I'm about to say eff it all and eat ALL the ice cream!

I'm so frustrated!!

I have lost about 25 lbs, but recently, I'm not only NOT losing, but I'm actively GAINING.

I'm a teacher and since it is summer, I have been working out daily. I have a HRM, so I know exactly how many calories I am burning with my workouts. I have been watching what I eat, both quality and quantity.

My husband and I are going on a cruise in about a week, so I gave up alcohol completely to help flatten my tummy. That's when I started gaining!

I don't know what to do, and I'm so frustrated that yesterday I made myself a delicious bowl of butter crunch ice cream topped with butterscotch and chopped almonds. I need help, otherwise I'm going to give up.

How much have you gained and over how long? Where are you in your cycle? It could be temporary water weight if you're anywhere close to getting your period...

Don't say Eff it! Think about how hard you have worked to get to where you are! I have been there myself. Once you start to slide back you get even more discouraged and finally give up completely! Food and alcohol are not worth the good you have done for yourself!

Check your diet, switch things up. As for your work out...trick your body switch that up as well and you will see results.

Good luck!

Don't give up. You've done great so far! Continue to eat like you have been, enjoy your cruise and then come back and figure out what's not working for you. Maybe you just need to change up your routine. I get stagnant and have to change my exercise and calories.

I agree with Winston. Switch it up. Different food. Different workouts. Don't panic. It is ok to have some ice cream if it fits your macros.

I'm so frustrated!!

I have lost about 25 lbs, but recently, I'm not only NOT losing, but I'm actively GAINING.

I'm a teacher and since it is summer, I have been working out daily. I have a HRM, so I know exactly how many calories I am burning with my workouts. I have been watching what I eat, both quality and quantity.

My husband and I are going on a cruise in about a week, so I gave up alcohol completely to help flatten my tummy. That's when I started gaining!

I don't know what to do, and I'm so frustrated that yesterday I made myself a delicious bowl of butter crunch ice cream topped with butterscotch and chopped almonds. I need help, otherwise I'm going to give up.

deprivation is the enemy. if you were cutting out foods you wanted to eat in order to lose that 25lbs, eventually you are going to go back and binge on those foods. this is how people get stuck yo-yo dieting.

on the days where you really, really want ice cream. make yourself some ice cream and eat it without any guilt. sometimes just a few spoonfuls is enough. it's constant deprivation of foods you want and then the feelings of guilt/shame that follow after eating them, which cause more people to develop unhealthy relationships with food.

you can always add an extra 30 minutes or an hour of cardio on those days to offset the extra calories.

One month in every three or four my weight jumps up and stays up for 4-5 weeks. Then suddenly it drops away again. Power through and you'll be fine.

I'm still tracking way above where I should be, but my waist is smaller so I'm learning to live with it.

We can never give up. Full stop. Enjoy the icecream then back at it.

Just have a bowl of ice cream and chill out.

Ya know...by posting this...you know that you are only hurting yourself if you make that choice.

You have worked hard to lose the weight you have lost.

Being mid-cycle, having high sodium intake, not drinking enough water, not sleeping as much as your body requires, inflammation in the body from other issues like allergies, arthritis etc....all can cause water retention. Being even slightly dehydrated...slows metabolism down 60%...

So - you have either chosen to flush the ice cream down the toilet...or you have eaten it. Either way...
be proud of what you have accomplished to date. Accept that you WILL see your scale fluctuate 3-5 lbs DAILY sometimes...
and don't throw in the towel. As someone who is older...and who threw in the towel...several times ago...I hope you will trust me...it doesn't make it better...to quit.

You CAN make the changes to live leaner, longer and healthier...but you have to commit to it. If you ate the ice cream - or you didn't - who cares?(YOU DO....BECAUSE YOU ARE TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF) You made a choice, now accept the consequences...THE GOOD OR THE BAD.
You can do it!

Do not give up. We have all been there. I have just recently started losing again. No loss since January. If you have increased your workouts, it's possible you might need more calories. Don't eat ALL the ice cream. Have a half cup to satisfy your craving. When you feel like giving up, think about how far you have come. This journey is not an easy one, and can tear us down mentally on one bad day. Also, this is what I tell myself when I want to eff it and eat everything....."Discipline is knowing how to decide between what we want most, and what we want right now". You can do it!!!

Go on then. Give up. Eat it all. Eat extra. How will that make you feel? Sick, bloated - and still miserable?



Or have what you actually want. Which could be just a little bit, you'd be surprised how little ice cream can satisfy you if you're eating to enjoy it and not to punish yourself or tell everybody around you that you're feeling grumpy.


Deliberately doing that is the equivalent of going and smacking yourself in the face repeatedly. It's pointless and only hurts you, nobody else.

Just plan your meals and keep going. Start again with the next meal. It's not the end of the world, after all. Or the end of eating appropriately. But leave yourself space for alcohol and Ice cream. Otherwise you'll feel deprived and add that onto a tough day, you'll get another blowout. And another. And another.


It's a couple of pounds. It could be fluid retention. It could be you've taken your eye off the ball a bit. Whatever. Is this the time to give up or to accept that glitches occur and get on with it - or chuck away all the effort you have made to lose those twenty odd pounds in the first place?


Your choice.

Please don't give up! Try adding 200 calories to the mix per day. You might not be eating enough food. You do have to eat to lose weight and starvation mode is not a myth. You can do this!

It sounds like you just upped your exercise since summer break has started. If this is the case, you are likely retaining water due to the exercise. When you first start exercising after a long break, or significantly up the intensity, you generate microtears in your muscle fiber. Your body treats this as an injury (it is part of normal musclebuilding) and retains water as part of the inflammation response. This water weight can balance or even offset any loss from fat (water is quite dense, particularly when compared to fat) and usually takes 2-3 weeks to go away. At that point, your body will adjust to the routine and stop retaining the water. You usually see a large drop at that point as you stop retaining. A tape measure is going to give you much better measurements than a scale. I've been doing Insanity for two week and haven't lost a pound, but I have lost almost and inch off my waist. Judging by the scale, I'm failing. Judging by body measurements, I'm getting great results. Don't let it derail you.

Alcohol dehydrates you. That's what I bet it is; you're getting the fluid back on board.

This is so true! Most likely water weight. You've come so far, this is just an obstacle in your way.

First, eat the ice cream.

Second, keep working hard.