WHY CANT I LOSE ANYMORE...???? >:(

Weigh your food. You may be eating more than you think. I just recently bought a scale. Eye opener for sure

If you can. purchase a heart rate monitor. You are counting your calories, but sometimes it helps to know your calorie burn, (more precisely than just time spent in exercise). It may help in the evaluation of your situation.

Okay, if your past week is any indication, you are going over your calories by 300 for the week. If you are set to lose at a pound a week, that is over half your deficit. You aren't hitting 1200-1400 calories if you are having one or two seriously over days like you did the last week. You are netting way more than you think. If you aren't using an HRM to get a more accurate sense of your calorie burn than what MFP gives, that could account for wiping out the rest of your deficit.

Use an HRM, eat back fewer of your exercise calories, and rein in the eating on the days when you eat over your limit.

Thanks so much for posting your question and answers. I am 5'2 as well 145 pounds. Looking to get down to 135 maybe 130. Have been having a hard time lately, losing weight. Started using my food scale again and hope that helps. Have been at 145 for a couple months now with not much change. Thanks for the suggestions!

Hi Michelle - I had a look at the last week of your food diary, and had a couple of ideas...

First, your breakfast is very low cal and not much bulk to keep you going. I am working with a coach and one of her biggest messages is to make breakfast your biggest meal, with real food that fills you up, lunch the next, and dinner the smallest, maybe even making it carb-free. You seem to go for the easy standard breakfast, and so do I. I make up 5 containers every Sunday for my work week, containing 1/2 c fat-free cottage cheese, 3/4 c fat free, sucralose sweetened yoghurt, and some kind of fruit (berries to 1 c, sweeter fruit like pineapple only 1/2c). That's 172 cal, 20g protein, 22 carbs, 0 fat, and 4g fibre. I usually have 1% and a tbsp of cream in my coffee too. Another favorite is scrambled eggs w low carb veg, 1 egg, 1/2 egg whites and dry high fibre toast. Another is 1/2 c large flake oatmeal, with a "custard" made with 1c 1% milk and a scoop of ice cream flavoured protein powder, cooked gentley until thickened slightly.

Second, when I tried to lose weight by working out - and weights are great for women according to the research - I found out from a trainer that the body is programmed to conserve energy. If we do the same thing week in, week out, the body adapts. You've got to switch it up. Look at the training guides for athletes.

Third - muscle does weigh more than fat!! Instead of going by your scale, go by your tape measure and the fit of your jeans. My scale says I've lost hardly anything and gained back what I lost in the last 3 weeks. But when I tried on my one-size-too-small clothes this weekend, a pair of cropped pants fit for the first time in months. I usually record my weight and basic measurements once a week max.

I don't know much about "starvation mode" for you cause I'm 5'9" and much heavier. But have you checked whether your goals are reasonable? both your goal weight and for how much you lose per week. I lost 2 lb per week 2 years ago for 4 months and thought it was perfectlly reasonable but now it's come back and my coach says that's too much too fast. I've since noticed other sources suggesting 1 lb per week should be your average goal. So take your total time losing and see if the average is 1 lb per week. If it is you are doing great.

I'm no expert what so ever but i'm thinking you need to change your workout routine and shock the body maybe? Sounds like you're stuck on the same routine and your body knows it. I hate getting stuck... especially when you do so good and workout so hard. Good luck and i hope you see progress again soon!

shock like change up ur cardio maybe try hiking biking dancing jump roping.. or when weight training try alil crossfit style by throwing in high knees between each move some to raise ur heart beat and kick in fat burning

So really, you have not lost any weight since August of 2013 even though you've been eating less than 1400 cals. a day. Yet between May 2013 and Aug 2013 you lost 30 pounds eating 1400 cals a day.

You have a full year's worth of food diarys (I looked). I would print some out from different time periods and go visit your doctor. If your diarys are accurate (and I have no reason not to believe you) I think something is seriously wrong, especially since you are active both in your daily life (restaurant work) and exercise. Your body should be burning 2000 cals a day, giving you a 700 cal deficit which absolutely should result in a weight loss.

I don't think I could have waited 8 months like you did before asking for help. I get frustrated not seeing a weight loss for 2 weeks! But just when I'm sure "its not working" I lose.

I don't know if you want to spend the $$, but I suggest a Fitbit. I've had mine for about a week and 1/2 and I find it fascinating to see just how many cals I burn each day, as well as the difference on days when I "rest". There is no doubt in my mind why I weighed what I did. I am much more active now than I was when I first began using MFP yet on my non exercise days I'm only walking 5,000 - 6,000 steps. I've calculated my stride length and have determined that in order to "earn" the 2,200 calories needed to justify a "lightly active" calorie burn, I must walk 15,000 steps to reach the 5 miles that burn that many calories.
There is no way on earth I ever did that before.

If you learn that you are in fact burning 2,000 calories a day (like the TDEE should be for your height, weight and age) and know you are eating 700 less, there is something wrong with the machinery and your doctor needs to do some investigating.

Since you're now closer to your goal, I would redo your goal to lose .5lbs to 1lbs a week.

Figure out your BMR and your TDEE and try eating between your BMR and your TDEE for a few weeks and see what happens.

1200 calories is pretty low, so don't be surprised if you do gain a little weight when upping your calories...it happens, but your body will readjust and should drop the lbs.

I may be way off but a few years ago I could not lose weight no matter what I did. On top of that I had yellowing around my eyes and I was getting mild panic attacks. These we all signs of hypo thyroidism. Once I got on synthroid to balance my hormone the weight melted off fast. If you think this could be the same for you then your doctor can do a quick blood test. However, most people with hypo thyroid also suffer from celiac desease. I am lucky not to have celiac desease.

I have not read the other replies, so here's my feedback:

You're allowing MFP to estimate your calorie adjustments through some app of theirs, and MFP is notorious for overestimating calories burned. Also ,in addition to this MFP app adjustment, you are entering your exercise calories, which look overestimated as well. I think when you allow calorie adjustments you don't include your own exercise calories.

I get the impression that you don't weigh your food because you use words like slice and cup. Believe me,weighting your food is a good idea because the volume usually i not the same as the weight. Not all medium bananas, or apples, or a cup of anything are created equal. I learned through trial and error that weighing food is about as accurate as it gets.

The bottom line is that through these errors you are eating more than you think you are.

shock like change up ur cardio maybe try hiking biking dancing jump roping.. or when weight training try alil crossfit style by throwing in high knees between each move some to raise ur heart beat and kick in fat burning

No, this is not necessary. You don't have to shock your body at all. If you are eating at a calorie deficit, you will lose weight even if you do the same exercise all the time.