Get bloodwork done. See where your fasting insulin is, especially. Without bloodwork, you can't really gauge progress when the scale and tape measure are going nowhere.

Stop eating diet and processed foods. "Low fat" this and "low carb" that, when they're not naturally such, are nearly always filled with crap to make it not taste like cardboard. A lot of that crap is considered endocrine disruptors. And for the love of all that is good in this world, eat the whole egg. Egg yolks are packed with choline, folate, Omega-3 fats, and oodles of fat-soluble vitamins that are crucial to proper health. No, the cholesterol in it isn't bad. The body makes the cholesterol it needs. The only affect eggs have on cholesterol is increasing HDL (which is a good thing).

Eat more fat. 1g/lb of lean mass for protein is really all your body needs to maintain its lean mass. Beyond that, the body uses it for fuel by turning it into sugar (which defeats the purpose of eating any reduced amount of carbs). Drop that down to 1g/lb of lean body mass and increase fats accordingly. You may also want to consider decreasing carbs to 100g or less, and again, increasing fats accordingly, but start with the protein, and make sure to get your carbs from whole foods -- fruits, vegetables, etc. With the fat, same schpiel as above with the eggs. The only fat you should avoid is artificial trans fats and excessive amount of Omega-6 fats (refined seed oils). Saturated, monounsaturated, and moderate amounts of Omega-3 fats are actually really, really good for us, and provide a number of benefits, including proper cell wall structure, hormone regulation(!), and nutrient absorption.

Strength train. Body weight workouts are sufficient, but I'm partial to good old fashioned power lifting. It does wonders for the hormones (don't ask why, I have no idea, I just know it does), and helps maintain lean mass, which keeps the metabolism up. I think this article should be required reading for pretty much every person, ever -- http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/. Drop some of your cardio for a good program. If you don't have access to weights, then pick up a copy of You Are Your Own Gym and/or Convict Conditioning. If you do have access, then grab Starting Strength or one of the New Rules of Lifting books.

As for the original question of your post, about eating calories back -- I generally go by hunger levels. If I just "earned" 500 calories, and I'm wanting to gnaw my arm off, then I'll eat at least some of them back. If I'm not hungry, then I don't eat. As such, there are some days where I come back from a workout and wolf down a steak bowl with double steak and extra toppings from Chipotle for dinner (I work out before dinner), and others where I'll barely touch any food and just do a protein shake with milk (I use Jay Robb's whey protein -- whey protein isolate, cocoa, stevia, xantham gum) just to get some calories in, because working out and skipping dinner is likely a bad idea (dinner is generally my largest meal, especially on workout days, so if I don't eat, I'm short some crazy amount of calories).

Also, realize that 2-4 pounds a week is an unrealistic goal, and not one you should strive for. A pound a week is a good speed, and 2lbs a week should be the fastest you try to go, and only while you have more than 100lbs to lose. It's not a race, and you didn't gain it all over night, so don't expect to lose it all overnight, either.

At your weight right now, the tape measure might not show much. I've been there. I've lost 25 pounds since going on metformin again, and my measurements are down half an inch here, half an inch there, at best. I look at the tape measure, and at the scale, and I'm like "WHERE IS ALL THIS WEIGHT LOSS COMING FROM?!" (the spot where my thigh muscles meet my glutes, evidently, because that seems to be the place where all my pants and shorts are the most loose :laugh: ). Have some patience, give it time, and take notice of where clothes fit differently. You're getting there, and you'll get there.

Sorry to jump in here, but you sound like you know what you're talking about, as well as when it comes to PCOS

I've just been working out my BMR and TDEE, and the amount of calories I should be eating per day, which is at 1800, plus any I burn in exercise. Does PCOS affect these numbers in any way? I mean, is there anything I have to account for or do those numbers sound okay? Do I have to eat them back? You say in your post you judge by hunger levels, I feel like that would work better for me if I just made 1800 the general rule and only ate back the calories I burned if I want to.

Also, I've been doing lifting since January and I've put on 10kgs but not an inch on the tape measure, in fact I've lost about four-five inches the last few months. I decided in the last couple of weeks to do only cardio, so that I could concentrate on burning the fat, I miss it though and for some reason since I stopped lifting I've been tired all the time. You say its really good for us, so do you think I should start doing it again? and in what ratio to cardio? at the moment I've got one lifting day, four cardio days and one leg day. I say lifting, its on the machines - seated row, lat pulls, seated chest press etc, I've not actually done much free weight stuff yet, is this something I should pick up? I'd like to give anything a try if its good for PCOS.

Edit: I also just read that weight lifting/strength training improves insulin sensitivity. If this is correct then I think I'll go back to doing it...I just need to figure out how to burn fat at the same time, but I know the improved metabolism will help with that.

Is the 1800 your TDEE, or your BMR? And what activity level did you use to calculate that number? If it's your TDEE and you set an activity level above sedentary, then it's already accounting for your workouts unless your job has you on your feet all day and you're account for it. That said, if that number does not account for your workouts, then yes, you do have the option to eat them back. Some people find it works, some people don't.

If the scale has shown a gain, but the tape measure hasn't, then you very likely didn't gain fat. It's probably mostly water (the body stores water to help repair the muscles), and possibly a little muscle (particularly if you're new to lifting). When it comes to seeing fat loss, the scale often lies (or, at least, doesn't tell the whole truth). Not all weight (or weight gain) is fat, and it's the gaining or losing of fat that we need to be concerned with. Therefore, the scale cannot be the one to make or break a given decision.

