Ok so, I love to lift. I think that's been established.

I'm REALLY having trouble ignoring the scale though. I was always sort of worried that I would start gaining and not be able to control it. It's silly really because I'm still counting calories and all that.

So I had a bit of a more sedentary existence after having a pretty active job after a while. Otherwise my exercise stayed the same. Now I JUST started substitute teaching in addition to the Homebound teaching/tutoring (which is sedentary) I do, so I'll be a bit more active again (and I'm leaving my other sedentary job as a result).

I think I've gained 1-2 pounds (OH MY GOD SELF, RELAX, SERIOUSLY). Before I was maintaining 110-112 for the most part. Now I seem to be ranging from 112-114. But, well, I just fit into 00s in stores that have 00s. I'm having fun buying kids clothes because then I can get Sonic shirts and hoodies for super cheap. I've been having some awesome lifts and it's clear I've gained strength. I love it.

So why the @#&%$ can't I let go of the fact that I've gained weight? I'm stressing about it, putting myself back on losing calories when I should probably be continuing to eat my usual 2,000+ calories or so (instead I've been eating 1600).

It's crazy. I was fine until I decided to start weighing once or twice a week again. I nearly freaked out when I realized that the "higher" weight on the scale was sticking around. I keep going back and forth between: "OMG my weight is up" and "Should I give a f***?"

So, maybe I need some sense smacked into me, or something.

It can be SOOO hard to see the scale go back in the other direction, but yeah, you need a smack.

You KNOW you aren't going to balloon up and that 1-2 pounds spread out over your entire body IS NOTHING. Your weight is going to fluctuate... that's life!

I was thinking the other day about how it's going to be when I start approaching middle age or my golden years and it gets harder and harder to keep he pounds at bay. Its totally natural, accepted, and expected to gain a few pounds and honestly seeing a ripped old lady would be weird! I know that's sort of going in the other direction, but my point is that at some point you will start gaining a bit of weight and that's perfectly healthy.

If you keep such a tight leash on your weight one day it might snap and that will really sting, know what I mean?

Put the scale up, go by your clothing, and only use the scale when you feel like you might need a checkup.

Oh and good for you for putting those thoughts out there! Sometimes it's nice for the other ladies to see that other people don't always have it all perfectly figured out.

Do the 00 pants still fit?

I really really really wouldn't worry too much until they start getting tight! You could drive yourself MAD worrying about two pounds - different job = different routine, different hours, it might not even mean anything.

Smackidy-smack!

I'd go with Krampus on that : if you pants are still fitting, I guess everything is still in order. 2 pounds is a pretty normal fluctuations anyways, isn't it?

Hi Sontaikle! I totally get where you are coming from. I had a very active job until a year ago and when I got unemployed I found I had to readjust my eating-exercise a bit.

I am not using the scale so much anymore. The thing is if you have been at this for a while you know how to eat right and exercise and you just have to find ways to be flexible enough with your plan so that you can live your life in a healthy way. Besides in lifting there is not an absolute period of forever cutting, you also have to think in bulking or recomping periods and winter is the perfect time to build some muscle so that when you reach May-June you can cut again to reveal those new muscles you have created through your winter. It is life, winter is probably not the more active season of the year but then summer comes and you can be outdoors all the time in your functional, strong and capable body just walking around, running, jumping, hanging from trees, swimming or doing what you want with your fitness level. I like to think about that image and not sweat that much the number on the scale.

For me what has helped me incredibly to change the mental part of weight maintenaince is reading blogs about other women in my situation and mainly a private FB group called FierceFitFearless https://www.facebook.com/groups/fiercefitfearless/. It is a group about women that IF and weight lift, though not everybody does IF and there are a lot of different people that practice different sports. The thing is a lot of these women are featherweights that don't focus as much in the scale as in performance lifting weights, mobility and there is a sense of encouragement I have not seen in any other FB groups. I definitely recommend you to check it out.

In any case, good luck and don't sweat it out, you are the only one that sees your scale weight don't panic just yet.

Just remember that weight is not fat. Weight includes everything: bone density, tissue, muscle, fluids, etc. Heck, you can take a big crap and lose a pound. Rofl. Don't stress over it :P

Well, Joss, I think I AM middle-aged (will be 53 next month), and I REFUSE to go quietly. :

Sontaikle - it's been a few days since you posted this, how are you doing with the scale?

Not having been where you are, exactly, it's hard to know what to say in support that will really click. I know you know from an objective standpoint that things are OK, but that doesn't mean you feel like things are OK, and that matters too. I definitely sympathize with the illogical-yet-no-less-significant mental aspect of scale weight stuff.