Not Losing - Diary Open - Do your worst

You're brave to open up your diary like that.

Here's what I've learned from the physician's assistant I've been working with - eat a LOT of lean protein. I currently weigh 216, and aim for 120 grams a day. I know that sounds like a lot, but protein is very filling and helps maintain muscle mass. Best of luck!

AND water! Make sure you're getting at LEAST 8 glasses a day!

Try This:
I do it everytime to break a pleateu, called the zig zag method. Eat about an average of 1400 cals (or whatever you want) over the time period of a week, so eat a little over your goal one day, a few hundred under the next, at maintenance the next day, at your goal the next, a little under the next... etc.
You see my point. You are doing great with what you are eating but your body may have become to used to a low calorie diet (since you say you have been doing it for several months) I enjoy eating at maintenance a few times a week because a few days a week I can stay pretty low and this has been helping a lot.

I hope it works for you! :bigsmile:

It's broscience. Too many people like to jump on bandwagons without having any direct experience - but anyways it's all about what works for you.

You're currently eating 55% carbs, 30% fat, 15% protein. Obviously this isn't working, so take the carbs and fats down a little and up the protein - maybe 50/25/25.

Keeping food simple makes it really easy as I said. Condiments can sometimes add more carbs then you already have in your meal. Use what you want, but just be vigilant in your tracking.

75 grams of protein isn't too hard to get. A bag of broccoli has 10 grams. There's many meatless options as well with soy protein.

Hello muddynicola, I analysed your diary for the month of April.

This gave the following averages:

Calories = 1220
Carbs = 147g or 48% of cals
Fat = 37g or 27% of cals
Protein = 52g or 17%
Sodium = 1474mg
Sugars = 59g
Fibre = 21g

Perhaps somebody more competent than I can comment, but it would seem your sodium is high and your protein really very low?

Like others have said, you can not "bulk up" at a caloric deficit. In order to add muscle, you need to be eating at a calorie surplus. What you are doing is just toning the muscle you have now while losing the fight/tightening the skin around the existing muscle. Also, doing Jillian Michaels isn't going to bulk you up either, so no need to worry about that. I also agree with someone else that said you need to NET whatever your base calories are. So, you said your base is 1200 calories. You need to be reaching that after exercise etc. since 1200 calories already puts you at a deficit.

Edited to add: Took a look at your diary and you are netting at or below 1000 calories most days and that is entirely too low. You are not going to lose eating like that and you will stall out because your body is trying to hold on to what it can since you aren't feeding it the fuel it needs to even function. I would suggest figuring out your BMR and TDEE. Take your TDEE -20% and eat that amount for a couple of months. Using this method, you do not eat your exercise calories back since they are already factored in, unlike MFP.

Not an expert - but I have an opinion like most.
First your macros is not working with your enzymes. If you are going to set your calorie goal at 1200 then you need to change your macros to show carbs at 40%, Prot at 35% and Fat 25%. You then need to make sure you are netting your macros correctly during your meals. I did not review more than the last four days of your diary but I can tell you that you are feeding your fat and starving your muscles which in turn is not helping you lose weight. Once you start feeding your muscles, your fat will melt slowly. Also, you need to drink water or make sure you getting enough water from your fruits and veggies along with drinking water.

Once you get a handle on your food plan then you can work on getting the fat off and the muscle toned. Read the opinions, review their diaries and friend some of them. Reviewing others diaries can be another tool to assist in setting up your own food plan.

I recenly started heavy lifting and was starving...I realized my calories were too low and I was not feeding my muscles...I was slow on learning this because I was not paying attention to my meal plans so I started researching....it is a lifestyle change and life is always changing. Good Luck

Biggest things I noticed;
Protein way too low
Carbs too high in proportion to activity level

Also, you note you don't want to build muscle, yet muscle will be the limiting factor for your metabolism. If you're worried about becoming bulky, stop. It's an extremely slow process to build size with strength training, and you will be missing out on the benefits of enjoying more food, and having your body burn extra calories for you.

Edit: If you're really set on not touching weights, you would benefit greatly from a paleo style diet that favors healthy fats and protein over carbohydrates. With less glycogen available via excess carbs, your body is more likely to be mobilizing stored fat for energy.

It's broscience. Too many people like to jump on bandwagons without having any direct experience - but anyways it's all about what works for you.

You're currently eating 55% carbs, 30% fat, 15% protein. Obviously this isn't working, so take the carbs and fats down a little and up the protein - maybe 50/25/25.

Keeping food simple makes it really easy as I said. Condiments can sometimes add more carbs then you already have in your meal. Use what you want, but just be vigilant in your tracking.

75 grams of protein isn't too hard to get. A bag of broccoli has 10 grams. There's many meatless options as well with soy protein.

THIS.
Plus -- I have a muscular build, too, and I leaned out the MOST when I was doing heavy lifting and hard circuit workouts. You won't "BULK" from hard workouts, you will build lean muscle which actually burns more calories throughout your day when you're not working out.

Don't skimp on the workouts, and get your protein/carb/fat ratio to 40%/30%/30%. You'll see a difference.

Also, the processed food is an issue. The more I cut out that stuff, the easier it is for me to maintain / lose, even when nothing else changes.