Depression. Hatred. Condemnation.
That’s what most of us feel when we hit a weight loss plateau.
And very soon we’re heading for the biscuit tin.
It’s not much fun, is it?
Last week you learned how to use focus to propel yourself through a plateau. Based on the emails cramming my inbox, I can see Plateau Land is a place that unites us all.
Most of the emails indicated a fear-based relationship with the plateau. And a number of you wanted advice on how to avoid them forever.
Sorry to disappoint. I have no advice on avoiding plateaus. Can an athlete win a gold medal without training? Probably not.
I do however have some home truths you can use immediately to convert frustration into motivation when you’re in Plateau Land.
Plateau Home Truth No 1. Plateaus are going to happen. Expect ‘em.
If you figure you’re the exception to this rule you’re in denial. You’re living in some kind of fantasyland.
What you’re doing is setting yourself up for failure. When the scales don’t move you say, “This doesn’t work, I might as well give up now.”
True or true, honey?!
Instead, you need to expect the plateaus.
Clients, who have successfully lost weight and kept it off, expect plateaus – celebrate them even – because they know they’re part of the journey.
So stop looking at a plateau as failure.
Expect them.
Welcome them.
Embrace them.
Plateau Home Truth No 2. Quit handing your power to the plateau.
A plateau is just a plateau.
Period.
You need to stop believing the plateau has some super power that it doesn’t actually possess.
That’s how we abdicate our own power.
We literally give it away by making the non-movement of the scale mean all sorts of unhelpful things.
The sky isn’t falling on your head. And no, you don’t suck. Stop making the plateau mean something it isn’t.
Instead, take back your power by asking yourself, “How do I need to look at it to make it ok?”
What if the plateau was simply a landing on the stairway to your goal? A chance to re-energise before moving forward? The opportunity for your body to catch up with your mind?
Consider this. When you’re first pregnant the outside world can’t see the miraculous changes happening inside you. The mirror only reflects the changes in the second trimester. Your weight loss journey is similar. The scales simply aren’t sophisticated enough to show all the changes happening in your head.
Home truth 3. What’s to learn here?
Sure, you want to be your goal weight right now. I get that.
And there’s an impatient part of you saying “If it doesn’t happen by Tuesday, then I may as well go back to my old habits, because obviously this doesn’t work”.
This impatience is simply the fear-based lizard brain chasing you back to your comfort zone.
Get past the lizard brain (and plateau) by asking yourself, “What do I need to learn here?”
If you learn the lesson, you’ll move forward. If you don’t learn the lesson, the class will be repeated. Yup, just like at school…
Maybe the lesson you need to learn is patience.
Or faith.
Or trust. In yourself. In the process.
Or persistence.
Or kindness.
Or unconditional love.
Or kindness.
Or gratitude.
What is it that you need to learn about yourself, the learning of which, will help you move past this plateau and release this as an issue in your life?
Take the time to listen for the answer.
If you are impatient you’ll go down the same path that’s failed before. Instead be kind. The smallest step can represent the biggest step forward, which indicates a break from the past.
And finally, darling, know this. You ARE going to reach your happy weight. There’s no question in your mind. You don’t wonder if you can. In your mind, it’s done. All that needs to happen now is your body to catch up with your mind.
Love etc, Avril
