Weight loss plateaus suck. I know, because for the last three months, that’s been my world.

I’m still chipping away at it. I know that sooner or later, I’ll reach the end of this plateau, and the good news here is that even if I were to stay at this weight forever, I am better off now than I have been. My life is much improved over what it was, even a few short months ago.

The number doesn’t surprise me; I just wish it would move!

Years ago, I lost 140 pounds — and then hit a two-year plateau. Two years. That’s a long time, my friends! Any time I reach a plateau or stall, I think about (and dread) returning to something similar, especially since that one ended badly. I regained every ounce of the weight I lost, plus some on top of it. I lost every bit of my mojo.

Looking back on it, now, I realize I was doing some things wrong, and that my body was fighting against me. That particular situation is nothing new; keeping my body in check is a constant battle, but I sat for far too long, doing the same things over and over and expecting change. I finally got frustrated and let myself slip into old habits. It was further complicated by physical injury which curtailed exercise.

I’m wary about finding myself in the same situation. I’ve accepted, recently, that I’m not doing everything I could be doing to further my goals, so I’m working harder toward those ends. There’s light at the end of the tunnel, but there’s also the need for change instead of just expecting the same things to work.

It’s always difficult to know when to change something, whether it’s the right change, whether it’s enough, but if it changes the results I’m getting, it’s worth it. I have to step out on faith and hope that the changes I institute will be the right ones. I’m determined to reach 120 pounds down; that’s 1.8 pounds below my low weight. Not much to ask of my body. I am pushing through, proving to myself that I can make that scale do my bidding.

The difference between this stall and my two year one is that my head is more in the right place, these days; I’m not about to step off my plan and allow big weight gains. I always say that I never want to return to that place, again, and that’s true; but I need to actually make that happen.