Eating right and excerising: not losing weight?

Hang in there! For whatever reason, I always seem to lose weight, plateau for a while, and then gain slightly before losing again to get below my previous low (has to do with increased muscle mass like in Okami's post). Always super frustrating. I just went through a gain phase, so fingers crossed I have a loss period in my near future.

Some things you could try:

1. Up your water intake. I did and it helped me lose weight pretty quickly at first
2. Rotate through what exercises you do. Your body gets used to one exercise. Either rotate through multiple types of cardio in one session, or do one different exercise for each day of the week.
3. Up your weight training, or try different exercises. Free weights are better for you than weight machines.
4. Considering how much weight you have to lose, 1200 cal on the low end may be too little for you and it may be putting you into starvation mode. Also, I find if I get into too much of a food routine, I plateau even worse. Usually I have cheat days on Friday and Saturday nights and reign it back in on Sunday.

Sorry for the overabundance of personal stories but I've always had a hard time staying within a healthy range. I hope this helps

Weight loss isn't linear or predictable. You'll lose, stay steady, lose, gain then lose again. You just want to see an overall downward trend in your average numbers. Definitely do your measurements. You often will be losing inches even when the scale doesn't budge.

Most of all, and in there and don't give up. 13 lbs in a month is fantastic!

the best thing to do is forget the scale. I know is hard thing t do because you're so focus in trying to be successful in loosing weight but its the best. When I first started I would step on the scale every weak and each time I was discourage and I wanted to give up. So I decided to weigh myself monthly is way better.

Don't give up because the moment you're ready to through the towel is when a miracle happens. Good Luck!!!

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Weight loss isn't linear. Patience

There's a big difference between eating right and eating properly.

If you aren't weighing your food I highly recommend getting a food scale. Many people are eating far more than they think.

I also recommend checking your TDEE-20%. You can do that quickly here:
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
With this method you don't eat back exercise calories as they are already factored in. You also need to recalculate every now and then to make sure you're still at the right amount of intake.

Weight is about 80% diet and 20% exercise. Exercise is really mainly for health and a rockin bod. You don't have to kill yourself at the gym. Also incorporate some form of resiatance trainjng or weight lifting. Cardio is great for the heart but weights help with form.

This is a great thread to read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Good luck!

All of this ^^^^^

And none of this vvvvvvvvvv

make sure you keep track of inches!! Don't get discouraged and give up keep going! I know that I have added herbal life ( www.goherbalife.com/maryahjackson/en-us ) and it really helped with my plateaus

You are doing great! Don't get discouraged about the scale not moving. I know easier said then done because we all want the weight to melt off. I agree with measuring your portions. I do this because who really knows what 30g of cheese is or 4oz of chicken. Be honest with yourself and log EVERYTHING. I'm not a scientific thinker but it really is this simple. LESS CALORIES EATEN MORE CALORIES BURNED BY EXERCISE. Please don't feed into the thousands of threads here regarding "starvation" mode. We are not cavemen and our bodies are not trying to keep us alive by holding on to fat reserves. Question what you read and what advise is given. People on MFP are awesome and everyone is trying to help...but some of the advice take with a grain of salt. check out the APP to see how many calories are recommended for you just to exist without moving. For example say it is 1600. Decide how many calories you can reduce that number by and still be successful, lets say for example minus 200. That would give you 1400 per day. Now add your 500 exercise calories to the 200 to equal 700. Multiply the number by 7 days = 4900 . To lose one pound you must burn 3500 calories It doesn't matter how you do it. YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS: LESS CALORIES EATEN MORE CALORES BURNED BY EXERCISE........no magic.....just determination, commitment, support from friends and NO EXCUSES.......you will succeed if you don't quit.