Two months ago I was at 207 and getting so close to saying bye bye to 200 on the scale. Now I'm back up to 216. I've never gained this much weight back before and I haven't been this heavy in months! It's normal for me to gain about 4lbs during the holidays, but I've always exercised regularly and normally loose that holiday weight during the first two weeks of January, not gain an additional 5lbs on top of it! I've been very strict on calorie counting lately and aim for a 1350 - 1550 diet. I've been exercising harder than I have been in months (I hurt my neck in Sept and had to take it a little easy for a while). The only change is I had to go off my birth control in early Dec, but have been back on it since late Dec. That might be a red flag, but it's not a new birth control and I've never gained weight by taking it before (and no - not pregnant). The only saving grace is that my measurements have gone down 3.5" since Nov: lost .5" from arms, .5" from waist, 2" from hips, .5" from butt, legs and bust are the same. Still, that's a lot less than my normal loss. And a 9lb gain when being under 200 is such a huge goal for me?

To make it more frustrating my boyfriend's brother is getting married in two weeks and I have a dress I need to fit in. My boyfriend is standing up in the wedding and the bride and groom are doing gem colors. My boyfriend is yellow and I wanted a dress to match. Considering how hard it is to find a nice yellow dress in the middle of winter in Chicago I bought the dress months ago too small figuring I'd fit into it at my normal weight loss progression rate. I wanted so much to look nice in this dress for him and his family, and right now I barely fit into it.

I'm a little stressed out lately and could use some advice. I've hit walls before where I've maintained for a few weeks, but nothing like this. Trying to power through it and keep strong, but it's so upsetting weighing myself Sunday mornings and seeing +4, +2, etc.

Sounds like you are gaining muscle since you are still loosing inches. The muscle will provide you with a nice little jump later on but I'd tone down the exercise for a bit if your really worried about it. You may want to just get the dress let out. It's hard to know if you will loose the inches you need between now and then. Try not to stress out because that'll just cause you to gain weight. Just chill out. Everything will work out. You're doing great.

Weight is going to fluctuate throughout your weight loss journey. If you know you are on your plan and know you are doing what you can to stay on track, then the best thing to do is learn to be flexible about the bump ups in weight. So many times we let the disappointment take root and we give up. Many times these bump ups cannot be explained. It is true that gaining more muscle mass will appear as a gain, but it could be just about anything.

Sorry about the dress, but buying clothing at any size but the one that fits is something I am learning not to do myself. I just can't predict what size I will be down the road and I hate to find I either surpassed the size or it's ages before I can get into it.

Don't let these bumps get to you. Life is to be enjoyed in the moment. Find a dress that fits now and enjoy yourself at the wedding no matter what you weigh.

Ugh, I've been bouncing around 207-211 for over three weeks. I think our bodies know how badly we want to be in Onderland and then laugh at us while bouncing our weight around.

Ok, so not really. But, I just wanted you to know that I feel your pain. I keep telling myself that I just need to keep plowing on and the weight will have to budge eventually. Cheering you on your way to Onderland!

I second the advice to take a breath and chill out. The more you worry the worse the situation will get. Clearly you have what it takes to lose weight and keep healthy. Just reassure yourself of that every day as you progress. If things are getting close and it seems necessary, have the dress let out.

Remember that this wedding/month/gain is not the be-all-end-all of your healthy lifestyle. It's one hurdle I'm sure you'll overcome with grace. Do what you have to to make it through this time and then just keep truckin'.

It is not muscle gain. When we exercise we do so to retain muscle, not to gain it. Sorry, just want to be up front. It could be a lot of water weight due to exercise, stress and salt, but not 16 pounds worth. It does sound like you are putting an awful lot of stress on yourself and it is quite interesting that you have lost inches through this.

I would suggest sticking with the exercise and focus heavily on the diet. You need to get sodium out of your diet whenever possible. You didn't tell us what your diet looks like, but you may consider switching to whole foods so you know what's in them. Even deli meat packs in the sodium! Canned soup is notoriously bad as is ham and pork and if I'm not mistaken, diet sodas. Read a lot of labels and get rid of the salt. Drink a lot of water to flush this stuff out of your system.

Are you journaling? I don't ask this lightly! I do not journal and I do not feel it is necessary. But if I had two weeks to fit into a dress I'd already purchased, I'd journal every bite. I've read that you should journal it before anything goes in your mouth, not after. That sounds like good advice to me.

In the meantime, you might venture out to the stores and have fun trying on pretty yellow dresses just so you're not stressed out over where to find one. Then you could either purchase it with the intention of returning it or ask them to hold it for you. If it was me, that would take the pressure off.

And this may sound silly, but practice some deep breathing throughout the day. Again, it's about the stress.

Heck, put yourself through a two week boot camp and then come back and tell us how you did. I'd love to hear.

Yeah I can totally understand the feeling. It is tough going through phases like that. I wish you the best of luck. I am kinda going through it myself too.