Help! Trying SO hard, haven't lost in 8 months!!

I work out 6 days a week, but for an hour at the most. It just depends on that particular work out. Its just a lot of working out to "just" maintain. When I first started this journey, I was eating between 1100-1200 cals/day. Maybe I need to go back to that..even though I kind of feel like that's too little for as hard as I work out some days.

Hey friends. I need advice. Lots of info, so I'll try my best to be as brief as I can.

January 2011, began weightloss journey at 204 lbs, size 18. Im 5'4", 30 year old mother of two young kids. Lost 50 lbs in 8 months. Hit 60 lbs (and a size 10) by 11 months. Then stopped. Completely stopped losing. I had an ultimate goal of 138 lbs, but never got past 144 when I stalled. I tried many things to jump start the process. Upping calories, lowering calories, changing foods, taking foods away, changing workouts, etc. In the past 19 months, Ive gone from eas(ier) work out DVD's in the living room, to running, to p90x, more running, Insanity, now Im doing a p90x/Insanity hybrid to work out. All of this really hard, very diligent, day after day work...and Ive *gained* back up to about 152. I simply DO NOT understand. I feel like there is no logical reason for it. Yes, I am putting on muscle, but the fat is not going anywhere. I wouldnt care about the number on the scale if I thought I were getting smaller over all. I would think that if I were gaining muscle, but losing fat, A). the number on the scale would at least stay the same, and . my size would go down and I'd show a reduction in measurements. Im still a very solid size 10.
I eat clean (with occasional exceptions). I try to eat according to my workouts.
Don't get me wrong, I am VERY proud of my accomplishments. Ive worked hard for the body I have. But I never reached that ultimate goal. I do have the extra pounds to lose and they simply are not budging. For 8 months, Ive stayed the same. I just don't know what else to do.

Hey friends. I need advice. Lots of info, so I'll try my best to be as brief as I can.

January 2011, began weightloss journey at 204 lbs, size 18. Im 5'4", 30 year old mother of two young kids. Lost 50 lbs in 8 months. Hit 60 lbs (and a size 10) by 11 months. Then stopped. Completely stopped losing. I had an ultimate goal of 138 lbs, but never got past 144 when I stalled. I tried many things to jump start the process. Upping calories, lowering calories, changing foods, taking foods away, changing workouts, etc. In the past 19 months, Ive gone from eas(ier) work out DVD's in the living room, to running, to p90x, more running, Insanity, now Im doing a p90x/Insanity hybrid to work out. All of this really hard, very diligent, day after day work...and Ive *gained* back up to about 152. I simply DO NOT understand. I feel like there is no logical reason for it. Yes, I am putting on muscle, but the fat is not going anywhere. I wouldnt care about the number on the scale if I thought I were getting smaller over all. I would think that if I were gaining muscle, but losing fat, A). the number on the scale would at least stay the same, and . my size would go down and I'd show a reduction in measurements. Im still a very solid size 10.
I eat clean (with occasional exceptions). I try to eat according to my workouts.
Don't get me wrong, I am VERY proud of my accomplishments. Ive worked hard for the body I have. But I never reached that ultimate goal. I do have the extra pounds to lose and they simply are not budging. For 8 months, Ive stayed the same. I just don't know what else to do.

You talked a lot about your workouts. But, IMO, losing the last bit of weight boils down to do your diet-- and by this I mean primarily calories in and not "eating clean." However, the workouts could come into play if you are overestimating your calories burned and "eating back" exercise calories. This is especially important when you are closer to your goal weight since you have less room for error. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1) Did you readjust your daily calorie goals to account for your weight loss? Losing weight will lower your TDEE (what you need to eat daily to maintain your current weight). Recalculate your BMR and TDEE and try setting your calories at your TDEE- 20%.

2) Do you use a food scale? Again, since you were closer to your goal weight, you need to be more careful with your tracking. Even using measuring cups/spoons will often lead to underestimating calories consumed.

3) Have you been logging every single thing and every single day? This might be the most important part-- being honest with yourself. It's easy, and common, to let your diet go a bit when you get close to your goal weight. Although I cannot make this observation with you (your diary is not open), I've often seen people posting about not losing/losing too slowly with 2-3 out of 7 days per week unlogged (the weekend, usually). If you do omit days, you may find it easier to stay on track (and see where you may have gone wrong) with consistent logging.

4) Do you "eat back" exercise calories? If so, note that estimates of calories burned are typically exaggerations. Try eating back no more than 3/4 of exercise calories. If you are on such a plan, you should have your activity level at sedentary (unless maybe you have a job where you are on your feet all the time) so you do not "double count" exercise calories.

5) Do you eat out often? If so, note that the calories given can be off by a considerable amount. Try cutting back on restaurants. And if you do eat out, to account for some of the mis-estimation, try eating 3/4 of the meal and logging the entire portion OR eating the entire thing and logging 1 1/4 portion.

6) Do none of the above apply? Then maybe it's time to talk to your doctor. You might also consider going on a break for a month or 2 and then trying to eat at a deficit again.



Wow! Thanks for all those tips!

Perhaps your body doesn't need to lose any more o.O