A few months back I did a poll. I asked if it was more important to be skinny than be healthy. Most of you said you'd rather be healthy, although a few of you did admit getting thin was important to you.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't get all irritated at stall posts. But I do wonder if what you guys say is what you really FEEL when I read them. Especially when I read of people who seem to be holding on to their healthy habits by a thread that is fortified by the loss of weight. Loss of weight goes and then so does the resolve.

In all honesty, a stall is where the rubber hits the road. It's where you are truly tested in this "this is a lifestyle change, not a diet" mentality you've been touting to everyone. It's put up or shut up time. Piss or get off the pot time, frankly. That sounds harsh but it's true.

If you persist in your good habits: protein, water, vitamins, exercise, good holistic health, you will achieve good health. THEORETICALLY you should achieve your goal weight. But if you don't, and you end up healthy, is it all for naught? Not according to all you who professed in that poll that your health is more important.

So my blanket advice for stalls: stay the course. Not just because it will help you lose weight but because it is good for you. Because you want to live a long and healthy life. Weight loss is a natural by-product of cedrtain behaviors like eating less calories, exercising (and upping the intensity of that exercise after a while of doing the same thing) and making sure your body has adequate nutrients, water, sleep and peace.

This comes off as preachy, I know, and you can flame me if you want. But when you are stalling, that's the VERY best time to ask yourself: "What am I REALLY in this for?" If it's to get healthy and stay healthy, you KNOW your course of action.

But most of all, keep your chin up. I know it's hard. I've been there. Many, many, MANY times. What finally helped loosen the scale's grip on my psyche were goals larger than weight loss. I hope this post helps some of you find that sort of peace as well.

 Awesome post! Over the last month I didn't lose anything. But I know that the good healthy habits pay off.  I kept up the exercise and made sure the protien was there, contiuned to journal my  food and the side effect is that I lost a few pounds.  I feel better than I can ever remember, I walk aobut 4 miles a day becuase I actually enjoy it, and I am engaged fully in my life.  If I dont lose another pound but can continue to get in better shape, I am ok with it. 
Thanks as always for your posts!!!

Kat

With all of the emphasis here on the NUMBERS -- which you know drives me crazy -- I have the same doubt about people REALLY valuing health over thinness, so thanks for expressing this and letting me know that I am not the only one. 

Mostly, I just wanted to add that not only are the stalls where the rubber meets the road in terms of just losing the weight vs. having a healthy lifestyle, but a lifetime of "maintenance mode" is as well.  It is very common for people to lapse back into the old habits when there is no longer the positive reinforcement of the weight loss... and then when the weight creeps back on, the question comes back "how can I get the weight back off?"... and the answer, of course, is going back to that lifestyle change.  (That is not intended as a slam on anyone who has regained... I periodically hit my 5 pound self-imposed "creep" threshold and have to get more diligent about the carbs until I get it back off... so I know how easy it is to regain when we slip even a little.)

Lora

"maintenance mode"   dirty words... lifetime of "maintenance mode"
 
Thanks Lora.  I needed that.

(I actually put it that way because occasionally the way someone will talk about "maintenance mode" makes it almost sound as if it, like the losing phase, is time limited.)

Lora

I love this post and needed to read it! Thank you so much for posting! Also thanks for all the great recipes on your site.

Thank you Niki. very well said.

On the same note... some posters know they are doing something they not suppose to, or not doing something they suppose to... yet asking in a post what can they do... I usually ignore that.

The posts that have they following:
" I know I have not been getting enough proteins......but..."
"I know that I need to drink more water, but....."
"I know I went back to eating junk food and sweets...but..."
"I know I have not been exercising, but...."

So many times I want to tell them " you know you are not following the program. How about you start that, follow the program for at least 2-3 months, then try again..."

I am not perfect. Never was - never will be.  And I know when I do something not right (for me and my changed body) I will pay for that.  Sooner or later. 

Most of us who got the surgery are adults.  Let's be accountable for our actions. 

 wonderfully said!

Glad I am not the only one who wants to tell them to just go do what they already KNOW they are NOT doing, then come back with the question if it doesn't solve the problem... since the answer to the question is almost always "get more protein", "find some exercise you CAN do", "get the sweets out of the house" anyway!

I know we all need a kick in the butt or reality chec****asionally, and I am no exception, but that's different than the "I know I'm not doing xxx, but... what's wrong?" posts .

Lora