I never thought I would be posting this...why am i not losin

I took a peak at your food diary as well, and I completely agree with JustMichelleB. It's not just a matter of eating the correct number of calories in any given day, it's ensuring that the calories eaten are from healthy, balanced sources.

I'd encourage you to take a hard look at what you eat, absent defense, and consider ways you can make things better. I suspect you will see the scale start to move. Good luck!

bump, I am in the same boat and now that I have read some of the advice given to you I am going to use it to see if I can get and keep the scale moving down!

I can tell you from years of experience and being a former wrestler that yor typical bathroom scale sucks ! I have weighed myslf on every kind of scale you can imagine. The $30-100 kind you buy at Walmart or Home Depot or wherever- in a word suck ! They are never level as they sit in your bathroom floor and often our kids jump on them and it throws the balalce out of wack. I have weighed myself on these kinds get a number then get off wait a second and get back on to double check and get a different number. If It's a higher number then I'd get really pissed.

The doctors scale with the movable weights or a professional digital scale are your best bet by far, but they need to be certified by someone from your local dept of weights and measures because over time they too can become out of wack. If you want to check the Doctors scale for accuracy, set the scale to zero and the indicator should balance in the middle. If it doesn't then the scale is either heavy or light and needs attention by a qualified repairman.

I can tell you, that is my opinion that people weigh themself way to often and get all worked up over a pound or 2. Ladies this happens more to you because of your TOM issues.

I haven't weighed myself since March 2011 at my local health club a whopping 413 pounds, the next day I tried out for the Biggest Loser at Univeral Studios in Orlando. I still havent weighed myself since then, but I can tell you that many outfits in my closet that didn't used to fit because of my size now fit with ease and are in fact too large. I started in a 4x T shirts and shorts , I am now wearing 2x gym wear. My feeling is I have lost in the 65 pound range and I'm pretty sure a scale would confirm that and my friends and neighbors tell me I look way thinner. My weekly routine is 40 miles on the treadmill and 50 on the bike and 5 hours of swimming, I also eat a healthful 2200 calorie a day diet. 6 days a week, and I have a cheat day where I allow myself to go to 3000 calories, so I am putting in the time.

I guess my point in all this is a people obsess over a number, - I weigh this ___ ! Weighing yourself more than 1-2 times a week will drive you crazy, DON"T DO IT !!! If you do you are probably OCD !

What are your settings? I've been going through the same thing (for 3 frickin MONTHS!). The other day, I found this:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

Turns out, my settings were wrong. I had been set at sedentary (because I sit at my desk all day... BUT, I also work out for 3-4 days per week at 1 hour each. As such, I SHOULD have been set to very active - I bumped it down to active, because sometimes it's only 3 times.)

Now, add on top of that, my anniversary was on Monday so I went out for a nice dinner. Ate WAY more than I should have. Within the next 2 days, I dropped 2 lbs. Since then, I've continued to drop. All I can figure is that I was eating too little at 1200 calories (even though I've always eaten my exercise calories).

I would advise you to read the article, adjust your settings and eat all of your exercise calories. Give it TWO WEEKS (not just 1 day).

**Oh... and believe me, I was scared as heck when I saw how many calories it wanted me to consume. On days that I run (burning 600 calories each time), I'm eating 2000! BUT... that's where my body lets me lose weight. *totally weird, but I'll take it!*

A lot of people want to question starvation mode, etc. - but from what I've seen (and witnessed), we need to take the advice of MFP and the EXPERIENCED losers (they've been through it). I realize it totally contradicts what we THINK we should be doing, but if it works, it works!

This is quite true:

To get the most out of MFP, you need to consider the following :

1) How much do you have to lose?
Set your weekly weight loss goal correctly - as per the details in the mfp basics page linked below

2) What is your actual activity level?
Then correctly set it in MFP

3) Do you wear a HRM (with a chest strap)?
If yes, then eat back your exercise calories. If no, then only eat back HALF of your exercise calories.


It's important that the1st two points are set correctly.... so that your daily calorie can be set correctly.


These 2 pages will give you all of the information you need...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/196502-for-the-people-who-work-out-like-crazy-and-are-not-losing

If you are doing weights you could be gaining muscle. Not just weights but any kind of exercise will generally build muscles. Maybe try a cleanse or eat super clean for the next 2 weeks. You could try zig zagging your calories and see if that helps!

I've had a couple of plateaus, one for two weeks, and one for three weeks. Both were so frustrating as I was staying within the calories or below, and was kicking up the excercise all the time. The first I took a day off of excercising since I'd been doing it everyday, then Boom! the next day I was down 4 lbs. The second one I started training sessions, and then I started the descent again, slowly but surely. I've read that taking a day off of excercise once a week or so allows your body to burn up a lot of what you've been working on. And perhaps changing up the routine can help. I honestly thought at my weight I woudn't have a plateau because anything I was doing was better than what I was doing before (nothing!). However, my trainer said the body can adapt so quickly to a certain excercise if it isn't changed up all the time. I try to throw a curveball at this body of mine every weekend, either swimming, a hike, biking. Stay positive, because it is very easy to get frustrated and think well what the hell! Let us know how you are doing, and keep up the good work!

Thanks, King, but I stand by my belief that clean eating will make your body a more efficient machine than what you have if you eat 1,200 calories of Doritos per day.

I'm no expert, but perhaps try drinking more water (maybe set a goal of 6 glasses per day at first, see if you can get there) and maybe try cutting back on some of your carbs. Even though you are under your carb goal daily, some days it still seems like a large amount of carbs to me. I wouldn't say to give them up completely, but just rethink if you really want that garlic bread or pasta.

