I had a couple of really bad weeks where I let stress get the best of me and I overate and underexercised. This was right after a huge loss from having a stomach virus (9 pounds in 5 days). In 5 days, I gained 20 pounds of mostly water weight. In the last 2 days, I've lost 9 pounds of mostly water. Anyone else have these huge water weight fluctuations. I felt it in my clothing, too. With the 20 pound gain, the clothes felt snug. With the 9 pound loss, I feel normal. I'm back to where I was before the stomach virus. If I didn't know better, this kind of up and down would drive me crazy! But, I know it's water retention, food in my belly, and maybe a pound or two of real weight. Ok. Just had to share and see if anyone else has gone through this.

Nursenana, Great topic! I wish you luck in figuring out how to control it. I'm still trying to figure it out. CH002591, I think you have hit the nail on the head for my binges. I had one yesterday and thought it was totally stress induced (my son's beginning to show me how terrible twos can be). But, I have noticed a pattern. I eat well Mon-Thurs, but then Thurs night I am starving and that usually continues to Friday. Then I give myself the weekends "off" more or less and restart the process Monday. I think I may need to reactivate my bodybugg account!

Thanks for the links, Thynes. I hadn't seen the burnthefat one when I searched before. I haven't yet figured out the right numbers for me for intake, but when I do, I'll post the info for you Karylynn, unless any other peeps have some input/guidance to share.

I'd love to hear input on this, too. I posted something about 2 weeks ago and got no replies. Here's my original post which may have soem helpful info for you, Karylynn. http://fatsecret.com/Community...

A little over a year ago, my personal trainer recommended I try carb cycling. At the time, I was happy with my diet, steadily losing and had no interest in following any sort of "diet". Since then, I've had a couple plateaus, but also a lot of success (right about 80 lbs gone, depending on the day). For my last 20 pounds, I thought I'd shake things up and try the carb cycling to see if I can move the weight faster. I'm going to be moving at the end of July and starting a new job with different hours and a different routine, so my plan was to work on maintenance at that point. So, I've been reading a lot about carb cycling online and I've come up confused. I get that there are high carb days and low carb days, rotating on a cycle, depending on what works for planned workouts and such. However, I have had a very hard time coming up with how many grams of carbs to have on those days (what's high or low?). I found this info but would love some feedback from others: [quote][/quote] Monday - Low Carb + weights Tuesday - Low Carb + cardio Wednesday - High Carb + weights Thursday - Low Carb + rest Friday - Low Carb + weights Saturday - High Carb + cardio Sunday - Low Carb + rest The Low Carb Phase [1.2P 0.5F 0.6C] The low carb phase of the diet can be set up easily with the following method. (a) multiply your body weight in pounds by (1.2) - this is your protein level in grams Example - 130lb * 1.2 = 156g protein = 624 calories (b) multiply your body weight in pounds by (0.5) - this is your fat level in grams Example - 130lb * 0.5 = 65g fat = 585 calories (c) multiply your body weight in pounds by (0.6) - this your carbohydrate level in grams Example - 130lb * 0.6 = 78g carbs = 312 calories The High Carb Phase [1.4P 0.3F 1.4C] The high carb phase of the diet can be set up easily with the following method. (a) multiply your body weight in pounds by (1.4) - this is your protein level in grams Example - 130lb * 1.4 = 182g protein = 728 calories (b) multiply your body weight in pounds by (0.3) - this is your fat level in grams Example - 130lb * 0.3 = 40g fat = 364 calories (c) multiply your body weight in pounds by (1.4) - this your carbohydrate level in grams Example - 130lb * 1.4 = 182g carbs = 728 calories[quote][/quote] The quote came from [url=http://katiep-thinenough.... carb cycling for weight loss[/url] If I use my weight as 165, on low days, I get 198g protein/82.5g fat/99g carb and on high days 231g protein/49.5g fat/231g carb. 99g seems high for a "low carb" day, right? Thoughts? Opinions? Links to more helpful info? I did a forum search and there's not a lot of discussion on fatsecret about this specifically (unless I missed it). I exercise 6 days a week with a lot of running, some mild strength training, and a couple classes a week of Krav Maga (cardio with body resistance strength in the form of self defense). I also do yoga a few times a month. I am starting today to get back to strength training at least 2 times a week to reduce some of the cardio to try to build more muscle to replace some fat.

Good post with lots of info (even though it's over a year old!). Saving this one to read later when I have more time.

Pretty cool article saying how we burn fat and what happens to it. http://health.howstuffworks.co...

Give yourself mini goals as you go. Things like, "I'll run til the next water stop, the next mile, or whatever marker you chose. When I ran my first (and only so far) half,I kept doing that and made it to the last water stop before I took water (I know....hydration is important). And, I kept picking out a new person ahead of me that I wanted to pass. It kept me entertained.

I just recalculated mine and it's telling me to eat 200 more after I lost....I must've changed mine after it calculated the last time. It's under your tool box under "my diet" to change it.

I really like the chocolate Muscle Milk light 100 calorie drink. 15 grams of protein, 100 calories, 2.5g of fat, 5g carbs (0 sugars), and a ton of other nutrients. The taste is pretty good (smooth and creamy) if it's cold.

For the last 3 days, I've checked what my body media fit armband (like the body bugg on Biggest Loser)numbers say verses if I only enter exercise into the tracker (plus resting and sleeping) and the FS counter has come up within 50 calories under each day, so I would suggest only entering activities you actively set out to do. It's been accurate for the past few days for me. I have been tracking on their website and it's nowhere near as user friendly as FS, so I wanted to see how accurate FS was to switch back to tracking here. Just missed my renewal, so it'll be 3 months til I'm loyal to FS again. Ugh! Not enough time in the day to log on both programs unless I can make time to fit it in.

My plan is similar to Kingkeld. Track it all and don't let one indulgence lead to the "oh well, I'll just eat whatever and get back at it tomorrow" mentality come around. I am also planning to ramp up the exercise for the holidays. I'm already looking into a gym membership for the week we are with family out of state to keep me in check. Good luck! Just remember how great you feel when you eat healthy. Might help. :)

so much info! must save this to read when I can process properly. What I've read so far is great! Thank you!

Very useful info. Thanks for the post!