Discouraged :(

It could just be water retention - us girlies do tend to suffer from it. I've found my weight can vary by as much as 6lb over the course of a few days. Good luck and don't despair...its a long road we travel!

I'm positive and absolutely sure it's not a bad weight gain! It sounds like muscle to me, you might not notice it now but if you keep going you will later, it's like weight loss, if you lose 3 lbs you are not going to notice it in you clothes at all, not until you lose a lot. do i make my point?

how's your sodium intake? hang in there, something is bound to give. like the bamboo tree. if you want more MFP friends, feel free to add me. I am on daily. MFP has been a timely godsend for me. take care. don't give up. you'll start seeing progress.

If you are eating 1500 calories a day, and you're starving, you need to take a look at the kind of food you are eating, and probably re-evaluate your numbers... you may need to eat more.

It could very well be water weight, or even a natural flux in your weight, hang in there if your doing the work it WILL pay off!!! Also I've heard that some people log their exercise at 1 calorie, apparently the estimated calorie burn from exercise is often inaccurate. So try just sticking to your calorie intake without including your exercise??

Do you weigh yourself in the morning before breakfast? if not you should, this will help with consistency

Good luck! Try not to be discouraged out bodies are complex and ever changing, and scales are not always reliable, hang in there things will turn around!!

I just browsed your diary over the past few weeks and have a few suggestions. First, don't give up! I spent the last few years " resolving" to lose weight but it was this past May when I started recording everything, substituting high fiber veggies for junk, and exercising more. At 55 years old, it's been slow but steady.

I THINK from your diary that you're a vegetarian (vegan?)? Most days you seem light on protein, and protein helps you feel fewer hunger cravings. If you have a smartphone get the Whole Foods app - it has lots or vegetarian recipes and each has nutritional content. I know those nutrigrain bars are fast, but try to set yourself up at breakfast with something more filling. I like FiberOne cereal with almond milk. Whole wheat tortilla with fat free refried beans and a sprinkle of cheese is good. If you eat eggs, it's quicker than you think to scramble an egg plus a few egg whites , fill a wheat tortilla, and some salsa.

I like pears too, but consider apples, blueberries, peaches (available frozen), citrus.. And you've got to amp up those veggies!! They're packed with nutrients and low in calories, which helps fill you up. Try a big green salad for lunch - add hard boiled egg or some chickpeas for protein, and dress it with a bit of salsa plus sour cream and a TINY bit of sweet relish - it's like a 1000 island dressing with far fewer calories. Try an apple instead of the applesauce.

Be sure to WEIGH your food. I use a digital kitchen scale and I realized my version of an ounce of cheese was way off. I love cheese but limit it and try to pile on lettuce and tomatoes when I have a sandwich. I also always underreport my calorie count from exercise because I don't want to overcompensate. That said, I do a 2 hour workout most weekends and eat more then so I don't feel deprived. I've learned to love my big salads and veggies and rarely feel starved. The occasional times my stomach growls at me, I drink a full glass of water before eating.

Stick with it and try to eat a little healthier by slowly subbing more natural, high fiber and nutrient foods, and you'll start to see results. Good luck!

Do you eat your exercise calories back? I have found that when I do, I don't lose anything. I eat them back on the weekends only (and usually stay under my cals during the week) and I lose an average of 4 pounds per month. It's different for everyone though, and might not work for you since you're already starving. Play around with it a little, and just know that it takes a long time. I know it's frustrating.

Sounds like water weight to me. About a month ago I did a 150 mile bike race, after the race i was 13 lb heavy, i was back to normal in 3 or so days. when you subject your body to lots of stress, its response is water. Limit your sodium and HFCS intake, be consistent in your diet, work out at least 3X a week and I promise you will lose weight. As some encouragement, i did just that and went from 295lb to 203lb in a year. the key is consistency, no compromises!

Good Luck!

I browsed your log (very briefly).

I just had one thought on your feeling that you're starving. Your target calories are very close to mine, so I can relate. The single most important thing for me has been my snacks. If I skip a snack, I become ravenous and then over eat. I see that you are including snacks, but that they aren't the type that are very filling.

My favorite go-to snacks that do the trick are a piece of fruit and cheese (string cheese is my fav), and homemade granola bars. The granola bars are higher in calorie than the junk granola bars you can buy at the store, but they are made with rolled oats, nuts, and dried fruit and they are very filling so I never feel the need to go back for seconds. Plus, they are my all-time favorite pre-workout snack that helps keep me going strong all the way to the end.

Hope I've helped some!

I looked at your diary. I would reset your percentages of Protein:Carb:Fat to 40%/40%/20%. I bet you will see a difference. I have been doing it for the past 12 days and have lost 11 lbs. I think the protein intake and carb reduction really helped. I'm more satisfied and not hungry all the time.

Hi :-). Would you be willing to share how you make your homemade granola bars? Thanks! Oops! This was supposed to show up for "Besophisticat." Hope it goes through :-).

Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

It could be water retention

You could have hit a plateau

Are you eating enough daily?

Human skeletal muscle weighs apx 1.06 g/cm3 while fat weighs 0.90 g/cm3, so an given an equal volume of fat and muscle the latter will weigh more. The best way to measure your progress is with callipers and a tape measure

No that I am one to be giving any advice, but you might try getting to bed a little earlier to make sure you get plenty of rest, then getting up early and exercising in the morning rather than late at night. I have former karate instructor who gets up every morning and the minute she rolls out of bed -- after a trip to the restroom and drink of water, of course -- hits the treadmill for at least 30 minutes or 1 mile, depending upon how she feels.

This revs her metabolism so that she is burning more calories all day long. By exercising at night, you're probably not able to be as strenuous, because you're already tired and go right to bed, which is burning almost no calories at all. Better to rev your metabolic rate early in the morning and burn all day.

If you want to do a little workout at night, try some strength training, as opposed to cardio, a couple nights per week. You can do it while you're watching TV and never even miss a step.