Originally Posted by Air

I've only dropped about 13 pounds (and the damn scale won't keep going down! ) but my pants that used to be tight at 42" are now hanging off me and another pair at 40 won't stay up for anything. Another shirt of mine that actually never fit fits great now.

It's not what the scale says but how the clothes fit. Also all the cranking can't be bad

I also find my weight will inch up or drop down. While the going up can creep the going down will happen almost in a few pounds at a shot, then stay there again. Not sure if that's the same for everyone though.

Also definately check out fitday.com or another type of calorie counting device. I was really surprised at how some things I ate regularly were really bad and others that I thought was bad really aren't. Try replacing pasta with whole wheat pasta (or whole wheat pancakes, waffles, bread, etc...) and white rice with brown rice. You'll feel so much fuller after eating half as much. Just made myself a bowl of Fettucini Alfredo using 1% milk, whole wheat pasta, a package of frozen veggies, and a few slices of bacon in the sauce for flavor. 2 cups of that: 414 calories and 9 grams of fat. If that was regular pasta I'd still be eating! Add a slice of bacon into 'diet' type dishes - one slice doesn't add all that much overall but it will make it taste good. Conversely avoid cheese (though low fat cheese is OK). Amazing how much fat is in one freakin' slice of cheese - about 9 grams of fat. Between one slice of cheese or a big bowl of pasta guess where my choice would be.