What am I doing wrong?

Hi there. I looked at your diary and noticed that for the past week, at least, you've been eating what look like a lot of high sodium foods. high sodium can mean water retention. Are you drinking plenty of water? You might want to try tracking your sodium levels and see if it has any impact.

Your # of calories are fine for your size. People here are going to tell you to eat more but they are taller or male. On days you do burn more than 300 then you should eat more. But right now your body seems to be holding onto what you consume. You need to watch your sodium and eat more fiber and drink more water add ice and flavor if you have to in order to drink more and limit carbonated sodas. Good luck. Add me a 5'2" female if you want to.:happy:

Hi there, I took a look at your diary and just a few observations -

LOT's of processed foods
some sketchy logging (homemade garlic bread 100 calories?) and quick adds?
it seems you stick to low cals for 4 or 5 days and then have a high calorie day

You should try to eat more fresh fruit and veggies
more protein - eggs, greek yogurt, cheese, chicken, turkey, fish
less processed foods and treats
You could actually up your calories and add more healthy and nutritious foods and stay consistent with that number rather than having spike days
Also - shake up your exercise routines. I love yoga, it's beneficial on a lot of levels! But if you're not doing 'power yoga' or a more challenging form of yoga you're not getting a whole lot of bang for your buck. Walking is awesome too. But since you are not seeing results it's time to light a fire and get moving with something more challenging!

Just had a look at your diary and I would say that it might be a good idea to cut out some of those processed foods and start eating more fresh home made meals. The sodium comments are right so cutting back on the processed foods will immediately help with that and also drinking more water (I am AWFUL for water drinking :-/)

Also I would suggest you try splitting your calories up more evenly over the day and having a bigger breakfast. I tend to have a big bowl of bran cereal with fruit and it fills me up until lunch.

Get snacking too, that should curb hunger which often leads to just having a big evening meal and going a bit overvoard. This was always my problem.

Good luck

I looked at your diet and exercise diary and let me say these things. First of all, EXERCISE MORE. If your goal is to eat 1300 calories a day you do that and burn 300 calories walking/running/ANYTHING CARDIO...then your NET calories are only 1000. Eating at a deficit temporarily DOES WORK!!! I do not eat my exercise calories but rarely. Only on special occasions, like my anniversary coming up. I typically burn 500 a day and I eat 1200. I'm losing anywhere between 1 and 2 lbs a week. It works!!!

Secondly, quit eating so much processed foods/carbs. Eat WAY MORE fruits and veggies (lower cal so you get to eat more) and push the water, at least 8 glasses a day. Try to get your necessary carbs from fruits and veggies and not breads/pastas/dough etc.... Much healthier for you and the processed foods are higher in sodium as well and if you're not getting the necessary water to flush that......it's a no win situation either.

Good luck!!!

I tend to stay under my 1300 calories and don't lose anything. I hate this 168-172 range. I began yoga again this morning. I walk my butt off all day at work also. 60-100 crunches every other day and nothing???

Your 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, hormones, 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 cannot 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.