Tired of this being so hard...

tell me about it! :grumble:

I know what you're talking about...I go off my plan just a little on the weekends, and by Monday I'm up 2 pounds! It takes me most of the week to get that off, so I'm lucky to average a 1 pound loss every week. When I look at my Fitbit stats, it looks like I should be losing at least 2 pounds every week!

It looks like you've done great...36 pounds since May! When I feel like giving up, which I often do, I try on some of my nice, smaller clothes and try to remember why I'm doing this. It's really hard, and it's not fair that some of us have to struggle so much. But bottom line is it feels really good to be thinner!

Depends on if you want to lose fat or lose water. You have to eat 3500 calories OVER maintenance to gain a pound of fat. Which most people can't do in one meal.

But you can gain water weight and food weight from over eating. Especially if you eat more carbohydrates than normal. Your body will bind water molecules with glycogen and store that in your muscles, when that is full that extra will spill over into your adipose tissue(fat under the skin). Normally if you get back on track it'll eventually go away again. I've gained 5 lbs + over night from a cheat.

Don't get discouraged.

That is good to know and very encouraging

You know, it is not a temporary change. It's continuous trial and error and everytime I think of giving up, I remind myself that would be giving up on me and that keeps me going. Don't give up on yourself just keep trying.

you are not a special snowflake no matter how much you believe you are.

This cracked me up. Anyhoo, I agree with the other posters. You are likely retaining water from the overeating, most likely from the sodium. Drink extra water to flush out the excess and weigh again in a few days. I bet the scale will go down.

hang in there and keep working hard. Lots of people will say different things but a lot is generalized. Everyone is unique and so are the ways in which they achieve results. Those results will happen, but its definitely not easy by any means. If somebody gained a lot of weight that isn't easy either, just doesn't seem hard at the time but it is. It gets confusing at times but really, fitness and nutrition is the key. Pay close attention to details as far as eating and working out and vary them both from time to time. As I said, its hard..very hard but if you want it bad enough it becomes a pleasant addiction

I've got an idea. Stop having your cheat meal. :P

In my experience, when I was eating 1200 calories and then would go over on Saturday or Sunday, all my progress would seemingly be undone. It was as if my body was freaking out from having eaten so little during the week, so it would hold on to whatever extra it got. I gradually raised my calories from 1400 to 1700 and as long as I am honest about logging and my calorie burns, I steadily lose without the wild fluctuations. My official 'weigh in' day is Friday since it is as far away from the weekend as possible, where the splurges usually occur.

Sodium also has a lot to do with it. I was 148lbs on Sunday and am 152lbs today. I didn't eat 14,000 calories over maintenance, I'm just holding a lot of water from the salty, salty pizza indulgence.

Cheat days are sometimes eating meals that high in sodium and when it is high in sodium you have more water retention. So it is to be expected that's why after a cheat day don't look at the scale just keep working it off normal.

You aren't alone! If I cheat on the weekend, my weight sky-rockets pretty quickly. But I can't live without at least one cheat meal a week... it's what I live for lol.

Here's my solution: I usually "cheat" on Friday or Saturday, and on Sundays I do a mini juice cleanse all day. I have a juicer (don't do it w/ bottled juice - only fresh), and I juice fruits and veggies 5x/day all day, and don't eat anything else. By Monday I feel great and all my weekend ugghh is gone!

Also, my good friend who is a holistic nutritionist gave me these "words to live by:" for every meal that you eat, make sure half of your plate is green (veggies/fruits). It's great advice. Now, if I go to eat a plate of chicken wings, I eat a salad first.

Hang in there! You aren't alone in this, and the results WILL be worth it in the long run!

We have all been there, but having that type of negative attitude towards your weight loss journey isn't going to help you lose more weight.
I actually have an entire cheat day, my aunt's personal trainer recommended it. It shocks your body so that you aren't doing the same thing all the time which the body can get "used" to.
Are you drinking enough water? Have you looked into lowering your sugar intake (when I say this I don't mean carbs I mean actual sugar)? Most of us don't realize that when that sugar reaches our system it turns into fat, so it helps to have a good balance of everything. Have you tried increasing your protein intake? How is your sodium intake? Are you weighing yourself during your time of the month or even a week before, typically we all have that "water" weight.
Remember, pasta is loaded with sugar, and most pastas after eating them you are hungry shortly after, unless you eat it with a good amount of protein.
Life is too short to not have your desserts or cheat days or meals, you want to enjoy yourself too!
I know how hard it is to lose weight, and I truly don't believe that going over 500 calories once a week contributes to an entire 2 lbs. gained, there has to be other mitigating factors.
Hope that helps, you can add me if you would like!

I'm very thankful for the weight I have lost since the end of May but over the last month I'm finding this a lot more difficult to stick to it. I'll have one cheat meal on a weekend and it will blow my weight loss for the week. It's very frustrating to read people posting that you need to eat 3000 over to gain a pound. Obviously they have never had my body as I gain 2 lbs from being 500 over. I guess I need to do some tweeking again. I've had more pasta than usual lately so maybe that's the issue. It's just so difficult to stick to this and I'm just tired :sad:

This is something that has puzzled me from the day a started this site almost 2 monts ago....If you are trying to lose weight and change your eating habits and life style why in the world would you want to have a cheat day???? Purposely cheating is not a concept that I believe fits in to a weight loss program. If you happen to go over a little one day that is another thing but it seems to me that when a person begins to incorporate the concept of purposely cheating on the weekend or any day you set yourself up for the strong possibility of not being successful in keeping the weight off over the long haul. Just my opinion take it for what its worth.

Cheat meals can help with weight loss, especially if your at a severe deficit. And they can give a psychological boost. Problem is most people make their diets TOO restrictive when they don't need to (aka following MFPs stupid blanket 1200 calorie requirement) and then when they do "cheat" they go nuts. Cheat meals should be planned and timely.

This is helpful. Thank you!

I'm very thankful for the weight I have lost since the end of May but over the last month I'm finding this a lot more difficult to stick to it. I'll have one cheat meal on a weekend and it will blow my weight loss for the week. It's very frustrating to read people posting that you need to eat 3000 over to gain a pound. Obviously they have never had my body as I gain 2 lbs from being 500 over. I guess I need to do some tweeking again. I've had more pasta than usual lately so maybe that's the issue. It's just so difficult to stick to this and I'm just tired :sad:

This is something that has puzzled me from the day a started this site almost 2 monts ago....If you are trying to lose weight and change your eating habits and life style why in the world would you want to have a cheat day???? Purposely cheating is not a concept that I believe fits in to a weight loss program. If you happen to go over a little one day that is another thing but it seems to me that when a person begins to incorporate the concept of purposely cheating on the weekend or any day you set yourself up for the strong possibility of not being successful in keeping the weight off over the long haul. Just my opinion take it for what its worth.

Cheat meals can help with weight loss, especially if your at a severe deficit. And they can give a psychological boost. Problem is most people make their diets TOO restrictive when they don't need to (aka following MFPs stupid blanket 1200 calorie requirement) and then when they do "cheat" they go nuts. Cheat meals should be planned and timely.

agreed fully here....that 1200 calorie thing drives me nuts lol