Don't you just hate those scale fluctuations? I was at 194 (which reminds me, I need to change my ticker, yeeeuhhhh, I lost my 6lb July target! Awesome!)... but the scale creeped up to 198 again. It is obviously me retaining water, plus soon old sexy (not!) TOM is coming to visit.

Anyway, I also wanted to post this thread because there is a lot of new people posting here about how they started Phase 1 and although I'm not a senior member of the SBD by any means, I however have learned by now that when the scale goes up, it doesn't mean you've gained a few lbs of fat! Impossible to gain a few pounds of fat that quickly. It takes consuming an extra 3500 calories to gain a pound of fat! It's just biological factors, the water retention, (and we are females, this happens to us), perhaps too much sodium intake (or you've been naughty and consumed something with too much scientifically engineered additive and etc crap).

I'm not posting anything new because there is a thread by Ruthxxx under the SBD stickies about why "scales lie", ( http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42510 ) but I just wanted to share my personal experience.

Drink a lot of fluids (stuff like water and vegetable juices, sodium ladened diet sodas and diuretic filled coffee probably isn't your best bet, says I, contradictingly, as I drink a steaming hot mug of coffee) and don't panic or anything.. . it's cool, it's cool! Seriously... it's cool! Check again tomorrow and you'll be fine.

This is why I am still changing my ticker to 194.

Hmm... am not setting goals for myself, to have lost x amount of weight by x date, I have learned my lesson and agree with the people who say setting goals like that is a bad idea, but I was doing math (hey, can't help it!) and if I lost 5-6 lbs every month until christmas, I would be around 25-30 lbs lighter and just barely above a healthy weight for my height. YEEEEUHHH! (Okay, enough of that.) I can't let that lead me on too much though... I know that not every month I will lose 5-6 lbs, it will vary. So I can't let this give me false hopes. Still, 'twould be nice... (I was watching waaaay too much hot British EJ on DOOL today... cheerio!)

Melanie..I feel your pain. I was up 3 lbs yesterday, but my monthly (not so friendly) friend came this morning. I'm hoping those 3 lbs will be gone in a few days. I just feel so disgusting. I'm PMSing extra heavy this month. I feel as bloated as a parade float. Even though the scale only says 3 lbs, I feel like its 10. Feeling fat with excrutiating(sp?) cramps is sooooo much fun!

LOL! Yeah my little friend will be visiting me shortly as well, and I can already feel the beginnings of bloating and cramps. Often my PMS starts up to 1 1/2 weeks before TOM actually arrives.

What sucks is like when my gut is already slightly stretched out and pudgy from giving birth in January, then bloated during TOM, and then I feel like I'm pregnant all over again. It's just lovely! Don't worry though, soon the scale will go right back to what it should be.

PMS starts pretty early for me too!! I have polycystic ovary syndrome so I have issues with my cycle, but this month cramps for me started 2 weeks ago!!! Men have it so easy! That is why I make sure my bf feels my wrath once a month so he can suffer with me. He should sleep with one eye open tonight LOL J/K I used to get really mean when PMSing, now I get all sensitive and cry over stupid things. My hormones are all outta wack. lol

Congrats on the baby! And congrats on being 195 a few months after giving birth! We are about the same height and I would kill for 195 right now. Good for you!

Melanie, congrats on the weight loss!!!

And remember, THE SCALE IS EVIL!!!!

JerseyGirl, I love to make my man feel my wrath every month... heh heh heeeeeeh. it always seems to start early. I start getting incredibly b*tchy and annoyed with every little thing he says, and every little thing he does. I get SOOOO mean. He just is so annoying. I'm like the wicked witch of the south during this time. And he recieves the brunt of it. I sometimes will become sensitive as well, my eyes will tear up, for example we had two stray puppies come here who were just emaciated, poor thing, so we fed them, later animal control came to get them to take them away to the pound and put them up for adoption, and I cried when she left! So I know it's starting... dun dun dunnnn... poor boyfriend. What is polycystic ovary syndrome? Hey, ya know what though, the good thing about people of our heights is that our weight looks better than it would on a shorter person. It kinda like stretches out. Or so my theory is, which explains why I weigh like 20 some lbs more than my obese friend, but don't look obese or severely overweight. My friend weighs less but is 5'4. No one would guess that I weigh more than her... (I know, this sounds mean to talk about her like that, and I don't mean it to be.)

