Take a Look

From a very quick look at a couple of days of your food diary, I would say, perhaps your not eating enough!?
You should get as close as you can to your daily calorie allowance and anything you gain through exercise you should aim to eat at least half of.

Are you drinking enough fluid too, i.e water?

Hi! Just from taking a quick look at your diary, I am thinking your not eating enough? I have found that if I eat most of my calories at breakfast and lunch and not so much for dinner I do better. Or that is what works for me. Don't give up, keep pushing, and you will get there.

From a very quick look at a couple of days of your food diary, I would say, perhaps your not eating enough!?

I agree, you seem to be way under your goal most days. I started off like this for the first 2 weeks and didn't lose anything.

I then made an effort to eat nearer to my goal and did start to lose.

I would say eat more often and eat things like fresh fruits and veggies. you can eat as much as you want! also, try not having any starches in the evening. I know, i know...but try it for a week and see what happens. keep an eye on your sodium levels because too much can result in water retention. another thing that can make your body retain water is not getting enough. sounds odd, but if your body doesn't feel it's getting enough H20, it will try to hold on to what you have. so keep hydrated!

The biggest part of losing weight is exercising, if you aren't doing much of that then that is likely why you aren't losing any weight. Eating the right foods can only do so much, you really need to commit yourself to exercising to lose more weight.

Not really. "Weight loss is 80% diet, 10% exercise and 10% genetics" Tosca Reno,

it really comes down to calories in vs calories out. If you are measuring and recording your food correctly and you are still not losing you may want to check with your doctor, could be a thyroid issue. If you are not measuring your food that is were I would start. Get a kitchen scale as weight is the best way to measure food.

Carbs! My opinion, that is your killer. Carbs provide energy and if you are not working out, you need less energy boosting food. I would modify your goals to be 50/30/20, 50% Protein/30% Carbs/20% Fat. I'll bet you see an instant difference.

Also, everyone else is right about eating more too. You don't want to put your body into starvation mode. And, at the very least, add a little walk into your daily program. Get up 15 minutes early and walk 15 minutes, you naturally add more time as time progresses.

Good luck.

I looked too. I tend to agree with other posters. You should probably eat a bit more and get some exercise. At the end of the day, when you do lose your weight, the only way to keep it off long-term is to be in a routine of burning more calories (regular exercise) than you injest. Simple concept, huh? Wonder why it has taken me almost 40 years to figure this out? You might as well start getting into that routine now...right? And, since you are so diligent about posting your food, I can tell your the kind of person who will set her mind to exercise and do it! Good luck.

I took a look at your diary and I am going to agree with everyone else... I don't believe you are eating enough calories in a day... I know you are under your calorie goal, but your body needs evergy in order to burn the calories. Also, you want to drink as much water as you can during the day! I'll tell ya from experience when I have my good days and can drink up to 10 or 12 glasses of water a day I wake up and I've lost 0.5Lbs to 1.0 lb for that period of time just by drinking water. You have to drink your body weight in water everyday! You might want to also pick up the exercise too a little bit. I have hit a really rough spot with mine because at the very begining of all of this I lost weight pretty quick, but now it has slowed down some and I too get discouraged really quickly! Just keep your head up and know that it will work you just have to work with it to see what works best for you!

I hope this helps!

Maybe you're not getting enough calories. I joined a gym lately and the nutritionist mentioned that 1200 calories a day is really the minimum - anything under that and your body goes into starvation mode (retaining everything it can). I have to eat more than i want to get closer to my recommended calorie intake. So I'd recommend staying right on your calorie intake, if possible.

Also, it seems to be true that water is the key. I try t to have about 64 oz a day. I opt for warm water tho - apparently our bodies are able to absorb warm water quicker than cold water.

Finally, exercise will help. I was on Weight Watchers a while back and like you, my caloric intake was low, but i wasn't working out. You're right, it should happen - but for me it was way too slow. When you're just getting started, exercise doesn't have to be much - it can be tightening your abs while you're driving. Lifting your calves while sitting on the sofa. Lift yourself up on your tip-toes while cooking in the kitchen.

