A little bit of background first... I have always had unhealthy eating habits. For most of my life I ate very little during the day and then ate a bunch of junk late in the evening. The only exception was while eating around aother people- then I ate junk the whole day. Exercise has been sporadic, a few months on, a few months off.

This summer I have been working on cleaning up my eating habits. I am counting calories (1400 per day), ordering salmon, tuna or chicken when out to dinner, and eating small meals throughout the day. I have also been incorporating fruits and vegetables into every meal and have all but cut out junk food. I have also been going to the gym 4-5 times a week and doing cardio and strength training.

I feel happier and more energetic. Sounds good, right? My problem is that the scale has gone up to 126 (and it's not a one day fluke deal) I have not gotten any smaller, but I have not gotten larger either. I am still wearing a size 2 or 4 depending on the brand. I also don't think it is possible that I have gained 3 pounds of muscle in 2 months. What is going on? And how can I change what I am doing in order to get smaller?

Are you drinking water or soda and juice? Juice and soda contain loads of sugar and calories. I always heard that you should never drink your calories with the exception of milk - which should be skim. How about alcohol? Beer and wine contain a lot of calories as well.

I have been drinking water with lime slices, I even stopped drinking diet coke. The only time I've had alcohol this summer was 2 Miller Lites at my sister's engagement party. I've been pretty careful about tracking my calories, so I think that is pretty accurate. I didn't track very well over a recent vacation, but I also didn't gain over the vacation.

youre already tiny...... i'd be willing to bet yo are consuming more calories than you think you are...... Id bet your daily burn isnt much higher than 1400 (ie; 1700-1800, because you are already so small, and if youhave an office job) and if you arent WEIGHING every morsel that goes into your mouth, you could EASILY be overshooting by a couple hundred a day, at LEAST (hey, we ALL do it when we dont weigh).. a couple hundred or more dail;y, could be putting you right at maintenance, and then wehn you go out to eat, BAM! youre over on your cals, no matter how smart the selection you chose......

add to that the inevitable water gain if you are strength training.... your body will hold onto extra water for muscle recovery and repair.....

ANYWAY, my point is, the first and simplest place to start looking at, and tweaking, is your diet, and how accurate you really are counting.... do you go out to eat often? like, more than 2 X a month? thats a big culprit, because you have NO CONTROL over how much the kitchen chefs put on your plate, KWIM? its not like THEY weigh they food lol

That is possible. I'm a teacher, so I think I move more during the school year. I never sit down while teaching, I either stand at the front or walk around the room while kids work in groups. I think I will get a food scale.

Also, does your body always retain water after exercise, or does it stop doing that after a while?

What sort of exercise are you doing? If you're doing strength training your body can certaily retain 3lbs of water weight while it repairs the muscles. That being said if the weight is truly sticking around you might want to work on your diet like others have said. Also, are you getting enough water in during the day? Are you taking your measurements (I'd trust those more than the scale itself)?

I sew some of my own clothing, so I take my measurements pretty regularly. Bust and hips have stayed the same, but waist has gone down .5" I feel like that's too small to really mean anything though.

I think I'm getting enough water because I am peeing all the time. Sorry if that's TMI. I think being even more careful about my diet is what I'm going to have to do to go down. Although maybe a lower weight isn't sustainable for me. I guess we'll see. Thanks so much for everyone's suggestions so far.