I hope you can get the scale moving in the right direction again soon! Good luck!

I have lost 7-9 pounds in 2 weeks. You need to be weighing yourself every morning...eating the right kinds of foods with help you lose weight way faster than eating junk and exercising a lot. Trust me, i know. I follow a strict diet but I am not hungry! I eat all day but only healthy foods. You need to be eating 1200 calories a day- 2 servings of protein (steak only once a week), 4 servings of vegetables, 3 servings of fruit, and only 2 servings of starches (one slice of whole wheat bread=one serving starch). After working out or if craving something sweet, you can eat one nutrition/protein bar (check for how much sugar is in it). It is very strict but trust me, I used to absolutely love junk food and now i only want a little bit of it one day out of the week. If you follow that plan exactly, you will lose weight fast and keep it off.

Let me know what you think! If you want more details about what you can and cant eat send me a message!

You seem a bit defensive when in your responses to people--there have been some wonderful responses and ideas given to you, I don't really understand this line of thinking, but I DO understand that you must be frustrated, because you think your way is correct because it has worked so far...but if it were, would you have written this post? Open yourself to other options and may be you might find something that is holding you back...or something that works better.

Good luck to you, I hope you can find what works for you.

She was just explaining that her 'fries' were homemade and healthy, same with the sloppy joes. It tends to make anyone a bit testy when you ask for advice and ppl immediately jump down your neck about alll the *garbage* your'e eating. You can say the same thing in an encouraging and kind way, folks. You don't need to say that "your food choices suck", like someone did on this thread earlier. And not everyone wants to gho low-carb. 'clean', or any other number of strict lifestyle changes. Its true - you CAN lose weight on a balanced diet.

thanks for sticking up for me! i'm welcome to suggestions but when someone tells me i'm unhealthy when in reality i am not it makes me feel defensive!! i was asking for advice, not judgments.

get over it. you opened yourself up and your diary up to criticism. i make homemade fries too and mark it in my diary "homemade fries' DUH sloppy joes, label it differently OR shut your diary out to people, and as far as what nan said you took it personally. you can't handle criticism? dont ask for advice. i thikn you got great advice from a lot of people on here but you chose to take it personally when thigns were pointed out to you that didnt look "healthy" ISNT THAT WHY YOU WROTE? to get advice? take it down a notch girlfriend. i understand your frustration as i was on a six-week plateau and was tearing my hair out, but taking advice personally when it's not what you want to hear isnt going to help you AT ALL...my two cents, which really dont even amount to that much.

You know what I believe helps me, filling up at breakfast, big time. I try to get in a lot of protein at breakfast, and lunch.
My dinners are so late because of work and running around with my daughter, I avoid breads and rices, and eat a lean meat and fruits, veggies and a yogurt.

I also found that since I added fresh berries and oranges into my diet every day, I've had a lot more energy, and have been losing a consistent amount each week.
I wish you luck!

Two thoughts...

One, you have had a few days in the last week or so where you go over in your sodium - one by quite a bit. So it could just be water retention. Be careful with eating too many high sodium foods and make sure you're drinking plenty of water and getting fresh fruits and veggies to help clear all of that up.

Two, you said you just switch up your exercises - can't remember exactly but something by Jillian which usually means strength training. There's a good chance that your muscles are retaining water as part of the natural healing process. Anytime you switch up your exercises, this is likely to happen because you're using muscles you either don't use much or you're using them in a different way.

So, simply put, stick with it, drink plenty of water (and get it from natural sources like fruits/veggies), wait a couple of weeks and I bet you'll see some progress. Also, take some measurments - sometimes those tell more about progress than the scale.

I'm sorry that you're going through a frustrating plateau. I've been there for the last 3 months myself, losing and gaining the same 3 pounds over and over. I don't know how long you've been eating at a calorie deficit, but since you've lost over 50 pounds (I'm almost there too!), I would guess it's been awhile. I would stay under my goal by 200 or so calories thinking I would lose quicker, but it always backfired. I'd eat more on the weekends, around 2200 to 2400 calories/day (which should have been maintenance), gain 2 pounds, and then work my butt off during the week to lose that same 2 pounds.

For the last couple of weeks, I've tried a different approach. I stopped stressing about it. I haven't been pushing as hard in my workouts, and I set my goal to maintain. If I was under by a little, that was okay, but I really tried to get to that maintenance goal, including eating my exercise calories. So that was equal to 2600 calories some days. I haven't lost or gained any weight this week. None last weekend, and none this week. I think I just needed to reset my body. We're so afraid to gain weight that even maintenance seems scary. But you might want to give it a try. You don't really have anything to lose since you say you're stuck at your current weight--maintenance should maintain it.

Good luck, and let me know if you do decide to try this!

I took a peek at your diary, and honestly, it's not a very healthy one (sloppy joes, fries, coca cola). I don't see any/many fruits/veggies and whole grains. I'm all for things in moderation, but at some point ,you need to look closer to your diet and see what is going on.

^^ THIS The type of calories you are taking in matter. Period.

Also, you said you tried upping your calories for one day... unfortunately, it takes more than a day to assess whether a change in the amount of fuel you take in will have an impact. Check your BMR. If you are always eating below that and not eating any calories from exercise back, that may be your issue. If so, try eating more for a week or two. And go by more than the scale - measure and take pictures. There isn't a one size fits all approach, so try playing around with things, just be realistic that tweaks won't do much overnight.