So I have no idea what to do with myself. I've been going to the gym 6 to 7 days a week and doing at least an hour of cardio every day. I use the elliptical and some other machines but what ever I do, I am sure to keep my heart rate at around 160-170. I'm 19 years old, 5'2 and weight 187lbs and thats the same as what I weight a month ago when I started working out and watching what I eat. I dont know what to do. I'm drinking lots of water and making sure I get fruits and vegetables every day. My body doesnt look any different either. If I could tell some different in my clothes or something, I wouldnt care about the weight, but everything feels exactly the same. Please help

I think people are going to want to know exactly what you're eating in terms of calories, what exactly is your diet, etc. Can you elaborate on what you are eating?

And *HUGS* I know it is frustrating when things aren't going the way you want. I've been there a few times. We all have and get where you are coming from.

well, I'm a college student so its most cafeteria but everything they serve has the nutritional value right there in front of it. I avoid foods that are high in sugar and saturated fat and I try to stick t othings like chicken and vegetables and rice and salads. My calories intake is about 1500 a day. I do tend to get frozen yogurt or have a cookie after my meal but each of those are about 140 calories a serving. I eat sandwiches a few times a week but I typically get wheat bread and skip the cheese. I avoid red meat almost entirely and I usually snack on fruit. I drink a ton of diet mountain dew but I always try to match that with water.

Also, if you are working out 5-6 days per week, you are building lots of muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, so you may be getting slimmer and just not seeing it reflect on the scale because of muscle gain.

thats what my boyfriend keeps telling me, but I thought that I'd at least look or feel a little small in a month. I know for a fact that I am getting in better shape and because of that I'm not going to stop working out just because the weight isnt coming off but its just overall frustrating with I dont know what else to do. I just want a little reinforcement from my body that what I am doing is right. haha, as much as I try to focus on the healthy side of it, I keep getting pulled back to the desire to be thinner.

Well actually one pound of muscle weighs the same as one pound of fat. But it does take up less space. Anyway, it really takes months and months of specific muscle strengthening exercise to build muscle. And it sounds like you are mostly concentrating on cardio.

The thing that I would ask you is, just how closely are you monitoring those calories? I'm sure it's quite difficult to get an exact amount, given you're eating from the cafeteria. And how consistent have you been? 7 days in a row? 14 days? Even one "off" day a week can definitely wipe out any progress had in the previous 6 days. But I get the feeling you may be underestimating you calorie intake and therefore not creating that all important calorie deficit.

Another thing? HAve you been on a scale? Do you know what you weighed before you started? And when was the last time that you actually checked it again?

I weighted myself a month ago and I weighted myself once a day for a while and then stopped for 2 weeks and just weighed myself this morning. And its possible that my calories are higher than i think they are but I do keep track of them to the best of my ability. even if I was off by a few hundred calories, I still think that I should be losing some weight. I'm pretty sure that to maintain, I can eat about 2200 calories a day but I really am aiming for around 1500. And about the 7 days in a row thing, do you mean that if I work out for 6 days and take a day off that it will set me back? I thought that it was healthy to let your body rest for a day every once in a while. It seems like the only times I really ever loss weight are when I get entirely frustrated with myself and basically stop eatting. I dont wanna do that cuz its not permanent and isnt healthy. gahhh haha so many questions :-/

Oh no, no, no, no. Definitely take a day off from intentional exercise. I meant having an "off" day from healthy eating. One day a week over your calorie budget and it can definitely cancel any weight loss that would have occurred without that overage.

And when you weighed this morning, there was no loss?

Anyway, a few hundred calories over 1500 is 1800 calories. And if you're underestimating THAT, well there could be your answer. You might want to disregard those "calculators". They are just guesstimates and highly inaccurate. 1800 calories is most likely on the high side for someone of your size. Only trial and error can give you your "losing" calorie number.

I think you should to stick to that 1500 calories no matter what for a couple of weeks. No underestimating and see if that provides you with a loss.

Don't get frustrated. It does take some time to get this all down pat. A little more detective work, a tighter meal plan and a bit of patience and you WILL lose the weight.

I would be worried about portion size... Cafeteria-style serving, even with nutritional information posted, makes it VERY easy to eat more than you think you are.

