what am I doing wrong

I am sure you have all read things similar to this before but I am stuck.

I weigh EVERYTHING - I place my bread on the scales & weight the butter, zero the scales & weigh each & everything I put on to my sandwich.

I weigh the milk on my cereal & everything individually for my dinner.

I work out everyday - I do Jillian Michaels 30ds or go for long walks.

For the last week I have been using a HRM so my workout calories are correct too.

So why am I maintaining!

I am rubbish at working out what is good & what is bad food.

I know when a day is bad even though I am within my cals by the weight that MFP says I will be in 5 weeks time.

Someone please pick my diary apart & give me tips on moving forward.

I had lost 10lb in 8 weeks but have put 2lb back on, I think this is possibly to the change in exercise....

I have 10 weeks in which I want to lose a stone and a half. please help me get to my goal!

Sue

Just a quick look - You aren't logging your water intake. My experience has been that keeping my water intake at or close to the 8 glasses of water helps rid the body of retained water. Your protein intake should be increased. You aren't tracking your sodium but based on what you are eating your sodium intake is high enough to cause water retention which masks any fat loss. Sugar can also cause water retention. Are you weighing your food? If not, that can make a huge difference. You definitely are over estimating your calorie burn from walking. One entry is 123 min with a burn of 727 calories BUT the calorie burn for walking is actually based on distance so you likely burned half that at best. For example, 3.79 mi gives me a calorie burn of 256 regardless of the time it takes to complete. I've had days when I put the time for the walk into Runtastic and it gives me a calorie burn of about 1,000 but my HRM/pedometer says I only burned 256 so I use the lower number. You are eating as if you burned that 727 calories when in fact you didn't really burn that much. Use a pedometer or a HRM/pedometer for an accurate calorie burn when walking.

Did you read the OP at all? It quite clearly says that she does weigh everything and she uses a HRM.

I can burn 727 cals in 123 minutes of walking, easily. It depends on your size and the amount of effort you put into it.

Her diary does not reflect that she is weighing everything with entries like "two biscuits", "1.5 slice of ham", and "1/2 pack of noodles" which begs the question as to whether she is actually weighing or going by the amount on the box for serving size. Yes, I saw the HRM and no I don't think she is burning what she thinks she is.

I am sure you have all read things similar to this before but I am stuck.

I weigh EVERYTHING - I place my bread on the scales & weight the butter, zero the scales & weigh each & everything I put on to my sandwich.

I weigh the milk on my cereal & everything individually for my dinner.

I work out everyday - I do Jillian Michaels 30ds or go for long walks.

For the last week I have been using a HRM so my workout calories are correct too.

So why am I maintaining!

I am rubbish at working out what is good & what is bad food.

I know when a day is bad even though I am within my cals by the weight that MFP says I will be in 5 weeks time.

Someone please pick my diary apart & give me tips on moving forward.

I had lost 10lb in 8 weeks but have put 2lb back on, I think this is possibly to the change in exercise....

I have 10 weeks in which I want to lose a stone and a half. please help me get to my goal!

Sue

Just a quick look - You aren't logging your water intake. My experience has been that keeping my water intake at or close to the 8 glasses of water helps rid the body of retained water. Your protein intake should be increased. You aren't tracking your sodium but based on what you are eating your sodium intake is high enough to cause water retention which masks any fat loss. Sugar can also cause water retention. Are you weighing your food? If not, that can make a huge difference. You definitely are over estimating your calorie burn from walking. One entry is 123 min with a burn of 727 calories BUT the calorie burn for walking is actually based on distance so you likely burned half that at best. For example, 3.79 mi gives me a calorie burn of 256 regardless of the time it takes to complete. I've had days when I put the time for the walk into Runtastic and it gives me a calorie burn of about 1,000 but my HRM/pedometer says I only burned 256 so I use the lower number. You are eating as if you burned that 727 calories when in fact you didn't really burn that much. Use a pedometer or a HRM/pedometer for an accurate calorie burn when walking.

Did you read the OP at all? It quite clearly says that she does weigh everything and she uses a HRM.

I can burn 727 cals in 123 minutes of walking, easily. It depends on your size and the amount of effort you put into it.

Her diary does not reflect that she is weighing everything with entries like "two biscuits", "1.5 slice of ham", and "1/2 pack of noodles" which begs the question as to whether she is actually weighing or going by the amount on the box for serving size. Yes, I saw the HRM and no I don't think she is burning what she thinks she is.

That's really picking holes. It really depends on how the entries are measured on the database. If I buy a pack of something that has two servings, I weigh them, make sure the portions are equal, then log it as 'half a pack'. Doesn't mean it's not weighed.
There's also entries in there like '54g cucumber', and '22g salad cream'. Those are precise measurements. It's pretty obvious this person weighs their food.

You saw she used a HRM, yet told her to use a HRM?
Everyones calorie burns are different; just because you can't burn that much doesn't mean no-one else can. When I started out walking at 4mph and 280lb, I'd burn 600 cals in an hour. I burn less now, because I'm fitter and I weigh less. If the OP is using a HRM with a chest strap you can't get much more accurate than that.

I am sure you have all read things similar to this before but I am stuck.

I weigh EVERYTHING - I place my bread on the scales & weight the butter, zero the scales & weigh each & everything I put on to my sandwich.

