Plateaus

I feel like I've hit a wall. I've been holding steady at the same weight for about 3 weeks now. It is really frustrating. I think there are several reasons why this has happened though:

1. I've been going to several celebrations where the food choices aren't the best and there has been alcohol involved. Yes, I could have made healthier choices and not had anything to drink. But I didn't, and I'm paying for it.

2. I've mainly been devoting my time to running, and haven't done too much other exercise.

3. Beyond the aforementioned parties, I've been eating more. Why, you ask? Well, now that it is summer and I'm not working, I've got nothing but time on my hands and I tend to snack when I'm bored. Now they are "healthy" snacks, but still - those calories add up.

So how am I going to overcome this plateau? Well, first of all, I'm going to stay away from alcoholic beverages for a while. I really don't need them and they're just empty calories. Plus, I don't like how I feel the next day. Now, I'm not overindulging here people - I haven't gotten drunk or anything. No worries.

Next, I'm going to incorporate other forms of exercise back into my routine. I've been doing Zumba twice per week, which has been great. But it wasn't until the class on Tuesday that I felt like I was really getting anything out of it. Maybe it's because that day I decided to go all out and give this class everything I had. I left completely exhausted.

I'm also going to add weight training back into my life. I really have not done that routinely for quite some time. My dear husband is going to help me get started. I told him that I need him to be my personal trainer in that area because I need help. And he'll do it, too. He will push me to my limits. I'm scared and excited all at the same time.

Oh yeah, and lastly I will stop mindlessly eating! If I think that I'm hungry, I'll drink water and wait about 10-15 minutes. If I'm still hungry after that, I'll have a portion-controlled healthy snack.

I know that I can do this. I mean I have been doing this for almost a year! And I know that this is just a temporary plateau. I'm not completely discouraged because I have lost inches in the past month. But I still want those numbers on the scale to budge. I'm tired of being in the 180s... I'm ready to kick open that door into the 170s and blast my way into the 160s. :-)