Pantspeak......

My pants can be quite the chatterboxes.  Perhaps they kissed the Blarney Stone.....

Sometimes the scale is not the voice of authority.
Sometimes you just have let your pants do the talking.....
at least that's the way I have been trying to live.....

At the moment, my scale is telling me that I am up 6 pounds from my "maintenance" weight of a 115 pound weight loss. 
To be honest--6 pounds on the scale does not freak me out when I know that my schedule as of late has got me into some bad habits--- more snacking, totelling more than just tea a few times a week and not being as responsible with packing lunches and planning snacks plus not adhering as strictly to my walking regiment.  Not to mention all the meals in restaurants and at parties.....
I'm fully ready and able to chisel those 6 pounds off of me by going back to my good behavior.
Yet, I am plagued by the question.....can I count on 6 pounds to be the difference in how my pants feel?
It's causing quite a condundrum for me. 
Why?
Because even though I do weigh myself regularly, I made a promise to myself that I would stop my scale whore ways and let my clothes tell me how things were going. 
My weight is so flighty that I can be one weight one day and a full 4 pounds different the very next day.  So, I had to stop all the scale hopping and try to find a different way to gauge how I was doing with maintaining my weight.  
But, now that I am looking at the scale along with assessing my pants comfort,  my head is spinning. 
Now, I am wondering if things are just shifting around on my body......due to...GULP.....middle age?
Or, now that my weight loss phase is over, is my body just readjusting and putting fat where my body naturally puts all of its fat.....as in my belly?
Am I deluding myself by believing that my body is naturally shifting weight around?
Will I be able to comfortably wear my pants if I return to my healthier lifestyle and get rid of those 6 pounds?

I just don't know......but I have to find out!  

I have a history of my body and the scale telling different stories. 
I will freely admit that there were times during my weight loss days when I found myself shocked and perhaps just a wee bit concerned.... yet overjoyed and excited..... that my pants were feeling a tad bit loose.   Even when the scale did not report any significant loss. 
Those sudden spurts of getting smaller didn't happen in direct correlation to a certain amount of weight.  I would see a loss on the scale but no difference in my pants.   The difference in my pants was a delayed reaction.....
So, I am sure you can understand why I find myself  plagued......
There were days when I knew I had misbehaved by eating just a few too many treats yet my pants showed mercy and did not fight with me when I went to zipper them or they didn't  make me feel like a sausage all day long......
Oh how I loved those time when I somehow outsmarted my pants. 
Yes, those were the days.....the LOSING WEIGHT DAYS.

Now that I have been living in maintenance land for going on 3.5 years, can I still count on my pants?