[Thistleberry]

I've posted this over in the Featherweight forum but thought I might try here as well. I'm at 138.8 today. Was 139.6 yesterday. I'm starting to lose faith that this is just from weightlifting, which I started doing again two weeks ago after stopping in November. My graphs are trending up and seeing that makes me nervous.

I've been averaging 1450 calories per day over the week. I lift every other day (following New Rules of Lifting For Abs) and try to be active on non-lifting days. I might run (usually 5k), hula hoop for a half hour or so, or play Just Dance on my Wii. Nothing terribly strenuous.

Yesterday:
B: 286 - Pumpkin quinoa
S: 205 - .5 cup greek yogurt w/ mixed berries and nuts
L: 363 - Pepperjack swiss chicken w/ chickpeas (+ .5 tbsp salad dressing)
D: 426 - Fig and blue cheese pork tenderloin w/ butternut squash, carrot and broccoli
Totals: 1281 kcal, 40.3 fat, 128.5 carbs (20.7 fiber), 107.6 protein

Today's menu:
B: 254 - Mango apple kale buckwheat protein pancakes w/ sugar free syrup
S: 98 - Orange, piece of dark chocolate
L: 488 - Chicken tikka masala and bacon lentils (w/onion, carrots and celery)
D: 397 - Blue cheese hamburger (no bun) (+ 2 tbsp bbq sauce) w/ beet chips (+ 1 tbsp light sour cream) and a spinach salad (onion, green pepper, sprouts and 2 tbsp dressing)
Post workout: 253 - Protein shake (made of almond milk, sf pudding, protein powder)
Total: 1490 kcal, 42.1 fat, 145 carbs (34.8 fiber), 132.5 protein

It isn't lost on me that I've been been eeking upward for the two weeks that coincide with the two weeks since I started lifting again. I'm just losing a bit of faith that this is a good thing to do. I haven't been jumping up pounds the day after lifting, just consistently adding on .5 or 1 every day. When I first started lifting last May I would go up and down many pounds. For whatever reason, it's less erratic/extreme this time and that adds to my worry.

Reassurance? Suggestions??

[TripSwitch]

Do you have anyway to track your BF%? because from what you described that would be what I would look to at this point...

And sorry to be the bearer of bad news... but trying to lose that last 5 to 10 lbs when you're already lost a lot of weight can be really difficult... I tried a really strict PSMF which worked for me, but I didn't feel so hot when I was doing it so I was only able to stick with it for a couple of weeks... and it was a struggle to maintain. I decided to let go of my goal of 127lbs (What I weighed just after college) when I realized that I was actually much more fit when I weighed between 135lb and 145lb with a lower BF%, so that's what I'm shooting for again...

[April Snow]

are you doing measurements? What about how your clothes fit? I think if you are doing a lot of regular weight lifting, you have to focus on those things more than on the scale esp when you are at a healthy weight for your body. When you have more to lose, you can lift and still see a loss, but at your height/weight, that's going to be tougher.

[Thistleberry]

Thank you both for your replies!

Sadly, I don't currently have a way to measure body fat, but I think I'll ask at my gym if anyone there can help me out. It would be a useful measure.

I do keep track of measurements but they haven't changed for good or ill in the last month. My clothes fit about the same. I've probably just jumped the gun on my worries and need to give it time. It's reassuring though that neither of you thought my food was out of whack.

Once again, thank you!