Okay, so I've lost 28 pounds so far, and I'm looking to lose between 1-2 pounds a week, which I think is reasonable. I got into a big plateau over the summer, and decided to start calorie counting and keeping a food journal to bust through it. I did and lost 3.5 pounds in the last month or so. But now I'm stuck again, and the last few days (yes, I am a daily weigher) the scale has been creeping up so it looks like it will be another week of no loss (I weigh in Monday). I shoot for 1500 calories a day and try to balance my carbs and protein.

Here's my typical day:

BREAKFAST: (8 am)
oatmeal (150 calories)
almonds or walnuts (80 calories)
cup of skim milk w/ 1 Tbsp cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp sugar (100)
total: 330

MORNING SNACK: (11 am)
Luna Bar: 180 calories

LUNCH: 12:45 pm
pita bread pizza (pita bread with spaghetti sauce, grated cheese, and lots of veggies and fresh basil) 300
fruit salad: 150
total: 450

AFTERNOON SNACK:
piece of whole wheat bread w/ 1 Tbsp cashew butter (170)

DINNER:
Quinoa topped with stir-fried (not much oil) tempeh, broccoli, carrots, celery, green and yellow peppers (400)

1 Newman's own dark chocolate peppermint patty (60)

I'm usually done with dinner no later than 6:30 and I never eat after dinner. I work out 4-5 times a week - brisk walking if the weather is good, or elliptical/treadmill at the gym, or the occasional dance class once a week or so. I also lift weights twice a week to build muscle and boost metabolism.

On occasion, I eat out, and I know what to order at places I go regularly like Subway or Chipotle that come out to 450-500 calories a meal. If I go to another restaurant, I look at the menu on line and pick out what I will order ahead of time.

So, what am I doing wrong? Any of you veteran calorie counters out there have wisdom to share? I feel like I am putting a lot of time, thought, and energy into this but I'm still hungry some days and I'm not seeing the numbers on the scale move down.

Unfortunately, the scale does not respond reliably even when we are POP (Perfect On Program). Hormonal fluctuations (TOM, ovulation), salt, exercise, even variations in digestion throughput can all cause the scale to go up several pounds even if we are still losing real weight (energy, primarily from fat) beneath the hood.

It sounds to me like you are doing great and you just have to wait the scale out for a week or two.

I don't see much to argue with on your diet plan. For *me*, I would reduce the number of starchy/carby choices, maybe substitute with dairy (yogurt, cottage cheese) or a little more healthy fat (salmon, flax). But I think that your diet is probably not causing any problems and it's just time to exercise the patience muscle.

Like I said, it sounds to me like you are doing great. Keep on going!!!

I bumped up my protein and cut down my carbs when I hit stalls, it seemed to help. Also, TOM, water retention from exercise, all that stuff that yoyoma said. Even stress or a little less sleep than normal can make the scale go up!

You are currently 208, you might find that you would lose on 1700-1800. You say you are hungry all the time, maybe you actually need to up your cals a little for a little while to break through the stall?

It is all a guessing game, and the scale doesn't respond exactly like it is supposed to respond all the time, unfortunately. Good luck!

maybe try increasing the intensity of your workouts? That has helped me in the past with plateau's...

Your diet looks great though...i agree with yoyma about the starchy carbs, they stall my weightloss every time! I have to really watch them

Good Luck!

ETA- i forgot to add... make sure your drinking plenty of water, i try to drink atleast half my body weight in ounces a day

I have recently finally, finally lost a couple of pounds after stalling several months. I upped my cardio and cut way back on carbs for several days. Finally, the scale dropped and STAYED! I know 2 pounds doesn't seem like much but it was a huge victory for me. I do KNOW why I had a stall though. I was eating too many carbs! I knew it and did it anyway. I don't blame my body--it was simply responding to my commands.

p.s. RUN or exercise using HIIT method! I also re-employed these measures. It definitely helped.

Thanks everybody for the encouragment. I will try limiting my carbs for a few days and see if that helps - eggs for breakfast for a few days instead of oatmeal or whole-grain waffles, and a carb-free dinner like a green salad topped with protein. Always a good reminder to up my water - I try to keep a big glass at my desk, but have to remember to do it when I'm not in the office, too. And, yes I want to try to have salmon once a week - healthier protein than chicken or beef.

Thighs be gone - what is the HIIT method?

Well, the rain stopped so I'm headed out for my walk! Thanks everbody!

BlueRidge..

HIIT is basically "sprinting" part of your cardio exercise routine, slowing it down, and then revving it back up again...do this again and again as opposed to having one continual workout..

Some people follow a very formal HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) routine..I myself, do not...I sprint as far as I can and then brisk walk, when I "almost" have my breath back I sprint again..

Google the term and you can read lots of advice. YOU CAN do this thing. Let us know how things are going!

Good Luck and keep us updated

You question is also a question that I was going to ask but then I kind of figured that I should cut back on my carbs. Even though Ive been staying within my calorie range I havent lost any weight.

Well, wanted to keep you updated so I thought I would share my modest good news that I did drop half a pound last week and am down to 207.5 Small, but enough to encourage me to keep it up. My acupuncturist actually recommends losing 1-2 pounds a MONTH so she thought 1/2 pound loss in a week was perfectly reasonable. Just tough when I see others posting losses of 2, 3, 4 pounds a week. But trying not to compare and just focus on my own goals!

I'm trying to limit carbs and balance with protein (brought some almonds to work with me today), maintain my exercise, and drink mega lots of water (got my glass next to me right now), and I'm forgoing the daily weigh in which I think is just making me insane. So I'll stick to this plan for the week and check back in Monday when I weigh in to fill you in.

Keep up the great work, everybody!

I agree with the others. Just depends on what's going on inside your body each day. I'm also a daily weigher, but I don't freak out if it goes up or stays the same for a couple days. But if it is up, then I think about what I ate the day before.

I've heard that if you hit a plateau, that you should recheck your calories. Maybe try adding 100 or 150. Not it's not much, but it can make a difference especially with you working out so much. Or rev up your workout like someone else suggested. Another thing to keep in mind, is that you've already lost 30lbs, so a plateau is inevitable if you're doing the same thing as you were when you weighed your heaviest. AND, the weight is going to come off slower the more you lose.

Looks like you've done great & that you have AWESOME willpower!! Keep up the good work!!

I honestly do not think you are eating too many calories, what you posted comes out to 1,640. I base my calorie intake by biggest losers table. You multiply your weight by 7, their method shows you should be eating 1,680. Are you eating 2 - 4 servings of fruit, and 2 - 4 servings of veggies a day? Drinking enough water? Checking your sodium?