STRESS STRESS STRESS

it will help more if you open your food diary. you mentioned drinking slim fast why? is your 1800 calories after working out or before? 1 month is not a long time to be at this - give yourself a bit more time a few more weeks

1700-1800 calories eaten in a day, week 4 of insanity.

What are your stats? Height, current weight.

Who is blasting you?

1. You should try using MFP's food logging function for a while. The database has some errors in it for sure, but it has to be more accurate than your paper logging--where are you getting the calorie information for your food?

2. Measure and weigh all of your food. You are almost certainly eating more than you think at the moment.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

3. It is normal to gain some water weight when you are starting a new physical activity. Your muscles use more glycogen when you work them harder, and glycogen attracts water so you get some bloat. I am not at all sure that this is the only thing that's going on in your case, though.

4. Adjust your expectations about the speed of fat loss. You are not very heavy at the moment, so your weight will come off slower. Set your target weight loss goal on MFP to 1 lb at week, and expect to hit some plateaus even with good, thorough logging.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

Good luck.

I look up the food calories via MFP then write it down in my diary, that way it's just easier for me to flick through, and I'm a little old fashioned.

If the only obstacle to logging on MFP is that you want to have easy access to your previous records, here's a tool you might find useful:

http://www.designbyvh.com/myfitnesspal-export-data/#.Udw8rzvI58E

You can use this to export all of your food diary for any time period to a file that you can open in a spreadsheet program.

I'm thinking of sticking with the elite nutrition guide, although due to not having food stuff available/ super expensive I will have to modify e.g. no flax seed etc.

I don't know what that is, but you might be making things unnecessarily complicated and stressful for yourself. The first thing you need to understand is how much you are eating to begin with, on your regular diet. Logging calories is essential for that. You should then make sure that your diet is nutritious--does it provide you with enough protein, fat, fiber, and vitamins? Substitutions might be a good idea in some cases--include some inexpensive fruit and veggies that you like, and keep your diet varied. As a dieter, you need to get plenty of protein to retain your muscle mass--so you do not end up a shrunken, skinny-fat version of your old self (most people don't want that). Just trying to hit the protein target for the day will make you look for lean protein sources like chicken breasts and fat-free yogurt. It doesn't have to be complicated or expensive, and do not make too many changes at once.

I didn't set a weight loss target, more of an inches target as I really want to fit into the clothes I could fit into, but the tape measure seems to go up or stay static. I'm not sure if I am bloating as I take folic acid to combat that

It's good that you are more worried about inches than weight, but you do need to know your weight to set the right levels of macronutrients. Have a look at this:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Folic acid is important, but I doubt it will help with bloat. Bloating us usually caused by a bad potassium/sodium balance, eating excessive amounts of carbs, or dietary sensitivities/indigestion.

Maybe I should look to reduce my calories then see if I am getting hungry. If so maybe I should up them?

Why don't you just follow the tried-and-true method of eating at a slight deficit. You should be slightly hungry while dieting, but don't go by hunger alone. This fat loss thing is a fairly well worked out process for most people.

Family members are sniping at you? They can stuff it.

I have a brother who wants to push me to some competitions that I am frankly not interested in doing. My body is mine and all that.

Well, your body is yours. You don't have a ton to lose, you are getting more fit, you are indeed eating at a deficit. You might cut 100-150 cals a day and see what happens, but seriously, you are improving your health whether the scale says so or not, and you are an adult woman who doesn't need to listen to the pontificating of family members.