Help! Scale is not budging!

Look at the bigger picture..You LOST not gained 22 lbs. You are doing great. This lifestyle change isn't a sprint, but a journey you will learn from and make permanent changes for a healthier life.

Possibilities include water retention, muscle gain and fat loss, measurements, stress, hormones, metabolic slowdown, food intake.

What are you eating? How many calories? What are your stats (weight, height, age)? Are you doing any exercise? Have you been continuously dieting since starting out? 22lbs loss is great, but you do have to realise that weight loss slows the more weight you lose and is not linear. How long have you been stalled for?

If you would like more specific recommendations, it would be helpful to see your diary and get answers to the above questions.

(1) You're doing awesome.
(2) I'd stop logging your exercise and just let your FitBit do it for a while on it's own. The only exercises I add myself are swimming and biking, personally. I let FitBit do the rest.
(3) make sure to weigh all your food on a digital scale, to make sure.
(4) log EVERYTHING. ketchup. sugar in your coffee. everything.

I agree with and would like to repeat two key points of advice, both having to do with you ned to be more patient.

1) You can't change your calorie goal (or exercise routine or anything else having to do with weight loss/fitness) and expect to see immediate results. The body needs time to adapt. Give it at least 3 more weeks before you decide to reset goals.

2) You've lost 22 pounds in about 6 months - that's nearly 4 pounds per month which is pretty damn good!

I didn't look at your diary but will give a bit more advice where that's concerned. Make sure you're logging as accurately as possible (weigh/measure food, check MFP listings against package labels or other nutrition info sources such as USDA) and consistently (every day). And make sure you're eating back at least half of earned calories. MFP calorie burn estimates tend to be a bit high so eating all of them back could mean you'll maintain instead of lose. Also make sure you're not tracking things like cleaning unless it's above and beyond the norm (like spring cleaning for hours).

Good luck!

Thank you for the suggestions! I guess I thought I was eating well. What foods would you suggest? How many carbs and fats do you think I should be eating each day? I have really been struggling with keeping my carbs balanced but not having too many calories left at the end of the day. Should I basically just be eating vegetables, fruit, and lean proteins?

The first step would be to reduce your consumption of processed foods. They really do tend to be nutritionally deficient. If you're sedentary carbs should be under 100g. Removing refined grains will make this very easy. Stick with low sugar fruits, plenty of non-starchy veg and starches when you work out. Eating like that you'll find it hard to go over 100g a day. Fat should be at least 70g a day - things like avocado, coconut oil, grass fed butter, oily fish, nuts, olives and olive oil. Get more gelatin in your diet - very good for you. Eating too many muscle meats makes you deficient in proline and glycine. Muscle meats are high in methionine and adding gelatin will help balance this out. You can do this buy eating more gelatinous cuts of meat or supplementing with high quality gelatin (animal skin is high in gelatin). Also try to incorporate organ meats once a week as these are really nutritonally dense. Cook with saturated fats as they are stable at high heats (coconut oil, butter, ghee, bacon fat). Cooking with unsaturated fats damages the oil and makes them toxic to your body.

Proteins don't have to be lean. High quality meats have a much better omega 6 to omega 3 ratio and CLA is higher in these meats too (helps with weight loss). You really don't have to worry about fat if your carb intake is moderate and they are from healthy sources. Eggs are high in vitamin D so eat those regularly - high quality of course. Salmon is a good source of vitamin D too and fish with the bones in like sardines are also good sources of calcium. Add more leafy greens, add butter to veggies and olive oil to salads. This helps with flavour, satiation and helps absorb nutrients!

What exercise are you doing at the moment? You carb intake should really relate to your activity level.

Thank you for the suggestions! I guess I thought I was eating well. What foods would you suggest? How many carbs and fats do you think I should be eating each day? I have really been struggling with keeping my carbs balanced but not having too many calories left at the end of the day. Should I basically just be eating vegetables, fruit, and lean proteins?

No...eat what you want but stay in a calorie deficet...quite similar to WW which you are used to.

My diary is open if you wish to see what my meals typically look like.

I eat fruit loops, bread, chocolate, diet coke, fast food, lean protien, veggies, butter, cream etc.

Well yes, she can keep doing what she's been doing and making no progress as you suggest, or she could try a healthier way of eating and getting some nourishment in her body. I can't understand why anyone would say "It's ok to eat rubbish as long as you're in a calorie deficit" considering how well it's worked for her so far. You may be able to eat junk and get away with it, this person obviously can't. OP, you can listen to ignorance like this and see if you make any progress doing the same thing over and over or you can try advice from someone who has been studying nutrition for 2 years and is soon to become a Nutritionist. Your choice

Thank you for the suggestions! I guess I thought I was eating well. What foods would you suggest? How many carbs and fats do you think I should be eating each day? I have really been struggling with keeping my carbs balanced but not having too many calories left at the end of the day. Should I basically just be eating vegetables, fruit, and lean proteins?

