I haven't posted here regularly for quite a few months. And my posting regularity on 3FC is fairly well correlated with how well I'm doing in weight control. SOMEHOW, lord only knows how, I've only managed to gain 5-ish lbs. I'm 135-ish lbs right now. I'm thankful and relieved and astonished that it's only 5lbs outside of my maintenance range, considering how I've been eating. Somehow my motivation and self and accountability flew out the window. I NEED to get back on track. I'm not "fat" right now, and many would say that I'm still successfully maintaining. I haven't regained a significant amount of weight. But my behaviors and mindset right now are really frightening me.

It all started when my husband and I went on a trip to St. Lucia for a friend's wedding. I indulged way more than necessary (more in fruity sugary drinks than food, honestly, lol...I got my money's worth out of the all inclusive bar). I came back, got on the scale, and was way out of my maintenance range. I had gone from about 129-128ish before I left to 137-138 when we got back! Some of that was water weight, but there was definitely a legitimate weight gain. That was in June, and I figured it would take me a few weeks at the most to drop the regained pounds. But it's been one excuse after another. The in-laws visited and entertaining them meant eating yummy/unhealthy food. Then my husband was about to deploy, so we went out several times I used it as an excuse to eat food I didn't need to. And then I moved and used that as an excuse to eat food I didn't need to. Then it was family picnic, best friend visiting, family gathering, holiday, road trip, etc etc etc. It seems like every week there has been something that seems like a reasonable excuse to eat way off plan. And it's just stupid...stupid excuses. Shoot when I was in the process of losing weight and for the first year or so of maintenance, I religiously counted calories even on holidays like Thanksgiving. And I lost/maintained weight consistently and was proud of myself. Even for things that I make excuses for now, I didn't think twice about eating on plan. It's just what I did. Me from a year ago would be appalled at how I've been eating these days. I don't know why I'm doing this to myself. I'm falling into that terrible habit of "Oh, I'll be good starting on Monday." And then Monday comes, and I find another excuse. Like I said, it's truly amazing that I've only gained about 5lbs.

I know many of you might roll your eyes at my 5lb gain, lol. But 130lbs is definitely where I go from content with my body to feeling like I need to lose some. My clothes fit differently, my face is much rounder, and I can feel and see those 5lbs. I don't need to be ultra thin, but 125-130lbs is where I'm comfortable. Furthermore, as I said, it's not so much the extra 5lbs that bothers me it's the fact that I can't seem to stay on plan.

So anyways, I NEED to start staying accountable, need to start posting on 3FC again, need to start counting calories and planning my meals again (AND sticking to it!!!). No more messing around.

Alot of us are do a bit of a start over after a rather indulgent summer season. So welcome back! and good luck with those 5 pounds

Welcome back sweetie! I hope you can get back to your happy weight without much adieu

Hi I remember you! Welcome back! I COMPLETELY know what you mean about a "measly" 5 lbs making all the difference. For me it can be as little as 1-2 lbs. I did a similar post as yours a few weeks ago about "Ok. This is it." Trying hard to really try to get back on track! Best of luck to you

Welcome back! I'm in the same boat as you! We can get back on it

Welcome back! I myself just fell into a few day slump where I kept saying to myself 'Oh I'll be good starting tomorrow'. Well tomorrow turned into today which turned into yesterday! I think it's great that you're being accountable now when the gain back was so minimal

100% agree on the correlation. When I am MIA from reading and posting regularly, I am often off the maint wagon.

Im back up to 139 as of this morning. My ranges are yours exactly, remember that from before...noticed in another thread when we were both ~127.

Welcome back and lets do this!

Welcome back! Summer is tough for me as well. I've been hanging in at 2 pounds from my goal, but just can't get lose last 2 off.

I've been full of excuses as well. August and September include, 2 family reunions, 8 birthdays and our anniversary, and of course Labor day weekend. It's like one big, long 2 month party.

Thank God, after tomorrow, it's all over!

Welcome back! I definitely remember you from back in the day . Good luck getting back on track- the first part is definitely the hardest. Then after a while all your good habits will snap right back into place!

Thank you so much everyone It IS good to be back, and I need to stick around. I need to start my accountability Monday weigh ins. Today will not be fun because I'll have to plug in a number that's so much higher than the 127 that it's currently at. But there it will be, for me and all the world to see.

One of my killer vices that I've developed is eating uncounted treats at work. I work as a vet tech, and at our clinic we have coffee and a cookie tin for clients waiting to be seen. It's always filled to the brim with various cookies. Everyone else at works eats cookies all day. Well, I shouldn't say everyone else, because these days, I've been right along with them. So even if I eat on plan for the rest of the day, I'm probably eating several hundred calories of cookies. And that's sooo lame, and it must stop!

So today, my very big first goal is to not eat a single cookie. That used to be ridiculously simple for me to ignore treats. But I'm going to have to work at it for awhile. It sounds silly that I'm such a slave to this cookie tin, lol. I think I'm going to set up a little reward system. Everyday that I stay on plan with NO exceptions, I'm going to record it somehow. If I stay on plan all week, I'll buy myself a new pair of scrubs. Getting a fun pair of scrubs is a fairly inexpensive and fun treat.

Hello there! I can definitely relate to the 5lb gain being a danger sign and agree w. you and everyone else that how often I visit here is a mark of how well I'm doing.

Sounds like a great plan for the week, too.

I used to be one who scoffed at 5 pounds, but yes now I completely understand - I find just 2-3 pounds can make me feel quite different. I think your first goal of ignoring the cookies is a good one!

Welcome back!!!

And may I just say, I think it's TOTALLY AWESOME that you recognize the fact that you've "gained" and that you need to re-take control RIGHT NOW, before a measly 5 pounds becomes 15 pounds, becomes 25 pounds, etc.

You're doin' it right!!!!