What am I doing wrong?

My sympathy for how frustrating this is--but losing a couple of inches is a great start.
I have to ask if you are still drinking soda or even diet soda because quality of calories does matter--a lot!
After being stuck I went into Reports and really broke down my eating. I cut out my favorite beverage and replaced it with
sparkly water. I let go of most of the dairy I consume, most of the wheat, all potatoes, reduced my sugar by half......and suddenly I've lost another 5 pounds.
Funny thing is I don't miss those things.

I've fighting the same battle.check with your doctor to have your thyroid tested.I works against us. I have to stay away from any processed and flour products to keep the weight off.good luck and keep up the good work

I would like to see your diary too, coz im in the same boat as you.

I did find that I'd go through periods of losing and gaining the same pound for a bit, but it was usually only about 2-3 weeks. Something is going right as you've lost inches which is good.

You've only cleaned up your diet for 2-3 weeks, so give it a few more and see how you get on. Make sure you eat back some of your exercise calories. I found that it worked for me to eat around 1500 calories a day everyday, but not eat back exercise calories on the days I exercised - I tended to save them for the weekend so I could go out for a meal or a couple of drinks with my friends. I lost about 2lbs a month, which was my intention. Overall I lost 28lbs doing it that way.

Don't know if that's any help - there are lots of threads on here about TDEE and BMR which are useful, but I've not used that until I came to work out my maintenance calories.

you are an experiment of one!
you need to find what works for you!
there is no silver bullet!

my personal opinion will not be the same as everyone else. This is good.
Absorb what you need. Discard what is false.

I do not know you, or have enough data on what you've asked.
so I will attempt this "blind".
For this, I will try and give you a temporary solution! Then you will need to revise it for yourself.
The same thing we start with may not continue to work in the long term.
You will adapt!
This is why the human race is so prevalent and we haven't died out (yet).

1. Do the follow for 6 weeks. You must be committed.
2. This is temporary, everything is temporary. It up to you to make it the best it can be always.
3. Stop eating pasta, bread, rice, potato.
4. Reduce alcohol to 1 day a week
5. Consume bacon & eggs for breakfast - cook the bacon under the grill, fry the eggs in butter or lard
6. For lunch, consume meat & 2 x veg. Do not use sauces.
7. For dinner, consume meat & 2 x veg. Do not use sauces.
8. Stay within your given kcals.
9. One day a week, allow a "blow-out" day. Try not to treat this as a "cheat" day. They are different. Eat as much as you like.
10. Eat your exercise kcals.
11. Do NOT do SLOW cardio!
12. Pay a PT to show you how to do the BIG 5! Later you can mature and do more exotic odd object & chaotic lifting. No yet!
13. Do the BIG 5, twice a week.
14. Twice a week, do sprints. NOT LSD running. SPRINTS! Warmup, sprint for a distance. Recover. Repeat. Your ratio should be 2:1. Don't go over 20 minutes.
15. Once a week, have a fun day of skill exercise. E.g. swim, bike, jog etc... It doesn't matter. Don't go too hard!
16. Educate your self! Read everything out there. Do not assume it to be true. Do not assume it will work. Try stuff for 6 weeks. Blog it. Diary it. Understand yourself. LEarn what makes you work!
17. Measure effectively. e.g. I wish to lose 5lbs of body fat over 6 weeks, I will do this by doing the following exercise on these dates throughout this period. I will consume nnn kcals per day. I will have one blowout day per week. I will drop n inches over this period etc... Write down what you're going to do. It's your plan. Stick with it. Remember. IT IS TEMPORARY.
18. Understand the metabolic/cellular response. Read about it.
19. Understand exercise isn't all even! There is skill based vs transferable. Skill based helps you get good at the skill. It may NOT produce the effect you desire. Building muscle strength is transferable. Skill based is NOT. YOU WILL NOT GET BIG! Guys cannot get BIG. Getting strength is different to body building. The elite either CHEAT or they naturally have a gene that allows them to succeed. Look at elite swimmers. They look like clones. That doesn't mean everyone can be like them. They are the right size & shape to succeed in their sport. Go to a local swim club. Everyone is a different size! Read about it.
20. Twice a week, skip breakfast or skip lunch. You WILL NOT go into a catabolic state!
21. Drink water if you're hungry. If still hungry, eat some cheese. Wait 15 minutes. Repeat cycle.
22. Understand we are most likely to be fat/protein/carb animals. We need fat first, followed by protein. Carbs are out LAST choice.
23. Run properly! Read up on minimal shoes. Understand them. Vibrams are great. BUT....experienced runners injure themselves with them BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO IMPATIENT. Build your time and speed slowly.
24. EDUCATE YOURSELF!
25. Every 6 weeks. Re-assess. Whatever has happened is temporary. You now may need to TUNE it. e.g. CHANGE is everything.

