Gaining weight without changing my habits

Have you been checked for hypothyroidism? A slow thyroid, even "within normal range" but lower than optimal can cause you to pack on unwanted pounds. That is what I am battling, along with slowing metabolism due to age (54) and menopause, plus having quit smoking a few years ago. It's a wonder I don't weigh 400 lbs!

Also, if you have been steadily losing weight up to this point, have you recalculated your BMI and caloric intake recommendations? After losing a lot of weight your body requires fewer calories than before to maintain resting metabolism. Go back and recalculate to see if you need to reset your caloric goals and exercise for your new weight. You might also increase protein and decrease carbohydrate intake to build more muscle.

Watch your salt intake. I am on a restricted salt diet. Too much sodium can make a difference of up to 5 lbs on the scale for me between rising and evening. Even on the restricted intake as much as 2-3 lbs fluctuation can take place.

I had trouble losing any weight. I stuck to the diets I had been given and the caloric restrictions religiously and exercised regularly, but kept gaining weight. I tried low-carb diets, low glycemic index diets, nothing worked. Finally, I have found what works for me. Unlike my sister who cut her caloric intake to 900 cals/day and runs 5 miles per day to keep slim, I have found a sane way to lose. I bought one of Suzanne Somers books on her Somersize diet. It is low glycemic index foods with certain restrictions and rules about food combining. I have lost 8 lbs in 2 weeks and hope to continue. It is more than a diet, it is a new lifestyle way of eating forever. Check it out on their Facebook support page. Lots of people lost and losing weight.

Get more active. Although calorie deficits are the main way to drop pounds, exercise speeds it up by burning more calories and is much better for losing more fat in the fat/lean ratio and in not gaining back the weight after reaching your goal. Weight training and cardio both have incredible long term strength and health benefits, but just increasing your non-exercise activity makes the biggest difference in dropping those pounds. Walking, taking the stairs, standing more instead of sitting, and just being more active over the course of a day really adds up. You'll also have more energy by being more active, so it reinforces itself and compounds.

Once being more active and including whatever exercise you can work in and eating healthier food choices becomes your new normal mode of habits, you'll see much better results in both reaching your goals and maintaining them. I'm in maintenance now and so much more active than I used to be just a year ago and still working out a couple times a week and I feel like I have a totally different body. When I do occasionally over indulge, I don't have any issues and if I pick up a couple pounds on vacation or holidays, they drop back off in no time.

You are only 58 calories a day off if it is because of calories or lack of activity That should cheer you up! If you can't eat 58 calories less, your walks should do it. No problem.