There’s a fierce battle playing out in my life right now.  Its me against the scale.

Since starting my ‘diet’ several months ago I now find myself battling with 5 pounds. Its been up and down for weeks and I don’t seem to be making any progress.

Well, I may not be making weight loss progress, but I am making progress in at least holding on to my motivation for dear life.

I’ve reached a make or break point – a dreaded plateau – which will either end with failure or success.

In the past I’ve let these plateaus break my spirit.  They ruined my motivation and I would give in, drop my diet, and tell myself yet again “you just can’t lose weight so why even try?”

But this time is totally different.

This time I will not let this plateau ruin my spirit.  I’ve been so successful so far that there’s no reason why I can’t keep on losing weight and reach my goals.

Its all in my mind.

I can blame a million different things for my current situation, but really isn’t it all about my mindset?

My thoughts lead to my actions which either lead to weight loss or gain.

So what is really wrong with me?  Why am I struggling?

These 2 questions are the most important questions to ask during hard times.  Yes you can obsess over the little things like what you ate, what type of exercise you’ve been doing, etc.

But the fundamental issue that wins weight loss plateau battles is the concept of mindset.  So I’m going to evaluate these questions for myself.

What is really wrong?

I’m absolutely overwhelmed.

I have so much weight to lose that even the 37 pounds I’ve lost so far seems insignificant.

Its like the old cliche…how do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.  That’s great but when you keep seeing that big elephant you’re thinking “holy crap, I’ll never get this done, why even bother?”

Cliches aside, this I believe makes or breaks a lot of peoples’ success.

I think its absolutely critical at this point to bust out the big picture.  Reaccess your major reasons for wanting to lose weight.

I re-read my post 65 reasons why I want to lose weight.

Essentially I’m trying to reset my mindset and get excited again about all the things that I will experience when I reach my goals.

But its also about the little things too…

I’m going to reset all my habits and make sure I’m doing everything I should.

I’m asking myself…

Am I eating the right amount of calories?
Are my portions too big?
Am I eating enough fruit and veggies?
Am I writing down everything I eat?
Am I exercising as much as I should?
Am I taking enough time to relax?
Am I connecting with people who support me?
Am I trying new recipes and foods?

But the biggest questions…

Am I realizing that I’m worth it?

Yes, thats right.  Isn’t that what this is all about?

I must tell myself everyday that my life, my health, my happiness is worth this battle.

Every tear, every struggle is worth it because it makes my resolve stronger.

I will push through this plateau and continue to my weight loss goals because I can succeed.  I have the power to win this battle, this war I’ve waged for years.

My motivation is unstoppable when I know in my soul that I am worth the fight.

I deserve success and I am willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it.

This is war and I’m ready to bust out the tanks.

Update: The day after I wrote this post I had my weekly weigh-in. I lost 3 pounds! Take that plateau!