I hit a platau

Hi! I have the exact same problem... and it didn't make any difference when I upped my exercise and lowered my intake. For girls, weight loss is especially hard because of TOM and the way our bodies react to stress etc. Make sure you are getting enough sleep each night, and drink a lot of water to try to keep your bowels moving. Most of the weight is water weight, and while some would say you are in starvation mode... it's more of a regular step in weight loss. The important thing to do is not to give up. Also, if you take a regular break from exercising (once a week or so) you will find that your muscles have a chance to heal and release some of the water they are holding...
but ya. Hope this helps?

It might help if you open up your diary so we can see how much you are taking in. That being said, I tend to cycle up and down while losing weight and will seem to stall every 10lbs or so for anywhere from a week to three weeks. After a "stall" I will lose 2-3 lbs almost overnight. Weight loss is not a linear equation, instead it is a downward slope filled with bumps along the way.

I am in the stall club too. It was a months long stall at 30# loss that pushed me to search for other solutions and I found MFP.
Approaching the 50# mark now but not without other stalls.
I try changing routines a bit, swapping out different food items. Watching added salt items.
I found what others suggest to be very helpful.

I've been on a plateau of the same weight for about 2 weeks now and can't seem to get off of it. I was doing very well with losing then for some reason it stopped. I haven't changed anything, I lowered the calorie limit i had and everything. Nothing seems to be working. I work out almost daily and I keep gaining again. It's very upsetting. Also, feel free to add me and help me out... I'm 5'9, and would like to weigh 140.

You body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You can not make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

What is the exact number of calories for you?

We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal bodyweight no matter what some calculator or chart says.

In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
calculators and text books say otherwise.

This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
was just a bit off.

-John Barban (The Body Centric Eating Guide from the Venus Index manuals)

While there is no "one size fits all" here are all the tips that worked for me: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/740340-i-lost-60-lbs-at-age-51-anyone-can-any-workout

I frequently wont lose any weight for 4 weeks at a time then lose 4-5lbs in the next week or two

I believe its normal for your weight loss to not be linear

A stall or plateau is at least 3 weeks of no measurement changes, weight or many spots measured, while deficit was supposedly there.

Just as you can't spot reduce, can't spot measure either, so many spots like forearms, biceps, neck, chest, waist, hips, thigh, calf.

So if you reached 3 weeks of no changes at all, you have successfully lowered your metabolism such that your avg daily burn is now what you are eating. You are eating at maintenance.

Or you did lose weight and eating didn't adjust down as it should have?

The bummer is when metabolism drops lower than the weight off would indicate.

What had been your initial loss weekly avg, and what was your total deficit each day avg?
That means the 500 or 1000 that MFP already put in there, and if you didn't understand and eat back exercise calories, how much more did you add to that already big deficit?