nothing works frustrating and disappointed

1) Are you weighing out your food?

2) How long have you been eating at TDEE - 20%

Admittedly I'm not using scales every time I have a small handful worth of fruit, can estimate cereal and rice etc based on previous weighing but the rest I don't weigh gonna get myself some measurement cups to use properly. I have been eating around 1600 for a few Weeks now - it is never exactly that number every day sometimes up and sometimes down. I look at other peoples diaries and think I have a fairly balanceddiet I'm just stuck

That's probably your problem. Start weighing all of your food and measuring free-pouring liquids.

When I got down into a healthy weight range for my height and just wanted to lose the last 10 lbs I really had to tighten up on logging accuracy. I thought I was "stuck" around 145 lbs, but it turns out I just suck at estimating.

I'm sending you a message with a few suggestions. I hope they help!

~Andrea

Yes - weigh, measure, and count everything if you want the results. The most common cause of no progress is under-estimating how many calories you're eating.

Also, if you don't have much muscle mass, you have to be patient and give your workouts time to build muscle. Some of us have to build muscle before we can lose fat.

Accurate logging.

Eat the same amount of food every day if you are truly doing TDEE minus a percentage, as T stands for Total and includes exercise calories.

Cut back (don't eliminate) cardio.

Focus more on strength training, and lift heavier weights than the little pink 1.5lbs or whatever they are.

I agree withe the others, you should try weighing your food and also getting accurate calorie counts as some of the MFP counts are WAY off.

I also noted that some of the add backs from exercise might be high.

Even if you're just a bit off this could cause you to stall.

In all honesty, if you aren't weighing your food and accurately measuring your food, and you're overestimating calorie burn, you're going to gain or maintain.

You're likely eating closer to 2000 calories a day. And you're probably burning 2/3 of the calories you think. MFP isn't always accurate with calorie burns, and I see LOTS of overestimations. Cut the calorie burn by a third.

Hi there,

When starting any new program you most often will see a weight gain as your muscles are getting stronger and retaining fluid due to the new workout and strain. This can take up to 30 days. Be patient and give your body time to adjust to the new program(s)

To lose weight you'll want to increase your protein and be sure to meet your daily caloric needs vs starving. You may need to eat up to 1300 -1400 so your body doesn't think it's starving. If you've been eating low cal it will definitely take about 30 days to get your metabolism working for you again. Eat protein for your recover meal w/in 1 hr after your workout to help with fat loss and it will help you increase your calorie burn the next day too as you will have more energy!

When you are weight training you are gaining muscle so you may see a weight gain -- HOWEVER, that's good gain! More muscle means more fat burned as long as you are eating your caloric goal and staying on track. Keep on going! Another great way to see results is to take measurements and your body fat % info with a caliber. If you are close to your goal weight you may be leaning out and not seeing the results on the scale as the scale cannot tell the difference between fat and muscle. Weight training will also help you lean out and it sounds like this is the stage you are at. Weight training is what will change your body composition. HEAVY weights,low reps 2-3 x a week.

As stated above measure out your food for 21-30 days until you feel you have a good grasp on what a portion looks like - eat fruit close to your workouts as it has sugar.

Do you know how many calories you are burning during your workouts? This will help tremendously in knowing your caloric goals for the day too. Using a HRM is MORE accurate than using whats on MFP or any other site as the HRM can read your heart rate and intensity levels where MFP cannot . make sense?

I also have a caloric goal calculation if you would like it. Feel Free to send me a msg and I will send it to you. It's simple

Wish you the best and just keep on going don't quit before you get there!

According to your profile you're 11 stone (154 Ib)and 5feet seven that is around a norm weight range for someone as tall as you so I would worry less about weight loss and more on fitness.

Yeah that's kinda what I'm after really got a little podge that needs to go I'm not worried about the weight rather my figure and my body fat% which is too high! I thought eating better and exercise would help that

How are you measuring your body fat percentage? The BIA scales (with the little silver electrodes) can be horribly inaccurate. I'd recommend switching to skinfold (with the help of a friend and LOTS of research on how to do it well) or circumference measurements if that's what you're using.

Start weighing all of your food and measuring free-pouring liquids.

When I got down into a healthy weight range for my height and just wanted to lose the last 10 lbs I really had to tighten up on logging accuracy. I thought I was "stuck" around 145 lbs, but it turns out I just suck at estimating.
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I found a food scale at a garage sale and paid $1 for it. I hadn't looked before then and I'm not sure how much they cost new but it has been the best $1 investment I've ever made. I use it for everything from meat to dry spaghetti to fresh fruit. It is one of the most used utensils in my kitchen... with the exception of my measuring cups/spoons. Feel free to add me if you want to take a look at my diary. I'm always up for new friends could use some motivation