Struggling with food/weightloss

Well there alot of response here,

It does not really matter what you eat but how much you eat for weight loss alone (however micros are important for health so make sure you are meeting your needs there).

Alot of people on the 1200 cal a day plan have their loss rate set too aggressively for their goals. If it is working for you then great, but often times people find long term they don't stay "happy" on that plan.

The 4 days strait of resistance training sounds odd to me, but hopefully someone with more experience in that area will chime in on that.

As for the inconsistant losses, not sure how long you have been at it but often times people see large losses early on and then their body settles into more consistant loss according to their plan. How long has it been since the first week?

Also, make sure you are weighing solids, measuring liquids, and logging every single thing for accuracy.

Without a food scale you're estimating and can't be accurate. But if you lost weight week 1 and haven't in the 2-3 weeks since, no reason to panic yet. Body weight fluctuates especially for women. TOM/hormones, sodium, stress, etc. all have a temporary water weight impact.

I would recommend getting a food scale. It makes a big difference and they are fairly inexpensive (I got mine for less than $20).

Stop using so many "quick add" calories and "generic" entries. Those are complete and total guesses and you're probably off on your calorie counts. I also see a few incomplete logging days. Instead of using someone else's entry, make your own recipe for things. That way you know the calorie count is correct.

So, instead of "homemade mashed potatoes with butter" at 104 calories.....make a recipe for mashed potatoes. Weigh your potatoes before cooking. Enter that many into the recipe. Add your butter to the recipe, along with any milk you use. Then, when the cooking is done, weigh your dish and figure out how many oz or grams is a portion and enter that you ate that. Way more accurate. It's some extra work, but once things are entered, you can go back to using them over and over again.

I'm also going to guess that your sodium levels are high. As much packed and take-out food as you're eating, you are probably retaining fluid. It may not look like it from your diary, but those entries are probably incomplete and don't have accurate sodium amounts. If you start focusing more on whole foods - lean protein, fruits, veggies, etc, you'll reduce your sodium amounts and won't retain as much fluid.


Just some ideas that may help

you need to start weighing everything out correctly and using the correct brands for calorie content. log everything you put in your mouth. I'm doing 1,200 calories as well so have a look at my diary if you like. I've lost 13lbs in 5 weeks but I probably have a lot more to loose than you.

Some of the entries you choose do not seem to be accurate. One day you have 3 wheatabix for breakfast and dinner and there are different calorie counts for them. You also have eggs and 2 toasts barely having more calories than another entry for just buttered toast.

Unfortunately, a lot of the entries are user entered and can just be wrong. Make sure you double check with the box label that you are choosing the correct values for things. You also have some quick add calories, which does not help.

I'd suggest logging accurately for a month, and see how that goes. Here's a post to help with how to log accurately:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

thanks for all your help it's much appreciated, what do you do if you eat out?

Plan ahead by searching online menus for calorie totals and fit those into your calories budget. Pay extra attention to the sodium amounts because many are huge and will cause water retention.