What should I be doing different?

First of all; how are you eating?

First of all, you need to calculate your BMR. I'll give you an example using myself at my start weight, as I don't know your age. You will have to recalculate your BMR at various parts on your weight loss journey (every 5 lbs or so... or whenever you hit a block.)

I am 66 inches tall (5 ft 6 inches), I am 22 years old, and I weighed 158 lbs at the start.

So, you the formula we use is 655 (4.35 x weight in lbs) + (4.7 x height in inches) - 14.7 x age in years)

All the random numbers are constants and you just insert your own information.

So, for me, my BMR = 655 + (4.35 x 158) + (4.7 x 66) - (14.7 x 22)
= 655 + 687.3 + 310.2 - 103.4
= 1549.1 k cal

If you are sedentary, multiply this number by 1.2. For me, I could eat 1859 calories daily and maintain my current weight.

If you are moderately active (ex. You do 3 hours of cardio weekly), you multiply this number by 1.55. For me, I could eat 2401 calories daily and maintain my start weight.

HOWEVER, you want to lose weight.

Decrease the above alotted calories by 10-20%. DO NOT DECREASE YOUR CALORIES BY MORE THAN 20% OR YOUR BODY WILL GO INTO STARVATION MODE AND ANY WEIGHTLOSS WILL BE TEMPORARY.

So, for example, if you want to decrease by 20%, multiply this number by 0.8.

If I want to lose weight and am sedentary, I could eat 1859 x 0.8 = 1487.2.

If I want to lose weight and am active, I could eat 2401 x 0.8 = 1920.8 daily.

You need to make sure you're eating enough... if not, you will just gain the weight back and screw up your metabolism.

That said, try eating the right kinds of foods. There was a study conducted where one group at less calories and one group at more calories than the first group but ate more produce and weighed LESS than the first group. Drink lots of water, and don't eat too much sodium and sugar. (The sugar in fruit doesn't count... it's natural so your body can break it down.) Don't drink "diet" drinks. Your body cannot digest the aspartame so it will be stored as fat, and it causes serotonin to be taken up faster, contributing to depression. Good calories come from good fats like avocados, olive oil, fish, etc. Try to eat whole grains. Try to avoid processed food (ex. order "whole cuts" at the deli). Of course, limit your fast food intake.

Also, I recommend cardio and WEIGHT LIFTING. That will make you skinner faster and healthier than a low-calorie diet will. Besides, you'll be able to keep the weight off if you eat as many calories as you're supposed to and couple that with exercise.

Good luck... sorry for the long spiel but I hope that was helpful

Here are the things that stuck out to me:

1) Where are your veggies? And fruit? They add a ton of fiber and nutrients.

2) I don't think you are eating enough calories to work out as hard as you are. Try eating back excercise calories or changing your goals to lose 1 lb per week or .5 lb per week. Your body needs fuel to work out. If you don't give it fuel to burn it will hold onto what it already has in the tank.

3) A lot of dairy. You only need 2 servings of dairy a day. 3 if you are breastfeeding.

Don't give up! Think about how long it took you to gain the weight, it will take as least that long if not longer to lose it!

2) I don't think you are eating enough calories to work out as hard as you are. Try eating back excercise calories or changing your goals to lose 1 lb per week or .5 lb per week. Your body needs fuel to work out. If you don't give it fuel to burn it will hold onto what it already has in the tank.

^^^^ This.

After looking at your food diary, I think you definitely need to up your intake of fresh fruits and veggies. You could be deficient in some important nutrients from the looks of your diet.

I also agree with a previous poster about your dairy intake. Several kinds of cheese and yogurt a day are adding a lot to your calories but no diversity in nutrition. I'm lazy, so I'm not too good at calculating percentages on my food intake. What I do is make an effort to get as many colors as possible into my meal (orange processed cheese doesn't count as a color). Just by reading your foods look bland and mostly brown and white. Liven it up! Plus, spring is near! This means radishes and asparagus and spring greens....it's a perfect time to freshen up and liven up your eating.

Calories aren't a wholly objective measure. I could eat <1200 calories of doritos a day....I'd probably lose weight, but I wouldn't be fit, healthy, or on a sustainable diet.

Phew, I got rambly.....

I always add a banana to my breakfast. It's filling and pretty much freaking delicious.

A quick spinach salad is a great lunch. Take out those slices of sugary and useless white bread and throw the chicken or turkey onto some spinach with a few dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and lite dressing (bonus if it's homemade) anf you're good to go. Tons of iron, protein, healthy fats and it's pretty.

As far as dinner, I always include 2 roasted/steamed veggies. Then you can have a reasonable amount of protein and a little bit of starch.

Today's diary looks much better! You're still very low on calories. You don't have to starve yourself!!

You will get different answers cuz everyone is different. For example, I can eat LITERALLY the same stuff daily and if I adjust my calories, I can lose tons of weight and fat in no time. In fact, I don't vary my food too much. I keep it relatively consistent especially since everything requires some planning. Imagine if I change everything every other day. NO WAY. Now, I was cutting back on my body fat percentage. I went from 15% down to 5%. It was fairly easy. People over complicate this thing.

First, look at how many calories you should be eating. Forget that factor (aka sedentary, etc..) Just assume you don't do anything. Let's say at your weight you should be eating 1500 calories. In order for you to lose weight you have to subtract at least 500 calories. You would lose about a pound a week. So you would eat 1000 calories a day. Just an example. Again, it's ok if you over that number since you are actually active.

Now, part 2. If you are trying to lose weight (lose fat really, I will get to this in a minute). Aim for this ratio 50% protein/ 30% complex carbs/ 20% fats (good fats like nuts and peanut butter). If you do this, you will lose weight in no time.

Going back to losing fat. Ok, people are crazy with this weight thing. Weight is just a number. In fact, most of us say: "I want to lose 20 lbs." That 20 lb. number is completely arbitrary in most cases. What people should aim for is to reduce their body fat percentage. Less fat, better body. Plus, healthier too. So get a body fat caliper, they are really cheap and they will give you the complete story.

I give you my example. I was at 160lb. and about 15%. I am 31 btw and about 5'6". I went down to 145 lbs. and 5%. Guess what? I was going crazy looking at the scale thinking, omg, I am losing too much weight. When in fact I was losing mostly fat and when I look at the numbers now, I lost very little muscle. When I finally reached my goal, I started eating more to gain muscle mass while STAYING at about the same BF%. Now, I am at 150 lb. with about 5.5%. Your weight only serves to tell you how much of that weight is fat and how much is muscle.

The reality is that I thought I had to stay at around 160 but I had to go down to whatever I had to go down so that I could lower my BF%. If you aren't losing weight, you are simply eating too much. That's it really. Also, you said, you lost some weight. Again, 1-2 per week is what you should aim so you should realistically aim to lose 30 lbs. in 15 weeks.

And you can go extreme if you are in a rush but I don't think it's necessary.

So I was at 1900 calories and doing exercise that would give me a 800-1000 calorie deficit. I still lost tons of fat. So yeah, that whole starvation mode is not really true. Your metabolism may slow down but not enough to stop burning fat.