plateau & Hunger

ok folks the worst has happened. I have plateau'd and am getting the muchies throughout the course of the day. My scale hasn't moved in 4 weeks & am finding myself hungry throughout the day. I drink pleanty of liquids.80-90 oz a day. I have taken some steps to try and break this: I have recently (last week) joined a health club and have moved my exersize program there from home with Fit TV in hopes of increasing the level of work out. (I made it through my first spin class) Went to the nutritionist, that was a waste of $$$. She just said you will get through this and gave me an article from a magazine I already had. I have already lost about 147 LBs but have about 35-40 more to go. I really want to get there so any help would be appreciated. Does anyone eat small meals throughtout the day instead of 3 normal meals? I am beginning to go nuts over here.

Liz, this may be counter-intuitive, BUT it works! Hear me out.... When you have been on a restrictive food plan, after a while your body gets used to it and shifts into a fat-conserving mode. This explains why you are hungrier now as well. The only way to get past this is to increase your metabolism. What you actually need to do is to EAT MORE, eat treats, etc., and weigh yourself daily until you have gained back at least 2 and preferably 3 pounds. Then go back to the food plan that worked before. I have done this three times and each time I lost 6-8 pounds the week I went back on the more restrictive plan, for a net loss in less than a week every time. And I continued to lose in the following weeks. Once it took me almost three weeks to gain 2 pounds, but boy was that fun! Cheesecake every day.... I stole this idea from the Curves program. Warning to others who may be reading....I do not guarantee that this will work for non-exercisers! Regular exercise is a very important part of raising your metabolism! Carolyn DS 11/03/03 317/179 and 25 pounds from goal!

I got the same way. But now it is over and I am losing again and not as hungry. Some days I do not eat much and other days I eat normal little meals. I think it was my body catching up again. I am 38 lbs from MY goal. Doctor never set one for me but I am sure it is not as low as I plan to go. I will be happy at 160 lbs. I started at 329 lbs. So 38 more and I will be at my goal. Good Luck, you can do it.

I hate the plateaus also and they seem to go on forever. I try really hard not to think about the food, or if I absolutely have to eat something, I try really hard to make it something good. 30 lbs left to go and they are gonna fight me to get gone

I'm going through the same thing. Since I got my appetite back, I've been snacking. I have lost anything in what seems like forever. I haven't gained any weight thank the Lord. I think it may be due to lack of exercise. I joined the Y today and plan to start working out everyday. That should get me going again. I only need to loose 28 more pounds. Good luck! Cecil

I've been at a plateau for nearly 4 weeks now, so I know how you feel! I still have 10 to 15 pounds to lose too. I'd hate to get this close and not make it. I enjoyed reading the recommendations. I've also re-read the pouch rules for dummies, so I'll get back on that program. I know part of my problem is that I'm snacking and not exercising enough. I've only myself to blame. Karen 11/24/03 314/290/175/165