From my elementary knowledge of the human body, stress produces cortisol, which encourages people to eat more and encourages the body to store more fat around the midsection. When I exercise, I push myself but I still stay on the lighter side. I try to exercise every day for at least half an hour - 5 x a week of cardio, and 2-3 x a week of weight-bearing activity. Working out too much, as other people have pointed out, is not great for the body! From this, I lost 10 pounds in a month and have kept it off (still aiming to get rid of more pounds though).
Also - don't fixate so much on your weight. Muscle weighs more than fat, so you may have been gaining weight (but your measurements may have been shrinking) b/c of your gaining muscle.
I find when I work out super hard, I am a lot more hungry, hence I eat way more, especially at night - the worst time to eat. Also, I find when I am really concentrating on losing weight I eat too little and work out too much, and that is not good for your either, because your body doesn't want to let go of those pounds, because they need them to survive. So when I relax and eat a little more I seem to lose weight. Eating a shitload of tiny meals a day is GREAT for your metabolism.
About a month ago, I was in the gym 3-4 times a week, working out for over an hour per day. I gained more than 15 pounds during November and wanted to get back to my regular weight at around 180. The more I went to the gym, the more I stressed over it because I didn't see the results. I couldn't figure out why this was happening. I ate healthier, cut back on my normal high calorie breakfast (croissants and cereal with coffee) but still, nothing.
After 3 weeks of following this routine, I didn't see any significant improvements. I was still around the same weight. But the last few weeks, something happened.
I stopped caring about the 3-4 day workouts, went back to eating small portions of whatever I wanted and just did light workouts every other day. I found this method less stressful and easier to manage. I've noticed a decrease in my weight, I feel refreshed when I wake up in the morning and not as tired compared to the days of working out for over an hour regularly.
Honestly, I never thought this method would work. I really can't pinpoint what exactly I'm doing right. I'm still eating the same foods, just in smaller portions (more times per day) and sleeping the same number of hours.
I'm not going to stress over why this method is working, I'll just keep going. It's also been really good for me knees, since I don't work out extra hard anymore. Are there any explanations for why a slightly more care free attitude is actually working better for me? When it comes to exercise and fitness, are you hard core or on the lighter side?