Body Clutter: The Plateau

Oh my. My blogging schedule is all sorts of off this week!

Body Clutter Tuesday got replaced with Listable Life Tuesdays (so fun!), and then moved to umm…today.  Surprise!!  Beauty by the Book will be back next week as we had a discussion week rather than the a full lesson, and the P31 Challenge will be posted as P31 Challenges are posted on Sara’s blog (which there haven’t been for a few weeks)…but weigh in will be posted tomorrow, so at least I’ll post something at the right time…

So ya, I’m a mess. But you still love me, right?

Let’s look at a little Body Clutter.

This week is on a nasty little word we all refer to as Plateaus.


Why do I call it a “nasty little word?”  Because I was stuck on a plateau for about 3 months. Therefore that  word is dead to me.

Plateaus are just a way for our body to tell us that our metabolism has gotten used to what we are doing and it is time to tweak our routines just a little. – FlyLady


Why the heck did it take me 3 months to realize that?  If only I had read this chapter sooner!  Or actually taken the time to learn more about plateaus…Ya, either of those options would have been great.  Instead, I just got mad at my scale.  Since January, I really amped up my workouts and I have seen some awesome results.  So that statement is full of a whole lot of truth!  Tweaking really works!

Keep in the front of your mind that there is no vacation from your new lifestyle. – FlyLady


Umm…but…but…but…I’m not perfect and occasionally I take a short vacation…like on Valentine’s day when I went out to dinner with the hubby and didn’t plan ahead or look up calories at all. Ya, that’s probably terrible for someone who is trying to lose weight.  But its the truth.  Instead of looking up the calories, I only ate half of the meal.  I looked up the calories the next day and had I eaten the whole meal (It was crab stuffed fish at Joe’s Crab Shack),  I think I would have just died knowing I ate that many calories in one sitting (1800 calories!) YIKES! I guess I didn’t go on a total vacation since I did only eat half…so that means FlyLady is right…there is no vacation.  😉  It truly is about living a new lifestyle, but I also don’t believe in deprivation.  I think its ok to treat yourself once in a while.  You just have to be disciplined about it.
 Besides, the word “diet” doesn’t mean deprivation, it means “lifestyle change.”


Perfectionism demands absolutely no change, no slip-ups, and no deviation.  Perfect is impossible to make happen, while consistency asks only that you keep it up.  The difference, too, is that consistent won’t beat you up but will encourage you to make up for it the next day, while perfect will tear you down to your underwear and berate you, causing you to throw the whole thing aside and give up.  -Leanne


I love when Leanne and FlyLady talk about perfectionism.  Because let’s face it, that’s what made me suffer an attack of the not good enoughs..  And its a word I really don’t want to be a part of my life.  It’s good to be reminded of that.  That word is what led me down the dark, dark path of negative body image.  Consistency- now that’s a word I can like (and that word is definitely not dead to me.)  Just earlier this evening, I had been beating myself up as I have only worked out one day this week so far.  But after reading this quote, I reminded myself that the weeks not over! And instead of being down about it (that’s the perfectionist talking), I need to pick up where I left off and kill it tomorrow in my workout.  Thanks Leanne and FlyLady for the kick in the rear that I needed!

Here are a few links about plateaus that you might find helpful!

How to Break a Plateau -Best Body Fitness by Tina (I LOVE this blog!)

7 Ways to Pass your Weight Loss Plateau at Oprah.com

What do you find helpful if you hit a plateau? Tell us in the comments!