why am i not losing?

Hope you get some good advice because I am the same stayed the same for the past couple of weeks !!!

That is how I was. I had to go really stricked and cut out most grains and Definately no white flour and no sugar.

if you opened your diary it would be a lot easier for us to recognise where the problem is at

Put weight aside just for a moment. Now, ask yourself as you dress if your cloths fit any differently. Eveyone's body is different and will show weight lose differetnly. If you were a person of minimal musle and are exercising now perhaps you are adding musle as you lose fat - and musle weights more. Again, the question should be if your cloths are fitting any differently. If they are stay the course and in time you will see the weight drop. if not, I would suspect your exercise needs to be increased (higher heart rate) and you may be not countin all your calories - or counting them incorrectly.

I had the same problem for the first few weeks I joined this site. Have you measured inches? Thats where I was seeing my progress first, then I started to lose pounds. Experiment a little with your exercising. What I did is more cardio. Then when I noticed my weight loss on the scale, I started doing some strength training a few times a week as well.

I am having the same prolbem but keep trying because the weight will come off . Have you taking measurements because the seems to be the first sign of weight lost.

It depends on a lot of factors.
What are you eating? While watching calories is great if all your calories are made up of lard or doughnuts that may be a factor.

Are you eating enough calories? Too little can be as bad as too much.
Is "about three times a week" the same as Three Times a Week? How long are you exercising? At least 30 minutes? Perhaps longer sets of exercise, 30 minutes of cardio at least 3 times a week, and adding something else to the exercise mix will help.

when you exercise are you getting your heart rate up high enough. Not enough effort can be a major issue. often we don't realize that we're not pushing as hard as we think we are. Invest in a heart rate monitor and see what it says.

Has it been long enough to see a difference? Three weeks isn't that long in the grand scheme of things and there is not instant fix. How long did it take to put the weight on?

Most importantly, don't give up. Learn more, try harder, and keep trying. You'll get there, just perhaps not this week.

Since your diary is not open and we have no clue how tall/weight you are ..or how much you have to lose -- all of these response are "guesses".

For most people though, 1200 is still too low-- unless you're very tiny or have over 70lbs to lose.
If you have less than 30 to lose, you should choose "lose 1/2 lb" week --- but people think choosing 2lbs is the way to go -- and its really not.

Maybe you can provide some more info about yourself and open your diary you can get better answers

Your body is adjusting to what you're doing. Be patient and let it do what it needs to do.

Things you might want to consider:

1) How intense is your exercise, and how long are you exercising? You might want to increase the intensity or the frequency. When I first started losing weight, I was only walking--but it was fast walking, five days per week for one hour each day. When things slowed down, I converted to the Couch to 5K running program. Now I'm doing a combination of running at increased speed and distance, with intervals, and days of circuit and strength training in between run days, plus yoga as many days per week as possible, so I'm exercising six days per week. And even then, I plateaued and am working on breaking that for the last 5 or so pounds I want to lose.

2) Are you keeping accurate track of your calories? Make sure you're not sneaking in anything that you're not counting. That stuff adds up! But yes, you could also not be eating enough. You need to account for your exercise in the food you eat. Also avoid empty calories from "white" foods--sugar, white flour, white rice. Go for the brown counterparts, the whole grains, etc. Make sure that every calorie you do eat counts nutritionally so that your body doesn't go into any kind of stress load.

3) Are you eating a lot of salt? You might be losing, but retaining water. And sometimes when you first start changing your habits, your body retains water anyway as it adjusts to your new diet/exercise routines, which can hide any real weight loss.

Use different measures to determine what is really going on. Do your clothes fit better? Are you losing inches? Do your arms/thighs/neck/face look less flabby? There are other measures of real weight loss besides the scale.

Most of all, be patient. Losing weight takes time--it took time to gain it, right?

Look at it as getting fit and healthy instead of losing weight, and you'll do great. Don't give up!

One more thing. When you are exercising... are you keeping your heart rate in the fat burning zone? See the article below.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/208307-how-to-calculate-heart-rate-for-fat-burn/

After looking at your food journal, this would be my advice to you.

*Get rid of butter/margarine
*Change your % on MFP to include MORE protein and LESS carbs
*Stay away from white/processed foods
*Eat a LOT more protein and fruits/veggies

Just because you are under your calorie goal, you need to look at what KIND of calories those are. Chocolate chip cookies and butter aren't good choices for weight loss. EVERY meal needs to have protein. If you need to, get a protein powder shake to use 1-2x/day to add protein. (Mine has 25 protein and 2g sugar per serving) Your body needs protein for breakfast. Instead of toast and butter, try a 5-6 egg white omelet with a half cup spinach, a slice of low sodium lean ham/turkey/chicken and a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese. It will help you feel full longer, and will help with the late-day-hunger issues.

I'm with-in 20lbs of my goal weight and had the same issue for months. I upped my calories, increased my work-outs. Nada. The only thing that worked in the end was to stick to 1200 cals and stop eating back all of my exercise cals.

I know lots of people are going to berate me for this but I'm tiny (5'2" with a very small frame) and eating my exercise cals or trying to eat 1400-1500 per day was actually making me gain weight. I did lots of research and this is not an unsafe way to go so long as you're not burning more than 400 - 500 cals a day and allow yourself some rest days & make sure the food you eat is nutritionally rich. My BMR is only 1274 so exercise is the only way to create the calorie deficit needed to shed the last few pounds.

Do not try this if you are obese or haven't spoken to your doctor. For those who doubt, this was recommended on Jillian Michales pod cast about coping with a plateau.

@ 5' 10" and 166 pounds, you are already well within the healthy weight range for your height. Maybe try to concentrate more on toning and getting in shape and less on losing weight? Give yoga or pilates a try or start some weight training, something to build up your muscle. You might not see a difference on the scale, but the difference in your body will be significant. Best of luck to you.