Oh the dreaded plateau in dieting. Just uttering the word evokes fear into anyone who’s begun to think about losing weight. Two days of scale weight the same? Definitely a plateau? Had a long party weekend and weight is up on Monday and hasn’t dropped? Better switch everything.
Patience is something that is hard to come by. I get it. We all want results yesterday. But unfortunately that’s not how life works. You might have to do something for more than a day to get your desired result. A plateau is actually the goal.
Life doesn’t exist as a series of peaks and valleys unless. If it did we would be in a constant state of living in extremes. Our bodies wouldn’t work. Our minds wouldn’t work. We wouldn’t be able to make sense of the world around us. We crave homeostasis. We crave plateaus.
A plateau is simply a “new normal”. A place you can rejoice to have reached because it allows you to work on new challenges. Each plateau is a new platform for success. Each plateau is an opportunity to get better at the skills that will move us to our next plateau.
Instead of seeing a plateau as the result of external forces, question instead if it’s due to internal cues. Are we attempting to move forward without taking steps? Do we expect that progress will just happen to us? Or are we proactively attacking our goals with consistent work? Are we hoping that what got us here will get us there or are we actively progressing.
Numbers rarely dictate weight loss. Behaviors do. If you find yourself getting frustrated ask first if you’ve earned it. Be honest. Then get to work. Things won’t happen overnight. But if you continuously do the things that matter, they will happen. Hang in there.
