What am I doing wrong? Suggestions?

You're not eating enough. 750-1000 calories is not enough to fuel your 'active' lifestyle.

If you are exercising so much and only eating 750-1000, that is your problem. You need to eat more. Follow MFPs recommendations and you should lose the weight. The weight didn't go on overnight and it will take time to lose it as well. Eat the 1200 plus your exercise cals as MFP suggests. The program works

Not eating the recommended amounts on MFP would be like going to WW and not bothering to count points. They are the main ideas behind the programs, and are done for a reason.

I'm hardly a professional, but from the sound of it I'd say you're consuming too few calories... I always aim for at LEAST 1200. If you eat too few calories, your metabolism actually slows down.

ignore this response, mistake

Hi there, well deftnately sounds like you are doing the work and staying active. I'm not able to view your diary but are you eating 5-6 smaller meals a day to get up your metabolism and drinking at least 8 - 8oz glasses of water a day?. Also a good diet with increased fiber helps, keeps you fuller longer and with all the working out you do, you should be eating plenty of protein, lean meats, nuts, fruits and veggies.

You should not be eating less than 1200 calories per day. You have put your body in starvation mode. Your body wants to store all of those calories. Your already slow metabolism will become even slower if you do not give it the energy it needs especially when you are working out, you should eat more calories.

Click on the link in my signature.

Posts you want to read again and again. There is a good chance you aren't consuming enough calories and put your body in starvation mode.

Nobody will ever tell you it's healthy to eat less than 1200 calories a day. your body thinks you're starving and is therefore storing the extra fat not burning it. The worst part is that if you do lose the weight on that few calories, you're going to rebound to an even higher weight than before. I've done it and it sucks. Continue to work out but up your calories to at least 1200. don't lose your motivation now that you've been doing it so long with little result. you obviously have the drive it takes!! good job.

As many other people above me have stated, you are not eating enough calories. At the end of the day, you need to NET 1200 calories minimum. That means if you ate 1200 calories before you exorcised and burned 300...well before you go to bed you need to eat 300 more calories to get back to 1200. you have to remember that calories = energy, and your body needs this enery to function. If it thinks you are not ever going to give it what it needs completely...well, its going to store all that you give it and you wont lose anything.

So, at the end of the day look over to the fr side of your calorie counter on your home page and see what it says next to NET, if that number is not 1200 after you exorcise, then you need to eat a little more or make something that is high in calories to balance you out.

Hope this helps.

As others have said, you are not eating enough. Use the BMI and BMR calculators, set your goals (use the guided recommendations. and shoot for your calories. You never want to go below 1200 calories a day.

I agree with what the majority of people have already said. For the amount of exercise you're doing you're definitely not eating enough.

We have it drummed into us that eat less and do more = weight loss
From experience i've found this not to be true IF the amount of calories you're consuming is not enough to fuel your general day to day activity PLUS the addition of exercise.

If there isn't enough fuel to give you the energy to do all this activity then your body will try to find another way of getting what it needs i.e taking it's energy stores from your muscle mass instead of your fat stores. Your body is doing what it's designed to do and protecting itself.

For a whole year prior to joining this site I was an absolute exercise fiend and rarely ate more than 1200 calories a day. I'm about 48 pounds overweight so I had lots of stored fat BUT in that whole year I only lost around 5 pounds.

I joined this site in late January/early February this year and basically used all the forums and the experiences of others to re-educate myself.

I was reluctant at first but I cut back on my cardio a little, incresed my strength training and INCREASED my calorie intake and ALSO started to eat back at least half of my exercise calories.....................and low and behold in just over two weeks i've lost 7 pounds (my ticker says 4 but am due to weigh in tomorrow and have already had a peak at the scales!!)

In Summary, I think your body is in starvation mode and it just needs a bit of a kickstart!
Good luck..i'm sure you'll reach your goal with the help and support of some of the amazing people on here.

To echo everyone else, you're not eating enough calories.

