so close to just giving up!

Yeah I don't get the "do less cardio" comment. Keep doing cardio - do MORE cardio if you can. As you continue to get in better shape increase the intensity or go longer (as long as you feel ok). In addition to burning calories, exercise helps boost your metabolic rate so you burn more calories.

In contrast, eating less lowers your metabolic rate. So that's why I'm saying eat more and work out more. Try the mini-meals idea. Eat 5 meals of 300 calories each spaced out evenly throughout the day.

eating a vlcd CAN cause some decrease in your metabolic rate AFTER quite some time. theres no reason that with the amount of weight she has to lose, that eating a vlcd would cause her to GAIN, especially this early in the game. i believe the cause is incorrect logging. either not LOGGING EVERYTHING, or, not accurate on PORTIONS! plain and simple.

This is a myth, the body will not go into starvation mode, besides which the OP is on 1600 per day before exercise, there is no way she would go into starvation mode if she did not meet that 1600 calories.

"Starvation mode" is a myth but the idea that metabolism can slow down on reduced calories is a fact, especially if you're eating under your BMR. OP had a few days around 700 calories of food TOTAL for the day. That's just not enough.

Actually, when you said that, I went back to the OP's diary and found something quite interesting there.

OP do you see your sodium level is often in the minus? It must not be like that and is dangerous. You are also drinking enough, but any sodium you have in your body is now getting diluted.

When the cells in your body do not have enough sodium in them, they swell, this will not be helping either your weightloss attempts or your health.

The amount of exercise you are doing requires that you take in enough sodium and you are not taking in nearly enough.

Are you getting headaches?

Another week of watching my calories like a mad woman, another week of busting my butt and sweating my *kitten* off doing Hip Hop Abs and Rockin Body and Walk Away the Pounds and I've gained another pound! I don't get it at all.

Sometimes a change in activity/exercise can cause a temporary gain instead of a loss due to water retention in the muscles.

I'm eating till I'm full but my cals never stay at the goal, they're always way below.

then you should be creating a caloric deficit. I plan my days so I get in good health guidelines (food pyramid & W/W suggested ones) and ensure I reach my daily caloric intake set by MFP and daily points by W/W.

@divinenanny my goal is actually 1600. I know I'm not even getting close to that. But what do I do when I'm stuffed and really do not want more food? I do tend to skip meals on the weekend just cause breakfast and lunch are usually the same meal. And if I go out, I miss supper. *sighs*. Eating when I'm not hungry just sounds counter productive

Stop skipping meals, eat calorie dense foods, eat more in general, and watch your sodium.

I understand you're having a hard time getting your calories where they need to be, that's why you need calorie dense food like peanut butter, nuts, avocado, and dairy. You can get a quick 500 calories with a glass of chocolate milk and a couple spoons of peanut butter. I'm sure you could eat that at some point in the day without feeling overstuffed.

Rigger

Hi there. One thing I noticed is that you mentioned having a FitBit, but it looks like you are manually entering your exercise. Don't do that - link your fitbit account to myfitnesspal and let it do the work from there. I wonder if your exercise calories are a bit overstated??

If you get that worked out and still have problems getting enough calories, try for more healthy proteins (nuts, lean red meat, etc). That will boost your calories in a healthy way without adding too much to the volume of food you are eating.

Good luck! It's not an easy journey, but if we all come together like this, we really can help each other out.

editing for spelling

If you're diary is accurate, you're actually not eating enough. I know it's counterintuitive, but it's true. If you look through this website, you will find lots of people who will tell you that they got the same advice, followed it, and started losing weight. Your metabolism slows down when you don't eat enough, so you have to eat to keep it running.

Use the MFP calculator and trust what it tells you that you should be eating. Measure and weigh your food and honestly track everything that you eat. Log your exercise with as much accuracy as you can. Don't try to take shortcuts to weight loss by starving yourself -- you're only sabotaging yourself in the long run.

If you are having trouble getting all of your calories in, start by doing some meal planning. Plan three meals and a couple of snacks that will meet your calorie goal for the day. If you are going to exercise, estimate what your expect to burn and plan for that to. Don't eat a bunch of diety food, like low fat this and that, or sugar free blah blah blah, or 100 calorie snack packs or any of that. Eat real food and just make sure that you are eating proper portion sizes. It's better nutrition and will use up some of your calories. Also be aware that your body does not always tell you its hungry just by the gnawing in your stomach. Sometimes we get cranky and tired or fuzzy brained and it's our body's way of saying it needs fuel. Listen to your body and try to eat something when it happens. And give yourself choices! Have a variety of snacks available. A lot of times when one thing doesn't sound good to eat, something else might.

Good luck and don't give up! Keep trying different things until you find out what works for your body.