It sounds like water gain to me. I'm the queen of water gain. I totally freaked out when I weighed myself a few days after Christmas. I had been a bad bad girl and ate things I wasn't supposed to eat. I had also eaten a lot of high sodium foods. So, back on track I went. I watched the salt. I watched to make sure I was drinking enough. I made sure I wasn't eating bad carbs. By the first, I was back down to exactly what I had weighed on December 1st. And, as of this morning, I down a pound from that. It's not unusual for me to play with a pound or two for weeks .... gain it, loose it, gain it loose it, then loose 2-3 pounds overnight and then start the whole gain it loose it thing all over again. Elisa, sweetie, remember all things in moderation. I think it's ok to eat a piece of chocolate every once and a while. Normal people eat chocolate. It's when you allow yourself to graze on it all day or even eat it all the time that it's a real problem. I don't know about you, but I had this surgery to be normal. I tell myself that sure I can eat that cookie or piece of pie. But, if I do, I better get my ass to the gym and work off those extra calories. If I'm not willing to put out the extra effort, then I don't deserve the pie or cookie. Something else that REALLY helps me is fitday.com. I log my food every single day. I have a budget of 2,000 calories a day. If at the end of the day, I've got my protein, water AND my calories are under that number by at least 100, I reward myself with a 100 calorie pack of something that is a treat like kettle corn or cookies. That way, I still get my treats and don't feel deprived. If I'm over (and I have been a few times) then no goodies until I get things back under control. It takes some discipline and it keeps me on track. I have a good handle on what I'm eating. It's become a habit at this point. I also weigh every single meal. I've learned that my eyes grow and if I don't weigh/measure, I end up eating too much. Hang in there! You're doing wonderful. Don't beat yourself up over this small indulgence/lapse. You can get back on track. (hugs)

You don't have to work on them all at once, that seems overwhelming, but I bet if you do one at a time, it will be easy. Really being nice to myself and listening to my body have made it so much easier to stay on track with food [my scale is still moving down]. Good luck, I know you can do it! xosm

GG-I re-read pouch rules too when I am feeling down. It does help a lot for some reason. You are so right about carbs...chips and french fries just go down so easy. Too easy. I've had bad experiences with pure protein too...so my "excuse" is that I have conditioned myself towards these bad carbs...which is a load of crap, because we all know that we have healthy high protein foods besides chicken...lol............ignorance can be bliss....UNTIL YOU SEE A 6 POUND GAIN LIKE I DID...LOL!!!!!

That's really cool Terri....

Hi Loretta I'm so glad I'm not the only one stuck. Maybe we are retaining water? I have the plateau buster diet, I should try that too. Here it is incase you haven't found it: #1 - Do this for 10 days to break a plateau #2 - Drink 2 quarts of water a day #3 - You must have 45 grams of protein supplement and all of your vitamins/minerals supplements each day #4 - You may consue up to 3 oz of the following high protein foods, 5x a day beef pork chicken turkey lamb fish eggs low fat cheese cottage cheese plain yogurt or artificially sweetened peanut butter beans/legumes You may also have: sugar free popsicles tea or coffee sugar free soda (I dunno about that but that's what it says) sugar free jello broths/bullion crystal light drinks #5 - If it's not on the list, you can't have it for 10 days!!!! #6 - Keep a food diary and try to get up to 30 mins of exercise daily. Sounds easy eh? Haha...well I dunno about that it might have been easy at first but now with all the stuff I've found I can eat...heck no!! Let me know if you try it ok? Elisa