I’m now stuck in what has been my longest plateau. I’ve been hovering between 180 and 183 lbs for the past month or so. I’m not eating more, but admittedly, I’m not eating less. I eat as much as my hunger dictates, and I don’t drink alcohol or have unnecessary snacks. I have even begun running in the past week, although I don’t expect this to help me lose weight for another week or two, at best.

It’s annoying.

I liked when I was losing 10 lbs/month. When that dipped to 5 lbs/month, it was still okay. Now, being in a plateau when I’m doing everything right without losing weight, is tough. I’m not going to go off the rails and give up, nor am I going to allow myself to eat whatever I want, whenever I want. The opposite is true. I’m now being even more careful and mindful of what I eat.

I have to come to terms with the fact that it’s possible that I’ve reached my body’s food and exercise equilibrium. That’s why I started running; to add some more physical activity and another calorie sink. My thinking is that if I continue to eat the same but add physical activity that uses up 250-300 calories a day, that negates a meal’s worth of intake which should translate into lost weight. We’ll see how well it works.

This weight loss stuff is supposed to be a science, but sometimes if feels like an art. A dark art. If only I could cast a spell or drink a potion to make it work for me. Oh yeah, people sell that stuff in the form of pills, powders, patches, and programs, but only doing the work really yields results. So, do the work I will. When in a plateau, you just have to get tough and power through. That’s what I’m doing.