Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Is a Plateau Coming?

Daily Activity: None (too freakin sore)

So as you can see I didn't work out today. I can barely walk. I thought doing the spin classes last night would help stretch my muscles out and decrease the soreness from the Body Pump class I did on Monday. WRONG! All it did was make me much much worse. So, lesson learned.

Its not that I feel like I have to workout every single day. I realize that isn't necessary. I just like to do it whenever I feel up to it. If I feel like working out 12 days in a row, then thats what I'm going to do. But I'm not gonna beat myself up when I need to take a day or 2 off either.

I think from now on when I do strength training to the point where I'm sore the next day I'll definitely take that day off and not even consider working out. Hopefully though if I keep up with the strength training it will get to the point where I don't get sore doing it.

For some reason I've had this feeling lately that I'm about to hit a weightloss plateau. I don't really know what makes me think that. Perhaps its because I only lost .6 lbs this past week, or that today when I peeked at the scale I was actually .6 above what I was on Monday or what. But I feel it coming.

So today I researched what to do when you hit a plateau and I found the Wendie Plan. Which I've actually known about before, but had forgotten. Its no magic regimine or anything, its basically just alternating high, low and medium point days to trick your body by shaking things up.

I've found 2 ways of thinking on the topic. One thought is that you should follow this strict points schedule ... eat this many this day, that many that day, etc. And the other train of thought is that you should make your high days the days you are hungrier, and low days the days you aren't as hungry and let your body guide how much you eat that day within your point range. Ultimately, you should end up eating the same amount of points per week either way.

I'm not sure which school of thought I'm a fan of just yet. I like the idea of letting your body naturally control which days are your higher days based on your hunger level, but on the other hand I'm a very structuralized (is that a word?) individual and I like having a plan and sticking to it.

I'm saving the Wendie plan as my secret weapon when I confirm that I've definitely hit a plateau. From everything I've read everyone has had great success with it, even after many weeks of no losses.

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for following my blog - I'm so glad you did, because now I can follow you too! :) Congratulations on your weight loss so far - you look amazing!! :)

    Have you tried drinking a protein smoothie within 30 mins of a workout? Try that - it'll take the edge off the muscle soreness. Also, the pain will peak on the 2nd day after your workout, but the more you workout, the stronger your muscles will get and the less soreness you'll have over time.

    Regardless - keep up the great work! I just started WW last week to help me with my final 45 lbs. It's great! Do tell more about the Wendie plan ...

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  2. I think that alternating weight lifting days and rest days is a great idea. Working out until you're sore, and then taking a small break is the best way to build muscle!

    Let us know how the Wendie plan works... I googled it, and it seems interesting. A lot of people on the WW forums talk about it, too. Good luck!

    Oh also, I do like the plan where you eat your higher point days when you're hungry, and your lower point days when you're not... it sounds similar to the Simply filling plan. I think I (personally) wouldn't be ready to do that just yet. I'm still working on knowing when my stomach is full, and when I should stop eating. As of now, the points system helps keep me on course. Hopefully though, I'll be able to read my body signs soon. Again, good luck!

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