Need serious advice from someone who has been there

OliveBruises

As of today I've logged in for 55 days in a row and I've also lost 13 lbs. First I want to say that I am very proud of this loss!!
However, recently I've started to feel a bit discouraged. Bear with me, this is a bit long but it's detailed to hopefuly make it easier for you to help!

I eat clean for the most part (I ate a little bad this past weekend though since it was my birthday, so try not to focus on that). I lost 10 lbs the first month (Jan)... but this month I've only lost 3 lbs.. and those 3 lbs were an up & down battle with the scale. Now I know you aren't supposed to judge everything by what the scale says. But I haven't really felt different in the past couple weeks either. I definitely don't expect to lose 10 lbs every month, but this past month has been a bit frustrating. So, I guess I basically want to make sure I'm doing everything correct.

Per MFP, I should be eating 1200 calories a day. Per the BMR calculator, I should be eating 1420 calories a day. I went with 1350. I set my carbs at 40% and fat/protein at 30% each. I don't always succeed at this - usually when it's off I've eaten too many carbs & not enough protein but I'm going to guess most of those carbs come from veggies. And I've really been making a point to try and get more protein in. The fat is mainly good fats – avocados, nuts, EVOO, coconut oil, etc. I work out at least 4x per week - when I go to the gym I typically run on the elliptical (sometimes intervals) for about 30 minutes and then do strength training for 30+ minutes. When I can't get to the gym 4x a week, I fill in the missing days with a Jillian Michaels video. On non-work out days, I still do things to stay active such as take my dog for a walk, clean the house, run errands, etc… basically NOT sitting around unless I’m at work. I do work full-time at a desk job though so I am sitting at the computer during my job for the most part… you know, unless I’m getting up to make copies, get more water, or use the rest room cause I’m trying to drink at least 12-16 cups of water per day! :drinker:

As far as eating is concerned, I eat pretty clean (like I said, besides this past weekend - where I didn't even stray off too bad - just a little worse than the norm due to it being my birthday). The only thing I've really changed from last month to this month is that last month I drank fresh juice each morning. This month we bought a Vitamix so I started replacing the morning juice with a morning smoothie. The morning smoothie is some fruit (today had 1/2 banana and kiwi with the peel), but also veggies & whey protein etc., but I figured smoothies would be better because of the extra fiber! Then if I'm hungry before lunch, I have a small snack. Lunch time I usually eat some protein, veggies & smart carbs (brown rice/quinoa/cous cous/lo carb tortilla/Ezekiel bread, etc). I sometimes have an after lunch snack (Greek yogurt or nuts usually). And we started doing VEGGIE smoothies for dinner as well so that we aren't eating as much right before bed AND we are getting more nutrients in our bodies. [When I say we, I am referring to my boyfriend and I].

I read so much on here that I don't know if I'm eating too little.. too much... or if I'm eating fine and I'm just at a point where my body is adjusting. I plan on sticking to this even though I’m getting discouraged, I just want to make sure that what I’m sticking to is going to work eventually. My mind is in such a good place with my diet this time around & I know I’m going to finally get where I want to be! I guess I just need some reassurance or possibly a little direction. Thanks in advance to anyone that answers! I’ll go make my diary public right now. Oh and if anyone needs to know what we put in our dinner smoothies, I can share the ingredients.