Weight Change, not happy

So I am a female, 5'6ish and 29.  Last year, I weighed about 128; however, in the past year I have put on some weight and am now at 134.  I have added weight lifting and more "training" rather than just cardio to my workouts.  I am struggling to accept this weight.  I still watch everything I eat and work out between 5 to 6 days a week for about 50+ minutes.  I don't know if I should be happy at this weight, or do something to lose these extra pounds.  I used to be 200 pounds and the thought of gaining weight terrifies me.  Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated as this is driving me nuts.  I just don't know what to do.  

Your current weight is in the bottom half of the healthy range for your height.   You'd only creep into the overweight bracket once you got to about 154lbs.   If you're pretty energetic and muscular you are naturally going to be heavier than other people the same shape... muscle is more dense than fat.  

So yes... be happy at that weight and keep yourself 2 or 3lbs either side of it.  If your weight was to go up more than another 3lbs, you could decide to lose that perhaps.   Make sure, by the way, that you're getting the right amount of calories for your age, size and 'moderate' level of activity.  If you undereat (and that can happen after someone has spent a long time losing weight) then you can find it becomes easier to gain rather than to lose.

Otherwise, try to trust yourself more and like your body more.  Be well-groomed and dress well so that you're making the most of your new body.  Watch what you eat by all means, but try not to obsess...  No point being slimmer if all it means is you live in a constant state of nervousness.

"No point being slimmer if all it means is you live in a constant state of nervousness." Wow gijane this is sooooo true. I was chunky before kids at 165 and 5'4 but I NEVER worried about my weight EVER! I loved the way I looked and was fine with the size I was. Actually I thought I was pretty good lookin. haha. THen I had two kids in one year and went up to 221! I lost all my pregnancy weight plus another 30 pounds. At 135 I'm still not happy with it and my weight goals continuously change. Now I want to get to 120. Everytime I reach a goal I push it lower. It's so ridiculous. I'm always thinking I look fat in anything I where, I'm always nervous that if I sit wrong or move a certain way my clothes will shift and I'll look like a whale. My thighs have always been a problem and even though I'm in 5's now instead of 13's I still think they look exactly the same as they used to even though I know that's impossible. It's so sad that losing weight can do this to people, but I"ve herad it a lot. I'm not dissapointed with losing weight, it was something that needed to be done, but I definately think that it's caused some self perception damage. Bottom line I like what you said I hope more people read it!

Original Post by smiles2come:

Everytime I reach a goal I push it lower. It's so ridiculous. I'm always thinking I look fat in anything I where, I'm always nervous that if I sit wrong or move a certain way my clothes will shift and I'll look like a whale.

 Be very careful with this because it can become a slippery slope.  When you're not fat any more (which you're not) but you're really unhappy with your appearance it can often be that what's really happening is that you're dissatisfied with some other aspect of life, feeling self-conscious, lacking confidence... depressed even.  But since there's so much in life that we feel powerless to change it's tempting to hook onto the one thing you can influence i.e. body-weight.  If you're unhappy at 135lbs there's no guarantee you'd be any happier at 130lbs or 120lbs.  You're still the same person with the same problems.

So at the same time as controlling your weight, try to find ways to boost your confidence that don't revolve around your appearance necessarily.  Develop yourself in other ways.