I weigh the milk on my cereal & everything individually for my dinner.

I work out everyday - I do Jillian Michaels 30ds or go for long walks.

For the last week I have been using a HRM so my workout calories are correct too.

So why am I maintaining!

I am rubbish at working out what is good & what is bad food.

I know when a day is bad even though I am within my cals by the weight that MFP says I will be in 5 weeks time.

Someone please pick my diary apart & give me tips on moving forward.

I had lost 10lb in 8 weeks but have put 2lb back on, I think this is possibly to the change in exercise....

I have 10 weeks in which I want to lose a stone and a half. please help me get to my goal!

Sue

Just a quick look - You aren't logging your water intake. My experience has been that keeping my water intake at or close to the 8 glasses of water helps rid the body of retained water. Your protein intake should be increased. You aren't tracking your sodium but based on what you are eating your sodium intake is high enough to cause water retention which masks any fat loss. Sugar can also cause water retention. Are you weighing your food? If not, that can make a huge difference. You definitely are over estimating your calorie burn from walking. One entry is 123 min with a burn of 727 calories BUT the calorie burn for walking is actually based on distance so you likely burned half that at best. For example, 3.79 mi gives me a calorie burn of 256 regardless of the time it takes to complete. I've had days when I put the time for the walk into Runtastic and it gives me a calorie burn of about 1,000 but my HRM/pedometer says I only burned 256 so I use the lower number. You are eating as if you burned that 727 calories when in fact you didn't really burn that much. Use a pedometer or a HRM/pedometer for an accurate calorie burn when walking.

Did you read the OP at all? It quite clearly says that she does weigh everything and she uses a HRM.

I can burn 727 cals in 123 minutes of walking, easily. It depends on your size and the amount of effort you put into it.

Her diary does not reflect that she is weighing everything with entries like "two biscuits", "1.5 slice of ham", and "1/2 pack of noodles" which begs the question as to whether she is actually weighing or going by the amount on the box for serving size. Yes, I saw the HRM and no I don't think she is burning what she thinks she is.

That's really picking holes. It really depends on how the entries are measured on the database. If I buy a pack of something that has two servings, I weigh them, make sure the portions are equal, then log it as 'half a pack'. Doesn't mean it's not weighed.
There's also entries in there like '54g cucumber', and '22g salad cream'. Those are precise measurements. It's pretty obvious this person weighs their food.

You saw she used a HRM, yet told her to use a HRM?
Everyones calorie burns are different; just because you can't burn that much doesn't mean no-one else can. When I started out walking at 4mph and 280lb, I'd burn 600 cals in an hour. I burn less now, because I'm fitter and I weigh less. If the OP is using a HRM with a chest strap you can't get much more accurate than that.

Regardless whether you feel I am picking holes or not, her diary does not reflect that she is weighing all of her food. Since she is not losing weight she is either eating too much or over estimating her calorie burn both of which are reflected in her diary. She may not have her HRM calibrated correctly or she is not weighing everything which is resulting in no weight loss. At any rate, rather than put someone else down for trying to help, I offered what I could. And you?

Other than the unhelpful comments of a few, I think many people have given good observations and advice. I only glanced quickly at a few days of your diary and I am probably going to repeat many of comments already posted but here is what I think:

How long do you think you have been "stuck"? This process gets slower after the first few weeks and I think you need to be patient. That said many of the suggestions given are right on the money.

Drink and keep track of water intake. Try eating more protein and reduce your starches/carbs a bit and get your sugars from fresh fruit but do not add sugar to your cereals etc. Eat healthy fats such as almonds and avocados but measure/weigh them as you have been doing. Cook your own dinners from fresh ingredients as often as possible, and don't add too much salt, or any if you can stand it. I almost never add salt; if a recipe calls for salt I use half of what is listed. Keep the salt shaker off the table.

I am not sure you are doing this but do not eat back all of your exercise calories, maybe eat about 1/2 back most of the time. I think many HRMs overestimate calories burned. I am pretty sure mine does so most of the time (about 5 days week) I eat back only a few calories, and I mean a few or none. Then once or twice a week I eat back more of them (100 or 200 of them for that day).

Last and kind of hard for me: Only drink water after dinner. Even if you plan for the calories/carbs/fats of a later snack and you are still on target for the day, I think eating anything within 3 hours of bed can affect your weight loss. I think many people would say it does not matter what time you eat but I was slowing down and stuck for a while. I then gave up my cup of decaf with creamer that I had been drinking in the evening because I like it. It was only 45 cals and a little fat/no sugar but that was the difference for me as I did everything else the same, and I was able to lose some more weight.

I think basically you are on the right track and can just make a few adjustments and it will start to happen for you. Feel free to friend me if you like, I love the support I get from many people in this site! Good Luck, you can do it!

I drink between 4 & 6 litres of squash every day!

I am not much of a tea drinker - I just forget to add the water on

Even squash has calories, be it lime, strawberry, cherry, etc. Let's take a look at your lime squash. I could quickly find Tesco's nutri info so I'll use that. 100ml is 13cal. 1000ml to 1L. At 8 litres, you're downing over 1000 cal in squash a day. Take your 1200-1500 average cal listed in your diary and add another 1000. Try swapping out the squash for lower calorie drinks.