With under 8 pounds to go for my goal, I'm at that stage where it's hard to stay focused... I.e. clothes fit, look better, feel better, no longer in 'oh crap I'm a fat bastard' mode...

So last week was a mess of a week. No working out, poor diet, just completely off the wagon...

Yesterday I weigh myself (you know the drill, eyes squinting 'cause you don't really want to know how bad the damage is...) and I'm actually 2 pounds lower than the week before... Plus, I ran a good solid 5k (slightly under 8 minute miles)...

Sometimes I don't get it...

Sometimes a bad week doesn't show up on the scale for a few weeks. (That's what I've experienced in the past) :P

But hey, keep plugging -- almost there!

Great... now I really have something to look forward too...

The body is a thermodynamic machine. It operates under the principles of averages. The body senses shifts in nutrient and calibrates over time. If you have higher concentrations of food in your system for a while it begins to store more, if you eat less you don't immediately lose the weight, it looks to see a trend and then you see change.

Just think of it as throwing a rock in water, the rock is absorbed and ripples are cast out until equilibrium is reached. The body works in much the same way. Never feel bad for a bad moment, just pay attention to the cumulative effects of the messages you are sending yourself.

Hang in there, the last push is often the hardest but it's very rewarding to cross that finish line.

I hear ya. Those weird things can get you. I did that a few times and at first I thought, hey cool. Next thing you know BAM! You pay for it.

Why not a good idea to follow the scale daily.

I do follow the scale daily - and I keep track of it all. That was part of my motivation that helped me lose over 80lbs. The minute I saw the weight coming off I was hooked. If the weight went up one morning I was pissed and worked extra hard that day to lower it. If the weight went down in the morning I was happy with the results and wanted to do even better so I worked extra hard that day to lower it again! Either way it helped motivate me.

Gabe, I work the same way... I gained a little bit this week and pressed harder in my workouts... and BAM! I just lost 2 pounds!

I also weigh daily. I think this also allows you to learn more about how your body reacts to different things. I have also read many articles that say people who weigh daily are more apt to keep the weight off. I guess we will see.

If I thnk about it I will step on th scale, but i don't make it a point to do so.

I agree that bodies are weird, I'm pretty consistent for now, 1-2 punds a week. And then one day I ate bad and felt all gross, weighed my self the next morning was 251, then came back after my workout, showered and stepped on the scle (just becasue it was by the shower, and BAM lost 6 lbs.) I know it was all "water weight" but seriously, i didn't sweat 6 lbs worth of water. Crazy bodies.

And I did like you too one time, i ate bad all weekend, couple months back, drinking beer, serbian food, skipped my workouts, etc. went to gym monday morning, and I was 2 lbs . lighter than on friday, so I don't really know and I'm not going to claim that I do, I just know that what i'm doing is working.

Keep it up everybody.