I just can't lose weight!

Would you be comfortable opening your diary for us to take a look? It really can help to have another pair (or 10) of eyes to spot problems. You can do this by going to Settings > Diary Settings > Public and then Save Changes.

The cheat day is the first thing that stands out to me. I had a lot of cheats when I first started losing but found that as I got closer to goal they were inhibiting my loss. You might try increasing your calories more during the week and lowering or even cutting the cheat day.

You had me at "1200 calories"

You probably are eating more than you think. We need to see your diary to be able to help with that.

But also, how long ago did you increase your workouts? And what are you doing for your exercise?
It's common to gain (or not lose) when starting a new workout program because your muscles retain water to repair themselves.

You can overshoot the mark on your cheat days enough to sabatoge your efforts.

It's not so much starvation mode is that 1200 cal really isn't enough to fuel your body with all the cardio. Try averaging it out more, so that you aren't so hungry you really overeat on the higher cal days.

I don't eat the same calories every day, but I make sure to track what I have leftover to use on weekends or whatever.

Also, let us look at your diary

Assuming your diary is accurate, if you make it public you'll get far better advice.

How much are you eating on your cheat day? That one day could wipe out your weeks progress.Log your cheat meals just as reference..

While I agree with others here about underestimating what one eats and overestimating caloric burn, there is another thing at work. Often, what works for younger women and men does NOT work for mid-life women and up(that is, approaching, in, or post-menopause). There are tons of stories of mid-life women who cut calories like crazy and do cardio like it's their job, and lift, but still don't lose anything or change their body composition(that is, add muscle and lose fat). The original poster doesn't sound like she's eating enough either. It's very difficult to fuel workouts with good nutrition on so few calories(between 1000-1200). She might be better off eating more and adjusting the quality of her diet in favor of unrefined foods too. Some mid-life women have to really rein in the starchy carbs of all sorts(and in some cases quite a few fruits) in order to lose weight because the digestion of carbs changes at mid-life with more of them being stored as fat rather than being used for energy. Some people of course are carb-sensitive even when they are younger though, as people do vary in their responses to foods. Also, for some mid-life women, too much long-duration cardio raises cortisol instead, and cortisol is notorious for packing on the belly fat. Since at mid-life for women the ovaries are shutting down their estrogen production, more of the production of hormones goes to the adrenals, which often respond by pumping out stress hormones(like cortisol) instead. So in effect, just by getting to mid-life transition for women, the body is under stress and has to be treated as such. The OP might be better off cutting back on so much cardio, finding an enjoyable stress-reducing form of exercise(yoga, Pilates, long walks in natural settings if at all possible), and adjusting her diet with some more protein and fewer harmful carbs(that is, refined ones like commercial baked goods, white rice, sweets). But plenty of veggies, some fruits and some healthy fats along with the protein will definitely help the diet situation. And she should still continue to lift - hopefully she is on a comprehensive full-body program.

Apart from the possibility of inaccurate tracking/logging you could have a read of this article and see if it helps you

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

Help! Since early January, I have been religiously sticking to 1200 cals a day- with a day off at the weekend to stop my metabolism going into starvation mode. I also joined a gym and go for at least an hour a day. I lost 7 pounds in January, taking me down to 13 stone. I'm a 46 year old woman, 5 ft 6 inches tall. Since then, I haven't lost anything at all. In desperation , I upped my gym going to twice a day 3 times a week and once the rest of the week. Each session burns off 300 cals. I've shifted weight fast in the past by sticking to 1000-1200 cals a day, but this time I thought I'd exercise too,to get the weight off and keep it off. I would expect to lose 1-2 lbs a week. Can't tell you how frustrated I am , all this work and no gain! What am I found wrong?

Oh my goodness! If I ever told my doctor I ate 1000 calories a day, he would have many words to say to me, none of them nice. Have you considered increasing the number of calories you eat so your body gets the nourishment it seems to be desperately wanting?

You lost 7 lbs in January and are still unhappy?? I GAINED 7 lbs in January...well not really. I gained 9 lbs over the winter but that's coming off soon.

There is something to be said for diligent monitoring of the foods eaten and not believing the numbers flashed at you on a cardio machine.

Clearly you CAN lose weight, you just have an unrealistic expectation of what your body will do with the given variables. Hopefully you'll find the right adjustment to the variables and continue moving towards your goal weight. More exercise is likely NOT the answer. You may exercise yourself right into an injury and get yourself laid up for several weeks +.

"Apart from the possibility of inaccurate tracking/logging you could have a read of this article and see if it helps you

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html " - mungowungo

Really good article - which elaborates on some of the stuff I touched on.:)

Yes - I saw your post and remembered the article.

Odds are you're eating more than you think.

Unless you are weighing all your solid food, you're probably underestimating the calories in your food, and overestimating your calorie burns.
Open your diary.

+1

Can I ask what you've got your macronutrients set at on your fitness pal? Ie fats carbs and proteins? It could be something as simple as sticking to your correct macro intake as oppose to just looking at the calories that could be where you're going wrong

Starvation mode refers to the body hanging on to fat reserves if it thinks good us suddenly in short supply. A consistently low calorie diet will slow the metabolism and reduce weight loss, unless the body is tricked with the odd calorie surge- ie , cheat days.

Oh dear.. Nope.