Uber I'm going to go against trend here, and against my own typical advice...

It seems to me if you gained six pounds eating just "this and that" then maybe you really are eating too few calories. I have done that too. I'll eat extremely low calories (1000 or less), lose 3 or 4 pounds, then eat "normal" (1200-1300 cal) and gain it all back over night.

I am experimenting with myself right now. I've increased both calories and exercise. My weight seems to be moving again AND I'm not feeling hungry or starved like I was.

Just a thought.

Great job for getting right back on

Forever to lose, overnight to gain.

Ah my sister-in-weight-loss, looks like we're paralleling again. The ONLY thing saving me from seeing a weight gain is my "only weigh one time per month" routine and I weighed pretty early in month in November and am delaying the December weigh in as long as possible.

I really can't believe how after 18 months of being on plan how easy it was to slip off once my life changed. I haven't given up but have gotten really, really sloppy and my 6 hours of exercise per week is now about 4. This is not the direction to go in if I want to get those last 15 off rather than put 15 back on. Arghh!

I did that in October... in 3 weeks in India with my boyfriend (who I only get to see once a year) I gained 6lbs! All those dates chock full of chocolate and cakes and then pizza twice a week and then carb laden "safe" food.... their food scares me, especially after my first trip when I got a parasite... *shakes head* All you can do is pick yourself up and dust yourself off!

Aarggh.

I really do not know why I have not had ANY LUCK getting below 187-188 since August....if I stick with my usual 1200-1300 I maintain, if I drop to 1000 and stick to it like glue, I maintain. If I eat 1500 for a few days, I maintain. But recently I went off plan-- meaning that I was eating in the 1800-2000-- that is not maintenance for me, but it doesn't involve anything like chocolate ice cream sundaes, more just like a little off plan nibbling, an extra serving here and there... sigh... I would have enjoyed the sundae more.

The good news is that this morning three of the six were gone-- so I guess it was a 3 pound gain not a six pound gain.

The other piece of good news is that I'm now on day 2 of being 100% on plan.

I think I need to stick very very hard to the 1200-1300 calorie range for an entire month, and then if I STILL can't lose, maybe get my thyroid checked...

It's just a sad truth-- I gain on what others seem to lose on. Not fair, but it is what it is.

Sigh. Yes. Exactly.

I haven't given up either, but I feel like no matter what I do I don't lose, and I can be a little sloppy and not gain-- but the keyword is "a little sloppy" and it's a slippery slope. Realistically, I don't have that much wiggle room. I either keep my calories below 1500 and keep exercising or it's back up the scale I go.

I just keep roping it back in and I know that if I can just see the scale nudge downward again I'll have renewed purpose.

I'm so addicted to exercise now that when I slack I just feel like crap. (and yet, I still slack... sometimes our behavior is so hard to understand.)

I've gained 16 pounds this semester :-(. I feel your pain! Let's get this excess gain off together, mmmkay?

Uber- you are the weight loss goddess for me! You are one of the reasons I stuck to my plan early on - I was just so inspired by your progress. Don't beat your self up, just stay in the saddle and ride it home baby !!

Wow, Starbrite!!! You are a weight loss goddess yourself! Soon you will skip right past me.

I'm hanging in there for sure, it's just aggravating!!! But I'm sure my age plays into it. I look around and most of the women my age are on the gaining side...I don't see a lot of normal BMIs in my age bracket (the last gasp of the late 40s)

I'm also no spring chickie (43), we older birds can also smack that fat on the head !

Look at it this way: You're in it for the long haul. You're dealing with a bumpy section of the road right now, but if you persist, you will get through & will establish a smooth new routine, like your old one.

Last summer, when I moved, I reached my goal weight & stayed low till winter came. Then, exactly as you have described, I gradually went up about six pounds, all without enjoying anything new or unusual at Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years. And I mean that. No pie, no cake, no cookies, no candy. Nothing. Just a little extra on my plate from healthy whole foods.

So, anyway, I've spent the past six months getting rid of those extra six pounds, at maybe a half pound or less each month. But I think this is more akin to the way normal, healthy people live than the way I was living before.

Thanks SAEF. That does make me feel a little better, although I absolutely had two-count-em-two slices of pecan pie on Thanksgiving and the day after...
but yes, I can gain eating healthy food- especially when I nibble.

And some of your insights about how I chew to deal with nervousness really hit home with me. I seem to have gotten a firm handle on my old sugar binge habit (eating a a One Pound Twizzlers or something like that in about 20 minutes) but I have to really watch myself around anything salty and crunchy that falls marginally into the healthy category.... I've gone wild on pumpkin seeds, almonds, and even edamame. YIKES.

Am well into my 3rd day of being back on plan, and I'm feeling MUCH better.

One of the hard lessons I've had to learn is that I gain when there are excess calories consumed. It doesn't matter whether it is junk food or healthy whole food. I can eat too much of either. And it's those nibbles here and small snacks there that can totally wreck a deficit for me. So I really try to log everything I eat and count the calories.

Getting back on plan fast after a lapse is also key.