Grneyedmustang, what's up?! I have been wondering where you went to. Your new recipe is mouthwatering! Oh btw, was meaning to ask you: how old are you? 20's?

Mel...Polycystic ovary syndrome is when you have multiple cysts on your ovaries and i think also fallopian tubes and your hormones are out of line and irregular menstrual cycles. Many women that have it are insulin resistant which is the reason for excessive weight gain. There are many other symptoms(too many to list) that are really quite annoying and many women have difficulty conceiving. I'm not ready to try yet, so I dont know if I'll have a hard time or not, but weight loss and exercise is the best treatment for it so that is what I'm doing as well as taking natural supplements and taking the birth control pill to regulate my cycle.

That is the reason I'm overweight. I was diagnosed about 2 years ago. I was 140 lbs in high school. My eating habits never changed but I gained a lot of weight just in a few years. I was 144 lbs when I graduated high school. I'm 25 and now weigh 224. I was 244 before I started south beach. It's so weird because it doesn't look anywhere near 100 lbs of weight gain even in picture wear I'm at my heaviest and no one believes me when I tell them how much I weigh. I guess being tall is a blessing like you said!

I get the same thing when I tell people what I weigh, they think I'm lying because I always complain "I'm fat, I'm fat!"

Sorry to hear about the polycystic ovary syndrome, it doesn't sound too fun! Hopefully if you ever do want to conceive you'll be able to. It sounds like you're doing great thus far with the exercise and diet plan and supplements. Good luck to you, although I don't think you'll need it, you're doing great

I agree with Mustang...they ARE evil...that's why I don't use them, and did not replace mine when it died. I don't care what the numbers say, I care what my clothes say and how I feel.

I feel great on that TOM, I seem to lose weight (not real weight) but I also use Midol Maximum Strength, works wonders for my cramps and bloating and makes the flow lighter. I know, most of you prob use that too huh?

my last TOM I gaind almost 10 pounds!! Yah Scary.. but I felt it too.. I had to wear my huge pants because I was so uncomfortable in my normal jeans.. So I hid the scale for the week and a couple days after my TOM ended I weighed myself and was back to normal.
I did however drink a ton of water and tea

I drink alot more these days compared to what little I drank for years, I think the side of my body is feeling it too cause ever since this diet I've been getting dull pains on the right side underneath my ribs I would say. I dunno what it is but oh well. Maybe my TOM is arriving soon, I don't really keep track, lol

JerseyGirrl...I too have PCOS...and it's a royal pain! My doctor started me on an extremely low dose of metformin to try and control some symtpoms, so far it's okay...no adverse reactions...so we'll see what happens. I'm hoping against hope that when I get this weight off I will be able to throw the meds in the trash as it pains me everyday to take it!!

mandyleigh..my doc tried to put me on metformin also, but I could never adapt to it. I tried it for 3 months but felt as if I had the stomach virus for 3 months. I also passed out at my sisters high school graduation(talking about stealing someone's thunder) because it made my blood sugar drop so low. So I stopped taking it and decided to just fix the insulin problem with diet and exercise. I'm also taking natural supplements for Insulite labs that claim to help reverse everything. It seems to be helping thus far, but it takes a full 6 months to really kick in. I'm on the 2nd month.

Mel...I need all the luck I can get! lol Thank you though. I'm up 5 freakin lbs now! I'm drinking lots of water today though to try to help with that and the cramps. UGGGHHH! I wanted to call out of work today because the cramps were so bad but I didn't. After work I'm hitting the couch and not getting up. LOL