No...eat what you want but stay in a calorie deficet...quite similar to WW which you are used to.

My diary is open if you wish to see what my meals typically look like.

I eat fruit loops, bread, chocolate, diet coke, fast food, lean protien, veggies, butter, cream etc.

Well yes, she can keep doing what she's been doing and making no progress as you suggest, or she could try a healthier way of eating and getting some nourishment in her body. I can't understand why anyone would say "It's ok to eat rubbish as long as you're in a calorie deficit" considering how well it's worked for her so far. You may be able to eat junk and get away with it, this person obviously can't. OP, you can listen to ignorance like this and see if you make any progress doing the same thing over and over or you can try advice from someone who has been studying nutrition for 2 years and is soon to become a Nutritionist. Your choice

because weight loss is about a calorie deficet that's it.

Does it look like it's not working for me???

Your way is a self punishment for gaining weight and it is not a good way to go. There is no need to cut out your favorite foods just eat them in moderation.

I am not going to say eating lean meats and veggies is bad it isn't...80% of my diet is made of that type of food but that is because I want to maintain my muscle mass so I watch my macros, get in enough protien and lift...

But I will not be telling people that the only way to lose weight is to restrict their favorite foods or processed crap or demonize foods in anyway shape or form...

Thank you for the suggestions! I guess I thought I was eating well. What foods would you suggest? How many carbs and fats do you think I should be eating each day? I have really been struggling with keeping my carbs balanced but not having too many calories left at the end of the day. Should I basically just be eating vegetables, fruit, and lean proteins?

No...eat what you want but stay in a calorie deficet...quite similar to WW which you are used to.

My diary is open if you wish to see what my meals typically look like.

I eat fruit loops, bread, chocolate, diet coke, fast food, lean protien, veggies, butter, cream etc.

Well yes, she can keep doing what she's been doing and making no progress as you suggest, or she could try a healthier way of eating and getting some nourishment in her body. I can't understand why anyone would say "It's ok to eat rubbish as long as you're in a calorie deficit" considering how well it's worked for her so far. You may be able to eat junk and get away with it, this person obviously can't. OP, you can listen to ignorance like this and see if you make any progress doing the same thing over and over or you can try advice from someone who has been studying nutrition for 2 years and is soon to become a Nutritionist. Your choice

because weight loss is about a calorie deficet that's it.

Does it look like it's not working for me???

Your way is a self punishment for gaining weight and it is not a good way to go. There is no need to cut out your favorite foods just eat them in moderation.

I am not going to say eating lean meats and veggies is bad it isn't...80% of my diet is made of that type of food but that is because I want to maintain my muscle mass so I watch my macros, get in enough protien and lift...

But I will not be telling people that the only way to lose weight is to restrict their favorite foods or processed crap or demonize foods in anyway shape or form...

I'm sorry but weight loss is not just about calorie deficit. Calories matter, but what you eat also matters. As I said, some people can get away with eating junk and still lose weight, others can't. And even if it were, what damage do you think you're doing to your body by eating so much junk? You think weight loss automatically equals health? I don't know anything about you but why would you tell someone to do what you're doing when it's 1. not healthy and 2. not working for her? I don't know why it has to be punishing yourself. Nourishing your body is NOT punishing yourself. I used to eat a lot of junk food, but once I changed my lifestyle I no longer feel the need for those foods regularly and my health has improved because of it. There are SO many treats out there that are healthy and nourishing. Addiction to sugar and refined carbohydrates is the problem, not punishment. Make it about health and your attitude changes.

You told her to eat what she wants. If you looked at her diary you would see it's made up of 90% processed junk. I am giving her suggestions to improve her health and her weight loss efforts. If it's really so incredibly impossible to cut out foods that are damaging to your body then there's something wrong, but go ahead and have them occasionally because that is still better than having them every day.

And you're right, restricting "favourite foods" is not the only way to lose weight but no 1. sugar and processed rubbish does NOTHING for you nutritionally 2. Refined carbs making up 70% of your food intake and having a sedentary lifestyle is a fast way to gain fat and 3. There is nothing to those foods but the way they make us FEEL. Food is not about satisfying cravings and "feeling good" - it's there to nourish us and help us function optimally. You cannot function optimally on a diet made up almost entirely of rubbish. The sooner people start detaching themselves from food emotionally, the sooner people will start to realise the reason these foods are on our shelves in the first place and the harm they do to our bodies. Weight loss is a secondary issue, health and nourishment should be the priority.

because weight loss is about a calorie deficet that's it.

Does it look like it's not working for me???

Your way is a self punishment for gaining weight and it is not a good way to go. There is no need to cut out your favorite foods just eat them in moderation.

I am not going to say eating lean meats and veggies is bad it isn't...80% of my diet is made of that type of food but that is because I want to maintain my muscle mass so I watch my macros, get in enough protien and lift...

But I will not be telling people that the only way to lose weight is to restrict their favorite foods or processed crap or demonize foods in anyway shape or form...

