Not Losing - Advice Appreciated

Reduce Calories by 250 a day for 2 weeks (Meaning just eat 250 less daily, don't decrease it 250 more every day), see if you have any progress.

Make sure you are drinking enough water, and this is key. Make sure you are sleeping enough. Sleep is key to weight loss, and many people over look it.

The key to weight loss is burn more calories than you consume. Nothing to do with sleep or water.

Correct, but guess what.. Sleep and Water both promote hormonal balances in your body, which help your....get this.. metabolism.. which controls ... how many calories you burn.. Thus making it easier to burn more calories then you consume.

Your metabolism isn't this set thing like mfp has.. You don't burn a set 1900 calories a day... it will be different each and every day and it fluctuates, proper sleep, hydration, and rest, will promote your metabolism and will help you burn and use the fuel more efficiently. Hormones are a **** in other words :-D From reading your profile and seeing you are a lifter I'd expect you to know that most of all. Train hard, and rest hard bro.

Yes you're right it can help, but isn't required. My sleep is gettig better but through my weight loss it was crappy, and sometimes i noticed i only drank 1L of water a day. In theory you're supposed to drink half your bodyweight in oz. one litter is like um... 33.8oz when I was suppose to be drinking like 150oz.

Water is important don't get me wrong, i am just saying she should focus on the most importat ting and keep it simple. We ca sit here tell her to drink x amount of water, eat x amount o calories at these ratios, exercise this way, ad sleep this many hours..
just to complex, keep it simple. No need for her to be chugging down a gallon or more of water a day.

When I played football trainers always pushed us to get at least 6-8 hours of sleep even when we weren't in season. Water was always told, clear urine is the guideline.. clear urine by the afternoon. Not a set amount. Every body will be different.

Yes I agree. Clear urine is a good thing, 8hrs rest is also good. Look at it from my point of view, obviously i was severely obese. You think i could do a 180 on my diet and eat "healthy food" and magically lose all this weight? It doesn't work like that. You need to take baby steps towards your goal.

Her goal is to lose weight, the only thing she needs to worry about is calories. Once she gts that down, then i'd recommend paying attention to the other things you mentioned. The more complex a system the more likely it will fail.

I just don't think trying to get sleep and drinking more water should be something considered complexing a system compared to cutting calories. Cutting calories is way harder then laying your head down longer and replacing a soda beverage or juice with clear substance. I'm not saying it has to be done all at once, these are just goals to shoot for.

I had this issue a few weeks ago. I had a great drop the first few weeks and then it stalled. I realized I was working out more and wasn't eating enough! You need to get 1200 calories NET. So if you eat 1600 but exercise 600 off you need to eat at least 200 more. Also watch your sugar and salt intake. So far so good for me.

It is more than calories in vs. calories out. From reading your posts, I think you've tried that and it hasn't worked. It may work for somet people, but the human metabolism is more complicated than that.

I would say that you need to begin to try other things. People have mentioned cutting out the sweets. In reviewing your diary, I would agree. At least cutting down to only 1 per day for now. This includes your sweet/salty bars (I'd keep that as your "treat"). I'd also recommend upping your protein (lean meats, lowfat cheese, beans, etc) while cutting your intake of "white" carbs. Replace white bread with whole wehat/grain bread. Replace a pasta dinner with whole grain or quinoa pasta as a side dish - lean meat as the main dish and veggies. Which leads me to another thing to try - more veggies and fruits. There are lots of ways to do this. I know it isn't easy.

I would also go for organic meats and cheeses as much as possible. Some people (like me) are very sensitive to hormones and it is vitally necessary to reduce my exposure/intake to meats and cheeses from animal pumped full of hormones and corn products.

Lastly, eat your "Carbier" meals for breakfast or lunch. I would try to eat low carb for dinner and not snack before bed time. There is science behind this suggestion. I try to have my last meal before 8 pm and am usually asleep by 10-11. I usually eat my dinner far earlier than that though (4:30-5 pm) because of my work and workout schedule, but have the 8pm rule to allow for protein shakes or "dinner with friends" type situations.

I realize that you don't want so many "rules," but I think you should at least try to do some of these things. You will not be perfect - no one is, but you can try your best. I hope you find what works for you!

ETA - And your calorie number looks fine for now. You might try adding in 2 full body weights workouts/week. A lot of progress can be made with just a few exercises to begin with. Muscle helps metabolism.

I love the arguing, everyone has an opinion. Calorie deficit = weight loss. In this respect a calorie is a calorie. However, a higher protein diet can lead to higher muscle retension and increased FAT loss... and isn't that ultimately the goal? Also, eating clean and eating higher protein/ low carb may not change numbers on the scale specifically if you are counting calories, but I have found that eating this way does make it far easier to stick to my calories and not feel hungry or have cravings for junk food. As for sleep, I am sure it is great... but I have lost 38 pounds and have a 5 month old. Last night I got 4 hours of consecutive sleep and this was a good night. Therefore, although sleep is important and I am sure helpful, you can still lose weight without it:) Best of luck with your weight loss journey. If you keep eating at a calorie deficit and continue working out the weight loss, fat loss, and inches lost will come. Be patient:)

The answer is 1960.

pick this method or the other one above (TDEE * 0.80)

Yes, as you will see in my original post, this is what I am doing. My TDEE - 20% is 1960, so I'm eating 1950 a day.

But are you NETTING the 1950 per day? if not then I would say you are not eating enough to offset the calories burned in your workouts.

Too many processed carbs, too much sugar (2 sugary snacks in a day?), little to no veggies - from what I saw in your food diary.

^This! It looks like you eat out a lot, even if you're deconstructing what is in your meal sometimes to add to your diary, it doesn't look like you're bringing your digital scale out to eat with you. The problem with this, even when nutritional information is given, it's generally not all that accurate or there is a disparity between reported serving sizes and what is actually scooped onto your plate. Often times, eating out (or with pre-packed, processed foods you buy in the grocery store), you're eating 20% (or greater) more calories than you would assume based on nutritional info. Combine that with potentially over exaggerated calorie burns and you're not nearly in the calorie deficit you think you are. Honestly, I would cut some of these snacks, cut out some parts of meals (all the dressings, breading, crackers, "food accessories"), or make more healthful substitutions.

But also!

You're probably retaining some water. Give your body more time to adjust to your new activities and remember that your initial loss was mostly water. With added exercise and upping calories, you're retaining more water. Be patient, stick with it, some small adjustments to your foods would make a lot of difference i think.