My weight has not budged in a couple weeks...

I tend to find my weight sticks if I get stuck in a rut and eat the same foods on a daily basis. Try mixing it up and adding in plenty of fresh fruit. I don't know how to view your diaries so I can't see what you're eating but I hope this helps.

Also, try having a look at how many calories you'd need to take in to maintain your current weight. You'll see it's actually not that different to how much you need to eat to lose weight, so going over your calories by a few hundred really can make a difference between losing and maintaining.

Don't beat yourself up though, you're not gaining weight and that's a big plus!!

I didn't take a look at your meals or activity, but depending on level of activity, you may need to increase your calories a bit. It may sound counterintuitive, however, MFP sets many peoples calories at 1200. So much depends on your resting metabolic rate, level of activity and so many other things. Click the search button in the message boards and type in Plateau or BMR -- there is such much information out here already.

Good luck.

Now, what I am about to say may be skewered and ridiculed, and even derided by others here, but this is what has worked for me, YMMV. I have done this three times, and I have lost 36 pounds so far.

I have gone off watching calories and quit exercising for seven days. I did not pig out, but I ate until I was full ( I was reasonable, was not ridiculous about overeating) and I did not exercise. That week I did not gain or lose. The next week, I went back to the MFP tracking and exercise plan, and the pounds dropped, and I lost weight every week for six weeks after, then I plateaued for two weeks. When I hit my plateau, I did it again.

I have been working to lose weight for five months now, and have lost 36 pounds, and have had two two slight upturns in my weight during that time (not during my "off-times", though, weirdly enough).

Sometimes you have to make your body think it no longer has to store fat- that the famine os over, and it will kick start your metabolism.

May not work for you, but it has been a good trick for me.

Now, what I am about to say may be skewered and ridiculed, and even derided by others here, but this is what has worked for me, YMMV. I have done this three times, and I have lost 36 pounds so far.

I have gone off watching calories and quit exercising for seven days. I did not pig out, but I ate until I was full ( I was reasonable, was not ridiculous about overeating) and I did not exercise. That week I did not gain or lose. The next week, I went back to the MFP tracking and exercise plan, and the pounds dropped, and I lost weight every week for six weeks after, then I plateaued for two weeks. When I hit my plateau, I did it again.

I have been working to lose weight for five months now, and have lost 36 pounds, and have had two two slight upturns in my weight during that time (not during my "off-times", though, weirdly enough).

Sometimes you have to make your body think it no longer has to store fat- that the famine os over, and it will kick start your metabolism.

May not work for you, but it has been a good trick for me.

I think sometimes your muscles need a break too. Sometimes people pack on so much muscle weight the scale doesnt budge when they lose fat weight.

Are you eating a variety of food? Sometimes when you eat the same things for too long, you won't lose weight. Might have to change things up a little.

Also, try having a look at how many calories you'd need to take in to maintain your current weight. You'll see it's actually not that different to how much you need to eat to lose weight, so going over your calories by a few hundred really can make a difference between losing and maintaining.

^^^THIS! Listen to this voice of reason.

Once again, without really reading what the OP had written, there are automatic responses for her to EAT MORE!

Did you miss the fact that she HAS eaten more in the past 2 weeks, even going over by 900 calories in one day?? If eating more was the answer to her losing weight, then she should have LOST MORE in the past 2 weeks eating at a higher calorie level!

Like the above responder said, there isn't much room between losing calorie level and maintaining calorie level. Most people are off by 10-20% in their actual calorie intake due to mistakes made in logging and underestimate some portions sizes, etc. Add to that the OVERestimating of exercise calories burned, and one can quickly negate all of their deficit calories when they choose to eat even half of their exercise calories back. Even if they are eating completely clean. It still comes down to calories consumed vs calories burned.

I would suggest that the OP adds up all calories eaten during the past 2 weeks, to find your average daily intake, without considering exercise calories. You might find that it is considerably more than you thought. Also look at your last full month, or even 2 months losses. If you lost several pounds in the 2 weeks before the 2 week stall, your body may just be catching up. Losing isn't a steady process. I can go 2 weeks without a loss, then lose 3 pounds the following Water weight fluctuates daily. Muscles can swell with water for a few days after a hard workout. Sodium levels can affect you weight, etc.

Be patient. Be extra diligent measuring and logging everything. Drink your water. Add more veggies and decrease any sugar or simple carbs you might still have in your diet. And did I mention be patient? Don't panic. Keep at it and you will reach your goal.

You seem to work out quite a bit.