Some further reading:-
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/welcome-to-marks-daily-apple/#axzz2N8pXt5kU
http://www.fathead-movie.com/
http://www.leangains.com/
http://garytaubes.com/

some videos:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnwIKZhrdt4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNYlIcXynwE
http://www.bodybyscience.net/home.html/?page_id=18

Good luck!
It is your life!
It is within your grasp to be the best you can be

You are probably not eating enough. CLX alone requires around 1600-1800+ calories.. then you add in additional calorie from running and you will need 2000+... so my question is... are you eating 2000+ calories?

I'll repeat

my personal opinion will not be the same as everyone else. This is good.
Absorb what you need. Discard what is false.

it's temporary. only for 6 weeks.

here's a summary, so it's easy to remember:-
eat meat & veg. don't eat processed food. exercise to gain strength.

the reason I suggest having a blow-out day, it allows people to get through their week if they find it difficult.

also, I've experimented overeating with carbs and with meat n veg.
I did 700kcals over per day for 2 weeks with carbs and put on 1.5kgs
I did 700kcals over per day for 6 weeks with meat n veg and didn't put any weight on.

something isn't quite right with kcals!

Specifically, a calorie is the amount of energy, or heat, it takes to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit). One calorie is equal to 4.184 joules, a common unit of energy used in the physical sciences.

have a read:-
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/opinion/sunday/what-really-makes-us-fat.html?_r=0

everyone who has trained with me has learned it's 70% diet, 20% exercise (strength & conditioning) & 10% rest.
when they've engaged this, ALL of them have got to their desired weight, most within 6 weeks.
We're talking 95kgs guys dropping down to 85kgs within 6-10 weeks.

oh...and everyone did a blow-out day

But it's up to the individual to read the material and put their own hypothesis to the pros/cons!

Since dropping carbs & modifying my training I'm better than ever! I'm been into exercise since I was a kid and now I'm 42!
Still learning! If someone has something constructive to say, write it up. We should all be learning about the options out there!

Is that a Dairy Queen Blizzard? Maybe start there?

I also have been doing this since January and I have lost 20 lbs and i have not exercised one bit. Without being able to see your diary i can only guess that it has to do with what you are eating. Please dont feel defeated as we all change in different ways. We didnt all gain wait over night so please dont think it will come off that way either.Feel free to add me as a friend if you like. Stay strong and keep moving forward.:happy:

well you're a man, and we all know you have magic weight loss abilities

you are an experiment of one!
you need to find what works for you!
there is no silver bullet!

my personal opinion will not be the same as everyone else. This is good.
Absorb what you need. Discard what is false.

I do not know you, or have enough data on what you've asked.
so I will attempt this "blind".
For this, I will try and give you a temporary solution! Then you will need to revise it for yourself.
The same thing we start with may not continue to work in the long term.
You will adapt!
This is why the human race is so prevalent and we haven't died out (yet).

