New to this but I'm struggling

I started going to the gym about 6 months ago and it wasn't until a good friend (who is a professional basketball player) said something that just clicked. "Stop ****ing around, if you want to loose weight you need to go to the gym and do 1 hour of cardio at least 3 days a week" since April 23 I have lost 35 pounds. I watch my caloric intake but still eat many of the foods I love but in moderation. So mark this day on the calendar cause I'm going to say something that will change your life......

Just had a look at your diary - I think the biggest thing I would say is are you making much of your own food? Like using fresh ingredients? If you need some inspiration I would highly suggest recommend watching "Hungry for Change." It's a documentary about the human way of eating and is really informative and was quite eye-opening for me. They push juicing near the end (for good reason too) but ignoring all or that - there's just a lot of good info on there that may help you stay away from the unhealthier options. "If it's made in a lab - it takes a lab to digest it" - Kris Carr.

MFP only works if you log EVERYTHING. Don't hate yourself if you go over on some days - being overweight means that you've pretty much got to retrain yourself on how to eat, how to provide nutrients for your body and develop a healthy relationship with food. But the only way you're gonna know where you're going wrong is if you are honest with yourself about what you are putting in, what you want out of this and how you're going to get there. And if you can, try not make exercise a punishment, as such, for over eating - it's harder to stick to something that's a punishment and then it starts a bad cycle. Exercise should be "me time" to relieve stress and push yourself, for yourself

All this being said, and I'm no expert by the way so please take what you will from this, just keep up the faith. Once you start making healthy eating and exercise choices and are honest with yourself - it gets easier. I know it's hard when you don't see anything moving on the scale but that just means you need to tweak some things until you find what works for you. You're heading in the right direction by asking for help though!

The most important thing is to count those darned little calories. Every single thing that you eat or drink must be weighed and logged. There is no way that you are eating as little as you are recording in your diary without losing any weight at all....you must be completely honest with yourself. If you cheat, you are only cheating yourself!

Tomorrow is a new day, so start afresh and make sure you record everything accurately. Good luck.

PS: You have some very weird breakfasts! Lol

What cat said, I too am super guilty of not counting allll of my calories (esp when I know I'm reaching my daily limit, whats one bite here or there? a handful of nuts? lots I tell you!)

Strictness, routine and planning your meals is key. Try to stagger your meals so you do not go for long periods of time experiencing hunger, and make sure you drink bucket loads of water!

Every one can lose weight (unless you have a rare medical condition, which you probaly do not have). Just calculate your BMR and TDEE using a online calculator like (IIFYM calculator). The most important thing to do is weight your food!!!!! Then log everything (also log drinks). To be honest there is no such thing as eating clean (only when you wash your food). It is all about balance, for example if i would eat a heathly food source like chicken and i eat 4kg of it a day i will still gain weight. It is about eating less then your maintaince, this will make you lose weight, nothing more nothing less.

Example:
- I eat 2300 cals to lose weight (cause my maintaince is 2600-2700)
I need to eat minimal 160 grams of protein (1 gram of protein is 4 cals so total would be 4x160 = 640 cals of protein)
And my minimal fats are 60 grams (1 gram of fat is 9 cals, so total would be 9 x 60 = 540)
Carbs are optional (i often fill alot of my leftover cals with complex carbs)
My minimal proteins and fat i will try to fill with high density foods and ''healthy food'' sources.
I would have 1120 cals left to fill in freely, i often use 0-400 of these cals for any food i like (even chocolate or ice cream)
This creates balance in my diet between ''healthy food'' and ''junk food''.

1 healthy meal won't make you healthy, like 1 ''unhealthy meal'' won't make you unhealthy. But i would recommend using 10-20% of you cals to fill in with any food you like, this will make it easier for you to stick to your meal plan.

I use the 80-20 rule when cutting, i try to fill in 80% of my cals with healthy food sources, leaving me 20% i can spend freely.

For any qeustions feel free to ask

Tips:
- lift hard and heavy (you won't get bulky)
- Eat 10-15 % bellow maintaince
- Drink a lot of water
- take it slow
- Be honest with yourself
- Weigth your food! it is a must
- Balance is key