As some of you may recall, my new husband and I just moved from Alabama to Oklahoma. He's an Army officer, and us and several of his friends moved up here for an Army training class. We're all living in the same apartment complex, and that means we're hanging out a lot. Hanging out a lot, of course, means we're going out to dinners, hosting dinners, going to their places for dinners. Even when we're just hanging out, whoever is hosting (including me) always busts out some kind of munchies.

No excuse, really, but point being, I have NOT been entirely on plan for the last three weeks or so. Some days have been alright, other days I'll start out on plan and then blow it with a bad dinner. And it's a slippery slope...if I let myself slack a bit and eat a chip or two with dip at a friend's house that will turn into something else and then something else. Sneaking in little bites. You all know the story.

Welllllll, I weighed in at 129.4lbs this morning. I have been between 125 and 127 for months, even on my TOM or after a cheat meal. So 129.4 is a clear wake up call that I have gained real weight, and it's time to get back on the pony. I'm still within my maintenance range, I haven't gained back 15lbs or anything, but I have a maintenance range for a reason and I'm at the edge of it. I'm not having a pity party because "I'm soooo fat right now" or anything, and I'm not in panic mode. I know I'm still thin, it's just the behavior, the fact that I have gained weight back, even if it is just a few pounds. I hate saying "I have gained weight back" (again, even if it's just a few pounds).

So it's definitely time to get back to puritanical calorie counting. No extra bites, nothing unmeasured, nothing uncounted. Even if I have to be the scrooge at our social events who doesn't eat or gets picky, so be it.

But I'm not going to lie, those old habits came RUSHING back of eating whatever and whenever. I have my meals and snacks planned for the day and have stuck to it, but the urge to go to the pantry and get something is there. After months of staying on plan, those urges had all but disappeared. I know we always say it takes 3 days of clean honest eating to get back on the wagon. Don't take new healthy habits and lifestyle changes for granted, the old ones can always sneak up.

Good for you for keeping track of your body and knowing when it's time to reign it in! I agree that it can be so easy to have a little of this, and a little of that, and it sounds like it was super difficult to be around a lot of dinners with other people. Sometimes that's when I fold the most -- I see other people eating whatever they want and the "why can't I eat whatever I want" beast comes out in me. I'm sure you'll be right back to where you work in no time!

Social situations with other people are the absolute worst. It is unbelievably easy to slip back into the "old ways" - but you're doing what most people cannot do and nipping it in the bud before it grows out of control and suddenly your pants don't fit.

I have total confidence you'll be just fine again soon and feeling more in control.

You are amazing! Your whole life has changed since you were really in the trenches losing, and recognizing what's going on when you are still in your goal range just goes to show that you are FULLY committed to keeping the weight off and being a healthy girl. You are awesome!

Good for you for catching it. And you don't have to be a scrooge or not eat (which I'm sure you know) just make sure you have the foods you want for your plan there.

Loved your post. I lost so much weight through the years to regain it back because I felt that 5 pounds was no big deal, from 130 to 135 not bad from 135 to 140 not bad just 5 pounds until I got back to 170 and that became a big deal and I am the only person to blame for the succession of 5 pounds. I wish then that I would have done what you are doing. Thank you for making me conscious of what I was doing.

I am in the middle of experimenting with higher calorie days and though I like it and it's working well, it's hard to get back on plan! That's my problem with nibbles here and there. That first nibble is easy to say no to, but all subsequent nibbles are not. My blood sugar gets out of whack quick I guess. My cravings go away easily but come on easily as well. It's actually easier to just cut everything out altogether. But the weight stops coming off then too.

Thank you for sharing. I have read a lot of your posts and you have done so amazingly well. You are so beautiful and your pictures look like you have never been overweight a day in your life. Your ability to say whoops I'm slipping and now I'm gaining so I need to stop. Indicates both your strength and wisdom.

It seems as if so many of us are alike. I have lost and regained large amounts of weight. Once 120 some pounds and gained all but about 10-15 back. Not sure because by then I wouldn't even get on a scale. But I think the truth is we have to be ever vigilant about what we eat. I don't think I'll ever be able to eat like some of the other people I know who don't gain large amounts of weight. I can also say that once I give up I probably don't eat like most people either as I probably eat more, at least of the bad stuff.

I work with alcoholics and some will say, "Why can't I drink like other people?" I tell them they have a disease. Well now through 3FC and the incredibly personal thoughts and feelings people post I truly realize for the first time that I have a disease. I have realized that even small amounts of certain foods make me want to eat, eat, eat. If I want to reach a healthy weight I need to stay away from those trigger foods. I don't know if I will ever be able to be as successful as you are though.

Thanks everyone For the encouragement and support, and it also makes me feel happy to think that sharing my thoughts and experiences might help others in some small way.

I was 128.4lbs this morning (and that was with my hair wet, so that probably added half a pound-ish). So even after one day of very clean day of eating no processed food, I shed a bit. I know that it was just water weight from sodium and probably, *ahem*, food that was still passing. So not true weight loss, but who doesn't like to wake up to a lower number than the day before? I've been on plan so far today and have a good on plan dinner and snacks planned and ready to go. As much as I do enjoy yummy "cheat" foods, I do NOT enjoy the guilt, feeling out of control, the stuffed full feeling, feeling sluggish after eating heavy foods. So I'm back on plan and enjoying it.

At the risk of tooting my own horn, I really think the maintenance range thing works. Having a very clearly defined range of what is too low and what is too high and promising yourself you'll stay within those numbers. I have mine in my signature along with a weekly weigh in for that extra accountability. I won't fool myself into thinking that everyone at 3FC cares about my life so much as to check my signature to see if I'm within maintenance range or not that week, but it is extra incentive to stay accountable when I know it's out there for the world to see. I'm also a daily weigher. I'm used to my body's fluctations, what causes it to go up or down, how my cycle affects my weight, etc. It gives me an understanding, a context, of the daily weight number that I don't think you really get if you only weigh once a week. That's why the 129.4lbs yesterday was such a clear wake up call. Even though it's within my maintenance range, I've weighed myself everyday for months and have never seen that high of a number.