1. Do the follow for 6 weeks. You must be committed.
2. This is temporary, everything is temporary. It up to you to make it the best it can be always.
3. Stop eating pasta, bread, rice, potato.
4. Reduce alcohol to 1 day a week
5. Consume bacon & eggs for breakfast - cook the bacon under the grill, fry the eggs in butter or lard
6. For lunch, consume meat & 2 x veg. Do not use sauces.
7. For dinner, consume meat & 2 x veg. Do not use sauces.
8. Stay within your given kcals.
9. One day a week, allow a "blow-out" day. Try not to treat this as a "cheat" day. They are different. Eat as much as you like.
10. Eat your exercise kcals.
11. Do NOT do SLOW cardio!
12. Pay a PT to show you how to do the BIG 5! Later you can mature and do more exotic odd object & chaotic lifting. No yet!
13. Do the BIG 5, twice a week.
14. Twice a week, do sprints. NOT LSD running. SPRINTS! Warmup, sprint for a distance. Recover. Repeat. Your ratio should be 2:1. Don't go over 20 minutes.
15. Once a week, have a fun day of skill exercise. E.g. swim, bike, jog etc... It doesn't matter. Don't go too hard!
16. Educate your self! Read everything out there. Do not assume it to be true. Do not assume it will work. Try stuff for 6 weeks. Blog it. Diary it. Understand yourself. LEarn what makes you work!
17. Measure effectively. e.g. I wish to lose 5lbs of body fat over 6 weeks, I will do this by doing the following exercise on these dates throughout this period. I will consume nnn kcals per day. I will have one blowout day per week. I will drop n inches over this period etc... Write down what you're going to do. It's your plan. Stick with it. Remember. IT IS TEMPORARY.
18. Understand the metabolic/cellular response. Read about it.
19. Understand exercise isn't all even! There is skill based vs transferable. Skill based helps you get good at the skill. It may NOT produce the effect you desire. Building muscle strength is transferable. Skill based is NOT. YOU WILL NOT GET BIG! Guys cannot get BIG. Getting strength is different to body building. The elite either CHEAT or they naturally have a gene that allows them to succeed. Look at elite swimmers. They look like clones. That doesn't mean everyone can be like them. They are the right size & shape to succeed in their sport. Go to a local swim club. Everyone is a different size! Read about it.
20. Twice a week, skip breakfast or skip lunch. You WILL NOT go into a catabolic state!
21. Drink water if you're hungry. If still hungry, eat some cheese. Wait 15 minutes. Repeat cycle.
22. Understand we are most likely to be fat/protein/carb animals. We need fat first, followed by protein. Carbs are out LAST choice.
23. Run properly! Read up on minimal shoes. Understand them. Vibrams are great. BUT....experienced runners injure themselves with them BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO IMPATIENT. Build your time and speed slowly.
24. EDUCATE YOURSELF!
25. Every 6 weeks. Re-assess. Whatever has happened is temporary. You now may need to TUNE it. e.g. CHANGE is everything.

Some further reading:-
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/welcome-to-marks-daily-apple/#axzz2N8pXt5kU
http://www.fathead-movie.com/
http://www.leangains.com/
http://garytaubes.com/

some videos:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnwIKZhrdt4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNYlIcXynwE
http://www.bodybyscience.net/home.html/?page_id=18

Good luck!
It is your life!
It is within your grasp to be the best you can be

This is way too complicated and completely unnecessary at this point.

And no offense but most of your references are completely biased to one type of eating and can completely misguide people.

Thank you for calling this out on being confusing!! I'm reading this post because I am in the same boat - started cleaning things up at the end of December, and haven't seen results yet - and these are the kind of posts that are so defeating to me, because it makes it seem like you have to master every bit of that before one pound will even consider coming off. So thank you for saying that!

you are an experiment of one!
you need to find what works for you!
there is no silver bullet!

my personal opinion will not be the same as everyone else. This is good.
Absorb what you need. Discard what is false.

I do not know you, or have enough data on what you've asked.
so I will attempt this "blind".
For this, I will try and give you a temporary solution! Then you will need to revise it for yourself.
The same thing we start with may not continue to work in the long term.
You will adapt!
This is why the human race is so prevalent and we haven't died out (yet).

