Weight gain... this stinks!

If you hate traditional exercise (going to the gym, treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, aerobics class, lifting weights, etc.), look for other ways to include more movement in your day-to-day life.  Take the stairs.  Park as far away as possible at the store.  Walk to work, if that's practical for you.  Go dancing or take some dancing classes.  Take a short walk break mid-morning and mid-afternoon, even if it's just 10 minutes each time.  Try rollerblading.  Or rollerskating.  Or hiking.  Or, heaven help me, housework (I hate to clean).  Or yard work (that's for me).  The key is to find some activity you like to do that gets you moving.  There has to be something you like to do that involves moment, yes?   And in terms of making changes to your daily food intake, again, small changes can make a big difference.  If you eat an extra 100 calories per day -- meaning 100 more calories that your actually burning off through exercise and your resting metabolism -- you'll gain about 10 pounds in a year.  (100 calories per day x 365 days per year = 36500 "extra" calories divided by 3500 calories to gain (or lose) a pound = 10.42 gain each year).  On the positive side of this question, you can lose 10 pounds per year by cutting out 100 calories per day, or 20 pounds by cutting out 200 calories per day.   So look for ways you can make small, maintainable changes to your diet.  Switch from 1% milk to skim milk.  If you're currently eating regular cheese, switch to no-fat cheese or low-fat cheese.  Eating fattier cuts of meat?  Switch to leaner cuts?  Snacking on carbs?  Find some high-protein snacks instead (beef jerky, yogurt, cottage cheese, soycrisps - whatever you like).  The key here is to evaluate your current regular eating habits and look for small places where you can cut calories out every day.  Additionally, if you're a grazer, you'll need to figure out why you're grazing (usually boredom for me) and work on changing that behavior.  That can be hard, but you can easily eat an extra 100-300 calories a day, or more, through mindless grazing.  My solution is often to drink something - water, Propel w/ calcium, crystal light, hot tea - that often helps me move past the desire to graze.   I hope some of this is helpful - good luck on your continuing journey! Kellie