So get back to lifting!

Additionally, the idea that cardio is for fat burning and lifting isn't is kind of convoluted, at best. Yes, you're burning calories while doing cardio, but you're only burning those calories while you dong it. Additionally, steady state cardio actually prompts the body to burn muscle (seriously, check out these pictures of Olympic athletes, and the patterns in muscle amount in the long-distance runners, particularly in contrast to the sprinters and sports like boxing -- http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/howard-schatz-beverly-ornstein-athlete ).

Lifting and high-intensity interval cardio (such as sprints), however, have what's known as an "afterburn effect." That is, the body keeps burning an elevated amount of calories for upwards of 48 hours later. This is in part due to the energy required to repair and build muscle to meet the demands of high-intensity, progressive training. Additionally, these activities encourage muscle retention, which keeps your metabolism from falling (muscle requires a constant supply of energy).

So, while cardio isn't bad, per se, make sure you're doing exercises that are actually worthwhile to the goal of weight loss, and that goes for lifting, too -- high-intensity, short-duration, progressive workouts are imperative for purposes of weight loss.

And yes, do free weights. Free weights are better than machines, because the lifts you do are more functional. When you actually lift something (and you're doing it correctly), you're squatting, or your deadlifting the item. Either of these types of lifts engage the entire posterior chain -- calves, hamstrings, glutes, and back -- as well as the knees, thighs, hips, and core, not to mention all the tiny little stabilizer muscles around the joints. Why, then, would you only train one of the big muscles at a time? When you actually sit down and think about it, that doesn't make any sense, does it? Besides, you can work a lot more of your body (and therefore burn more calories), in a much shorter period of time, by doing the compound lifts that free weight lifting encourages.

And no, you won't get bulky. If you're still thinking that you will, go back and (re)read this -- http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/.

For some good guides on learning to lift with freeweights, check out New Rules of Lifting and/or Starting Strength.

As for strength to cardio ratio, that depends a lot on your own body and the programs you're using in both. Most workouts (either cardio or strength) assume a 3-day-a-week routine and assume a rest day in between. Now, you could alternate days and have cardio on your lifting "rest" days, then have one "actual rest" day a week. Some people do this, but I personally found it unsustainable, because I didn't have enough recovery time. This is especially the case if your cardio days are anything but a low-intensity couple-mile walk (to be fair, such low-intensity cardio is actually very good for overall health, as it helps maintain your fitness foundation; it also burns an extra couple hundred calories, which doesn't hurt, but beyond a certain point, its benefits are more for maintaining that base level of fitness).

So, what do I do, personally? Right now, I'm doing a day of lifting and two days of boxing (which is basically high intensity intervals with a bit of a strength component), as well as some lighter-intensity stuff, like easy walks and gardening stuff. My current goal is to get to two days each of boxing and lifting, but as they're both high intensity activities, I've had to play around with spacing them, especially going beyond the 3-day-a-week schedule.

Try this for at least a month -- calculate your total daily energy expenditure and subtract 500 to get your calorie amount (or increase your activity setting on MFP so you get about the amount of calories that you get now when you log exercise), calculate your lean body weight and set your protein to about that (probably around 100g, give or take), set your carbs to no more than 100g, and fill the rest in with fat. Either don't log your exercise, or set the "calories burned" to something like 1 calorie (it's already accounted for in the above numbers). This way, your macronutrient values don't change.

Thanks again for the help. My food journal is all over the play. I have been trying to find a happy medium in enjoying things in life(whether healthy or not) and losing weight. I am on a tight budget and has gotten tighter so its going to be a little bit of a struggle to see what I can and cannot afford. The struggles of a stay at home mom, lol. Your above post is interesting and I am wondering how to figure these calculations out. I know I am SUPPOSED to have about 135g of protein as stated from the last visit I had with my Dr. This was some time ago and I am lighter now. I have protein powder at home and need to get back to having my smoothies. I got lazy lol. If you could help figure the numbers out I would greatly appreciate it. Granted I am still losing weight and I am happy with where I am going. I just need to find a way to lose 2 pounds a week consistently. know 1-1.5 is more ideal for most but I have to get my blood pressure down quickly and sadly exercise isn't doing that for me. I know I need to cut down my sodium down some as well but that is the next step. If I cut that too soon with everything else I just might snap lol. Once again thanks for the help.

Get your current weight (preferably first thing in the morning, naked), and the measurements for this calculator -- http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/cbbf/

Plug your information into the calculator and it will give you a body fat percentage. Subtract that from 100% to get your lean mass percentage. Then multiply that by your weight to get your lean body weight.

So, let's say you weigh 200lb and have 30% body fat. Therefore, you have 70% (100-30=70) lean mass, so:

200 * 0.7 = 140lb

Since we're using the 1g/lb of lean body weight to get protein, that means you'd want to shoot for about 140g of protein. That's quite a bit of protein, so what I generally recommend from there is to try to hit that, but it's okay if you don't, and try to get at least 100g every day.

A great way to save money on meat is to buy from a local butcher, and get the cheap cuts as well as the "good" cuts. Things like organs and "stew" cuts are packed with great nutrients, but since they're not a desired cut, they tend to run upwards of half the price of things like sirloin and t-bone. You can do it, even on a tight budget, you just have to do some legwork and get creative.