1. Do the follow for 6 weeks. You must be committed.
2. This is temporary, everything is temporary. It up to you to make it the best it can be always.
3. Stop eating pasta, bread, rice, potato.
4. Reduce alcohol to 1 day a week
5. Consume bacon & eggs for breakfast - cook the bacon under the grill, fry the eggs in butter or lard
6. For lunch, consume meat & 2 x veg. Do not use sauces.
7. For dinner, consume meat & 2 x veg. Do not use sauces.
8. Stay within your given kcals.
9. One day a week, allow a "blow-out" day. Try not to treat this as a "cheat" day. They are different. Eat as much as you like.
10. Eat your exercise kcals.
11. Do NOT do SLOW cardio!
12. Pay a PT to show you how to do the BIG 5! Later you can mature and do more exotic odd object & chaotic lifting. No yet!
13. Do the BIG 5, twice a week.
14. Twice a week, do sprints. NOT LSD running. SPRINTS! Warmup, sprint for a distance. Recover. Repeat. Your ratio should be 2:1. Don't go over 20 minutes.
15. Once a week, have a fun day of skill exercise. E.g. swim, bike, jog etc... It doesn't matter. Don't go too hard!
16. Educate your self! Read everything out there. Do not assume it to be true. Do not assume it will work. Try stuff for 6 weeks. Blog it. Diary it. Understand yourself. LEarn what makes you work!
17. Measure effectively. e.g. I wish to lose 5lbs of body fat over 6 weeks, I will do this by doing the following exercise on these dates throughout this period. I will consume nnn kcals per day. I will have one blowout day per week. I will drop n inches over this period etc... Write down what you're going to do. It's your plan. Stick with it. Remember. IT IS TEMPORARY.
18. Understand the metabolic/cellular response. Read about it.
19. Understand exercise isn't all even! There is skill based vs transferable. Skill based helps you get good at the skill. It may NOT produce the effect you desire. Building muscle strength is transferable. Skill based is NOT. YOU WILL NOT GET BIG! Guys cannot get BIG. Getting strength is different to body building. The elite either CHEAT or they naturally have a gene that allows them to succeed. Look at elite swimmers. They look like clones. That doesn't mean everyone can be like them. They are the right size & shape to succeed in their sport. Go to a local swim club. Everyone is a different size! Read about it.
20. Twice a week, skip breakfast or skip lunch. You WILL NOT go into a catabolic state!
21. Drink water if you're hungry. If still hungry, eat some cheese. Wait 15 minutes. Repeat cycle.
22. Understand we are most likely to be fat/protein/carb animals. We need fat first, followed by protein. Carbs are out LAST choice.
23. Run properly! Read up on minimal shoes. Understand them. Vibrams are great. BUT....experienced runners injure themselves with them BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO IMPATIENT. Build your time and speed slowly.
24. EDUCATE YOURSELF!
25. Every 6 weeks. Re-assess. Whatever has happened is temporary. You now may need to TUNE it. e.g. CHANGE is everything.

Some further reading:-
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/welcome-to-marks-daily-apple/#axzz2N8pXt5kU
http://www.fathead-movie.com/
http://www.leangains.com/
http://garytaubes.com/

some videos:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnwIKZhrdt4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNYlIcXynwE
http://www.bodybyscience.net/home.html/?page_id=18

Good luck!
It is your life!
It is within your grasp to be the best you can be

This is way too complicated and completely unnecessary at this point.

And no offense but most of your references are completely biased to one type of eating and can completely misguide people.

Thank you for calling this out on being confusing!! I'm reading this post because I am in the same boat - started cleaning things up at the end of December, and haven't seen results yet - and these are the kind of posts that are so defeating to me, because it makes it seem like you have to master every bit of that before one pound will even consider coming off. So thank you for saying that!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it

Thank you for calling this out on being confusing!! I'm reading this post because I am in the same boat - started cleaning things up at the end of December, and haven't seen results yet - and these are the kind of posts that are so defeating to me, because it makes it seem like you have to master every bit of that before one pound will even consider coming off. So thank you for saying that!

It's not nearly as complicated as people make it. Find a reasonable calorie goal. Weigh/measure your food and log everything. Be patient. Tweak as needed, but only after giving it time to work.

My sympathy for how frustrating this is--but losing a couple of inches is a great start.
I have to ask if you are still drinking soda or even diet soda because quality of calories does matter--a lot!
After being stuck I went into Reports and really broke down my eating. I cut out my favorite beverage and replaced it with
sparkly water. I let go of most of the dairy I consume, most of the wheat, all potatoes, reduced my sugar by half......and suddenly I've lost another 5 pounds.
Funny thing is I don't miss those things.

was your sugar cut down like sugar from fruit? or just sugar in general. Im always over on my sugar becuase of fruit. I love fruit but it seems like I might need to cut if out..

Here's a (probably silly) question: When do you weigh yourself -- is it the same time of day? Before, or after, a meal? What are you wearing - PJs or street clothes? (I was surprised to find how much clothes, wallet & keys weigh!)

Great Point! I weigh 5-7 lbs more before bed then I do 1st thing in the morning. So weird how that works.