Plateau

Weight Watchers says you're in a plateau if you lose less than half a pound for six weeks.  I'm not quite that patient.  I've been hovering now for about five weeks.  In fact, I haven't lost all that much all summer.  It's mostly been consistent, but not much.  I'm hoping for and average of 1.5 a week, or at least 1.3.  I don't think that's crazy--I'm a big guy.  But it's been a pound over the last five weeks.  Total.  So, what to do?

I've been reading a lot about weight loss.  I'm particularly interested in how contrary to evolution that it is.  We have adapted to put on weight easily so when times are tough, we don't die.  Losing weight is contrary to that adaptation.  (If you don't believe in evolution, I can't help you.)  In fact, to lose weight consistently, you don't have to cut calories much.  A couple of hundred a day will do it, depending on where you start.

Plateaus happen, I understand, when one's body finally tumbles to the fact that there's less food coming in than there was before.  Then it slows the metabolism to adjust.  The way to deal with this is to keep moving and to--wait for it--eat more. 

More?

More.

You can also alter how much you eat by day, while keeping the same total points/calories for the week.  That's called, I think, the zigzag.

I have been eating 44 WW points (and some of the weekly, depending on the week) since April.  At 58 calories per point (average), that's about 2550 calories.  That's plenty.  But according to a couple of calculators I have used online, my BMR is more like 2700 calories.  This means even in a coma, I would drop some weight.  I think my body finally figured it out.

Here's my experiment this week.  Fourty-four points a day is 308 for the week.  I rarely eat more than half of the additional 35 WW allows.  I'm going to eat those this week, too.  Sunday, I ate 39.5.  But Monday-Wednesday I was over 50 (by a lot Tues and Wed).  I have 134 left for the week, so that should be plenty.  Three days at 44 is 132.  So I'll have the same in the week, but maybe my body will think things have changed because of the last couple of days.

If it doesn't work, it's only slowed me down.  That's all.  So what the hell.  I'll let you know how it goes.