I've been holding frustration at bay, but now it's officially setting in...

Back on 12/3 I weighed 232... by 12/11, I dropped to 228...it was a lovely whoosh... but not that surprising because I was due for a whoosh.

But before the week was out, my weight bounced back up four pounds to 232 and there it has stayed....at first, I could tell I was retaining water-- too much salt and not drinking enough and my ankles were puffy. So, I didn't worry. But now, I don't think that's the problem.

I have not changed my diet or exercise. I usually eat between 1200 and 1400 cals per day, and I haven't gone over that, although I do feel like I've been a little less cautious-- eating stuff (like lentils) where I'm doing an imprecise calorie count-- but I still try very hard to OVER estimate when I'm not sure. And there haven't been any wildly off plan moments.

I'm a daily weigher, and I change my weight as soon as I see a loss-- so it has happened to me before that I've seen a loss, then bounced back up and it's taken me a few days to settle back to the lower weight. But I've never gotten to a lower weight and then gained it back.

But this time, I'm not settling back to the lower weight. So either, I've gained four pounds, or I never lost the four pounds in the first place-- and either seems weird.

Usually, I can really tell I'm getting somewhere-- looser clothes, better fitness, scale loss-- but right now, it just seems like nothing is happening, and my mind has been playing tricks with me, telling me I'll never get any lower than I am right now.

Rest assured that you WILL get that scale going downward once again. It's a definite HAVE to.

Okay. I think it may be time to start weighing your food and being more precise. At least for a few days or so, just to make CERTAIN. I think that should be your first step.

You haven't mentioned your exercise - what's that looking like????

Are you using a homescale to weigh yourself? I weigh myself everyday but I always wait till my official weigh in day to change my ticker or chart down my weight. My homescale isnt that accurate when I first step on the scale it will say for example this morning it said 217.6 which could of been accurate but I never use the 1st weight results on my scale. I let my scale turn all the way off and then I step back on and it said 218.2 lbs. for some reason thats how my scale is I have to step on it a couple of times to get the correct weight. Dont stress out to much Im sure the scale will start going down again

I was thinking that I should start weighing my food. I use fitday for calorie counts and sometimes it really confuses me-- like it gives me wildly different calorie counts if I count the number of large shrimp I eat, as opposed to measuring by the cup. Maybe weight would be more precise? I've long suspected that I might be underestimating my calories.... Sometimes the calorie counts on fitday seem low to me... I also do use a little bit of a "free food" strategy... I don't get very involved with counting calories on the non-starchy vegetables.

My exercise routine is to lap swim 45 minutes about 4-5x weekly. Sometimes if I can't make it to the gym, I walk on the treadmill-- but only about once a week. I have definitely noticed an improvement in my fitness level. I swim pretty fast-- last night I was pacing the buff guy in the lane next to me. I feel like I get a good workout, although I don't really have a way to gauge improvement.

I FINALLY talked to the gym about a personal trainer-- I'm still waiting for a call back. I guess with the holidays the turn around time is kind of long.

Here's what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast: one slice wheat bread
1 TBS peanut butter
1 half banana
(I eat this every day... I often finish the other half the banana later in the day)

Lunch: 1 cup lentil soup (and yes, I did measure this time)
1 orange

Snack: apple

Dinner: calamaris (squid) 4 oz with sauteed onions.
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup rice (measured, cooked)

Snack: 4oz container cottage cheese and pineapple. (100 cals)

I'd say that's a pretty typical day, except that I usually eat two veggies for dinner.

I do use my homescale to weigh-- and my old scale(s) used to be inaccurate like that, but now I have a state of the art Tanita one and it ALWAYS gives me the same weight, no matter how many times I step on it.

urbergirl - Your eating plan seems really healthy and low cal to me and your exercise plan is terrific! I think sometimes your body just really likes a particular weight and it is hard to get past that weight. Once you do the loss continues more quickly.

I agree.

