Almost two years ago, October 2008, I met my goal of losing 84 lbs with LA Wt Loss. I went on from there to lose another 14 lbs. For most of the past two years, I have maintained that loss. I still write down what I eat every day (though I don't weight what I eat) and I still exercise pretty much 5 days a week doing 45 minutes of cardio and about 20 minutes of lifting.

This summer, I traveled a lot and ate out a lot...you know what's coming. Although I did exercise, it wasn't as much as I normally would do. I tried, halfheartedly, to stay on my eating program; but I was eating things off program pretty often. Now, the first day of school has come, and I tried on all my work pants last night. Guess what? Right! Only about 3 pairs still fit. I am up about 13 lbs and am very, very, very upset with myself.
This morning, I weighed 190.9 and I am 6 ft. tall (female). I have been following my weight loss program (ok, not as religiously as I should, but...).

It's time to quit messing around. I don't want to let this go any further.
I know many of you are experienced on helping people decide what they should eat (how much of what items). Help me please. How much of what should I eat? Today is my first day of two days of take off using cantaloupe. Any guidance anyone can offer would be helpful!

The same thing has happened to me. I just went back to eating the same amount of calories I used to eat to lose weight. I've cut out all sugar, processed foods, white bread/potatoes, no fast food. I typically eat yogurt, fish, veggies, salad, fruit, sweet potatoes, nuts, beans, chicken, lean meats, food high in fiber, etc...
I know it's hard, but like you said, get it under control now!!! Believe it or not, I don't think of myself as having failed because I've gained weight back. Failure to me now would be giving up. As long as you strive to eat well and reduced your calories when you need to, like now, I still feel positive about myself. I hope you do too.

You've done great to maintain the loss until this little slip up, so don't be super hard on yourself. We are all human, and travelling makes it hard to maintain the healthy lifestyle changes that you made. Just go back to doing what worked for you in the past, and you'll be back to where you were in the past. I also have found avoiding any processed foods to be helpful. Also being sure to get plenty of sleep, limit caffiene and try to manage stress as best you can and your body will start working with you to be healthy.

Whatever you do, don't buy new pants! That helps me to reverse things more quickly because when I gain a few I feel terrible, its a constant motivation for me. I've learned that buying new clothes everytime I thought I didn't have enough to wear was my way of justifying that things "shrink" in the washer/dryer. Its not true... it really was my butt growing!

Good luck! Make sure after your 2 days of take off that you stick completely to plan!