I've been on the rollercoaster like everyone else, maintain my weight, gain some back, lose some of it, gain it all back and then lose some again. Throughout all of this process, whenever i get to the low 130's, I can NEVER dip below 130. A year ago, I was on JC and keeping it off and the lowest I went was 129.8 - for a couple days. Since then, I gained 10lbs from drinking, stress of school, and being with the bf. In January I felt insecure and decided to lose that weight, I hadn't been on the scale and surprised I gained that weight. Well now im at 132 and AGAIN cannot get below 131. In the spring semester, I took some exercise classes, jogging and dance, but I didn't lose the weight I wanted to, I probably ate more than I should have. Now I barely exercise at all and have lost most of the 10lbs from dieting. I know I should probably start jogging and maybe it will help, but I want the scale to go down!
I also don't think this is the right weight for me, I don't have wide hips and evevrything I eat goes to my top half, so I have love handles that wider hips could hide How did any of you get past your plateau and reach your goal?

It may be that you are actually at your ideal weight for your frame- you are 5'5" by your profile so 130 is perfect. Now I would suggest working on toning. If you feel you still have flub to lose, you may not see loss in pounds but in inches (way more rewarding IMO anyway!)

So I'd suggest the 30 Day Shred or something like that where you see inches lost quickly but effectively and hopefully you'll feel better!!

GL!

PS When I was 130ish I felt too chubby but honestly I just wasn't working on toning at all. Once I started toning up holy crap it made a huge difference, and I even ended up gaining 5 lbs or so but went down a pant size! So stick with it and really WORK your body.

Ditto what carcar said. Toning is the way to go.

btw i'm doing the 30DS, I can attest it works. I lost weight originally but I haven't lost any this week (actually I seem to have GAINED!! HORRORS!) but my XL yoga pants are about falling off of me, when at this same weight before they fit fine?? Seriously they are literally falling down when I do jumping jacks and I gotta stop to pull the up. Strange that the scale doesn't go down also, but hey whatever works. I don't care if I'm 180 pounds or not as long as the inches come off!

Don't be a slave to your scale. I'm sure you've heard that muscle burns fat.... and that's VERY true. If you start working out your muscles instead of only focusing on losing fat, you will lose it at a faster rate and your body will look better overall. Once you start, the scale may not move too much at first... you really just have to use the scale in conjunction with how your clothes are fitting and of course, what you see in the mirror.

I agree... if your body is fighting you every time you get to this point, it means that your body doesn't want to go under that weight... and with good reason since you are within your healthy weight range. 118 is way too little for someone who is 5'5". I agree with everyone that TONING is what you need to be focused on now. Put away your scale and take out the measuring tape... the 30DS is a killer, so I agree with others that if you try it, you may definitely lose some inches. A healthy body fat % is what you should be aiming for... not necessarily some number on the scale.

Thanks so much for all of your support!!! All of you are right, some toning would do me good. It just seems every time I used to workout I felt I could eat more and didn't tone up like I hoped, its so easy just to modify the food! Thank you everyone, I need to get moving and go jogging - or do the 30 day shred, I've been reading some reviews and it seems great.

i did a web search (highly scientific i know) and most sites say that the ideal weight for someone 5'5'' is between 117 pounds and 149 pounds, so 118 is small but its not waaaaaaaay too small for a 5'5'' woman. I agree with focusing on toning though, it will probably make a big difference to how you look even if the weight doesnt change a whole lot

Well there's something called Carb Cycling,..It is totally effective and HEALTHY

what is your diet like anyway? If you don't mind me asking...

I'm following a program from this book called "Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle" by Tom Venuto and it was really really good IMO
I learned a lot of things from it and seen results..and in that book , he talks about carb cycling for breaking plateau..i havent reached a plateau yet so I would love to know how well it works for when I do lol..

To be honest, there really isn't any plan that I follow, I dont or rather CANT count calories b/c it drives me crazy. I used to be on JC but now I just try to eat healthy with smaller portions. For breakfast it ranges from a bowl of cereal to an english muffin with grape jelly or a breakfast bar. Sometimes I have a glass of juice but that is rare. For lunch Im in the office 3 days a week and have a salad with a jellow cup w/mandarin oranges or a couple small snacks. maybe once a week I have a cinamelt from McDonalds b/c my bf that works w/me has fast food about every day. Dinner consists of Misc things b/c of the bf, some nights its pork chops withe mac and cheese, chicken w/rice or hotdogs/hamburgers I try to limit the portion size and make sure it's cooked the healthiest way. I have two snacks, one before dinner,, such as string cheese and one Sweet after dinner such as a granola bar w/a little pb on top. I cut out the snack last night and didn't have much dinner and was at 129 this morning but who knows how that will go. I also started a multi-vitamin today, I have definately lacked on taking vitamins.

Thank you again for everyone's input!

I forgot to add, on the days I don't work I'm at home b/c of summer break, I snack all day instead of having actual "meals" Me and the b/f also go to Dunkin Donuts Sat. mornings I get a small iced caramel latte w/skim milk, no sugar or whip. and a cinnamin twist that they no longer carry. So I end up getting a couple munchkins or something. After DD sat, I dont eat lunch, just a snack before dinner.

You might want to eat more vegetables with dinner. If you're going to have a hamburger, maybe have a side salad? It just looks like you're having a lot of carbs, but not a lot of fruits and veggies.

I'm not anti-carb, but I try to limit them to my breakfast/lunch meals and have protein and vegetables with dinner.