been MFP for over a year- no loss- open to suggestions

it's simple math: If you burn more calories then what you eat, you're going to lose weight.

This! OP read this and keep it simple!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it

Sometimes you can eat all the right food in the world and count your calories but you might be Insulin Resistant. I've had to add an Insulin Resistance diet on top of my 1200-calorie-a-day diet to really begin losing weight. Look into getting the book, it really can help you if you having problems with sugar and heavy grains.

You are too high in carbs (processed foods) and far too low in fat on most days that i looked at (healthy fat, ya certainly don't need more canola and soy).

But if you buy into that our bodies have zero complexity and it's ONLY calories in/calories out, then you must be doing something wrong.

I have read it over and over but still I will say it again....WEIGH your food, LOG EVERYTHING, eat a more CONSISTENT calorie intake, STOP eating so much pre-packaged and processed food as it is terrible for you, and be 100% HONEST with yourself.

I have also learned that I can not rely on all the calorie counts I find here on MFP. I believe this is because a lot of it is put in by
individuals incorrectly. Go to restaurant websites for more accurate eating out logs and if they don't have nutritional facts listed
go to a similar restaurant site and use theirs if you know the portions to be similar. I have to do this for local faves that don't offer nutritional facts and it seems to work well (you can count on restaurant food to be higher in calories than home cooked for sure). Input your own recipes for more accurate home cooked logs, and when in doubt go to the USDA website to learn the best way to accurately figure out what your chicken, pork steak, or beef roast should be logged at for the exact size serving you are having. It's all extra work, yes, but it works and I am living proof of that.

I also leave my menu open because it works to help keep me more honest with myself but this is an individual thing so do what you know works for you. And lastly my biggest suggestion is that you stop trying to diet and instead CHANGE YOUR ENTIRE EATING LIFESTYLE. This is what works for weight loss, long term maintenance of a good weight, and a healthy, long, life. Don't deep fry, pan fry in a TSP of olive or peanut oil instead with a little flour instead of a batter. Eat more veggies and steam them for the best taste and nutrition using fresh or frozen for the very best benefits. Use low fat (light just means fake sweetener) dressings. For snacks have fresh fruits and 100 calorie snack packs (1 only) when you want a cookie. Want your ice cream? Go out for it and have 1 scoop in a cup. You WILL eat less, have a proper serving size, and forgo those extras like sprinkles and syrups and cones when you do this. Being healthy is the ONLY way to loose AND maintain. It also makes you feel so much better and can lead to a much longer and happier life for you and anyone living with you as they will benefit from your changing the kitchen around to be a more healthy atmosphere too! :happy:

I've been logging food and within cal range(mostly) for over a year and no loss. Exercise 30 min/day 4 times a week and still, no loss. Low (not no) carb, no loss. Went to the Dr.- no thyroid prob, no prob at all... anyone??? Understandably, I am pretty frustrated gaining, losing and never getting under my start weight of 190 2 years ago!! Open to suggestions.

1) "mostly"--If you are over enough, and often enough that can mess with your progress.
2) get a scale and measuring cups to ensure proper measuring. rely on your own measurements not those pre-entered by others
3) "net cals"--click on "my home" then look at your green bar to the right you will see "net cals" this represents what your body is actually operating on once your pre-entered stats have been entered and it has added all your foods you ate and then subtracted all your exercise cals you burned. Google "net calories" if this explanation does not make sense. Keep reading explanations until it makes sense to you why you should be eating back all your exercise calories to get that "net cal" number to match closely your cal goal.
4) "cal goal" I looked back a couple days and was unclear what your cal goal is. That's okay, it's not MY cal goal it's yours. You should know what your cal goal is and why as per YOUR specific activitly levels age and whatnot. Many many online resources exist to help you find a good one.

I would look at all of the above and nail them before venturing into the confusing and often unnecessary and sometimes even unfruitful world of tinkering with diet specifically, or cutting all of this food or all of that food, or following this or that eating to the letter of the law diet plan. Those are usually just artifiically constructed ways to achieve the simple goal of eating at a deficit. I hope this makes sense. No one who's Dr. has cleared them as having no medical problem in their way of weight loss should have to be frustrated after a year. Not even after a season. Good luck, get detailed, get going, get skinny, you can do it! :flowerforyou: :drinker:

weigh your food, stop being fat.

Get a food scale.
Use it regularly.
Log everything.

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

^^^ This

May I ask how old you are, and how much you're trying to lose? (I'm assuming you're female, and not super tall, but it's hard to gauge where you'd like to be.)

I agree with pretty much everyone else - there are 2 things that must be happening...

1. You're underestimating the portion size and consuming more calories than you think
2. You're actually not eating enough and your body is in storage mode.

I would weigh and measure out all of your portions and see if that helps first. If after two weeks, you still see no difference, I would try adding 100-200 calories to see if that is the problem. I know how frustrating it can be to think you are doing good, and have nothing to show for it on the scale. (That makes me think, now that I've said that....have you lost any inches?? You know, muscle weighs more than fat.)

I read this the other day: Your body keeps an accurate record of your food and exercise, regardless of what you write down.
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I love this quote...I will have to steal this and keep as a reminder!!

Lots of other info here ahead of mine, but I will add this :
1 lb. = 3500 cals, so to lose 2 lb/week,
you should eat 500 fewer cals per day than you are now - 7 days/wk X 500cals/day = 3500
AND burn 500 cals per day -7 X 500= 3500

OR just do half of each of those 2 above if you can't say, burn 500 cals a day, make it 250/day. Good luck!!

I read this the other day: Your body keeps an accurate record of your food and exercise, regardless of what you write down.

I love this quote...I will have to steal this and keep as a reminder!!
[/quote]

put it on your wall, here you go

1-Eat more veggies.
2-Be totally honest and log EVERYTHING! Its depressing when you do sometimes but that in itself is a good medicine.
3-Be sure to drink plenty of water. The more you workout, the more water you sweat out. Drink, drink, drink!
4-Be aware of a possible plateau. If you do the same workout day in and day out your body will adjust in about 30 days and the net benefits of that exercise decrease over time, regardless of what the machine readout says.
5-Step up the intensity. If you feel "comfortable" in your exercise it's time to push it up a notch!

Keep trucking and you'll work it out!

What helped my husband is to quit eating at night. I know it sounds ridiculous but it's just when his metabolism slows to a crawl. Also, do you know what blts are? (Bites, licks, tastes) if you have kids, huge huge problem! Gotta drink that water, I've been told that dead fat cells are actually urinated out! So it serves two purposes when you're trying to lose weight chemical changes require water. I'm a horrible logger, I give you props for being much better than I am!

Did I just read what I thought I read?