What Happens When You Plateau?

Where are you calling from, Cheryl?

I’m calling from Ohio. I’m a born and raised Midwestern girl. I grew up in Michigan and I’m sure you’ve probably heard that our part of the country is getting hit really hard by job loss and depression and all kinds of stress.

Yes, yes.

I, myself, did not come from an ideal living situation. When I was a child I pretty much had a lot of things that set me up, emotionally and mentally, to be fat and so your book really spoke to me. I have had two children and I started making healthy lifestyle changes back in March when I had seen pictures from my daughters, I’m sorry…

It’s okay.

It’s okay.

It’s okay, sweetheart.

From my daughter’s second birthday party and I realized how I looked was not how I felt, and I said enough is enough and I’m going to start eating healthier. And at that point, that’s all I decided to do.

Now, I had not yet found your book but I had discovered, a few weeks later, that I had an all-women’s gym in my area that I would feel comfortable going to and I took up a membership there and I started exercising. And about three weeks after my membership came at the gym, I had probably lost maybe six, seven pounds on my own just from making those healthy lifestyle changes and going to the gym and getting active. I maybe was going two, three times a week; it wasn’t much.

I then found your book and things skyrocketed. It was like you had broke something in me. You had given me permission to be free from everything that was holding me down and my weight loss took off from that point because I believe that I had made those changes that I needed to make and then like finding your book reinforced everything for me.

Great.

I had lost up to 25 pounds when about three weeks I finally reached what most weight loss experts call a plateau, and now I’m wondering what it is I need to do or revisit in your book or maybe some advice on how to get things started again, because I was using a diet tracker online. You’re familiar with the website. I saw you were on their –

Let me get to your question now. I’m with you 100 percent. I think I can help you. The first thing I want to say is I’m feeling very strongly that something really powerful happened in you. There was a shift that took place inside you and I can feel that and I’m really happy about that. And the next thing I want to say is, what do you need to do different? The answer is nothing. Because when you lose weight this way, which is through shifting your set points, which is what you did, because once you had a breakthrough it’s like your body felt like it didn’t need to defend you anymore, it didn’t need the protection you. Am I right about that?

Right.

That you felt safer, you felt like —

Right.

Okay. So that shifted your set point. Your body, artificially, had a high set point, weight set point, because it felt like you needed the weight to defend you, you don’t feel that way anymore. So you’ve shifted your set point, you’ve lost 25 pounds very quickly. What happens now is your body has to recalibrate and readjust to the new weight before it shifts again. And what I found in my experience, when I was losing weight, is that even though over time I lost weight quicker and quicker, there would be periods of time where I’d lose 25, 50 pounds and then I’d lose nothing for a couple of months because my body was getting used to the new weight and the new set point and what’s going to happen —

Oh really? That long?

Yeah but what’s going to happen, is that your body is going to get used to this new level, it’s going to see that you’re safe. As long as you continue to feel safe, as long as you continue to practice what you’re practicing and let me ask you — this is a really important question. People see you on the street; they say you look fabulous, right?

Yeah.

How does that make you feel? Does it make you feel good or does it make you feel worse?

It makes me feel good. Oh, it makes me feel great.

That’s an important indication because if someone saw you on the street and they said you look great and you felt panicky by that, than I’d say that your body still needs the weight. So if that’s the case, you’re feeling great, just leave it alone. Give your body time to adjust. This is not a lose 20 pounds in 20 days thing, this is a solve the problem for everything which is exactly what you’re doing. Do you understand?

And it’s taken me since like April^1st to lose that 25 pounds. I mean it’s not something that came off very, very rapidly but like finding your book and using the visualization CD and even talking to my husband and getting him on board with okay honey, we need to have healthier choices at the table and talk to him about it, that just put everything in full gear.

But now you’re not fighting cravings, it’s all happening natural, your body’s not at war. Your body’s working with you. Give it time to totally unfold and once it unfolds you’ll be done with the situation forever.

Yeah. I’m relieved that you said a couple months because I’m thinking to myself this has been like four maybe five weeks.

Yeah, don’t worry about it.

And it’s been up and down a couple pounds.

Yeah, it’s totally fine. Your body’s recalibrating its set point and what’s going to happen is you’re going to have another big shift in your set point. How much weight more are you looking to lose?

Well, I’d really like to get down, and I’m not looking at a set number, but I’d like to get down between 125 and 140. So I’m giving myself a good waiver. I just want to be somewhere comfortable in that area. I’m currently at 202 right now so I’ve got between 60 to 80 pounds still.

Okay. Are you listening to the CD still?

Yeah.

Okay. Continue to listening to the CD, practice visualization, continue doing what you’re doing, give yourself all the time you need and the situation will be gone forever and you’ll never have to deal with it again. And that’s really what we’re talking about doing here.

Will you call us back and let us know how you’re doing?

Oh, absolutely.

Do me a favor, Cheryl, send me an email to my personal email address which is Jon, and there’s no H in Jon, @jongabriel.com.au. Send me an email. Let’s keep in touch, okay?

Oh, absolutely.

Okay. I’m going to have to take the next caller now.

All right. Thank you so much.

Bye.

Bye.

That’s the reason I wanted you to have a show. Right there.