I'm doing everything right. I'm working out (as much as possible with a 5 month old whose room IS my workout room - 20-30 minutes a day, 5 days a week), I'm weight training. I'm eating well within my calorie limit. I've cut out 99% of all sweets. My sodium isn't out of hand. My carbs are not high.

After I had the baby and was cleared to work out I didn't lose at all. Then I finally got back on birth control and the first month lost 5 pounds. Ever since then it's been steady gains. A pound every 1-2 weeks. I'd gotten down to 158 with the big initial loss, but I'm up to 163.4 as of this morning. FOR NO REASON.

I'm not sure what else I can do. I'm so frustrated! I've done this before and lost more than 80 pounds. But now? Nothing I do is working!

I wonder if it is the birth control? I just started back on mine and I am having similar issues.

I have actually always been thinner on BC but I'm now too old to be on hormonal BC. :/ I have Paraguard IUD now.

I feel you, OP. I've been playing by the rules (well, for the most part) and my body just won't cooperate this week either. Is this your first time trying to lose after having a baby? For me I have always been able to lose weight so easily but after having a child? God help me.

Hang in there. Just keep doing what you're doing and hide the scale.

It's not hopeless with a baby, I've been lighter with every single pregnancy and never tried to lose weight before having children. If I can do it, knowing me and my issues, I figure anyone can

But yes, hormonal birth control is the likely culprit. It can do funky things to your metabolism and at the very least, cause some water retention. Perhaps just rely on condoms and fertility signals instead of chemicals and see if that helps your losses? It works just peachy for us, no surprise babies and no side effects.

Are you taking measurements alongside weighing? Have they been changing?

210.2, up 1.4 from last week.

I'm not doing measurements, but I can tell nothing's getting smaller just from how clothing fits

It's weird. When I was on the pill forever I lost weight, no trouble. Then I stopped the pill to try to get pregnant in December 2010. I didn't get pregnant 'til August 2011, and during the 8 months between I worked out like normal, ate better than normal and had this same weight creep. Now, back on the pill, it's creeping again after an initial 5 pound loss.

This is my first baby, so maybe this issue is normal? I don't know. I was ready to fling myself off the wagon today and faceplant into a chocolate cake, but I'm giving it some more time. I keep telling myself it took me 9+ months to HAVE a baby, so I need to chill and give myself at least that long to get back to some semblance of normal...

I think one issue might be that you're not all that far from an ideal weight. The working out is awesome- great for your body and fitness and firming, but it's not boosting your calorie burn that much overall to make you lose weight. Maybe evaluate your calorie intake? If you're breast feeding, though, be careful about that! I agree- bodies change when we have babies, and you might just need some time to return to "normal." If you know you're doing all the right things, don't fret so much!

it is tougher when you're starting at a healthy weight. are you sure you have solid info on how many calories you need to be eating in order to lose? are you sure you're tracking *perfectly*? at your weight/height even tracking incorrectly a little bit can sabotage you. at my weight if i go over 100 cals even every day for a week id probably still lose, but you're so close to where you want to be that you have to be even more vigilant.

I went through a couple of weeks there where I was still in "It's ok if I have one more, I'm pregnant" mode But for about 2 or 3 weeks now I'm tracking perfectly. I've cut out sweets and amped up the workouts (I use a heart rate monitor to track heart rate and calories burned - I'm burning 200-400 per day depending on how much of a workout I get in). And I've gained.

I'm 5'9" tall, weigh 163, and I'm eating no more than 1,650 calories per day, which on Sparkpeople and Myfitnesspal, which I've used both of with amazing success previously as a tracking tool, that's my limit. I maintained a weight of 137 pounds on 1,800 calories with workouts before.

My issue may also be hormonal, judging from some things that have started happening this weekend...

Well, just went and checked my MFP settings. Seems as though it's set to "Lose 1/2 pound per week." So if I did go any over or whatever, the scale would probably show it. That might explain things. Set it to "Lose 1 pound per week" and now will be on 1,400 calories for a couple of weeks 'til I can see if that helps. I still think I may be having hormonal issues, but we'll know for sure if this new calorie amount doesn't help at all.

hey MindiV are you sure that it is for no reason at all? I am a fan of the cause and effect principle and that applies to all of us. If you think you are doing everything right and still gaining weight maybe you need to write down what you eat for a couple of weeks. It should help you gain some clarity

I've kept meticulous food records since 2007 I can literally go back and see what I ate on this week in 2009 if I needed to. So logging isn't my issue. I think it's hormones and my calorie total, which was probably too high...

Hey MindiV--just want to say, it's pretty impressive that you're really close to your goal already, and are so dedicated, working out like that, just five months after having your bundle of joy! Go, you!!

Thanks! I'm in a "due date club" from an online message board, and some of the girls are ALREADY in their pre-pregnancy pants I don't think my hips will ever cooperate. I wore my jeans until I was about 6 months pregnant, before my belly finally popped out, but now, 10 pounds from where I was when I GOT pregnant, they won't even go up, much less button. Right now I'm hoping for just "smaller" in general....