1. Do you measure yourself?
2. 1200 calories net a day??? Are you exceptionally short or do you have a medical problem that your net calorie goal is so low? It is the ABSOLUTE minimum that's suggested. Since you work out quite a bit, even your BMR is likely to be a bit higher (you burn more calories just sitting down than someone who doesn't work out), so you need to fuel your body. You also still have a way to go, so there is NO WAY that you can survive on so little calories a day. NO WAY!!! Stop this insanity now and increase your calories before you do lasting damage. 1200 calories is NOT a guideline, it is an absolute minimum to stop people taking things to extremes.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

There has been at least one post a day on here from ladies who have stopped losing. You know what is the surprising thing? They are all on 1200 calories a day. In this entire time, I'm yet to see a lady complain about reaching a plateau with more calories than that - it's always the ones with less.

I think you may have hit a plateau, I'm doing the same right now... not lost any weight for a few weeks. I am continuing as normal and if nothing happens by next week then I will add more walking to my regime and see how it goes. I'm not stressing over it, it'll come good at some point!

One thing I noticed:

You have cardio and fitbit calorie adjustments in the same day...
If you are going to let fitbit automatically update your profile, do not add your exercise on MFP. That one day you had over 1000 exercise calories to eat was probably more like 500.
Be careful, you might be double eating them some days.

From what I understand, when you manually enter an exercise, it over rides the fitbit adjustment. If this is not the case, I need to then remove my fitbit when I use my HRM for exercising.

I am always going to have a fitbit and a manual. I wear my fitbit 24/7 this is because I have my settings at sedentary and allow my fitbit to make up the activity difference. That way on my lazy days I am eating between 1200 and 1500 and on my extra active days I am getting an accurate calorie count for running around, cleaning and such.

I know when I manually enter an exercise if I haven't used enough cal burned fitbit will add an adjustment down. Now if I enter too much fitbit puts a zero adjustment out there. I won't really know I entered too much. If you are taking your fitbit off while using your HRM I think you are probably ok.

Once you've got your calories all figured out and you know you're in a proper deficit (not too low, yet at a deficit), then you're probably in a plateau. This is make it or break it time, because this is where so many people quit. They are doing all this hard work and restricting their sweet tooth or whatever, and not seeing any changes, so they give up. This is where you power through and stay the course, no matter how long it takes. Sometimes I go a couple of months without a loss on the scale, but like zewolf said, my measurements will change. Stay the course, and it will pay off.

You seem to work out quite a bit.

1. Do you measure yourself?
2. 1200 calories net a day??? Are you exceptionally short or do you have a medical problem that your net calorie goal is so low? It is the ABSOLUTE minimum that's suggested.

(Suggested by whom? The CDC has stated that levels as low as 800 for women and 900 for men, depending on their weight and height, can be a safe calorie level as long as they are receiving proper nutrients. Simply adding 400 calories of donuts to a otherwise healthy diet, does not make it more acceptable)


Since you work out quite a bit, even your BMR is likely to be a bit higher (you burn more calories just sitting down than someone who doesn't work out), so you need to fuel your body. You also still have a way to go, so there is NO WAY that you can survive on so little calories a day. NO WAY!!!

(NO WAY? Really? There is NO WAY that someone could survive on 1200 calories per day? Wow, there must be a lot of dead people on this site!)

Stop this insanity now and increase your calories before you do lasting damage. 1200 calories is NOT a guideline, it is an absolute minimum to stop people taking things to extremes.

(so it isn't a guideline? Funny, but since MFP states that 1200 is the minimum for losing at a healthy rate, it sure sounds like a guideline to me. I sure haven't read anywhere on here that says you will certainly DIE if you eat at 1200 per day. Perhaps you are being just a tiny bit OVERDRAMATIC? )

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

There has been at least one post a day on here from ladies who have stopped losing. You know what is the surprising thing? They are all on 1200 calories a day. In this entire time, I'm yet to see a lady complain about reaching a plateau with more calories than that - it's always the ones with less.

(I think maybe you need to read more posts, then. EVERYONE at one time has a stall in their weight loss. No matter is they eat 1200 or 3000 calories per day. It is just that some people are happy losing a half pound per month and some people would rather lose 1-2 pounds per week. Oh Gasp! The horror! I know MANY MANY women who have lost a lot of weight and have kept it off eating around the 1200 level, or even less on occasion. Of course you will most likely say that they have lost all their muscle mass and will eventually gain it all back, so even if they have kept it off for 10 years and are stronger than they have ever been, you will stick to the same old tired recycled garbage you hear. So have fun in that world of fear-mongering where you have all the answers for everyone, for you are the weight loss GOD!

Take a chill pill dude!)

That is a very interesting concept. I will try it for myself. Thanks for that information.

I've finally come to the mindset that the weight didn't pile on over night, so I can't look for an over night solution to take it off if I want to keep it off. I've changed my life. I've changed my eating habits. I've committed to exercise (I just got back from a run, run my first obstacle 5K on Saturday). The results will come.

I keep trying to remind myself that too. I was "stuck" also and getting very frustrated but didn't let it make me go back to old habits and skip the gym ... Finally broke through whatever barrier was there and started losing again.