Why in the hell am I stuck at this weight?!

To those of you who believe my posts....I thank you. This weight loss thing is nuts...and this plateau is making me crazy as I'd like to see results (well duh lol) and I just want to ENSURE nothing else is wrong...

It's not a matter of not believing you, in fact believing your info *is* the source of the feedback you are getting. If you are not losing weight, you are in a state of thermodynamic equilibrium. You are taking in as much energy as you are expending. So something is wrong with your calculations, either intake, output, or likely both. This doesn't make you a bad person or stupid or a liar or lazy.

If something else is out of whack (i.e. a mineral imbalance or hormonal something) it probably accounts for about 1% of the equation. Seriously. I know that sucks, but it's fact. You could adjust the energy equation by moving (lots) more or eating less and start losing again. It's hard to do, usually because it's so easy to misjudge calorie intake (and sometimes this is totally unconscious) and it's almost impossible to exercise enough to make up for a calorie misjudgement.

The information you posted gave me a LOT of insight on insulin resistance and it sounds like it could be an issue. Primarily, because I researched my blood type and eat a ton of carbs. Not the nasty processed stuff....but a lot of carbs. So, I could see how my body could have developed a resistance now. For a while, I thought about this possibility because of my family history and prior lab results. Crazy you mentioned this..... I won't say that I know "everything" like some are saying I am...but, I do know my body and I know something is amiss since I'm working out now more than I ever have on my own. I researched and it stated that walking 30 mins is a good remedy along with diet....so, I will switch it up and do my walking in the morning and my exercising at night (elliptical running) and I will definitely start trying the sprints! I'll also start eating more chicken/turkey with more green veggies. Right now, I get most of my daily protein from a shake and everything else is almonds, fruit, milk (coconut-lactose intolerant here) and other veggies.

Many people with diagnosed hormonal issues (PCOS) find that lower carb tends to help them (lower, not low carb). And forget the blood type diet. It's crap like most other fad diets.

It seems like you are doing a lot of research on your own, and you can find a lot of absolutely HORRIBLE information on the internet. This is what happens when anyone can create a website (especially if they are looking for a quick buck). I would suggest going to your doctor and seeing if you have a condition that can be medically diagnosed (sorry if you already have and I missed it). If so, you may need to be on medication, and the doctor may have some specific recommendations for your diet. (Not all doctors understand nutrition, so you may want a second opinion.)

Sometimes people with hormonal imbalances have caloric equations that just don't seem to add up. They know they're burning x, they know they're eating y, but they don't add up to z. So my suggestion is to use all of you data and treat it as an estimate. Heart rate monitors are using an equation based on the average population; you've already said you aren't average and there's something off in your hormones. Your food you seem to be tracking fairly well. So, my suggestion is to pick a number, and eat at that number for a month and see what happens. If you stay the same, try cutting your calories by 100-200 calories. If you drop weight, keep it up and see what happens. Adjust as needed.

It's a longer process, but it works. Sometimes all the calculations are overwhelming, but in the end, they don't mean squat if you aren't losing. And most of all, have patience.

Switch it up for more than a wks time... seems like you've bounced around a lot with calorie consumption & exercise from wk to wk trying to find what works. (first you tried the low road then the next week ate more, etc) I'm no fitness or nutrition expert, but I think you should stick with a plan longer than a week before you rule out it's success (or maybe you are and I just misread your post).

I bought a polar loop. It pairs with a hrm for exercise, & gives a TDEE based on the days activity. It might save you some frustration to have the full picture. I use caloric info from MFP & activity/training info from Polar to ensure my deficit. I've found this really helpful.

Just don't give up. Keep working out and being mindful of your consumption. Something's gotta give sooner or later.

I was always just eating about 1200-1400 calories a day and found I wasn't getting anywhere! Then I started doing TDEE-20% and now the scale is moving again. Losing weight is all trial and error. Never expect an overnight result. It all takes time!

BayVay -- This is what I did that helped me:

Eating Paleo/Primal. Before my thyroid/insulin resistance diagnosis, I was having major issues with fatigue, intolerance to cold and inability to lose weight or inexplicably gaining weight, among other things. I was given a lot of the same advice/perspective you've gotten here -- "eat less, move more"; you must be measuring wrong; you're lying/crazy/wrong/in denial/etc. I'd seen several doctors over the years and had certain blood tests done and told things were "fine" and I must just be wrong about my eating/exercising numbers.

