet and it feels good to be back on track.

It’s funny, but I feel more confident than I ever have about my process of body transformation.  When I work out with Dwayne, I’m ALWAYS challenged, but I never feel like I won’t be able to do what he asks me to do.  I know that I’m strong enough to do it and I’m getting stronger.  I know (now again) that as I do my diet the fat will come off.  I had all sorts of thoughts about the “easy” and “hard” fat to lose.  I thought I had lost all the easy fat and now things were going to be harder, but the only reason they were harder, was because I wasn’t doing what I needed to do.  It’s not harder really…it’s only hard when I make it hard for myself.  I know now (again, again) that my body transformation (take two) is in my hand.

Much love!

Alissa