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Carbohydrates are energy. If you're feeling groggy, you're not sleeping enough or drinking too much caffeine and coming down later in the day.

If you just eat maintenance you will eventually start to recomp as long as you're lifting still. It takes a lot longer than the bulk/cut cycle, but some people prefer this as you never have to change your calorie goals. Google Body Recomposition.

> 3000 once a week, maybe twice if I'm super sociable. So You eat at 1400, but 3000 twice a week. You're actually eating at 1850 over the week. If you want to eat 2200, eat at 2000 for a week then jump up to 2200 and see how you feel. You aren't that far off with the binging (which I would try and cut out). You're height…

There is no way to really tell without nutritional information, but as the person above said, probably the blackened fish.

If you really feel like you need more protein, buy some protein powder or protein bars. They are a simple way to get 20-30g at a time when you're falling short of your goal. That said, unless you're trying to build muscle, protein isn't going to do that much for you. You should get some, as your body needs some amount plus…

Get the idea of "toning" out of your head. What is tone? When muscle shows through the fat. You need to do two things: 1) lose fat 2) build muscle. You're not going to build muscle with 3 pound weights. As the other commenter said, if you're serious, you should be lifting serious weight. Adjustable dumbbells at least (that…

Why are you avoiding saturated fats? Those are the good ones (animal fat).

The first two things I notice about your post are 1) you're here for a "round" and 2) you think eating less carbs will make you lose weight. Not the thoughts of someone serious about weight loss, but of someone who sees a fad diet, changes for a month and then goes back to eating boxes of Oreos. Why are you eating low…

Protein powder is just that. powdered protein. Most comes from whey (a milk source) though some are plant based. Protein powder is they best way to supplement your protein goals if you're not getting enough. Also, protein itself won't help you gain weight. It's just a nutrient. If you're lifting weights it might help you…

I do TDEE, but I don't even try to count calories used during weight lifting. There really is no point. A long lifting session might at most burn 200 calories, but probably doesn't even burn that many. It's really an insignificant amount and not worth trying to track.

What is your goal? Any meats or fish will get you to protein requirements quickly. Protein powders are fine as a supplement also. At 117 pounds I can't imagine you're shooing for much more than 80g a day? 80g can easily be eaten with any two of salmon steaks, chicken breasts, pork chops, small steaks... etc.

I weigh in at the exact same time every day and mine goes +- 5 pounds. My graph looks like this: http://imgur.com/NPl7vOm It really takes weeks to see a trend.

The TDEE calculator on MFP isn't great. Use the one on the IIFYM site and list yourself as sedentary and you'll get a much more accurate calorie level. I lost almost exactly one pound a week, recalculating my TDEE every 5 pounds lost for 20 pounds over 20 weeks.

Have you recalculated your TDEE since the beginning? As you lose weight you need to keep lowering your intake as you require less calories when you weigh less. What is your daily calorie goal and how did you calculate that number? Did you set yourself to some too-high activity level in MFP? Generally you want to chose not…

Sometimes you just need the energy. If you go out and run 10 miles and burn 1000 calories or whatever, you might need to replenish. You're going to be hungry. Otherwise, you don't need to eat them back. You'll lose weight faster if you don't. Depends if you're trying to speed up your weight loss or if you're happy with…

Are you actually tracking your calories? It doesn't matter how many carbs you eat. It doesn't matter if everything you eat is 'healthy.' If your goal is weight loss, you need to figure out your TDEE and eat less than that number.

Sounds like the famous Greg LeMond cycling quote, "It never gets easier, you just go faster."

Buy some calipers on Amazon and do a skin fold test. Other than that, find a gym that has a BodPod for much more accurate results. The scales that do the electric test (Withings is the big one) are not very accurate.

Just about everything over-estimates calories burned.

This is way over estimated. It might be half of that amount, but I wouldn't bother logging this at all. You shouldn't be trying to eat back your exercise calories. Assuming you're eating back 400 calories 3 times a week (at minimum), this could throw off your numbers greatly. You shouldn't be gaining weight. I assume…

Optimum Nutrition Gold is pretty much the go-to powder for most people. It's essentially #1 selling everywhere. The taste is okay (not offensive) and each scoop is 80% protein (24g of 30g). However, my personal favorite is the Chocolate from the Muscletech Phase 8 line. The taste is much, much better (even when mixed with…

When you set your activity level it will give you a daily calorie allowance based on your BMR (basic metabolism rate). If you set your activity level more accurately then your base calorie allowance should be higher, before actual exercises are taken into account. Essentially, if you work out a lot, your body is always…