Stretching will be good for your body too - it'll waken it up a bit.

water water water... and... eat only fruits and vegetables and eggs... boiled eggs... only boiled or steamed vegetables ((do not add anything--no salt no butter if you need added taste use herbs and spices these have no calories and are great... FYI cinnamon raises metabolism)) fruits are only to be ate first thing in the morning. and never eat anything at least 2 hours after you eat a fruit. fruit should always be ate alone. and only drink water. if you follow all this you can eat as much as you want and lose weight. most vegetables are negative calories. meaning the amount of caloires they contain will be burned off when you digest the food and go about your daily activities... and no dressing on your salads. top your salads with lots of other vegetables for taste. for example.... romaine lettuce/boiled egg/peas/carrots/pepper/broccoli/cauliflower/onions/olives ((few they are good fats and you need them but use a few here and there)) and all the veggies you can think off get creative... you will develope a taste for everything. and the more you do this the more you will not want sweets. you will crave veggies. fruit--- i use fruit when i want something sweet... fruit is good for you... sugar is not and will rot your teeth... fruit contains natural sugars which is good in small amounts so like i said eat fruit in the morning by itself and at night if you get a sweet tooth craving for a late night snack turn to fruit instead of chocolate or cake... i hope this helps!

I took a look at it and it doesn't look like you are eating bad.

I don't know how much sodium you are eating because that isn't being tracked.
I think you should try and spread your calories more evenly and eat a little more.

If you don't have time to exercise try to incorporate some muscle building moves throughout your day.
Like- when you do laundry squat to pick up the close. yesterday I was standing in line at the deli and I just kepy going up and down on my toe. It help with calf mucsles. when you take the stairs do 2 at a time.

Things like that can help.

I don't get why everyone is telling her to eat more. If she were eating like 700 calories a day, then I would think that was right. If she is eating 1200 calories a day, she should be fine...and if she wants to go under that, as long as she bumps her calories up every now and then she should also be fine.

I regularly come in at around 1000 calories. On some days, if I feel hungry, I will up my intake and hit like a 1400 to 1700 intake. I am losing about 2 lbs a week doing this. The key is to workout and really workout. Do cardio, get your hear rate up, multiple times a day if possible. Even if you do a regular cardio session in the morning and then do an interval at night for a short sprint.

Think about how our bodies evolved. Early ancestor were monsters. Like real hunters...killers...leaned out and diesel. They didnt get a solid calorie count each day. They walked, looked for food, ran after animals, etc. They would scavenge for worms and bugs and eat berries and tree roots and whatever else they could find. On the off day they could catch an elk, they gorged on it.

Go caveman style. Work for your food. Exercise in the morning, forage on healthy stuff, eat a mastodon every now and again.

The biggest part of losing weight is exercising, if you aren't doing much of that then that is likely why you aren't losing any weight. Eating the right foods can only do so much, you really need to commit yourself to exercising to lose more weight.

Not really. "Weight loss is 80% diet, 10% exercise and 10% genetics" Tosca Reno,

it really comes down to calories in vs calories out. If you are measuring and recording your food correctly and you are still not losing you may want to check with your doctor, could be a thyroid issue. If you are not measuring your food that is were I would start. Get a kitchen scale as weight is the best way to measure food.''

i agree with this. losing weight ultimately comes down to calories in, calories out. even if you exercise daily, if you eat more than you burn (even if it's healthy food), you'll gain weight and add fat on top of your toned muscles. so i think maybe you could be eating more than you think and/or overestimating your calories burned - in which case a kitchen scale and heart rate monitor would be very helpful. or like most people are saying so far, it could be that you're not eating enough and your body has jumped into survival mode. try adding more calories, but if that doesn't seem to work, make an investment in a kitchen scale and HRM and see how that goes.

I think you had some good responses here. A lot of days it looks like you are leaving a lot of calories left over which your body usually needs. Try to eat some more healthy snacks and reach your calorie goal. Even if you can only fit 15 minutes of exercise into your routine every day- do it. Take the stairs -v- the elevator, go for a quick walk at lunch. Good luck!

You need to eat the calories suggested by MFP. I also have found eating every 2-3 hrs. has been working for me lately. I also cook everything I eat myself so I can control what goes in my food. When I do eat out. it's been cut down to 1 or 2 times a month. That was hard, cause I love to eat out, but the sodium alone in restaurant food is off the charts. If you can workout, that will help too. You can do it!!!

Isn't it awesome eating so often and not gaining weight. I'm like you, I prepare everything myself. With an occasional, outing. But I always watch what it is. Glad that there are others who believe in eating like that.