Support and questions about this journey!!! please help

Welcome!!! Sounds like you are off to a great start! :bigsmile:

If you didn't do much exercise previously, you might be building some muscle. If you feel you aren't eating enough based on the data you set up for yourself on the site, then eat more. But before go the route of eating more, be sure to invest in a heart rate monitor that tracks your calories burned. And when you eat, make sure they are nutritious, low-sodium, low-sugar, low-processed food.

Your metabolsim probably needs a boost...are your meals spread out evenly throughout the day (grazing)? I find that helps with my weight loss.

But if you feel like you're stuck at the same point, either you need to decrease your calorie intake, or increase it slightly. Your exercise and eating plan was probably slowing up to this point, right? If so, decrease your daily calories a bit, but not by too much. You've probably heard before that starving your body only makes it go into "starvation mode" which retains everything it can. I'm at 164lbs right now, and 1200 cal/day is my goal to lose 2 lbs/week. I'm not a professional nutritionist, but I know what works for me. I hope this helps!

I have one suggestion - take the soda out of your diet. You can do it a little gradually if you have to, by switching to clear soda (sprite or 7-up, Mt. Dew doesn't count!) and then switching to diet and then to tea and water. I know that for some it's a hard switch, but my husband and I both made that change a few years a go and dropped 10lbs quickly from that change alone.

I am also seeing fast food in there - it's super hard to get away from! But something I've seen is the Eat This Not That book series, and they have all sorts of suggestions for each fast food place. They'll suggest the things on the menu that are best. That should also help you to start the loss back up again.

You mat need to look into eating more if you're burning 1000 calories in a workout - sounds like you are very active! Look around the forums, there are some great threads on the subject, especially look for someone called newfiedan, as he seems to have it worked out.

Good Luck on your journey. Here are some things that have helped me.

I completely cut out soda even diet. It just bloats me, I don't get enough water and retain what I do drink.

I zig zag my calories and my exercise. I make sure to not do the same thing for more than 3 days.

Watch your sodium. Take out/fast food/ and processed foods generally contain a lot of sodium. Track your sodium on MFP and see if where you are at. Drop your sodium, reduce water retention, move the scale

Also for me I need more protein before and after a workout than at any other time of the day. For my perfect day- I do a medium breakfast, light lunch, snack with protein and/or fiber to sustain my workout (45 min average), dinner with more protein.

Again good luck

First of all, let me say congrats on what you have done so far. That is something you should be extremely proud of. I have notice something in my weight loss journey that isn't just about being under your calories; it is also about what you eat. There is alot of fast food in your diary which isn't good sodium wise (will cause you to retain water). I know some people don't like processed food, but I do eat those. I get Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, etc for my lunches. I also eat alot of fresh fruit and do the best I can with veggies. I have also discovered hummus (which is fantastic) and veggie burgers (much better for you). Make sure to be getting plenty of protein/fiber; it will help keep you full.

Also, water is extremely important for your body. If you can't handle plain water(like me), add some crystal light to it. I always get atleast 8 glasses and usually get about 10-12. Your body needs water to flush the system.

It could also be that you aren't eating enough (be mindful of what you are eating though). Almonds are a good snack. If you allowed 1200 calories a day and exercise burning 1500 calories; I would recommend eating back atleast half of them that is what I do. I am allowed 1270/day and I burn atleast 300/day. Your body will go into starvation mode if it isn't getting enough. This is a slow process, but it works. I have been at it 7 months now and have lost 38 lbs as of today. Slow and steady wins the race. My diary is open feel free to look if you need some suggestions. Stay strong and focused. You can do this. The worst thing you could do is give up!!!