Trying really hard...but still need some advice.

Thank you so much for your encouragement...I think I am very susceptible to Sodium...sadly. I have been struggling with it....and it seems EVERYTHING has sodium even celery!!!!! Ugh. I will make it a goal to stay below the number you recommended above.

I actually don't have trouble retaining water with sodium, but I still try to keep it around 1500mg. I cook for someone who is salt-sensitive. Some days, I go higher - especially when we go out to eat or when I make homemade pizza.. But most days, I can keep it around 1200-1700.

Try things like making your own salad dressing, cook with meat that hasn't been injected with broth/saline, use fresh veggies instead of canned, make soups/stocks from scratch, bake your own bread, have swiss cheese instead of cheddar, eat old-fashioned oats instead packaged cereal, if you like lunch meat - buy Boar's Head brand - many of their products have much lower sodium.

There are so many things that have hidden sodium, but they can be avoided with a little label reading. :-)

Good luck!

I know there is a lot of controversy over the low carb vs. low calorie diets. I am not here to argue either way with anyone, but I personally have stopped counting my calories and watching more what types of food I eat. I am not doing the Atkins thing or cutting carbs completely from my diet. I mainly eat carbs in the morning and I try to only eat whole wheat. If you are not already, try eating whole wheat pasta, brown rice, 100% wheat bread, instead of the white rice, pasta and bread. I stay away from sugar and regular soda as much as possible. Lunch and dinner are mainly protein and veggies for me. I only eat fruit for breakfast since it is high in natural sugars. Dinner is often chicken breasts with a large salad or large portion of veggies. I stay away from potatoes and carrots. I noticed on your diary, you had take out a few nights; try to avoid eating fast food, even if you are still under your calories for the day. You also consumed a majority of your calories for the day at dinner. Try to reverse that and eat more at lunch, when you have more time to burn additional calories. After dinner most people are not very active.

Thanks for your help and post! I usually go by the database on here and the labels on whatever I eat if there is a label available. I measure all of my food to the best of my ability and sometimes I will overestimate calories so as not to cheat myself. I log everything each day...but for example I blew Sunday and I tracked most everything, but I knew I needed to make up for it so I just got back to eating better on Monday and Tuesday. I find it difficult to eat completely whole foods when I have to eat soooo many calories according to my weight and height. I didn't get this way by eating LOTS of food at EVERY meal...I got this way by not eating all day and then eating fast food and making bad food choices during binges. Ugh. Just the thought makes me ill.

As far as the calorie burning is concerned it is an estimation. Each Zumba class is 1 hour long and so I log it on MFP by classifying Zumba as "Dance, aerobic etc" and logging my hour workout as being 45-55 minutes instead of the hour. I break a sweat 2-3 minutes into the class and keep up the intensity till the end, (I'm not a natural "sweater" by nature...but Zumba does make me sweat all through the workout.)

All in all as far as the calories and other numbers I get them from the MFP database...I also track my Weight Watcher points...never exceeding my daily alotment except on Sunday, when I bombed. Hope this was more detailed. I do not take your probe as an attack...I am grateful that you would want to help me. Thank you again so much!

Sorry for the delayed response, work and gym took over.

First and foremost, you're on the right track. That's a very important thing to keep in mind, particularly if you aren't seeing the results you were hoping for. Simply keeping track of what you eat and what you burn is a MAJOR hurdle towards getting control over your eating and exercise habits.

Now, based on your diary dating back a few days, and taking into account Sunday, you seem to be eating out a lot. Is it possible for you to do home-cooked food more and food out less? The problem with going out to eat is that you lose control over what goes onto your plate. I am also personally very skeptical of calorie listings given by restaurants (the same way my Dodge Ram was rated at 18 miles per gallon when in reality I was getting somewhere between 10 and 12). I'm certainly not saying never eat out, but I have noticed that I have much better success when I make my own food.

The heart rate monitor is also a good suggestion. I'm not saying you don't work hard at zumba, but 657 calories in 55 minutes strikes me as a bit high.

Another point is protein. I also think that MFP has a tendency of low-balling the targets for daily protein intake. I'm not going to preach low or no carb to you, but I think if you tried to eat fewer carbs than you are now and increased your protein and fat intake, you might see beneficial results. Also I would suggest trying healthy fats for snacks. A handful of almonds or a spoonful of peanut butter instead of crisps or chips might go a long way towards helping you as well.

I don't put much stake in eating a whole mess of meals a day. The scientific studies I've seen all seem to point to the differences being so minimal that it doesn't really matter much. That being said, I do know that for a lot of people eating a lot of meals helps keep them feeling fuller for longer and makes it less likely that they'll overindulge later. I'm personally the opposite, if I eat a little I just end up being starving. I eat a small breakfast, a huge lunch, and almost no dinner. It's what works best for me in keeping my total calorie intake low. Find what works best for you and stick with it.

I'm also going to suggest planning ahead if you don't already. Try to look at your calories from a weekly perspective rather than a daily one. If you're target is 1200 calories a day, and on Monday you eat 1100 and on Tuesday you eat 1300...you're doing fine (I'm not suggesting taking this to the extreme, you should still use common sense). If you plan in a cheat meal or cheat day, and prepare for it ahead of time, I find it makes you less likely to fall off your diet some other time. This week I'm eating a chicken and broccoli stir fry for lunch that's 500 calories (my usual lunch is 800-900 since I don't really eat dinner) so that I have room to relax for the super bowl. Looking forward to the MMMMMMMMBeer that I'll be able to have is a goal that I'm working towards this week that's keeping me honest. Also since it's planned, it will be less likely to destroy my diet for the whole day.

Last point, if all of that fails, it is ok to go below MFP's guideline. If you're not seeing results, try setting a target slightly lower than what MFP is giving (or try eating back fewer of your exercise calories, or try exercising a bit more, something that reduces your net caloric intake by a small amount). The estimates given are just that, estimates, it's up to you to get it to work for you. Again small steps, gradual changes are more likely to be permanent, and cause less of a shock to your system. You're also less likely to overshoot and do something unhealthy.

Good Luck!