I've been dieting This Time since 07/31 and have lost 12lbs.

This morning, despite a very controlled yesterday, and a controlled week, it had rolled back up a bit, although still within the same pound.

I know this is natural and normal - but I also know this is where I usually get discouraged and fall off the waggon.

I'd be really grateful if someone could run alongside my waggon for a couple of days and, if you see any bits of me trying to fall off, shove them back on again!

REALLY hungry tonight, even with 1500 calories and plenty of liquids.

Hanging onto my waggon.....

Have you got any plans tonight? A book or good TV show calling your name?

Perhaps it's time to reward yourself with something cheap & luxurious like a good long bath? A reward for making it work for 3 weeks. After all, it's not just about the weight. It's about sticking to healthier habits. And you've done that so far. So pat yourself on the back!

Or go to bed early & get a great night's sleep. You deserve a good sleep, too.

I believe the less time spent worrying over how this is usually where you fall, the better.

Focus on the positive. Before you know it, another week will have passed.

Maybe you should up your calories a couple hundred calories. I know, I know, sounds crazy. But when you really start getting closer to your goal weight and need to lower your calorie intake from 1500, and then lower and lower after you start hitting mini goals, you might not be left with much to keep your metabolism going. This is only from my personal experience. Good luck!

I just shoved your right leg back on, so you should be more steady now .

I know how you feel. Last week I had my first ever weekly gain on the scale. I *knew* I didn't gain any fat, I *knew* I was eating well and exercising, but it's still no fun.

Hang on, 'cause your wagon ain't stoppin' until you get there!

Oh my! You should so read my thread that I started today it sort of sounds the same. I gained 2 lbs and I am hoping it is because of me starting my period! This is also when I usually give up too! I am not going to do it so you can't either! Since Julie pushed your right leg back in I am pushing your left leg back in!

i'll get your arm... you can do this... i've lost 70 so far over the last 2 years... still have about 40 to go we can do this.

I'll push you other arm back on, but any weight that falls off I'm leaving in the road !! You can SO do this! I hit onederland this week and never thought I'd see the day - you can stick with it. Just think hard about the reasons why you want this and think how amazing it is that you are 12 pounds lighter and healthier!! Go to the grocery store and pick up a 12lb. bag of cat food and walk around with that for 10 minutes - you'll be mighty proud of yourself!!

Hang in there - we've got you!

Ailidh, it can be sooo discouraging to be doing everything right and it's not working. I'm stuck too - 13 days and counting with no slipups, and no lbs down!

Sometimes it just takes things a while to adjust on your body. You've done a great job so far. Just hang onto that wagon for dear life! The scale will go down!

Thankyou for your support! You are lovely people!

It's all the more necessary today, because I've 'gained' again overnight.
I promise I will cling on!

STAY OFF THE scale if it discourages you.

it's only ONE measure of your success!

Hang in there!!! I just broke through a 2.5 month plateau (by upping my calories for just a few days and then bringing them back down). So it will happen, unfortunately, not always when we'd like it to.

Like Nessa said, this is only one measure of your success. Have you been taking your measurements? I do this once a month and even on months when I only lost 2 lbs, I found that I have lost a lot more inches than that.

You're doing great. Keep up the good work.

I know exactly where you are at. I lost 14 lbs pretty quickly (in 3 weeks) then last week only lost .5 lbs. I usually weigh in on Friday mornings, but this week I peaked yesterday morning and I couldn't believe that I was up 2 lbs.
I've been going to the gym and keeping on plan with my eating. I have had more sodium this week than normal though, so that could be the problem, but it's discouraging none the less.
Don't worry though, you will get there and so will I.
Like many people have said, sometimes the scale isn't the best form of measurement. I feel much better for having lost the weight that I have.
I also feel amazing about the progress my body is making at the gym.
I feel so much stronger and healthier already.
I know that in the past I have been a slave of the number on the scale and I'm trying to change that way of thinking now. It matters how I feel and that I'm doing the right thing and staying on track not what the scale tells me.
Just keep remembering how well you have done and how badly you want this.
You'll get there for sure!

I was going to post a whoopdedo msg today, as I've lost again but - (klutz tale to follow)
both on Tuesday, when I had a big 'loss' and today, when it's been big again, I made a boob with my bp meds. Don't know why, especially the second time. Basically, I take 2 bp tabs in the morning. I take 2 vit/min tabs at night. I've always taken them at night so that I don't accidentally take them and forget the bp ones in the morning. So Monday night, I realized that instead of the vits, I'd taken the bp tabs Again, after also taking them in the morning. Like an absolute idiot, I did it again last night. I need to work out another strategy - and try and not obsess that my mind is going!!!!!
Anyhoo, the point is the bp tabs have a diuretic component, so I won't believe this weight loss really until tomorrow, when I check whether it was just water loss or not. I'm claiming it on my ticker tho!

Ailidh

I'm pushing your butt back on track...and hoping that in the process it will stabilize my own (I too am teetering out of that wagon.) I'm curious though...I'm assuming the 37 pounds includes some lost before July 31, but even so. If you have just lost 12-15 in the last three weeks that is awesome...and an unsustainable rate of loss! Think about how you can tolerate sticking it out as the weight loss is slowing down. One thing we have all seen is that even when folks stay completely on plan, there are a few plateaus, and even some small ups on the way. If your mind set is that you will pretty consistently be able to lose 3-4 pounds a week, you are set up for failure.

I know you can lose the weight, that wagon is big enough to fit your body at any size, but make sure the map you've got in your head about speed and consistency of loss isn't so unrealistic that you topple the wagon over or burst it apart entirely. (How's that for sticking to the image?)

Remember that your body may need a bit of time to adjust itself after some loss. That's why weight loss can be so frustrating. It's not just calories-in, calories-out, with a steady march down the scale as you limit what you eat. It also has to do with what you are eating, how much water you are drinking, how much exercise you are getting, and the ever-fluctuating hormones (not just estrogen and such, but those are prime culprits).

I agree that you may need to eat a few hundred more calories, especially if you are that hungry, even if only for a day or so. I tend to cycle between 1500 and 2000 in a week, depending on hunger. I find that if I'm building my meals around solid protein (at least 25 grams) and staying away from sugars and refined flours, I do MUCH better and am less likely to be hungry.