Saw this on the June 2005...

Saw this on the June 2005 Surgery MB on OH and wanted to be sure that all my August buddies saw this ! read: Consider how difficult it is for you to run up ten flights of stairs all in one shot. Can you do it? I'm betting NOT unless you are a top-notch-conditioned Olympian, right? Now, of course, you could EVENTUALLY get up those ten flights of stairs if you rested on the landings periodically to catch your breath and pause for a moment before your heart explodes. you'd get up those stairs - but only if you rested on the landings or PLATEAUS. Well, running up ten flights of stairs in one shot is what we are asking our body to do after WLS in the way we want the body to lose a massive amount of weight. As our body loses weight so rapidly, it occasionally has to "rest on the landings" to catch its breath, get its bearings, take a breather. Then once it feels rested, it takes another shot at dropping the pounds again. It's remarkable that the body can drop so much weight so quickly anyway after surgery. but it can't do it all in one long shot like running up ten flights of stairs in one long shot. It has to rest on the landings or PLATEAUS. Keep this analogy in mind when you hit those plateaus. PLURAL. PLATEAUS. No such thing as ONE. you'll have many along your journey. When those plateaus hit, you still must do what you need to do. DON'T stop the good nutrition, the vitamins, the exercise. keep those routines going. And once your body is done "resting" in between the flights of stairs, it will kick in gear again for the next flight or two. And the more pounds that are dropped, the slower the pounds will drop too. so you will not lose rapidly during that last stretch of 25-30 pounds. it's like an athlete who gives his all during the race, sees the finish line in sight, and does all he/she can to finish. the muscles ache, the heart is about to burst. but the athlete DOES finish the marathon. some athletes "walk" across the finish line. but the point is they FINISHED. Understanding plateaus will help you relax a bit and keep you from self-doubt, which is something you don't need right now along your journey.

Thank you for posting that! You know, we need those reminders when the pounds aren't dropping off like we want them to. Donna 333/247/165?

Thanks for posting this.I always can get around a plateau,,I bust through it usually within 3-4 days..But for the last 10 days, even with me upping my exercise and watching what I eat and increasing my water.. I have been gaining and losing the same 4 lbs! I first thought it was closer to my monthly cycle and is water gain..but thats not it either..I have worked out the last 6 days. So even though I am pressing myself, Im not gonna budge till Im finished resting..maybe I should just get more sleep! Thanks. I believe it helps to understand something when viewed in a different light. Ciao! Donna

Thanks alot! That really made alot of sense to me and help to rest my mind a bit.

this is so great. thanks for sharing it