“How to Boost Yourself when the scales are NOT moving”

One of the areas that I read and hear about time and time again is, “I’m on a stall”. “The scales haven’t moved in ages, a month, 3 months bla de bla”. My friend Maureen texted me the other day. She sounded disappointed that the scales were not moving for her. Maybe in reading this Maureen you will not be so hard on yourself! You are doing great!! Listen to ME!!!

There are some things you can do that may or may not help, but remembering the Whoosh effect is important. It is something I have to keep reminding myself about, every few weeks. The honeymoon period is over for me. I’m over six months out now, so I have to be more aware of what I am doing. What I should be doing and pulling my rein in. I have put some points together of areas to consider when you start beating yourself up for the scales not moving.

Remember it is a Natural Part of the Process

Tell yourself…….The scales WILL stall. They have to. Your body has to adjust. It takes longer for some than others. Is your tummy squooshy, flapping about too much. Remember that is your fat cells full of water. It is all part of the process. This is usually when you lose inches and the scales don’t move or fluctuate slightly.

Visualize your End Goal

The mind is a powerful tool, use it to help you. Visualize yourself in that little black dress, you have in the wardrobe or you have your eye on in a lovely store. You won’t want to give up and just stay in bed and pull the duvet over your head. You’ll give yourself a focus.

Remind yourself what is at stake

Going back to what you were should not be an option. Ask yourself “Do I really want to Go Back There? ”

1. “What did you put yourself through not to reach your goal?” and more importantly, “Is your goal achievable, or have you set it too low?” After all, maybe you are fine just the way you are! Speak to your nutritionist or surgeon and get advice on everything if you haven’t already done that. The professionals should always be your first port of call if you feel you are not ahead of the game, or stuck. They may have great advice or maybe you just need to be told you are doing fine and carry on. But your nutritionist should be taking an active role in insuring you are eating right; the correct foods, Protein, Kcal etc for your stage in your weight loss journey.
2. How is your health? I bet you it has improved 10-fold from where you began this journey. Are you no longer taking medication for a health condition? Are you more active? Are you taking regular exercise? Do you feel better in yourself? All of that can only get better as you travel along this path of healthy choices. Don’t forget this.
3. Do you really want to start gaining again? No! After all, if you slide down that slippery slope you are likely to end up larger than ever, have missed your window of opportunity and never get the chance again to optimize on losing weight.
4. You cannot justify buying larger clothes again after clearing your FAT clothes out. On the other hand, you CAN justify buying smaller, sexier, more fashionable clothes. As they will improve your confidence and self-esteem.

Control your environment

1. Fill your home with healthy, wholesome foods.
2. Throw out any BAD snacks you’ve recently snuck into the house
3. Rein yourself in to get back on track
4. If you have to make or provide certain bad foods for the family. Suggest they go out for it or make it themselves, or do without to support you.
5. Plan your meals and snacks.
6. Measure and count kcal and Protein again if you have stopped that.
7. Give yourself a treat every now and then.

Don’t let yourself get too hungry

1. People go too long without eating, then pig out when they’re feeling too hungry.
2. Plan your snacks so you don’t grab the first bad thing you can lay your hands on. This will prevent you binging.
3. Control your portion sizes and make sure you are in a routine and eat every day at the same time if physically possible.

Know what makes you vulnerable to overeat.

The key is to know where your problem areas are and have a plan for dealing with them

• Do you stay up too late and binge in the wee small hours?
  • Go to bed earlier
  • Keep busy, don’t feel bored or take the walk of shame to the kitchen
• Do you sneak stuff when cooking and serving your family?
  • Get them involved in their own food preparation
  • Eat your meal before you cook or serve them
• Are you bored or not getting out enough?
  • Go out more, make plans. Not everything has to cost money. Meet up a friend for a walk. Join a local walking, yoga group. Go swimming. Once you’ve gone on your own once it’s a breeze. Make time for yourself and your health and fitness.
• Do you feel you don’t have time to plan or eat properly?
  • Make time and go back to basics
  • Plan all your meals and snacks in advance
  • Prepare packed lunches or take good Protein shakes for meals. Always carry one in your bag, car or even in your desk drawer. Make sure you do the same for snacks. Carry berries or healthy snacks to work to stop the temptation of sneaking to the vending machine.

These are just some suggestions. What are yours? Find a solution to them and try to stick to it.

Plan indulgences.

1. Schedule in the odd BAD treat.
2. Indulge at lunch one day a week.
3. Go out with friends for lunch or dinner. You choose the venue.

Forgive yourself.

