so frustrated!!

Do. Or do not. There is no try.

Your post is full of I try, for both eating and workouts. Log consistently, and you will likely find your answers.

I just posted pretty much the same thing and topic......I am only on week 4, but have lost only 2 lbs total and I am frustrated too.....I am 47 and feel like I am starting to go through the change as I have put on a ton of weight and cant seem to lose it. Friend me and lets try and work on this together and maybe we both can jump this hurdle.

i have been working out consistently for quite a few years now. i have always been able to lose and then maintains my weight. however, in the last six months i have gained 5lbs i cant get rid of! i am still working out, and i have been working on my diet. i used to run but i now have plantar fasciitis. so i do elliptical and ride stationary bike. i also lift weights and we have the total gym. the scale is NOT budging. it could be muscle, but am too pessimistic to hope for that! and it seems too sudden that over night i have gained muscle.....it feels like all this happened so suddenly. i am 39, and i know that as women get older it is harder to lose weight. i just dont understand what is going on with my body right now. i have even went up a size! i log my food almost everyday, or i try too. and from what i can tell, i am under my calorie goal almost everyday. i feel like whatever i put in my mouth puts weight on. i am very hard on myself and i expect alot from myself. i have a desk job and try to get up and move throughout the day. so, i try to workout pretty hard when i get home. I just dont understand any of this and could use some help and advice!

This is me... It started for me when I hit 40... everything was harder. I did manage to lose and keep off 40#s for 6 years now.. but I still have a good 40-50 to take off.. for the last 3 years... it has been losing and gaining the same 15-20 pounds... super frustrating.
It could be hormonal. there are so many hormones that play different rolls in our bodies. I wish I could give you the answers.. I am just finally starting to see results again...I have tried many, many different combos. I am seeing results with more protein, lifting more weights and taking supplements to help balance hormones.
It is a very personal and often a woman.. problem (at this age).... I had a MALE doctor tell me... "just eat 1200 calories"... ah... I had been doing that and measuring and weighing everything for over 2 years... I was getting no results... that is why I went for help... talk about frustrating... this was my doc of 25 years..... I almost let myself go into a depression... ( which is easy to do if your hormones are out of whack!)
Realize that you need to do the work for yourself... write down everything.. all your moods, what you eat... how it makes you feel... try to narrow down what your imbalance is and then you can supplement with foods or health supplements.
You can see doctors... but I found that they either didnt understand... or wanted to give me prozac... " to help with the stress...." ya, right! You can do this... no body cares more about you than you... it might takes some work... but you can do it! Good Luck!

I'm 44, and have been working on losing weight/getting fit for a little over three years. Been on and off the wagon a few times the first couple of years, hit my short term goals, gained some back, worked at it again, lost some more, etc, etc.

Finally decided enough was enough, got back to logging in here every day, logging all my food and exercise, no matter what. I weigh and measure foods, and was surprised at how over and under I had been when just estimating portions and serving sizes! I've been consistent, hitting 555 consecutive days logging in here at MFP.

However I think the best success I've had has been over the last year, starting around this time in 2012 - I found this topic: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

Excellent info there, with step by step instructions and link to tools to calculate how much you should be eating for your weight/fat loss goals. There is also info on setting up not just your daily calories, but the macros (carbs/fat/protein). Since starting with this method, I have consistently lost fat, inches and pounds, even hitting my goal weight and a little lower.

I work out 5-6 days a week, for about an hour or less each day - 3 days of strength/resistance type work at home with my dumbbells, and the other 3 days I run, average of 3-5 miles. I always take at least one rest day, sometimes two, and occasionally a full week. I ate 1800+ calories for most of the last year (didn't even gain during the holidays, and enjoyed all the foods!), and recently upped my daily intake to 1950.

Check out the topic - it's a LOT of info, I think I read it five times before I started to wrap my head around it. Follow the steps for calculating your numbers as directed in the thread (they are slightly different that what the Fat2Fit website says in one area), and then the directions for setting up your numbers here.

Like I said - the best success I've had has been over the past year, all since I started following the Road Map. My diary is open, feel free to have a look, and there are few comparison and progress pics in my profile too.

I looked at your diary, and it's really hard to give advice because it's impossible to see what you're doing right or wrong. Every day you have "quick add" calories, sometimes hundreds of calories worth. Are these accurate, or are you guessing? What kind of nutrients are you getting from these, and how might that change your carb/fat/protein breakdown?

So my first recommendation is to log properly. Don't see the exact item you ate? Either enter it yourself, or find a similar item. Enter your recipes in the recipe builder to get nutritional profiles for those, too. I totally agree with the poster who said you need a food scale, too. Track everything accurately for a week, then if you're still having trouble, come back and ask again and we'll be better equipped to help you.

In the meantime, yes--do check out In Place of a Road Map. It might be that your goals need to be reworked.

Best of luck!

I work in a hospital and they put calories on their menu. So each dish they serve on any given day will have calories included so I use those numbers

So find a dish in the database that comes in at the same calorie count, and use that instead. That way you'll at least have some idea of how much you're getting of protein, fat, carbs, etc. Like if your cafeteria serves tuna casserole at 350 calories a serving, search the database for a 350-calorie tuna casserole instead of just putting in the calorie count.

For the things you find but you didn't eat a whole cup, you can put in fractions. Again, that will give you a better idea of what nutrients you're getting.

If you're pretty sure that your calorie estimates are accurate, then one thing you should do is make sure you're eating enough. I saw many days where you were well under your calorie goal. Eating too little can slow your metabolism. But since you said you haven't been weighing or measuring your food, that's still the first place to start. Weigh. Measure. Log the actual items. Eat to your calorie goal. I think it will make a difference.