Frustration was broken by....a Dunkin Doughnut =(

not sure what MFP is telling you to eat for net cals but you may not be eating enough. Hard concept to grasp but it might be whats going on. Everyone is different but since I have been with MFP I have fluctuated from my net cals to about 300 under and I have been losing every week. I would make sure you are getting close to your net cals and see how that works for you.

try upping your cals usually on a diet you want to start by taking your weight and multiplying it by 10 so 2360 then subtract 500 cals to eat and try to burn 500 calories through exersise or even them out thats what I have gathered through my research hop it helps

I am in the same boat as you. I had a loss of 7 lbs my first week and nothing this week at all. It sucks, but I know I have faithfully stuck to the program. It could be that your body is trying to adjust to the new lifestyle. I'm planning to continue as I have for another week and see what happens. If I am still not getting anywhere then I will bump my calories up a bit. Good luck!

You should be eating some of your exercise calories that they give you back.....the limit of "1200" calories is the bare minimum. If you don't eat that amount at least every day then your body will go into starvation mode and you'll plateau off at not losing any weight for a while, or at least not losing much. Make sure you are drinking enough water to flush some of that salt out....water follows salt (haha thanks nursing classes for the info!).

Keep your chin up--you can do this!!

are you eating back some or most of your exersize calories?? You may want to eat more. A lot of people say that when they up the cal by even 100 cals it has helped them. Also Clean eating is a big one too. But I would say stay away from the scale, weigh once a week or every two, buy a measuring tape and measure your self. I have only lost 20 lbs this whole yrs from Jan 1 but the inches I am losing like crazy. HUGS . I wish you the best and that you get the answer that will help kick start the loss again.

I feel your pain. I used to look in the mirror and slump away to the couch discouraged because I had mowed the lawn and gone for a 3 mile walk, but still looked like an Oompa Loompa. But I've learned that there are enough people who can make me feel utterly bad about myself, so I'm my own cheerleader. My motto is, "If I'm NOT the best I can be - I will keep working until I am." Nothing or no one can stop me from working on loving myself: from the inside out.

Also, don't forget the inches! My results are far more rewarding when I try on my clothes than when I look at the scale.

Be happy and healthy!

Try eating more, seriously. My opinion is that MFP's suggestion of the amount of calories you should eat is way too low.

Example...When I weighed around 150, I was losing weight on eating around 1800 calories and working out about 30-40 min 5 days a week.
When my husband weighed around 225 he was eating 1700ish and working out about 5 days a week and not losing. When he bumped that up to about 2200 the weight came off.


Try this site for suggested calorie intake...
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

It's hard to say for sure without access to your diary but from what you've said, I'd have to assume that you're not eating enough so your body is holding on to every morsel it can (starvation mode). I'm not sure what you have your weight loss goal set at but if it's 2 pounds per week, I'd suggest lowering that to at least 1.5 pounds per week so you get 2-300 more calories per day.

That's the setting I've been using since April. I eat all my exercise calories back (granted, they're from my heart rate monitor, not the high #s that MFP gives), usually go over caloires 1 day per week by at least 300 and have been losing about 1 pound per week consistently. I know it sounds odd but keep reading around on these message boards and more often than not, you'll see people saying to eat more to lose more. It really works!

First, stop weighing yourself every day. You're just giving yourself stress. Weight can fluctuate day to day, and expecting to see much change in one day is setting yourself up for disappointment. Weigh in once a week.

Realize that you won't be losing 5 lbs a week most weeks. It often happens in the first week or two of a serious weight loss program, but a good portion of that is water your body sheds with the new diet and activity. Expect to lose 1-2 lbs a week most of the time (that means you'd only average .2-.4 lbs a day at best). Losing "slowly" is actually better for you - it allows your body time to adjust and your mind time to build habits that will keep you slim long-term.

Do make sure that you are consuming at least 1200 NET calories a day. That means if your MFP weight goal is set to 1200, you need to eat back your exercise calories. MFP already works your calorie deficit into your goal, and if you drop below 1200 calories on a regular basis it can send your system into what is frequently called "starvation mode." (Something of a misnomer, but still not what you want for losing weight).

Finally, don't kick yourself if you cave once in a while. Everybody needs a little cheat here and there. I'm not saying eat the donut every day, or even once a week. But every once in a while you're going to be hit by a craving for something, and treating yourself in moderation (as long as you're careful for the rest of the day and "good" the rest of the week and most weeks) is perfectly fine. After all, this is a lifelong change, and the occasional treat is part of life. It's only when that is the norm that it is bad.

Thank you for all of the suggestions and advice. I will definitely take them to heart. I don't want to give up, but sometimes I just feel like all the work is for naught (kind of like my REAL job). And the funny thing --- I work in WELLNESS!! So, I'm the one sending communications to employees about the power of eating well and living a healthy lifestyle, to help with reductions in their overall health insurance. Crazy, right?!!

I definitely have healthy snacks around me. My daily routine usually follows this pattern:

Bkfst - egg substitute (1/2 cup) with some veggies like mushrooms, peppers or tomato as an omlete
Snack - a yougart or piece of fruit and/or a packet of weight control oatmeal
Lunch - either a spinach salad with a bunch of veggies -- broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes, cauliflower, cucumber, peppers and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegarette
Snack - another piece of fruit or a snack bar
Dinner - either fish or meat (chicken or steak) always the size of my palm, a sweet potato and some kind of vegetable or small salad
Dessert - maybe a fruit salad, a fruit bar, a yougart

The weird thing is that I am not hungry once I eat my dinner. I start to feel hungry, really really hungry around 11pm. But it's too late and I don't want to jeopardize myself.

Any chance your diary says that you are going over on sugar? Maybe a little more protein?