After a little slip up on Saturday night I stayed on plan ALL DAY yesterday. I didn't overeat -- I actually created a pretty big deficit to try to balance everything out. I'm up half a pound! What is this madness?! Here's what I ate yesterday. Plus I ran 4 miles.

1/2 cup Fiber One Cereal
1/2 cup of Lowfat milk

Total: 105

10 oz. cantaloupe

Total: 155

<1 oz. of salmon
Salad with Red wine vinegar (lettuce only, red and green)
10 oz. cantaloupe

Total: 315

3 egg whites
1 slice toasted Lite bread

Total: 420

Dulce de Leche sugar-free pudding cup

Total: 480

What am I doing wrong? I never ate when I wasn't hungry, and I don't think it's right just to keep eating if you "don't think you've had enough".

Don't freak out over a 1/2 lb!

But I'm up from 136 to 138 I don't want to head back in that direction!

You have to remember that all sorts of factors affect your weight on the scale!! You might be retaining water, or the food from Sat night hasn't all digested... The scale is really a poor tool to measure FAT, because it measures all of us: fat, muscle, bone, skin and water (and really, much of our weight IS water). I really think that sometimes we give the scale too much power over us! That's why I believe it is

So, stay on plan today (don't let it win) and weigh again in a few days!

I would say you didnt eat enough at all. Remember that your body goes into starvation mode. Only 480 calories plus the running. Your body is holding onto fluids and weight, Eat more for a few days and your weightloss should continue.
Im sorry I know how hard it is to wake up with a gain

I just looked back at your post -- did you really only eat 480 calories yesterday? Why so low? I know you said you weren't hungry, but you need to give your body fuel, and it's very hard to give yourself everything you need when you don't eat enough.

Am I reading right? Was your total for the day 480 cal? That's awefully low. It looks to me like you need more protein and more veggies. Just more food! Maybe some good fat in the form of nuts or olive oil.

Dont try to create a huge deficit the next day to make up for a previous day. You are just setting your body up for some strange things. It's like if you fall down two step you dont get up and try to jump up 5, you just start climbing again.

As for why up 1/2 lb after a "good" day - you CAN NOT control how your body will fluctuate and when. I had a great week and lost nothing followed by a "bad" week and lost the 2 lbs I should have lost the week before.

Weight loss comes over TIME

My body always gains water weight right before a big loss. Always. It's gotten to the point where I look forward to the microgains.

I'm up 1.5 lbs today. eh. I do feel kind of bloaty now that I think about it.

A lot of good advice in the above posts. I am curious qbout the 480 calories, too. Do you mean that is all you ate all day ? That is more like what one meal should be plus a couple of snacks of about 100 calories each.

For your height and weight you are not eating enough calories, getting too little protein, no healthy fats (or fats at all for that matter other then an ounce of salmon) and eating too many carbs and sugars.

This will give you an idea on how to eat......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX1cSgKUEGA

.... i think it was the 105+150+315+420+480

Dont worry, just drink alot of water and keep on eating OP. the longer you do it the more you see, even if you see a jump up.. you will DEFINITELY see it go down! if you stay OP.

3 Egg Whites and One slice of toast is not 480 calories. That is definitely her total for the whole day.

WOAH now im doin the math...

....i edit this after reading Lori's. shes got a good point!!

if it was a regular thing for the 480 = bad choice.. but if its after a Large calorie slip up..

Oh Honey, I just have to ask...How "little" was your "slip-up" on Saturday?

If you had a 3000 to 4000 calorie little slip up I can see eating a very low amount the next day, simply because who could be hungry after a big blow out like that? As far as the "starvation mode" comment (after one day of eating a low calorie amount)...No way. I don't know why people freak out if a person has one very low calorie day, after a very high calorie day. It's not like your body "resets" after a specific 24 hour period. Your body does not go by the clock. I have many, MANY times fixed damage by eating less for a few days after an over indulgence. I call it maintaince.

My Mother and Father-in-law who are in their upper 80's and have NEVER had a weight problem do it all the time. If they eat to much one day, (like Christmas or Thanksgiving) they cut way back the next, (because they are NOT hungry...and normal weight people do not eat when they are not hungry...) Over weight people eat when they are not hungry!!

Now, to the 1/2 pound gain. Well, how much did you poop? How salty was the "little slip up"? Was it mostly carbs, (that make you retain water) or protein?

A few weeks ago I had a little slip up. I ate fried chicken and ice cream...I estimated I went over my daily calories by about 2000 calories that day. IT took me an entire WEEK....yes, 7 days of 1200 to 1300 calories to get back to 140. I gained 6 pounds overnight, and it took 7 days to lose it. Whether it was bloat, water, sludge or fat, it took 7 days to lose it. Thankfully I learned my lesson for now.

When did you weigh yourself? It's best to do it first thing in the morning, after you've gone to the bathroom and before you eat breakfast.

Dhani