It wasn't until after I trained and ran a half-marathon, that my fiance pushed me and said, "something is really off with you. I see how much you're running/working out and eating. Unless you're hiding in a closet eating a box of oreos everyday, something is wrong and you need to figure out what it is." We switched to Paleo, and later to the more permissive Primal, and I'd felt better than I had in years. It was literally the first thing I'd found that helped with the fatigue (still there, but the episodes weren't as intense or prolonged). But, I was still struggling to take off the 30 lbs that came on the prior 2 years. Some research and a few specialists later, I got the thyroid and insulin diagnoses and we worked on getting my metabolism back on track as well as the thyroid treated properly.

Paleo/Primal is believed to help with certain disorders, thyroid being one of them -- because they think certain things (gluten, casein, lectins being some of the most popular targets) trigger certain issues, like autoimmune disorders (celiac, thyroid, etc.) I was able to add dairy back in as it doesn't apparently bother me and so eat more Primal these days. I aim to get at least 0.7 g per lb bodyweight of protein in per day and aim to hit no more than 100 g of carbs, usually in the 40-80 g range (and low glycemic carbs if possible), the rest is usually fat -- which for me breaks down to 20-30% protein, 20% or less in carbs, and 50-65% good fats.

For insulin resistance, I believe it's the low-ish carbs and low glycemic carbs that help the best as it helps control/minimize insulin spikes. The paleo/primal component probably wouldn't matter here, but I found that they complemented each other nicely as most of the paleo/primal fruits and veggies lended themselves to a low-ish carb diet naturally (but I tracked just to be sure as you can be paleo/primal and still have a high carb intake if you want for other reasons). My doc was very happy to hear that I was already eating this way as this was exactly what he recommended for my situation.

Exercise -- For exercise, I was lifting heavy (3x5 workout), walking/hiking (18-25 miles/week), some yoga from time to time (tried to get 2 sessions of hot yoga in a week but this varies -- I consider it bonus when possible) and semi-weekly sprint sessions. I really believe that lifting heavy and sprint session are essential to effective fat loss -- they help you maintain or minimize lean body mass loss (i.e. muscle) in a caloric deficit -- so more of what weight you're losing is fat rather than muscle. Once we got my thyroid in the proper range and I was taking medication to help my body metabolize glucose correctly, the weight started coming off as it should according to my numbers. I still had to do the hard work, of course, but it was finally yielding the results it was supposed to. It was amazing to finally lose like a normal person and not feel like I was crazy, terrible at measuring, in denial, etc.

Vitamin/Mineral Supplements -- as part of my medical checks, the doc also found that I was deficient in magnesium and vitamin D -- which are both very, very common in the populace. My iodine, iron and other levels were fine. So, I take magnesium/zinc/B complex combo before bed most nights (and it also helps in muscle recovery after heavy lifting sessions) as well as a daily D-3 supplement. If you find a doc that has a more comprehensive approach, things like this will be looked at. For me, it was my 3rd endo, who specialized in thyroid issues particularly and he's been AMAZING. He also found the insulin resistance.

I'm not saying all this may be necessary for you, but I've found what works for me and I feel great -- and now the reasons why make sense as well. My new "normal" is so different than it was a few years ago. I highly recommend Paleo/Primal, getting sufficient protein and low glycemic carbs (or lowish carbs overall). Some may not need such issues to lose weight, but I imagine some like me do with the thyroid and insulin resistance issues.

This was very informative! As of this morning I started taking my magnesium, D3, Zinc, multivitamin, and B6. I haven't been taking them in a WHILE. Ugh. LOL. For iodine deficiency I take Iodoral every other day. I also take Maca supplements to help with energy and hormone balance.

Yeah, I just don't get what the sudden hold up is...and why it's so aggressive or I'm very aggressive with breaking it. So, I will try to take a break eat at TDEE and take walks...after a few days to a week... I'm going to just consume TDEE-20% and go for long brisk walks. If this doesn't work...I might look more into the Paleo diet. I heard about it and saw it worked wonders for some people...

If you don't think you have any food sensitivities or autoimmune issues, the Paleo/Primal part may not make much difference so long as you're hitting your macros as I believe the macros, especially protein and carb, consumption are the issues for maintaining/minimizing muscle loss and insulin resistance issues.

Do you know what macros (protein, carb, fats) you generally hit? How much protein are you getting? I think you said you generally eat a lot of carbs -- any idea how many grams or and what percentage come from low glycemic sources (most vegetables, some fruits) rather than those that are metabolized quickly (i.e. refined carbs, high sugar, certain fruits, etc.)?