Not losing a pound...

It's hard to answer these kinds of posts without more details. Opening your diary might help to get you more specific advice if you're comfortable doing so.

Other than that, the most common problems we see come from underestimating calories eaten and overestimating calories burned.

You're logging everything you eat? Including condiments, cooking oils, veggies, cheat days, etc? Are you using a food scale, measuring cups, or eyeballing your portion sizes? Most people can be off in their estimates by several hundred calories when they eyeball portions. Measuring cups are better, but a food scale is going to be the most accurate.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1290491-how-and-why-to-use-a-digital-food-scale

And make sure that you've calculated your calorie goals appropriately. Remember that these are just estimates. You may need to play around a little to find what works best for you.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

If you're exercising and eating back your earned exercise calories, be sure that you're using accurate estimates of your burn. MFP and gym machines have a tendency to overestimate certain activities, which can cause you to eat back more calories than you need to. Even a heart rate monitor isn't 100% accurate. If you're eating those extra earned calories it might be a good idea to eat only 50-75% of those.

And there's something to be said for the fact that some people just burn fewer calories than the generic equations predict. If that's the case for you, you may need to adjust your calories a little lower until you start losing again.

Metabolism is far more complex than JUST calories in and calories out. sigh.

But things take time. If you are working out "hard" your body will be changing in many ways but you may not see immediate losses the scale. Toss the scale if you find yourself disappointed or otherwise affected by a number that doesn't truly indicate health at all. Make sure you are truly eating healthy for YOU. (fyi: low fat does not equate to "healthy" for many, many people.)

Are you using your scales properly? Weigh first thing in the morning with an empty bladder at around the same time for 7 days.

Metabolism isn't really much more complex than calories in vs calories out, yes fructose is stored almost immediately as fat, and yes as a woman hormonal changes over the month will make your weight go up and down. But if you maintain a deficit long enough and don't cheat or guesstimate then you will loose.

I suspect you are overestimating calories out and under estimating calories in, you said you try to over log if your unsure? a better idea if your unsure is to not eat the thing, if thats not an option then take your original estimate and log x2.

As suggested earlier if you open up your food diary then you will be able to get a much better diagnosis.

Also get a fitbit or similar device - one with a heart rate monitor, that will take care of the calories out part.

3bambi3 wrote: »

Not trying to derail, but fructose doesn't immediately turn into fat. Excess anything turns into fat. But in an energy deficit, you aren't adding fat. That would be silly.

Sorry I should have been clearer, the point I was trying to make was even if you subscribe the the thought that because fructose is metabolized in the liver stored in fat then in a deficit you will still lose. Because even if you eat 100 calories of instant fat fructose but use 200 calories of energy then the difference has to come from somewhere.

I think we are both basically saying the same thing.