Resisting the Plateau

I have not lost any weight since before Christmas.

For a while, I was blaming the week I spent making french-kissing, from my lips to my hips, butter toffee, drenched in chocolate and dusted it with crushed pecans.

It was supposed to be a gift for the neighbors, but uh...I ate it all. So I would make it again and then eat it again etc...

I really really really like butter toffee. A lot lot lot.

I gave up on the toffee ever leaving my house and thus, stopped making it and promptly returned to low carb, but the weight just wouldn't move.

It wasn't that much toffee, okay?

Plateaus and stalls are common in weight loss and, it seems, particularly in low carb. I think half the reason people abandon low carb is due to the unavoidable plateau somewhere between week 3 and 6.

"It's not working," they cry and then they quit in a huff. I see it all the time on the diet forums.

I know better, but this has been one heck of a long weight loss stall. Especially considering I've been exercising pretty consistently on top of all the low carb goodness. Two months with nothing? Not even half a pound? Really?

So I've been reviewing my options for busting through this stall.

1. Go ultra low carb. As in meat and egss and nothing else until a)I puke or b) lose weight, whichever comes first.

Not such an appetizing option in my opinion. Also, it's hard to be perfect with a family that doesn't low carb. Plus, adrenals = low blood sugar so I have to watch that too.

Perhaps I could do ultra low carb on alternate days or just on the weekends as a kickstart. Something to consider.

However, I have been cleaning up my diet a bit. Focusing more on low carb and less on low carb 'legal' stuff which always has more carb content. That and no snacking after dinner, which always seems to help.

2. Revisit my exercise program and look more at metabolic resistance training (a.k.a. strength cardio, high intensity interval training and interval training).

However, the adrenals don't like intense anything. I go too hard and I risk crashing (based on past experience and not wanting to risk any recovery gains I've made thus far). Heck, if I go easy I can crash so...eek.

Consider though that interval training's guiding principal is rest for twice as long as you work. That sounds right up the adrenals' alley. So I could crank out a hard minute on the elliptical and then coast for 2. Sounds doable.

On the strength cardio aspect of the concept, I would have to craft my own workout. I am not ready for P90X (I actually have no desire to ever do P90X but the principles it uses are the same as what I'm looking to do) or kettlebells and I don't have access to a gym with weights. I'm not sure I'm doing it exactly right but the routine I've come up with is something like:

SET 1

-10 plie squats

-10 plie squats with jump

-Hold squat for 10-20 seconds



Rest


SET 2

10 Burpees

Rest

etc...

Supposedly the science says if I do it like this, fast and hard with rest in between sets, that I will improve my insulin sensitivity for up to 36 hours after. Additionally, science seems to show that some kind of aerobic resistance is the best work out for insulin resistance. "Steady state cardio" (as trainers call it) is worthless for fat loss.

I kind of agree with the trainers after all these weeks of walking and ellipsing and low carbing and not losing weight.

Just can't make it too hard or else I will poop out. That will be the trick, to balance it all against what my body will actually tolerate.

Quickie

I should be in bed, but here I am. Too lazy to get up and actually find the bed.

The pulmicort refill should be sorted out now??? The doctor's office sent a new prescription to another dimension so it never arrived at the pharmacy. I think it's all sorted out now.

Finally.

Which is good, since I've been having a mild attack for the last several hours.

Is attack even the right work?

I can't stop coughing. The albuterol helps for a while and then it starts back up. Is that an attack? Poorly controlled asthma? A mild asthma exacerbation?

What?

I've had a mild cold so there's some gunk in there to irritate things. (Note: One thing you never want to hear from a houseguest upon arrival is "I think I have strep throat." Not a pleasant statement, although it turned out to not be strep and I've kept it at bay with all the vitamins I swear by--hey it works for me.)

Oh yeah, I had to take prednisone because of the cold. That was interesting. I hit the wall energy-wise and had to do it because I was rapidly becoming comatose. My body truly does not have the physical ability to handle stress.

It reminds me of breastfeeding. Yes, boobs. I remember when my milk came in, feeling this immense strain in my body as it figured everything out. My body was working overtime, it was something else. I, apparently, feel the same sensation of overall strain now when sick.

On the exercise front, I did a hard core hike in 95F heat with air so humid, I chewed it as I hiked. 1.5 miles, 150 stairs, ran up and down steep hill 4x, and finished with 40 push-ups. This means I am almost at pre-pregnancy fitness levels (and wearing pre-pregnancy jeans, although I am still fat.).

I now have a swim suit that is two sizes smaller than when I started. It looks good, but my arms and thighs are a hot mess. I have bad genetics in those areas on top of everything else. So, despite the squats and push-ups and stairs, I have some real problem areas.

I've got a month until our beach vacation and have sworn to do what I can between now and then. We'll see how it goes.

As for the knee, it's fine until it's not. I have no idea if I'm exercising my way out of the problem or into a more serious injury.

And that's what's what with me.