Hard time losing weight

Thanks for the advice!
I have been thinking about getting a heart rate monitor- currently debating whether I want that or a garmin more!
It is frustrating as I avoid a wide range of foods due to them being high in fat- peanut butter, cashew nuts, cheese have all been kicked to the curb and things don't seem to be changing that much compared to when I ate more "naughty" foods.

I don't think my portion sizes differ that much each week but this week compared to last I put a pound and a bit on (and I've not had an alcoholic drink this week) I'm hoping my muscle percentage goes up next week as then at least I'll know that what I'm doing is making a difference in some form or another.
I'm just having a bit of a mope, I thought I'd had a good week food wise and then I get weighed and it all goes downhill. So from this evening I'll weigh all that I eat. x

Oh sweetheart, fat does not make you fat. PB and cashews are good for you, especially if you are vegan right now.

You are not eating enough. Please find out your BMR and TDEE and go from there and remember, fat AND calories are your friends if you eat the correct amount of them.

How frustrating! Hope you figure it out OP - don't give up!

This isn't exactly a scientific suggestion, but have you tried varying your workouts a little bit? I found that once I got to a decent level of fitness and that what I was doing was no longer pushing myself, I'd start putting weight on again because I don't think I was burning off anywhere near as many calories as I used to.
I started out running for about 30 mins then 45 and at the moment I'm up to an hour and 15 just to get the same effect. Even now I just feel a bit achey but never tired like I used to. Changing the intensity (possibly preferable to extending the time!) or changing to a different activity may perhaps help? If nothing at least it would make you fitter in a more dynamic range of things :P

Also the more used to something you get the more lazy you get. Or at least this is true for me! I have a lot more breaks during my running now than I used to, even though I'm much fitter now - just because I'm psychologically no longer on the ball. Anyway, I'm rambling but I guess I'm basically saying to re-visit the quality of your exercise and just see if perhaps there's a little bit you could change.

I think people might have confused me with the author of this post. I'm not the vegan! I'm just as frustrated as her though and have more weight to lose. I couldn't be a vegan I like eggs and meat too much!

Yep, I did am I am sorry. Its the whole non picture thing. But I still stand behind my post, fat does not make you fat, fat in nuts is a good kind of fat for your heart and brain as a matter of fact.

So yes burning fat during exercise does effectively build muscle albeit in a round about way.

I'll admit I'm not clear on this, but I asked some questions just earlier today and got responses that sounded right to me.

If you're eating at a deficit, I'm pretty sure you're not gaining muscle at all, let alone "turning fat into muscle". You can't simultaneously lose mass and gain mass. One day I hope to have blown away enough fat that I want to start replacing it with some muscle. If you look in the weight gain forum, those people are eating a LOT. Just as we need a deficit to lose weight, they need a surplus to gain it. And they have the same issues we have, only in reverse. We burn fat, but lose some muscle as we do it. We work out to try to maintain the muscle we have so we're burning fat. They gain some fat as they gain muscle. They work out to make sure they gain a lot more muscle than fat. It's two sides of the same coin, but the coin never comes up heads and tails at the same time. If you're losing weight, I don't think you're gaining muscle from fat or anything else. At least that's my current understanding.

Now, I challenged this because I was kinda sure my legs, especially my calves, got bigger from running. I run quite a bit. They assured me that the muscles may have gotten stronger, but not bigger. I did my work out at the gym tonight in front of a mirror and I kept looking at my calves. I have to say, I think they were right. The look better. More defined. But now I don't think they are bigger. In fact, maybe a little smaller. All of that nonsense is new to me, so I could have something off. But I think that's the broad stokes of it. Either that or I'm completely wrong! lol Which, in this case, I could be.