[Briza]

Does anyone weights jump back and forth a few pounds? For the last few weeks now I have been going from 135-137 and its starting to get frustrating! I feel like I am actually loosing some of my motivation! How do I breakthrough this?

[Casandra]

I like to use a reward system. Usually not food motivated of course! For instance, I lost 5lbs one month, and treated myself to a new pair of shoes that I really really wanted.

Your motivation could be that dress that you bought. You knew you wouldnt fit into it, but how stunning would it be if you did?

My current motivation for my big goal is getting a puppy. Seems strange, yes, but this is the best inspiration to lose weight for me. Its something I really really want, would die to have, but cant because of where I am in my life right now.

You really have to sit and think and find something that will make you go that extra mile on your daily run!

[bargoo]

It is perfectly normal for your weight to fluctuate a little bit.Do not get upset if it is only 2 pounds as long as it doesn't keep going up.There are various reasons why you mught see this fluctuation, one could be , eating food with a higher sodium content,that is just one, there are other factors that could cause this.You can avoid some of this frustration by not weighing too often.If you weigh once a week you will never notice the fluctuations.




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[Briza]

I know! I tried not weighing in as much. I used to get on the scale every day-but gave in and did it 2 days this week. Yesterday, 135 today, 137. At least this way I know I couldnt have gained 2 lbs of fat-ha!

[lumifan4ever]

Yes...whatever you do...don't give up!!!! You can make it thru this. Maybe take a look at what you're eating and drop 100 calories for a week or two and see if anything happens. If you're eating salty stuff...drink extra water to help flush it out. It could be anything but definately not you gaining weight. I go thru this every so often and you just have to keep going. Maybe change it up just a little. But NEVER give up!!! If you give up...You'll never know what you could have accomplished!!

[AquaWarlock]

My weight can jump up to 5 pounds throughout the week (guessing fluid retention due to however much or little of sodium I've had the day before); I've learned not to freak out when it goes up a little, so you shouldn't either

On a more relevant note, what is your current diet/exercise routine? Maybe it needs a little tweaking to help you get on-track to making goal.

[alinnell]

I have had the experience of "maintaining" since about January and my weight fluctuated between 139 and 143. I kept wanting to lose, but it wasn't happening. Just recently, I've realized that I have not seen 139 (let alone 140 or 141) for several weeks! EEEEK! I've gained. I'm no longer maintaining! That was motivation enough for me to stop maintaining and get back on the road to losing.

Feel happy that you aren't gaining. And then convince yourself to get going again.

[BlueToBlue]

I think we all fluctuate within a few pounds. My evening weight is often 3 or 4 lbs higher than my morning weight. When I lose a lb, it's fairly typical for my weight to jump back up a couple lbs the next day and then slowly work it's way back down.

If you are fluctuating within the same range for several weeks and you are still trying to lose weight, here are a couple of strategies:

1. Just continue to wait it out. A few weeks really isn't that long to stay at one weight; it barely qualifies as a plateau. Sometimes the water in your cells just needs to catch up with your fat loss before you can start losing again. So a perfectly reasonable course of action would be to just keep at it for a few more weeks and see if your weight loss picks up again. Now that you are within ten lbs of your goal weight, I think you are going to find that your weight loss is no longer linear or consistent.
2. Change something in your exercise routine. Replace an exercise you are currently doing with something new, add more exercise, or increase the intensity of your workouts. Or maybe you are exercising too much and need to cut back a bit.
3. Change your eating habits. What kinds of foods are you eating? Consider changing your ratio of fat, carbs, and protein. Or reduce or increase your calories.

Without knowing your exercise and dietary habits it's hard to give specific advice. The first time I plateaued, it was because I was not eating enough for the level of exercise I was doing. I added 100 calories per day to my diet and started losing again. The second time I plateaued, I got things moving again by cutting back my cardio (I'd read an article that the level of cardio I was doing wasn't necessary) and cutting my calories back to their original level (they'd crept up by a couple hundred more per day since the first increase). Also, if you've lost a lot of weight, at some point you may need to adjust your calories downwards to continue losing.

If you want to tell us more about your current exercise/dietary habits, we can probably give you more specific suggestions.