I never knew the eating for only certain hours was a thing either. I get up before 6 but except for coffee (the drink of life), I don’t eat until 7:30 or 8. We have an early dinner in our house (around 6) and I try not to eat after that unless H makes popcorn. Which I eat plain.
You can also lose 10 pounds in two months for free. 
@gettingaclue, after a few days of strict limitation of carbs, the body experiences a diuretic effect and can get those exact symptoms you described. Many people also get a bad headache or hangover type feeling. Typically, drinking some regular chicken broth or something salty will alleviate those symptoms. After the first week, those symptoms typically disappear.
There is also low carb, and there is LOW CARB. Reducing the amount of refined carbs (sugar, white flour products, refined grains, etc.) one eats is almost always a good thing for weight loss. Not everybody has to completely eliminate all carbs from their diet in order to lose weight, however.
Easy to not have ice cream at my house because the ONE and ONLY ice cream worth eating a home - Blue Bell! - has been out of production!
Hagan Daaz Chocolate peanut butter - I can’t keep away from it. SO good… (Oh wait, I thought this was the “best desserts ever” thread. 
)
Okay all you wonderful & intelligent cc’rs:
I’ve got a good one for you to figure out. I just walked in from being weighed at the Doctor’s office. I wanted to discuss “middle age weight gain” with him, among other things because I could feel my clothes getting tight. Any new clothes I’ve bought in the last year or so are a size larger and sometimes (especially in bottom) two sizes larger. 
So I wanted to especially talk since I thought he could help me turn the weight gaining into something productive and begin to lose again. The problem is: I’ve lost 11 pounds since April! So then why are my clothes getting tighter? Have I shifted my weight?
The only thing I can think of is I began working from home exactly two years ago (this August) and sit in front of a computer A LOT. 2 or 3 hours at a time before getting up to stretch or whatever. Could all that sitting cause my clothes to go up in size? Even with an 11 pound weight loss? Talk about confusing. I was sure I had put on weight since I could feel it in my clothes. Looks like I’ve gained inches on my bottom. Yikes.
Any suggestions? I guess getting up to exercise is the most logical solution!!
DO you have a scale that measures % body fat in addition to total weight ,chocchipcookie? That might explain things. Less muscle ,more fat. 11 lbs in 4 months without trying is a bunch though.
But really, what are the chances your spouse is laundering your clothes? He probably shrunk them!! :-S
Chocchipcookie, so your new stuff is a size bigger than your old stuff - hmmm? Is it just the number (e.g., 10 vs. 8), or did you actually measure the new clothes and compared with the old ones? Because many manufacturers finally realized that they had overdone it with vanity sizing and are going back to reasonable sizing charts. My new pair of Boss slacks is a size bigger (4 vs old 2), but when I measured the old pair of the same style, it was identical. Take a tape measure and measure your body and the clothes, both the old and the new.
@chocchipcookie, I also wondered about losing muscle and gaining fat. That is a lot of muscle to lose in 4 months, though, as @sax says above.
But getting bigger vs. smaller is hard to argue with. Not the direction most people want to go.
@chocchipcookie, I would consider the possibility that the doctor’s office scale is or was wrong.
^^Thanks for answering, guys! sax: I wish it were that easy that my H would shrink my clothes! He doesn’t do laundry but he is good at folding & putting away!
BB: Hmmm Interesting theory. Will need to measure. But honestly, I’ve always fluctuated quite a bit in my weight, like up or down within 15 pounds. BUT I have been the same size for many years. Size 10/12. Now some 14’s I try on are tight, mainly on the bottom I would LOVE to believe it’s the fashion industry’s fault, but I think it’s because I sit on my bottom all day long. I went from a comfortable M to an L now.
Nrd: I’ve never had much muscle, but always had fat.
The other theory I had is I had Breast Cancer not all that long ago and was put on certain drugs to force me into menopause and this is my body’s way of shifting? Not sure!
I may not go by the scale, and try to lose some inches so that I can go back to my comfortable 10/12. I guess that means not sitting all day for such long periods at a time! I guess. The Doctor (a male, of course) wasn’t at all interested in my clothing dilemma because he liked what the scale said. In my mind I need to focus on getting back to my original comfortable clothing size. I would hate to think that the menopause weight is here to stay.
^^Oops. I didn’t see the message from oldmom. I thought of that! But it’s the same nurse that weighs me each time and I’ve been there 3 times! In April it was one weight, in June it was 5 pounds less and today it was another 6 pounds less. I’m not trying to lose or gain, just stay the same size I’ve been. I really thought they were going to tell me I had gained 11 pounds, not lost it after having clothes fit tightly. Hmmmm. I guess the mystery will continue and I’ll concentrate on the clothing and not the scale! Thanks everyone. Carry on with the discussion!
@Chocchipcookie, I think it’s wise to go by clothing or measurements rather than the scale. Some people get too wrapped up in the scale and get obsessive. I’m like that, so it’s better that I focus on how my clothes fit, how I look in the mirror, how I feel. That way 1 lb. in the wrong direction doesn’t derail me so easily.
Once you get to a size that makes you happy and you feel really good, then you might hop on the scale and use that as another piece of data to help you maintain your desired size/weight.
The bitch about getting older is even if one is in perfect health, one has to eat LESS, and exercise MORE, in order to stay at the SAME weight and size.
The reason is that everyone’s metabolism slows down as you get older.
So our bodies need to burn fewer calories when doing exactly what we use to do years before. Walking, breathing, everything takes fewer calories.
Thyroid changes can slow down or speed up the metabolism rate as well .
It is what it is. :((
@chocchipcookie, you may be right about the sitting correlation:
http://theweek.com/articles/479670/sitting-all-day-make-butt-bigger
I’ve mostly retired from my job which had me sitting at the computer a majority of the day and am moving about more. I used to be very pear shaped, but am actually losing the most in my legs and rear. Now it’s my middle that’s moving the slowest. I figured it was aging that caused the “shift.” Maybe not.
aMacMom, no kidding. It is natural for the body to create some cushioning in those parts for more comfort.
Cancer meds can wreak havoc in the body! Don’t beat yourself at all, chocchipcookie, about gaining a size. Concentrate on eating healthy and taking care of yourself.
But also for your overall health, I would make a plan/routine to get up and out of your chair OFTEN during the day - or consider a standing desk!
My H has the iPhone watch and it alerts him when he has been sitting to long and suggests getting up and moving around.
@Kajon, that’s cool.
My car apparently “knows” when you are getting sleepy/fatigued and sounds an alarm that you need to take a break. It has a little coffee cup icon and makes a loud beeping noise, then posts a message to take a break!
^ Too bad it doesn’t actually brew a cup of coffee when it senses that you are tired.