I gained two pounds this month...

Hide the scale from yourself

OP said she weighs monthly after TOM, which is a good strategy for those with a pronounced pattern of water retention. This doesn't answer your "how do you do it" question, but here is another approach to scale weight.

I weigh every day but only look at the 28-day trailing average. That encompasses a whole cycle for me, so on any given day the average includes my last ovulation weight spike, TOM water weight, etc. Moreover, it is a smooth line depicting a trend. When my trendline says I've gained 2 lb, I don't question how much is water weight, because every 28-days will roughly average to about the same amount of water weight. It also prevents my getting discouraged by spurious scale weight spikes (after a high sodium day, e.g.). It takes me about 3 months on maintenance to register a 2 pound increase or decrease in the trendline. Weighing every day keeps me mindful on maintenance. When I skip weighing, it's only a matter of time before I slip on other things.

The cravings you asked about are tougher to address. I think mine are mostly mental/emotional, but can be related to nutritional deficits, too. E.g. I've read women often crave magnesium-rich foods in TOM--chocolate but also almonds, seeds, spinach. I take a mag supplement on those days. Does it help? It's probably all in my head, but it seems to. Giving into carb cravings begets more carb craving, of course, so it's best just not to get on that train. A bunch of high-fat, high-fiber almonds totally satisfies my sugar cravings (without sugar). Gotta count those, though. www.nutritiondata.com will show you your whole micronutrient breakdown for a day or meal. You can analyze recipes, too.

Good luck!

Are you sure you actually gained two pounds? I can be plus or minus 2 Lbs on any given day...or more. I would think two actual pounds would be difficult to actually see on the scale without a good number of data points to analyze.

OP, from the very quick glance at your diary, you're more likely someone I'd take advice from than give advice to. That said, I agree with the approach of adding more fat.

I was plateaued (said the scale) for weeks which was annoying since I was on day 60-something of a 90 day program and kicking its a*. But I'm also between jobs, laid off after 13 years just a couple months ago. So I know despite trying to focus on making this a positive thing, my stress is beating up my hormone regulation.

So I research with all my free time...I find myself doing the things that my decade younger self would have found totally irresponsible like adding coconut oil or butter to my coffee in the morning. On my last grocery run I ditched all things (yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese) low-fat in favor of full fat versions. It took me from around 36-40% to over 55% dietary fat intake. That was about 4 pounds ago, but the numbers are moving actually faster than the first 14 so I know I shook things up.

Everyone - especially important for women IMO - sets different macro goals for their needs, but with good habits already in place, we can make small adjustments and keep learning what works. I wouldn't change your protein intake much but you'll be the best judge. The good fats definitely increase the feeling of satiety, and for me clarity. Substituting fat for carb calories during the first half of my day eliminated the stupid hypoglycemia crash I used to get which I used to think was just a fact of life, the hunger was in my head and I needed to overcome it. Which I did, but not by eating the same breakfast over and over and expecting different results. Best of luck!

I still have few pounds to lose but I weigh myself at the end of the month the first thing in the morning before I eat any food or drink anything. I try not to weigh myself throught the day because weight fluctuates . I am usually 4 to 5 pounds heavier by the end of the day. The last few pounds are always hard to shift. Now it seems like I am stuck at 130 and I only lost 0.5 last month Well at least I am not gaining

chouflour wrote: »

Your 32 day average calories are really 2140 - so you aren't that far off your current goal. You only had 8 days where you went above your target by more than 100 calories. If we take those days out of the calculation, your average intake is 1941. If you want to net adjust your calories down by 100 calories/day, then I'd split the difference. Set your daily intake to 1950 - you're already meeting that on half the days of the month, and you're within 150 calories of that in another third of the month.

LOL, I run numbers too, thank you for not letting me be the only one who looked that closely into OP's diary. I agree, your habits show someone who doesn't fall so far off that you can't make up for it.

I think your Quest bars will probably help. For my sweet tooth, the coffee or tea with stevia keeps it off my mind, and I add some fat which I think has the most affect. But I also started trying out dessert recipes for things like chocolate cheesecake or pumpkin cookies so I can get the flavors I crave this time of year without the sugar. I'm portioning them out and freezing them so it isn't too easy to access.

Francl27 wrote: »

My issue is that I need the fiber from carbs too. I've tried the 'eggs and bacon' approach for breakfast and it didn't work at all. Same with meat and veggies... I need some kind of carb. I'm definitely starting to use more full fat things though, and I always mix carbs with protein and/or fat, which seems to help some.

It's really hit and miss though... some weeks are very easy, but the last two weeks before my period, just ugh. It's what made me gain this time, horrible carb cravings and my mom bringing my favorite cookies from France = bad mix.

I've started eating Quest bars again though and it made last week easier, so hopefully it will last (saying this after I finished the kids' ice cream cones from McDonald's, but I still have plenty of calories for dinner, lol).

You need some kind of fibre, but it doesn't have to be from digestible carbs. I make "bread" all the time with psyllium husk and almond meal which has virtually no carbs but off the charts fibre.

If you drop DAIRY, SALT and SUGAR (Including) for a few days you will lose it. When you crave sweets, there are plenty of brownie, cookie,etc recipes online made with protein powder, coconut oil..I just make big batches of them etc.... Hope it works for you too