I just got back from a spring break trip of being "that girl" -- who eats salad at dinner, avoids bread at catered-sandwich lunches, turns down desserts she bakes for everyone else, doesn't drink, runs on the freaking beach every day, and suggests low-cal versions of everything... yet another pound heavier from my thesis bloat when I left. I'm now at 127, a hair away from my start weight in January.

I'm really struggling to avoid falling into the trap of thinking this is my "set point" and no matter what I do, I will never lose this weight. I counted calories and even fasted for two days and did hours of manual labor daily to justify the ~!500 calories I was eating, and I STILL gained weight. I'm utterly losing hope. I feel like I've forgotten what it's like to get positive feedback from the scale.

Do you think it could be sodium? Since it sounds like you were choosing healthy alternatives maybe they used a lot of salt and you didn't realize because you didn't prepare the food. I think I'm experiencing he same thin. This last week was sxsw and we had friends in from out of town. We went out three nights in a row and I ordered only salads and veggies, however, I only lost a pound this week and I always always lose 2. I have a feeling it's salt because on those three days I only ate two meals because of the insane schedule we were on. I also could see and taste the salt so I'm hoping that's the issue for the both of us. What do you normally eat at home? Maybe we can compare and help each other. I'm not sure how temporary a sodium gain lasts- maybe someone could help us out there. Also how much water are you drinking?

It could be water retention from traveling? I don't know if you were flying or sitting in the car, but both can cause your legs to swell and while flying is definitely dehydrating, when sitting in the car for long periods it can be natural to not drink enough.

I'm certainly not an expert on weight loss by any means...but that would be my first thought.

Maybe it was the fasting. Not good for you! I get the feeling that you are eating too little for the amount of activity.

Check out http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ to see. I'm betting you are eating really close to your bmr and quite a bit below what you need to eat. Also....don't stop eating. Fasting is harmful....

That sucks, I hate that feeling. I've felt that way several times......I've always just kept going and eventually one way or another the weight came off, often very slowly even although like you, I felt like I was giving it my all. I don't have any wise words of wisdom, just wanted to say I understand your frustration and disappointment and that I hope you don't give up.

It could definitely be the fasting. I gotta say as someone who has been through under-eating/eating disorders before, I know very well that eating less does not always translate into weighing less. your metabolism speeds up when you have a consistent eating cycle, every day. What you're doing is starving yourself, and using words like fasting....tbh...is b.s. and an excuse to malnourish yourself.

when you don't take care of your body, it will retaliate. one way or another. "fasting" yourself seriously slows down your metabolism. so the second you do eat, your body holds onto that morsel of food for dear life. so at the end of the day, even if overall you eat less calories by starving then only eating a little food, ultimately you could still weigh more than if you ate more calories consistently throughout the day.

I've actually read a few studies that looked at females' ability to lose weight and keep off weight over an extended period of time. in many cases, the studies showed it was the women who ate more calories in a more regular fashion than the women who under-ate and had a less regular diet that were healthier and able to keep off weight over time.

take care of yourself. love yourself. be good to your body, and it will take care of you. it takes longer and I know those "fasts" give that allure of instant gratification--but you're only hurting yourself. ultimately what really matters is being able to keep off the weight you lose--something infinitely easier to do if you do it the hard, and yes, slow way.

I have said this before and I think others agree from experience that weight gained quickly (during your thesis, spring break) is usually quickly lost. It's completely different from fat that has been on your body for years.

I gained 7 lbs in about 12 weeks and it only took me 6 weeks to lose it, which as a Feather is pretty fast. I wasn't doing anything serious, just counting calories, exercising as enjoyed it but not because I felt like I had to, and enjoying desserts and treat meals occasionally. I probably could have lost it more quickly if I had been even more careful. Your weight came on quickly and I am going to bet you can lose it pretty quickly too.

As opposed to moving to extreme means, I would get back to your normal routine, which seemed to be a very sensible diet of healthy foods and lots of protein, and regular exercise without killing yourself. You always seemed like you had such a good head on your shoulders and it was inspiring and motivating to the rest of us.This routine is one it seemed like you can stick with and which will ideally get you to your goal weight as it had been before. I would bet the pounds you gained will be gone in around 2 or so weeks and you'll resume your weight loss process as scheduled.

And don't forget, we are all here cheering you on

Travel will always mess with you. I echo the idea to get back on your normal plan and see what happens. Your eating, sleeping, and workout schedules are all abnormal, and your body thinks something terrible has happened, so it's clinging to every spare ounce in case there's a famine.

Thanks everyone for the advice and support!

I do want to note that "fasting" is not starving myself -- it means not eating during the day until dusk, as fasts are traditionally done. Disordered eating issues are definitely not my problem... wanting to eat too much food is.

I was down to 124.6 this morning -- still three pounds heavier than just ten days ago, but a less intimidating number. I proceeded to eat maybe a 1/3 box of family size Special K over the course of the day... so maybe this getting-back-on-track thing will be much harder than I thought. But tomorrow's a new day. I plan to start tracking every bite like before without slip-ups and I can only hope at least a little of the weight I put on was muscle from the workouts -- and that all this extra who-knows-what will disappear soon. Thanks to everyone for the support

Fabulous!! 124 is great, you've already dropped down nearly 3 lbs just by returning to normal. I'm doing IF right now and only eating after 4 PM every day (though full daily caloric requirement) so I understand the fast. Good job!!

I really hope I didn't offend you in any way, I might have been a little blunt. You may very well be one of the few exceptions, but I experienced this type of thing with more friends than I can remember...trying to justify not nourishing themselves by using the less taboo term "fasting"

I truly want what's best & I hope you make it through this hurdle! Just make sure you're taking care of yourself-it's easy to blur the line

Hope things are going better Lackadaisy!! YOu are such a positive bubbly person it seems, I know you will be just fine

Born This Way I totally get that too- even now when I hear someone say "fast" my hair prickles up- fasting is dangerous and wayyyyy bad! Then I remember that I am technically fasting, and feel like an idiot haha.

From what I've learned recently about daily versus weekly fasting, the individual who fasts in the "right" or healthy way does not lose any weight by restricting how much he/she eats to nothing or only a couple hundred calories. The same number of calories are consumed, just in a smaller time from (a few hours every day, or every other day). This could curb the desire to snack needlessly and mindless overeating, cutting unnecessary calories and causing the person to lose weight. There are other health benefits as well, such as the burning of subcutaneous fat (though again, shouldn't directly lead to weight loss).

All this to say given the distorted body images young women have today it's difficult to advocate fasting to people who are already vulnerable- teenage girls for example- to taking dieting to extremes to see results. I think it makes sense we are all a little on edge when we hear the word fast, my self included. All the more reason for America and other parts of the world to work towards developing healthier body image issues!