Trying to lose again – after a 12 pound weight gain

I have been on a weight loss plateau for several months, going back into last year. I lost three pounds a month for quite a while. Then, it dropped off to two or one pound. In the last few months I was lucky if I did not gain. Weight loss is not fun when my weight stays the same. I wondered if my body was in "starvation mode", and not burning calories, because I was not eating enough of them. I seldom go out to eat so there is no spike in my calorie content on a regular basis. My sister visits once every two months in winter and about once a month in the summer. I wouldn't think that one meal or two out a month should not cause me to gain.

In January I had an upsetting occurrence and I took Benadryl at night to help me sleep. I meant to take it short-term but took it for over two months. Then I showed a ten or twelve pound weight gain at the end of February. That was surprising. At first I thought the facility scales needed new batteries. I could not figure out how my weight went from 151 pounds to 162. I thought I would have to raise my calories every day for longer than a month to have it go up that much.

The only change besides the Benadryl, was that I was eating a portion of the facility supper three or four nights a week. I was tired of eating cereal bars and dried fruit. I ate some of the meal on certain nights but tried to watch the calories. I thought maybe taking in 200 or 300 extra calories a day, might cause my body to burn it more efficiently. I think there was a one pound weight gain in January. But seeing a ten pound weight gain caused me to cut back.

Then, I wondered if last July's decrease of my Zoloft dosage from 75 mg a day to 50 mg a day, may have contributed to the weight gain. When the dosage was lowered I thought taking less might cause me to lose weight. But that did not happen.. In fact, it was difficult to lose even one pound a month.

I went back to trying to cut 100 calories a day from what I am served. I knew if I stopped eating desserts like cake, pie, and cookies, I would get fewer calories. Facility desserts are about my only opportunity to eat extra calories.

I was not weighted at the end of March. By the end of April, I weighed 159 in the Hoyer. Although, the aides did not think that was accurate.

At the end of May my weight was 157. That is still five or six pounds more than I weighed at the end of January.

When I was weighed last week my weight was 156.6. I know it's only down four tenths of a pound. But, I am also down from 162 at the end of Everett also.

I need to research strategies to help me continue to lose. I would like to get to my goal weight of 140 pounds.