Why won't the scale go down?

Hmm, are you eating all of those 1200-1500 cals a day PLUS all of the exercise calories you burn doing all of that walking each day? If your goal on MFP says to eat 1200 calories a day and then you're burning 300 calories with exercise, you NEED to eat 1200 + 300 = 1500 calories that day. You weren't specific so I was making sure. It's important to eat your exercise calories on top of your normal daily goal calories.

Plus, if you're building muscle you may not notice much of a change in numbers on the scale, but instead seeing measurement changes on your body. Are your clothes fitting better, for example?

How do you eat/consume the 1200-1600 calories. Are you a traditional eater that sits and eats three full meals a day? I know that is how I was raised and lately I have read in all the fitness magazines that it is better to eat 5 or more times a day but in small quantities. It may be something you already have considered, but if not it may be worth an attempt.

Ya, that could be it, too. I've found that since I was also brought up to eat three meals a day that I was going to bed hungry. I've recently switched (after reading about it here) to "grazing" and having a healthy mid morning snack between breakfast and lunch and then a mid afternoon snack between lunch and dinner and then maybe even something small before bed. I haven't gone to bed hungry now in a week after making the switch! Eating small amounts over the course of a long day releases energy in a more consistent overall way instead of in three short bursts only. That might help.

Also, if you've recently lost some weight or have been losing for awhile and have hit a plateau, maybe it's time to re-evaluate your goals and/or exercise. As your body changes so should your goals. And you'll burn calories differently, too. For example, the more you weigh the more calories you burn. If you've lost significant weight and are plateauing and still doing the same routine as you were before, you might be burning less calories now doing the same thing because you weigh less. Does that make sense? I hope I've explained it haha

More than likely your body has become used to the exercise you do. You should start mixing it up and try replacing 3 days of walking with 3 days of some other type of cardio. Try something more intense if you can. Also, if you just count calories and dont really pay attention to what you actually are eating, that could be hindering as well. Make every calorie count with good food..before you eat something, ask yourself what it will do for your body! You may already know all this but I just wanted to try and help out

I definately agree with the part about which foods. I notice some days I eat more healthy than others... still stay in my calorie range but I do better with my weightloss/energy when I eat healthier... more fruits and veggies.. . more water. Lean meats, less sweets. This doesn't by any means you have to give up things.. just substitute... whole wheat... less packaged foods... cooking differently etc. Good luck! We all hit plateaus.. the most important thing is to stay focused to get to the other side!