Sustainable Weight Loss: A Personal Journey & Recent Results

Question
I have lost 90 lbs over the last 4 years by eating healthy (South Beach diet) and making healthy choices.  I eat whole grains, fruits and vegetables.  I have just recently added exercise to my routine (running 2/3 miles 5 days a week and core strengthening 2 days).  I have been doing this routine for 3 weeks and recently gave up soda to drink water.  I have found that over the last 3 weeks since I started exercising and drinking water, I have gained 2 lbs.  I watch my calories during the day and log them.  I eat about 1500 calories a day.  I can't seem to figure out why I am gaining weight and am beginning to become discouraged.

Answer
This is common when people start to exercise, don't panic! You are probably just building a little muscle, which is a good thing. For right now, don't focus on the scale- focus on how your clothes fit- That will be a better indicator of fat loss than the scale (probably for the next 6 weeks or so) as your body makes changes in your muscle to fat ratio.

Hope this Helps,
Lela Simon