I'm sorry but weight loss is not just about calorie deficit. Calories matter, but what you eat also matters. As I said, some people can get away with eating junk and still lose weight, others can't. And even if it were, what damage do you think you're doing to your body by eating so much junk? You think weight loss automatically equals health? I don't know anything about you but why would you tell someone to do what you're doing when it's 1. not healthy and 2. not working for her? I don't know why it has to be punishing yourself. Nourishing your body is NOT punishing yourself. I used to eat a lot of junk food, but once I changed my lifestyle I no longer feel the need for those foods regularly and my health has improved because of it. There are SO many treats out there that are healthy and nourishing. Addiction to sugar and refined carbohydrates is the problem, not punishment. Make it about health and your attitude changes.

You told her to eat what she wants. If you looked at her diary you would see it's made up of 90% processed junk. I am giving her suggestions to improve her health and her weight loss efforts. If it's really so incredibly impossible to cut out foods that are damaging to your body then there's something wrong, but go ahead and have them occasionally because that is still better than having them every day.

And you're right, restricting "favourite foods" is not the only way to lose weight but no 1. sugar and processed rubbish does NOTHING for you nutritionally 2. Refined carbs making up 70% of your food intake and having a sedentary lifestyle is a fast way to gain fat and 3. There is nothing to those foods but the way they make us FEEL. Food is not about satisfying cravings and "feeling good" - it's there to nourish us and help us function optimally. You cannot function optimally on a diet made up almost entirely of rubbish. The sooner people start detaching themselves from food emotionally, the sooner people will start to realise the reason these foods are on our shelves in the first place and the harm they do to our bodies. Weight loss is a secondary issue, health and nourishment should be the priority.

I read the bolded line and stopped because you are so far on the wrong side I couldn't be bothered to read any further.

Food is not evil...
CICO for weight loss that's it
Macros for health and body comp

I love faceless new comers with nothing to really back up their claims that come in here and try to make people punish themselves for being over weight...*shakes head*

And Yes I see you are "studying to be a nutrionist" but that is a far cry from a RDN

Nothing to back up my claims? How about 1. This woman isn't losing weight despite "eating what she wants", 2. The tons of studies done on different diets showing different weight losses that occur on different types of diet 3. The fact that refined carbohydrates contribute to heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, digestive disorders to name a few is well documented 4. Offering advice on how to nourish yourself is not "punishing people for being overweight".

No, whole nourishing food is not evil. I never said it was. But refined, processed junk? Absolutely. That is not real food. There have been countless situations where this has proven to be the case. You want to ignore that? Fine by me. You can do what you want with your body and you are obviously not ready to hear the truth about the food industry and what those foods do to your body. Whole, REAL foods are what we are designed to eat. Not man made rubbish that wreaks havoc on our bodies.

Nice dig about not being a RD though. What are your credentials? Are you in a position to say that my advice is wrong and yours is right? And actually, I'm here to really help people. It's up to them if they want to hear it. I was once obese myself. I was punishing my body by putting rubbish in it. Now I am 2 stone lighter and I am healthy and I don't feel deprived of anything because I am no longer a slave to what food corporations want me to eat. I get pleasure from simple nourishing food. I know that must sound so ridiculous to actually like REAL food but the fact is when you stop punishing your body by overloading it with toxins, you start to realise what a healthy diet really is.

And as for being a newcomer, would it matter if I'd been posting for years giving advice? I don't think it would. We all have to be new to a site at some point. The fact that you consider me to have less credibility because I'm new is a pretty baseless accusation.

You continue believing your calories in calories out is all that matters dogma as I'm not going to sit here and argue with someone who is so obviously ignorant about nutrition it's not even worth wasting time over. OP - if you want any advice from me you are welcome to PM me. Good luck!

I hadn't thought about letting FitBit take over. I bought it and then found out it doesn't track the elliptical, which I use regularly, and was disappointed. I have been using my heart rate monitor for exercise to try to be accurate with my calories burned. Should I eat back the calories I burn?

You can add activities like that on the Fitbit website. That's what I do, I log all my exercise there and adjust the calories based on my HRM for cardio (although I've found that the database there ties within about 5%- 7.5% of my HRM).

Rather than adjust my food every day based on my exercise I used a few months of data from my Fitbit calorie burn to work out my average TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) I then set a deficit on MFP below that TDEE (currently for me that's 800 cals a day). I eat that set amount of cals every day. Being a bit of a data geek I keep a spreadsheet and log a rolling TDEE average based on daily readings for the last 8 weeks. I also log my actual calorie intake along side. This then shows me roughly what I should have lost. Looking at this year as a whole and assuming 3500cals=1lb of fat, my deficits would suggest I should have lost around 18lbs, I've actually lost 15lbs so allowing for inaccuracies in weighing & measuring food as well as exercise inaccuracies (eg weight lifting burn) its there or there abouts so it reaffirms what I'm doing works.

If you want any more details let me know

I'm a numbers person too, I'll add you and if you have any additional questions, you can feel free to ask at any time!