Finding Motivation during a Plateau

So for the last three weeks, I've been stuck at the same weight. Just like in anything else, this is known as hitting a plateau. Great. I work my butt off for 3 straight weeks with nothing to show for it. Naturally, I start to question what I've changed and what I should change to get things going in the right direction again. Then again, maybe it's just one number that's not changing...

I know exactly what I've changed. In my diet, I went from having a double serving of a protein shake for lunch (240 calories) and almonds as a snack later (85 calories) to a meal that didn't leave me feeling terrible every day by the time I got to the gym. Now, it's 4 oz. sliced turkey breast (116 calories) and 6 fl. oz. fruit-on-the-bottom greek yogurt (140 calories) for lunch, and a banana (~125 calories) plus some peanut butter (~95 calories) as a snack. That is approximately a 151 calorie per day gain. But, I also increased the number of days at the gym by 2, one being cardio-only. Averaged over a week, that should actually result in another 1000 calories lost. There is potential that I'm taking in too much protein and not enough fat, so I may have to make some additional changes to my diet to make sure I'm not hindering myself. Also, let's not forget that dinners could be the problem. Lazy cooking (aka, reheating pizza) could have easily put my entire diet plan off.

Looking at the numbers, though. In the time I've been in the plateau, I've increased the weight attempted on bench press (both dumbbell and barbell), incline bench press, shoulder raise, triceps extensions, and reverse fly. I've also come much closer to completing my current weight on front squat and overhead squat. Also, I'm completing the full 30 minutes of level 13 elliptical with more regularity. One thing is that I've had to eliminate pull up, hang clean, and hang snatch from my routines while my neck has been sore, coinciding quite nicely with this plateau. Maybe we're on to something here.

Regardless, I'm still making progress in some areas, so it's not time to try anything drastic. I let my progress, weight or otherwise, be my motivator. As long as I'm making progress, I'm not going to worry too much. Though, maybe the lazy fare needs to be better for me.