Need some genuises

Same thing here...lost 12 pounds quick now nothing for 3 weeks I think it is my bodies way of pulling back the reins and trying to ajust and that the weight will move again soon. I will be curious to see the answers. Oh i forgot to mention I know a lot of the first 12 lbs was also water weight too.

As a genius, I have many ideas.

Patience and increased exercise intensity.
Oh, and the numbers are estimates

Actually measure your food, don't eyeball! Get out measuring cups or digital scales and spend a whole week measuring everything. Even if you did this when you first started, it's amazing how our eyes trick us. Anytime I plateau that has helped, learned that from doing Weight Watchers for the first 40 lbs.

Measure your proportions and log everythign. If you log a cup actually eat a cup. If you have ketchup on the burger log the ketchup. I was on a plateau for several weeks after loosing about 30-40lbs. I have only recently in the past month started coming back from that. I got away form logging correctly. I workout a min of 4 days a week for at least an hour a day and usually pretty intense, so I knew that had nothing to do with it. I debated my wife when she said it was because I was not logging correctly. In the end she was correct (ususally is) and I have finally started on the decline again.

So I think above all watch what you are eating. Make sure you are getting your food groups covered in all meals and accurately log ow much you are eating. Break out the measuing cups and measuring spoons. I'm guessing you will be suprised what you are actually eating vs. what you are logging. At least I was.

if you are logging all your food, then you aren't eating enough. and 1,500 is way too low for a man. way too low.

Are you exercising at least 5 days a week?

Eating less that 1200 calories is not nearly enough for a man. Some days you or only eating 500 or 600 calories. Try increasing your calories to a reasonable level and see what happens.

Ok, so I've been at this for quite some time now. I lost 7-8 pounds relatively quickly, but seem to be stuck there. I don't think it was the calorie counting guide on MFP that was the factor. According to the calorie counter I should be 10 lbs lighter. I am usually at or below the calorie count every day, but never seem to realize the weight loss MFP says I should be at. I've never started a post before or looked at anybody's diary, so I'm not sure how that works. Any ideas?

The counter is never right for me. It has said all year that I would weigh far less than I do, or even go into starvation mode (I'm very petite), but my doctor says I'm fine. Whenever in doubt check with your doctor.

For me it's all about a calorie budget. I had less of a budget available when I was losing weight, more to spend now that I'm maintaining and all the tools I used for weight loss come into play for the rest of my life maintaining.

When you have accumulated excess fat, you have accumulated a debt. It is hard to pay off the debt (you have less calories to spend). If you are sitting next to someone your same gender and height and they are not overweight and you are, they get to eat more than you (have more calories to spend) because they are debt free. You have less calories to spend because you are paying off your debt.

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.

To say eat more is wrong.

To say eat less is wrong.

To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.

All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.

Also people play mental accounting games with calories just like with finances. Make steps to make sure you are making accurate measurements. Packaged foods can have MORE than they say but not less (they get in trouble if less so they would rather error with MORE).

If you typically intake sodium at a certain rate your body adjusts, but if you make a sudden change then you will see a spike.

Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

It really is about calories. I tell people this all the time and they say "Well if calories are all that matter why do you eat so clean???!!" Well, because it makes me feel better, sleep better, and perform better at my sports.

Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.

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 Calorie Guide from the Venus Index and Adonis Index Manuals)

The good thing is you don't have to worry about the starvation mode myth if you are fat. Only skinny people have to worry about starvation mode. It does not mean you have the capability to eat at a large calorie deficit if you have emotional eating disorders or other issues going on, but at least you don't have to be afraid of it anymore.

The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)

Are you walking or running on the treadmill? A walk for 30 minutes to me is not considered cardio.

Of course a 30 minute walk is cardio, if his heart rate is increased to 125 why would it not be considered cardio????

Based on your stats and exercise, I would have you eat around 2000 calories... I would also alter your macro's to 35% carb, 40% protein and 25% fats. This combined with your resistance training you should be able to maintain your muscle mass as well as your metabolic rate.

Ok - changed macro we'll see what happens.

PS - give it a month to to allow your body to adjust.