Weight Loss Standstill :( Muscle?

I dont think building muscles, but if you are working your muscles may be retaining water. Also make sure you arent netting fewer than 1200 cals after exercise, you might just may need to eat more.

you are most likely not eating enough cals. I only exercise about 30 min a day and need like 1700-1800 cals for my daily goal. try finding a daily cal intake calc (google) to find your recommended daily amount.

Your body could be getting used to your routine. You might have to switch it up or something. And no you're not building muscle. Diet and cardio cause muscle mass loss, not gain (I think that's why our muscles get smaller doing cardio). You need heavy weight lifting for that.

You might need to recalculate your goals. If you're set at a pound per week try dropping it to .5 pound per week. That will give you some more calories and hopefully help you get off your plateau. (Yes this sounds weird but you really do have to eat to lose).

You might want to start some heavy weight lifting. Building up muscle increases your metabolism so you burn more fat during rest or normal daily activity.

maybe try to change your exercise too, your body gets used to the same stuff

I agree with the above and I also think you should re-calculate your calorie goals and not eat less than 10-20%below your resting metabolic rate. If it turns out that you're eating more, this will jump start your metabolism.

You need to shake things up. Change your exercise, do something different. And change your calories. You might take a day to do less and the next day do more and then go back to your 1200. Simple changes will help. Also, be sure you are getting enough water to flush your system. And keep in mind that the closer you get to your goal, the harder it is to lose. I have no idea how close you are to your goal, but just know that can be part of it. So, if it were me, I'd up my exercise to a new level (grab a Jillian DVD and see what 20 minutes with her does) and play with calories for 2 days.

She may be gaining muscle. Do you know her?

Most of us are just laypeople, and people come here for general advice.

With what she told us, and what we know it takes to gain muscle...the odds of her gaining muscle are so small I would dismiss it as a possibility.

She may be gaining muscle. Do you know her? What I say is measure yourself. If your arms and legs are bigger but your waist , hips are smaller than its muscle. I had to same problem and a personal trainer told me it was muscle since my pants size was decreasing.

I don't know her, but I know science. To build muscle you need a calorie surplus. Running a constant deficit means your not building muscle. You can maintain more of it if you do strength training 2-3 times a week, but you won't gain. If your PT told you that, he was being nice, but not accurate.

Thanks for all the quick responses!
I'll try doing some different exercises then,see if that helps. Would jogging instead of walking make a difference, or do I need to focus on different areas of my body? I can't afford the gym,so exercise needs to be free, or at home.

And I'll also reduce my weight loss each week and up my calorie intake (although the thought of eating more makes me panic into thinking I'll get fat again!). Will feel weird after training myself to eat less calories and fat...maybe I can go back to buying some bread!

Thanks for all the help

If you're going to add bread back to your diet, I highly recommend whole grain bread and bagels (and brown rice and potatoes and yams too). Starches with more fiber are a staple of every good fat loss diet (in my opinion)