1. Allow yourself a bad snack or a small indulgence once in a while or even once a week Have a taste of someone else’s food. Very often a mouthful is all we need to stave off the craving. Treat it as a reward, NOT a punishment.
2. Allow yourself a day off from exercise if you don’t feel up to it. Don’t make a habit of it. Only if you have worked hard the past 3 days. That maybe the day you have an indulgence. Tomorrow is a new day.
3. Don’t make it all so serious. Let yourself off the hook. Forgive yourself if you have something you feel you should not be eating or drinking. Tell yourself it’s ok. You planned that treat. Tomorrow is another day. After all it’s good for your carbs etc. to increase once in a while. It gives your body a wee jolt when you cut down again, and get back on track.

Beware restaurant overeating.

1. Make eating out as a chance to practice good portion control. There is no law that says you have to order an entrée every time you eat out or that you can’t have 2 starters. Pay attention to your appetite, and order a dinner salad or appetizer instead of a main dish. Or take half home in a doggie bag.
2. If you have a local restaurant you have always gone to, you will probably find they will accommodate your smaller portions and charge accordingly. My local Italian restuarant where my mum and I are going for Christmas Dinner have reduced the £50, 3 course lunch to £35 where we can choose less courses or/and have smaller portions.

Work to change negative thought processes.

1. Practice Mindfulness. Learn about being in a mind/body place as opposed to being judgmental or hard on yourself.
2. Don’t beat yourself up all the time. You are human. You are allowed to make mistakes, or bad decisions. In this journey it is more important to make healthy choices 95% of the time. Trust the process.
3. Don’t allow people and influences into our lives that don’t support us. Dump junk!!! That includes people.
4. Distance yourself from negativity. You may find that family and friends have a lot of external stuff going on. They may bad mouth you, try and pull you down. Learn to shut this out. Ask yourself why are they being like this? Have they always done this to you? If the answer is yes. You need to do something about it. If a “so called friend” is not supporting you, perhaps you need to consider; “they are not really a friend”. Friends should be supportive. They should want the best for you or want you around their lives as a healthy person who can contribute to their lives. You may not be able to “dump” family so easily, but you have to put yourself first.

You made this decision to do something about your life. You wanted to live better and healthier. Perhaps you need to speak up and tell them this. Ask them “Would you rather I be dead in the next 2 years?” They may be surprised that you spoke out. But hey ho, it’s your life! They can choose to like it or lump it. Negativity breeds negativity.

Have a cheering section.

1. Having to account to someone else gives you a reason to hang in there get a buddy mentor or whoever. Someone you trust and who believes in you.
2. Make sure you join a local group. Find someone who understands what you are going through. A fellow Bariatric patient is the best person for this type of support, who can support you and vice versa.
3. Maybe your local group meets up once a month. This could help you vent or discuss ideas, problems or simply gain knowledge on how you can tackle your issues.

Remember that you have to keep working at it.

Your surgery is “just a tool” to help you achieve your goal, It is NOT a guarantee. Two-thirds of our population is overweight which means it’s not natural to be slim and fit. We don’t walk two miles to work and back and forage for food every day, we are no longer hunter gatherers.

It’s easy to see thin people and think how lucky they are, but if they’re over 30 or even 20, they’re working at it. Being slim and fit is something we have to pursue and nurture, like happiness or friendship.

So, what do I do when I’m feeling p***** that the scales are not moving? Something I did yesterday was I tried on some jeans that I bought a month or so back that were too small. I tried them on and the zip went up! Success! The inches are still coming off. I’m the same weight though, imagine that? And when I wasn’t looking the scales dropped today into the twelvers. Yep this morning I was 12stone 13lbs. SUCCESS snuck up on me.

So here’s a wee count down list:

1. Buy a couple of clothes pieces in advance and keep handy to try on every now and then. This will incentivise you and if all of a sudden, they fasten then success. It’s the inches that matter. Do a Victory dance!
2. Go out and do something you couldn’t do a month ago. Enjoy it!
3. Put on something nice, your slap (make-up), do your hair and get out there. Live
4. Say to yourself. I am a better person now. I believe in myself. Believe
5. Plan something to do at the end of the week that will lift your spirits. Enjoy yourself
6. Take action ..do a restart for a couple of days. Take Control
7. Start tracking your Protein and kcal again. Count your Macros
8. Get into the zone again
9. Reflect on your journey and how well you’ve done so far, be proud of what you have achieved. Award yourself
10. Don’t give up. Strong
11. Write a sign saying “whoosh” and stick it on the fridge. WHOOSH

To read about the whoosh effect again go to 25th October and read the article again or click on whoosh to read the full online article WHOOSH

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