Every time I get down to less than 171, something happens - a party, a dinner out - that pushes me right back up two pounds or so. I've been fighting the 170s since February at least.

Today I was in a huge hurry to get lunches ready and only had time for a whole-grain English muffin with natural peanut butter for breakfast. I wanted to have an egg, but no time to prepare it. When I got to work, I had two corn thins with Laughing Cow Light spread. And another cuppa joe.

In my lunch bag, I have baby carrots and a spinach/strawberry/sliced almond salad with lemon vinaigrette. I hope that holds me for the afternoon, but if I get really hungry, I have some canned fruit I can have for a snack.

Dinner should be a protein with a sweet potato and a vegetable or two.

171.4 today, so downward trend ... I was 170 point something on Sunday, and had hoped for better by today, but I just have to go on from here.

170.4 this morning, so back where I was a week ago yesterday. Planning ratatouille for dinner tonight to use up some of the eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes coming out of the garden. Maybe will grill a chicken breast or piece of fish.

I think you are doing great Cherry Tomato. It's so much better to lose slowly even though it gets discouraging. It sounds like you are making good choices and making sure you have good food on hand so you aren't tempted to grab something else.

Parties can set you back, but eventually you will learn to make good choices, and when eating out, you can always eat small and bring your food home for tomorrow's lunch etc. You can do this!!

Dude... my weight is all over the place. Graph it. Check it's slope, that's better than daily. As long as it goes down... it's good.

Thanks for the encouragement! I am still hanging in there ... no new loss to report.

Keep at it Cherry Tomato--- you will get there. I'm starting up drinking red or white wine one per evening and hopefully won't affect me much because I love wine to help with sleep.

Hi CT! I often bring a bottle or perrier or bubbly water to parties so i still feel like Im drinking something fancy. I'll often make wine spritzers (though, I confess, this is more to moderate my alcohol consumption for manners' sake...) There are always going to be parties we'll have to deal with. I hope you find a good solution for fitting them into your plan!

When things like this happen, now or in the future, I think it can depend on how much you've already lost or how long you've been doing the same thing. For example, let's say you've been eating a certain way for a few months now (it can even be after 3 days), and you've lost plenty of weight that way, it could be you've reached the point where you need to try harder to push through that one little annoying number (that could mean saying no to parties if you must, or just controlling yourself at a party and not treating yourself so much as to eat the good foods a party has to offer)

Or maybe you need a day or two where you should restrict a little more (and resume your normal routine after) or up your walking time and consume more water. Hm, think of it as a pushing something heavy, like a box, across the room. After pushing and pushing it becomes harder and you have to pause, take a deep breath, and push with all the strength you can muster until it's where you want it to be.

Scientifically, I can't explain why exactly this works. I'm only saying from personal experience.