Look at my diary please??

Not sure if it's any help but I lost 28lbs on 1400cals/day and am only 5'2.5. I would never have aimed or hoped for 2lb/wk to be honest.

BUT, I didn't go hard at it, I exercised more but not madly and ate less but not tons less. I wanted a lifestyle change not a strict diet or unsustainable exercise plan.

I don't have enough diet/exercise knowledge to comment on fine detail but wonder if playing the longer game and not aiming for 2lbs/wk (when losing relatively little) would help.

I see empty days and that you have only been logging consistently since last week Thursday?

But diary entries look good, you may want to have a look at upping your proteins a bit, That is consistently low.

Are you weighing all your food?

You won't lose 2 pounds a week if you only have 30 pounds to lose. 2 pounds per week is only realistic for people who have 75 pounds or more to lose. 1 pound a week is more realistic for now, though once you get to 20 pounds or less to lose, .5 pound a week will probably be what works.

I really recommend getting a food scale and weighing the things that you eat. I see some entries in your diary that I seem like they're probably not accurate (did you really go to McDonald's to get apple slices? If not, how do you know the apple slices you ate are the same serving size as McDonald's?). Little things like that add up in a hurry and can really keep you from losing weight. That happened to me.

I would try to get a lot more vegetables in your diet, since there are almost none in your diary since you started logging last week. I also agree with what others have said about adding more protein and cutting back on refined sugar. Do you really need 7 tsp. of sugar in your oatmeal in the morning? Almost 1/3 of your breakfast calories come from that sugar, which means they're empty calories. They're not doing anything to help you stay full until lunch. It would be better if they were coming from some kind of protein, like a hard boiled egg. Likewise, yesterday if you knew you were going to have cake, why waste almost 300 calories on sugary lemonade? Think of your calories like money--you want to make good investments, not impulse purchases.

the first thing I see is a lot of sugar. another thing I see is only a few days worth of diary entries. and be careful what you pick for your diary entries. I noticed that the chocolate cake had no sugar, maybe it was sugar free, but it didn't say so? and the chicken alfredo had no carbs, no protein, no sugar and most importantly no sodium? choose something in the database the better reflects accuracy. and the last thing I notice was that you are not drinking enough water.

I don't weigh my foods. Don't really want to fool with that honestly. I will increase my veggie intake and concentrate on lowering my sugars.

I've been working out for about a month but really only logging food for the last week or so, so it's not truly accurate yet to make too many conclusions.

Yeah if you aren't logging then most people on this site (calorie counting site) wont be able to help you much.

Weighing your foods is quite a biggie if you want accuracy.

Thats how calorie counting works try it for a good 6 weeks then reassess your diary.

Good luck

What type of exercise are you doing to burn that high?

You need to log accurately, stop the cheat days, stay within calories. You are still eating too much if you are not losing.

I'm sure that my food logging is definitely not accurate as I do have to guess on some things I put it. I know my exercise is accurate though. I use Map My Fitness and time them. I ride a wind resistant bike for 30 minutes, do 20 minutes on weights and abs, then another 30-45 minute kickboxing routine. It's definitely an intense workout. I'm honestly more focused on that than my food.

Cals burned do seem high for that workout. However if it's working then continue. Remember weight loss happens I. The kitchen, fitness in the gym. You can't out exercise a bad diet.
The biking is maybe 200 cal, the weights and abs minimal (100?) and kickboxing maybe 300 max for half hour. Is there no warmup or cool down?

Exercise for health, diet for weight loss is what I've always been told, so that's what I focused on. I also weighed and measured my food, and have logged it religiously daily for over a year. Edited to add that if you don't log what you're consuming how do you know if you are eating at a deficit?

Yes, I agree that you are not eating enough protein. Up it to 1g/lb of lean body mass, or at least 100 g a day. Do you weigh your food? I suggest you buy a food scale - I got mine for less that $7 including shipping off of ebay.

From what I can see I agree that you need to up your protein intake. "Up it to 1g/lb of lean body mass" is a good baseline. You can do this by supplementing with a protein shake (there are tons of tasty ones out there) or by focusing in on high protein foods.

That great thing about high protein foods is that they tend to be lower in both calories and carbs. The other plus is that you will feel fuller eating more protein. On top of that your body has to work harder to break down protein which in turn burns more calories.

Please keep in mind that this is not the Atkins diet. The goal is not to eliminate carbs but be smarter with the carbs you eat. Complex carbs rather than simple are much better for you.

So yep... increase the protein and you should notice a difference.

hope that helps!

Given your stats, you should be getting the following: WATER – 84 oz. during the day – more when you exercise. Protein – 120grams of lean protein a day. Your Resting Metabolic Rate is ~1663 so eating at a deficit (say 1500) should produce a gradual and sustained weight loss. I would cut back (or out) most of your simple carbs and sugars to go along with the above. Log everything you eat and eat everything you log!

Protein doesn't magically make you lose weight..... And I am surprised at alot of the answers in this thread.

You DO NOT have to eat enough protein to lose weight.

You are overeating and not creating a caloric deficit.

No, you don't HAVE to eat enough protein to loose weight, however a good source of sufficient protein is needed to build/retain muscle mass.

Protein doesn't magically make you lose weight..... And I am surprised at alot of the answers in this thread.

You DO NOT have to eat enough protein to lose weight.

You are overeating and not creating a caloric deficit.

No, you don't HAVE to eat enough protein to loose weight, however a good source of sufficient protein is needed to build/retain muscle mass.

Correct, but the point of her thread was to claim that she wasn't losing weight because of a lack of protein.

Which is 100% incorrect.

She isn't losing weight because she is overeating and not creating a deficit.

- You typically won't build muscle while losing weight, you can only hope to maintain it. Lose the weight then build the muscle.
- Your protein intake should help you feel fuller but as long as you eat at a deficit you should lose weight.
- Eat the cake. See the above point for the rest.
- You can't out-exercise a bad diet. Others have said this because it's true. Pay attention to what you are eating.

Weigh your food with electronic/digital scales; this is crucial and will become 2nd nature really quickly. You are not eating very much for the calories you are consuming ( presuming it is correct which it may not be if you are not logging correctly) you can eat a lot of food even on a lower calorie diet by making healthier, smarter choices; lots more veg, lean protein,wholegrains and dairy. Basically good quality nutrition is key esp if you are exercising a lot.
Log what you drink: I've notice people often miss this out but it can really add up.
Losing 2 lb a week is very hard to do , think about lowering it. Its about ( for me anyway) long term sustainable weight loss and a permanent lifestyle change.