Do you trust the scale.....?

ok I'm nearing the maintenance phrase and now I'm eating aroudn 1400 cals a day. (I am around 5'1, small framed, 18 years old) Last week I was on a one week vacation to Bali and I let myself eat whatever I wanted. I ate 3 big meals everyday (breakfast dinner lunch), with appetizer, main course and sometimes even dessert. In fact I thought to myself that gaining 1 or 2 pounds will be alright, and I promised myself to go back on track once I return from my trip. I wanted to enjoy my trip to the fullest. I swam everyday as well.

Now that I've returned, everyone aroudn me says I've gained a bit weight, but when I stepped on the scale, the nubmers didn't change at all! I was the same weight as before I went to Bali! But the most puzzling thing is that even myself feel I am a bit fatter, especially my arms and legs look a bit fleshier now. Can anyone tell me did I really gain weight? Or is it because of the tanned skin I got from the intense sunshine in Bali?

who are these people around you pointing out that you gained a few pounds the moment you get back from vacation?

Youmay be a little less toned than you were when you left, or because of the hot weather you might be a little swelled up. Or your friends might just be jerks! Don't listen to anybody, get back on track and just eat healthy. I hope you had a great time!

Oh don't get me wrong... i got those comments from my parents, they said it in a positive light- like " you've gained a ltitle weight, but you still look great!" or something like that. But I'm just wondering, since I didn't count calories at all during my vacation, is there a possibility that I can do the same during the maintainence phrase without gaining weight ?

That's why I want to know whether I've really gained weight or not. THanks for ur help!

Are you extremely thin? What is your weight if you dont' mind me asking? I am asking b/c perhaps people thought you were too thin and are now commenting that you "appear" to have gained some weight and look better? Just a thought! Also did you bring it up? Sometimes when we think we gained weight we talk about it and put words in other people's mouths.

well no i don't i'm EXTREMELY thin, but I know I'm not fat, at least i think i'm within the healthy range and the thing is that i just want to keep my current weight and NOT gain any weight anymore!! My current weight is 110 poudns, considering I'm rather short and small framed.

Maintaining... or even losing while counting calories comes down to one thing IMO...

Portion Control

When you figure out the right sized portions for breakfast, lunch and dinner and you keep up the exercise ... you should be able to lose weight or maintain without the need to actually count every single calorie going into your body.

I know in general what so many foods are in calorie content it makes building 500 calorie meals pretty easy.

You might have lost some muscle during your vacation.  Muscle weighs more than fat so you might be the exact same number on the scale but appear "fleshier" because you lost that muscle.