Have you tried eating more frequently through the day with each meal being the same calories? I suggest this just to screw with your body and keep it guessing, not because you're doing anything "wrong". You're not.

If you've been swimming a while, try some different exercise. Anything to shake your body out of its comfort zone. It's possible the swimming is just too easy for you now to see any improvement. I'm a swimmer and I know it's hard to measure anything when you swim. You don't know how fast you're going, you don't know what your rate is. You have to really pay close attention to your body responses and it's hard to know sometimes. Maybe try flippers if you never have. It's a lot of fun, fast, and it uses different muscles, or at least it uses the muscles differently. Try a different stroke.

Just some thoughts. Don't give up! I'll remember you and this when it happens to me!

I agree with Robin about weighing your food (clears up any question when counting calories).

And this may sound strange, but I put my foot on my scale and get it to register a lower weight then I get on it. My scale has a habit of defaulting to the last thing I weighed even if I've lost and even though it does not have a memory feature.

Aside from those things, you are probably due for another drop, but I fully understand how frustrating this is for you!!

How about strength training? Seems to me like NOW would be a great time to incorporate it into your life. We want you losing fat, not muscle. And the more muscle we have, the more calories we burn just sitting still. I'm thinking though that that may have been why you're looking into a personal trainer...

Swimming is great. I am wondering though besides the swimming, are you active or sedentary? Do you have a desk job? Or are you busy running around a lot? Perhaps try to add in some additional activity to your day.

Hang tight. Be more aware of those "free" veggies. I know for me, I often eat upwards of 500 calories worth, so I absolutely MUST count them or I'd be - well, I wouldn't be at goal or anywhere near it.

With a little patience, some mixing things up a bit and a little experimentation, you'll get that scale moving downward once more.

Yes, that's why I am looking into the personal trainer.

Sigh. There may be something to this. I have two "jobs"... when I work two days a week, I run around some, but when I work at home I sit sit sit on the computer. My weight loss slow down did coincide with the time that I decided I really had to buckle down on a huge project. Butt to chair. It's great for getting work done, but doesn't burn many calories.

I HOPE SO!! I'm trying not to get frustrated, but I use the little goals to keep me focused... the more I feel frustrated the more I do stuff like stare longingly at Christmas treats-- so far I haven't eaten any, thank god.

At least I'm pretty sure my scale is accurate. I am a semi-pro at scale manipulation and I haven't found a way to make this one go up or down. I get the same weight whether I step on slowly, step on and off, jump up and down (all of which, of course, I've already tried, LOL)

Thanks all for the input.

Just to add one interesting side note.

I was intrigued enough by CCLSC's comment about the scale memory, so I decided to try something new. I turned my scale off then turned it back on again. (it's digital with memory and everything) then reweighed.

Shazam. Back down to 230.

So maybe my scale was a little out of whack-- like a computer or phone that needs to be turned off now and then to function properly.

Meanwhile, I'm going to invest in a really good digital food scale.

Oh, I'm so glad!!! Mine doesn't have an on/off switch so I weigh my foot then myself. It's like my scale is lazy and is saying, "Eh, I weighed her yesterday, she won't know if I just give her that reading again!" But throwing a 20 pound foot weight in there and it gets its act together!

hehe You guys crack me up. Twenty pound foot weight...

But yeah... I went through that about 4lbs ago... I just kept on bouncing back and forth between 198 and 196 for WEEKS and it was getting REALLY frustrating... it'd never happened to me before during my weight loss journey.... but rest assured, I stayed diligent and of course, it finally went down and then stayed down... and then continued down.

Back down to 230 this morning-- gives me incentive not to spend the next two days eating Christmas goodies...

Oh because THAT would have helped matters. . Just kidding. I know how frustrated you are. It's hard to resist caving in when you feel you're working hard and the scale (in actuality your body) isn't reflecting it. Kinda makes you feel like why bother? Bother. Bother. It's worth it. It's BOUND to give.

And it has.

Keep up the great work. You are tougher than this. MUCH tougher. This too shall pass and you will be celebrating once more.