I've got a blog post on this, but to summarize:
- Calories are your body's FUEL. They're what your body needs to keep running and to survive.
- Think of calories and your body like a bank. You've got a certain amount of money (fat) stored up in the bank. Under normal circumstances your body has all kinds of "bills" to pay every day - breathing, pumping blood, immune system, all those things we take for granted. The greater the difference between what you're expending and what you're taking in, the harder your body has to work to try and get the energy from your stored fat. But when you start talking about big differences like that, over a prolonged period of time, your body starts looking for various way to keep energy expenditures down, like by running your systems less efficiently. That means you're now not only increasing your chances of suffering illness, but you're also decreasing your chances of losing weight.

Please read my post on this:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/aeryn69/view/the-great-calorie-misconception-64913

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. These are GREAT! I'm still pretty new to this whole thing, but trying to make it work.

I really don't think I'm eating too few calories, only because I know my body very well and I have literally NO metabolism. It takes me days to digest food! What goes in, almost never comes out-- I know, too much info there, but in all seriousness, it's a big concern of mine.

I was eating 12-1500 cals a day, on top of the great exercise, and still saw no weight loss--which is why I cut the calories down to 750-1000. But someone suggested that alcohol may be the culprit. I know that it definitely has an impact, but 1-3 beers, 1-3 times a week? Would that really prevent my body from burning off these love handles? I'm considering it...

Also, maybe my body hasn't "switched on" yet, so to speak? I've only been into these habits for the past three months or so. (since Thanksgiving). Maybe in another month I'll start seeing the weight fall off?

For a 23 year old, I didn't think it would take this long to see at least 10 pounds come off!

It sounds to me like you need to see a professional for your issues, your digestive problems included.

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. These are GREAT! I'm still pretty new to this whole thing, but trying to make it work.

I really don't think I'm eating too few calories, only because I know my body very well and I have literally NO metabolism. It takes me days to digest food! What goes in, almost never comes out-- I know, too much info there, but in all seriousness, it's a big concern of mine.

I was eating 12-1500 cals a day, on top of the great exercise, and still saw no weight loss--which is why I cut the calories down to 750-1000. But someone suggested that alcohol may be the culprit. I know that it definitely has an impact, but 1-3 beers, 1-3 times a week? Would that really prevent my body from burning off these love handles? I'm considering it...

Also, maybe my body hasn't "switched on" yet, so to speak? I've only been into these habits for the past three months or so. (since Thanksgiving). Maybe in another month I'll start seeing the weight fall off?

For a 23 year old, I didn't think it would take this long to see at least 10 pounds come off!

Well, who are you going to listen to? People who have successfully lost a lot of weight, like Anubis who's lost 128 lbs, or yourself, who has not lost anything?

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. These are GREAT! I'm still pretty new to this whole thing, but trying to make it work.

I really don't think I'm eating too few calories, only because I know my body very well and I have literally NO metabolism. It takes me days to digest food! What goes in, almost never comes out-- I know, too much info there, but in all seriousness, it's a big concern of mine.

I was eating 12-1500 cals a day, on top of the great exercise, and still saw no weight loss--which is why I cut the calories down to 750-1000. But someone suggested that alcohol may be the culprit. I know that it definitely has an impact, but 1-3 beers, 1-3 times a week? Would that really prevent my body from burning off these love handles? I'm considering it...

Also, maybe my body hasn't "switched on" yet, so to speak? I've only been into these habits for the past three months or so. (since Thanksgiving). Maybe in another month I'll start seeing the weight fall off?

For a 23 year old, I didn't think it would take this long to see at least 10 pounds come off!

Well, who are you going to listen to? People who have successfully lost a lot of weight, like Anubis who's lost 128 lbs, or yourself, who has not lost anything?

Aww, that's mad love right there, toots. To be neutral about it, TC posted that prior to my initial post, but seeing as how she's "still pretty new to this whole thing," I'd allow some leeway for error. It's up to them how they wanna do it. I just like leaving options like dropping knowledge seeds for growth. Cultivation is their part.

That's true. I wasn't trying to be jerky to MissMia. :flowerforyou: When almost every reply is the same answer, maybe there's some merit to the answer