Terrified to ask this...

Eating way too few calories is what got me here trying to track my stuff in the first place. I will try and do more, but sometimes, honestly, there just isn't any more food to HAVE.

You sound like you need to locate a food pantry. Also see if Angel Food has a distributor near you. Sometimes they have really good produce boxes. Also you may qualify for food stamps. I know a lot of people think badly of food stamps but if you NEED them you should get them. It is people who get them just because they can that make it look bad. Also if any of your kids are under 5 look into WIC. They can help a lot with milk, eggs, peanut butter and good cereals. Oh and some cheese last I checked. We stopped going to our pantry and dropped WIC because we no longer needed it. Lets others get what they need.

Consider changing your macros (% breakdown of carbs, protien and fat). Your diary shows that you are drinking a lot of calories, and you seem to consume more fat than protien! Switch Non-fat milk for 2%, cut back on the cheese or switch to low fat. Also, don't assume ground turkey is a better option. I had a steak last night that had less fat than the ground turkey! I know shopping on a tight budget is tough. But your entire family will benefit from healthy choices. Good luck!

I was thinking along the same lines.... you seem to be taking in too many carbs and not enough protein...

If you've lost 21 lbs. in 160 days that's about a pound a week on average. That's not a bad loss level, especially for someone (now) at a healthy BMI.

No no. 42lbs in 370 days. I've got 21 left to go.

If you started at MFP at 177 lbs. and that was 160 days ago and you're now at 156, that's 21 lbs. in about 23 weeks. I must be misunderstanding.

Rold Gold - Pretzel Sticks, 2 oz (53 sticks)
Mountain Dew

^^ This is why.

I know it's alright to cheat a nit, but once you get closer to goal, you plateu and cheating makes is worse.

1) NEVER drink soda. Just never. Don't. Ever.

Agreed. Soda is the worst possible waste of calories I can think of.

Please be gentle, but I need some help figuring out what is WRONG!?

I've been on my journey to a smaller me for a year officially and on MFP for 160 of those days (as of this morning). My malfunction goes like this:

I started MfP at 177lbs
After the initial weight drop associated with keeping track of what I'm actually doing (tracking calories/exercise/water) I can't seem to drop but 1lb every 6th week?! :noway:

On average (minus a few gym bans thanks to my youngest) I spend 5 days a week at the gym for at LEAST an hour doing various activities. I use the treadmills, the elliptical, walk the track (I'm working on running, but I have a short leg, so I still fall down a LOT), I pick things up and put them down.... You get the idea.
I try to eat as best I can (minus some pizza here and there when there just really ISN'T any time to cook). I avoid soda most of the time (Root beer is my weakness and I KNOW I downed 2 mountain dews in one day, but it was hot and the water was only lukewarm vs. the ice cold soda). I've got a budget of only $160 a month to feed all 5 of us, so I make mostly everything I can from scratch. So, yeah. The foods not ALWAYS the best, but I try.
I track my water and I must admit, the first few times I saw how MUCH it was, I was afraid I might drown in my sleep, but I'm over that little scare :laugh:

How on EARTH am I only losing 1lb every 6th week?!?!

I'm 5'8.5"
CW: 156
Loss goal per week set at 1lb because I've got 20 some lbs left to drop.

I (think) I have opened my diary to MFP.
Please, if someone could just tell me what the heck is going on here???
Pretty please? :flowerforyou:

You're getting so much good advice. There was a comment about dairy, I do agree with trying to eliminate or limit dairy. It isn't good for everyone - some 60% of adults are lactose intolerant and many don't even know it. This isn't even an illness, it's just that after mammals are weaned, it's natural in many people to stop producing the enzyme to digest milk. They (and this was me) just walk around not losing weight and feeling bloated sometimes and not really knowing why. Dairy is pushed so hard in the US but actually for calcium, (unless you have a nut allergy) almond milk has almost half the US RDA in one serving and other great nutrition. It does have less protein, though.

The only thing I would add is to check your fiber. The going recommendation is something like 25 grams per day, and processed carbs (white rice, white flour, white pasta etc) won't give you nearly enough. I know many people say carbs are bad but the whole grain/nuts/seeds kinda carbs will keep your system moving and help you lose weight

It appears that almost every day you are going over on your sodium intake. Perhaps you are retaining a lot of water? Try to cut back on the salt a bit. Good luck and great job so far!

Drop all soda and pizza. It is amazing how much those "occasionally" add up. If you have a tight food budget they are expensive and you don't need them. Spend that in better quality foods. Water is much cheaper and you'll feel a lot better on $20 worth of veggies than $20 of soda pizza.

Do you do intense cardio? Intervals on the eliptical would be great. Go really really fast for 30 secs, easy for a minute, repeat 5 times. You really gotta sweat hard and get that heart rate up.

To me the problem is obvious. You are 5' 8.5" and156 lbs. you don't need to lose any more weight. Your body is trying to tell you that.

That's a good point, you're only half an inch shorter than me and only 1lb more than my goal weight. Are you sure you need to lose weight? I would look anorexic lower than 155

I haven't read all the posts or much of your diary, but I'd suggest checking the amount of fiber you're eating. And as someone else said, make sure you're eating enough. (Read about EatMore2WeightLess, if you haven't already.)

Rice and beans (homemade) are inexpensive, provide protein and other nutrients including fiber. Depending on where you live, is there a farmer's market or co-op nearby. This time of year (assuming you're in the Northern hemisphere) you may be able to get berries and early green vegetables very cheaply. There are other minor substitutions... mustard has more flavor and less fat than mayonnaise. Gazpacho? Salsa rather than cheese with chips? (I like cheese, so I'm not saying you shouldn't eat it, just trying to suggest some inexpensive options.) Ice tea (even sweetened) instead of soda? (If you make your own sun-tea, it's probably cheaper than the soda.) Baked, skinless chicken instead of fried? Chicken with tomato sauce and some spices? "Spanish omelette" - eggs with tomato sauce and sautéed vegetables? I don't think you need to reduce calories much, but I've tried to provide some ideas that may be healthier without adding more calories or being more expensive.

Overall, you're doing well. Congratulations on loosing the weight you've already lost! And on keeping on in the same direction, even though it's been hard and slow... on the plus side, that may make it easier to keep off and reduce some side effects like loose skin or the drawn look some people get when they loose too fast. Some small additional changes may be enough to speed things up. My guess is that if you eat a little bit more and continue exercising. (Remember that over time the same exercise gets easier and burns less, so you might want to change your routine, if you can.)

Good luck!