Update on "Plateau: What to Do??"

So, on June 21st, I had spoken about a Plateau and the things I decided to try to get out of it. They were a Waist Trimmer Belt, Fat burner and Hoodia pills and Intermittent Fasting. I tried all of them, and as far as Intermittent Fasting, I only tried it once and got so sick that I decided not to do it anything.

But here is what I have to say about the belt and the pills, 2 weeks later:

1- Waist Trimmer Belt (Update)

So I tried the Danskin Womens Fitness Waist Trimmer Belt . This is probably the thing that worked the most. It made me lose almost 2 inches around my waist on the week I wore it during my workouts and definitely made me sweat a lot around my belly. BUT, there is a big BUT! After doing some research, I realized that was mostly water weight, since sweating does not burn fat. So basically, I did lose a lot of water weight around my belly, but it's nothing that will be gone forever. Water weight comes and goes.

Conclusion:

It is a great tool if you are trying to get rid of inches around your weight for a special occasion, but for long term weight loss, it is not that efficient.

 

2- Combo ACAI Fat Burn #3 and Hoodia Ultra 2000 (Update)

Okay, so I took them religiously for about 7 days, and really didn't notice any decrease in appetite or weight loss.  After about 7 days I kind of gave up and decided to just stick to healthy eating. The only thing I did notice was the caffeine from the Hoodia kick in.

 

Conclusion:

I can't say, maybe you need to take it longer for it to work. But didn't really do anything for me.

*****

So, in sum, I shouldn't have wasted my money on those things. What I did try that worked, was adding more fiber to my breakfast and considerably reducing my sodium, fat and sugar intake. I'm finally getting out of my Plateau and back to 148 from 150.

For the first time, I'm getting compliments from people I rarely talk to about my weight loss. It is starting to become noticeable!

I guess the lesson I learned from this is be patient, be healthy, and good things will follow.

Plateau: What to do??

I remember when losing weight was easy... All I had to do was stop eating as much and voila, 20 pounds lost! But not anymore.... I'm not sure if it's because I'm 10 years older now, or because of my birth control hormones.. All I know is it's been frustrating and a long journey.

The good news is I'm definitely out of the high 150's, but I seem to be stuck between 150 and 153. I even went down to 148 at one point, which is when I posted that super happy post, but now I went back up again. Today I am at 151. I guess that is what they call a Plateau.

So I decided to try a couple of things recently to see if they will help me get out of this Plateau. I only started a couple of days ago so I can't say if they are working just yet. But I will definitely post about it later to let you know the results.

1- Intermittent Fasting

I read a lot of posts in community from people who swear by it and say it works. Basically, you don't eat for a certain amount of time and then break the fasting with a light meal. Depending how long the fasting takes, you do it 1 - 2 times a week. 

I decided to try it on Tuesday to do a 24 hours Fasting. My last meal was around 8pm the previous day so my plan was to eat around 8pm on Tuesday. 

My Experience: 

It was not a good one. The morning was spent trying to avoid temptation to grab breakfast or snacks, and avoiding food commercials on TV. I was constantly thinking about food. In the afternoon, I was very cranky and kept on snapping at my poor husband, who by the way, didn't want me to fast to begin with. I was not in a good mood whatsoever. Then around 6:30pm I started feeling very weak and nauseous. It rapidly escalated to a point where I was trying not to throw up, and could only sit down. I decided to force myself to eat a couple of crackers since at this point, I wasn't hungry anymore, just nauseous and weak. Then I had some grilled chicken salad we ordered because I was feeling to sick to cook, and slowly ate it until I felt better. 

Basically, it was a horrible experience. I'm not sure I will try this again. 

Results: 

I can't tell if it really worked, since I'm always fluctuating, but I do think I lost at least 1 pound from it. 

2- Waist Trimmer Belt

I was on Amazon trying to find ways that can help me lose weight, but not in an unhealthy way. I then came accross the Danskin Womens Fitness Waist Trimmer Belt with a lot of good reviews. It is supposed to burn the fat around the waist by making you sweat a lot in that area. So I bought it.

My Experience: 

I wore it for my crossfit class yesterday. It is comfortable and although might feel a bit awkward during some exercises where you need to move a lot, like Burpees, etc, it was fine, it didn't bother me. It was stayed in place and tight. But boy, did I sweat! My waist area was DRENCHED in sweat. When I took it off when I got home, this thing was dripping as if I had dipped it in a pool. I usually don't sweat that much in that area, so it definitely worked as far as making me sweat. 

Results:

I don't know yet if it really custs the inches around the waist because I only used it once. I measure myself this morning and it's the same, but I figured it is not something that will happen overnight. I will come back to tell you if it works or not in about 2 weeks. 

3- Combo ACAI Fat Burn #3 and Hoodia Ultra 2000

I know you are probably thinking "Diet pills? Really?". Here is the thing though... They are all natural, and supposed to help you burn fat faster as well as diminish your cravings, etc. I read a lot of reviews on Amazon, and although some of them are probably fake, some of them really did seem legitimate, and according to the reviewer's history, seemed like they were actual people. So I thought to myself, what the hell, I will just try it. 

My Experience: 

I just took them this morning so it is really very early to tell. So far, no side effects. The Acai Fat Burn has the equivalent of a cup and 1/4 of coffee in each serving, but I am not feeling jittery or anything. I also had my regular cup of coffee this morning. 

Results: 

No miracles here. I will post back in about a month. 

Apart from those out of the ordinary things, I have kept eating a calorie intake that varies between 1400 and 1500 and exercising at least 3 times a week. 

Here is hoping for the best!!

**2 weeks update here**