I hate for it to sound like we're jumping on you and accusing you of something, but if you are working out every day and were REALLY eating 1500 calories, you WOULD be losing weight. And in the scenario you describe, the calories are the hardest thing for you to control. And you would be AMAZED at how easy it could be to eat probably twice what you think you're eating. All it takes is having every serving be just slightly too big, and every cafeteria worker preparing food with just a little bit more butter/oil than they are supposed to.

Also, if you were getting SMALLER, but not getting LIGHTER, that would make sense because you are adding dense muscle, but losing voluminous fat.

So, if you are SURE you aren't getting smaller, you are SURE that you're doing the exercise, it has to be the food. (Unless of course you have a medical condition.)

Here's what I'd do if you're serious. Eat ONLY (or at least MOSTLY) foods that have no additional ingredients as in nothing that could be cooked with someone else's recipe. Bring a set of measuring cups to the dining hall. Bring a food scale. Bring your own light salad dressing. (Possibly eat at an unpopular time and in the corner of the seating area so as to not draw attention to your obsessive -- to an outsider, but not to us -- behavior.)

Serve yourself food keeping all the elements carefully separated and bring some extra plates. Transfer a serving of what you want to eat from one plate to the other using the scale and the measuring cups. So, serve yourself what you think is a cup of pasta in a bowl and half cup of pasta sauce in another bowl. Measure them when you get to the table. Weigh a plain chicken breast, and assume that it has a little butter on it. Blot it if you need to.

You get the idea. This isn't something that you would have to do for a long time, but getting crazy-serious about it for a couple of weeks might REALLY help you get better knowledge of what you're eating.

This may sound kind of crazy, but unless there is something medically wrong with you, should be getting either LIGHTER or SMALLER. If you go a little crazy for a couple of weeks and can make ABSOLUTELY 100% SURE that you're eating about 1500 calories, then you'll have a better idea of what you need to do to go forward successfully.

I think she is asking have you been consistent in your diet and for how long? Meaning have you been eating this way for a week, etc? Or did you slowly transition into this? Were you eating differently before or were you eating the same things and only added more exercise in?

One thing I think that can be misleading about nutritional information provided is you are not carrying around with measuring tools, so you could be eating two or more servings or something without really knowing it.

It sounds like you are doing what you can and I know it is a lot of questions lol. Just trying to help you figure things out and figure out what you can do to make the progress you would like.

I'd also think about cutting out the Mountain Dew. Even though it's diet many people I know who would drink a lot of diet soda wouldn't lose but when they cut out the diet soda the pounds started to come off.

How much snacking on fruit? Ditch the frozen yogurt and cookies. Eat *whole* foods only -- so salad, chicken (Grilled if possible), oats, fruit (but limit them to 2-3 servings a day, if you can), vegetables (steamed, if possible or raw).

I guarantee you are way underestimating your calories.

Good on you for all the exercise, though. Add some weight training if you can.

College student right here.

And I KNOW that there can be some pretty bad things in college cafeterias. Unfortunately, there aren't any nutrition facts posted at my college, but I can just see the grease on the fries and cookies (yes, even the cookies!) to know that I need to steer clear from them.

I can only guesstimate how many calories I'm eating, but this is what I do when I go:

1) I allow myself only a plateful. Before, I would get 2, 3, even 4 plates of food! Now I only allow myself one so I know I'm not over-eating.
2) I make 1/3 - 1/2 of my plate just salad. We have a salad bar, where I can get lettuce, tomatoes, a little cheese, and just a bit of ranch. Yum!
3) I don't get ANY fried foods or foods that look like they're swimming in cheese and grease.
4) I get baked chicken or fish as my entree and either white rice or some pasta with marinara sauce as the side.
5) I don't get ANY soda, diet or regular! I know for me, if I start drinking soda, I think "I can get a little more food.." With water, it helps me get full faster instead of making me crave more.

I hope I helped, good luck!

I carry a 1/4 cup measuring cup in my purse everywhere I go. I even have an extra one at work I keep in my desk. When we go out to eat, I pull out my little measuring cup and use it. I dont care if it looks strange or if people are wondering what Im doing....I just dont care. You could start doing this. Go ahead and go through the cafeteria line and have them serve you your food, just like they do every other person. then once you get to your table, you can use your measuring cup to measure out EXACTLY how much the nutrition facts sheet says is a serving. Then just push the remaining food they served you away...and only eat what you measured. This will help you tremendously. Dont worry about what others think...if you are serious about losing weight then just have the "who cares what they think" mentality. Also, what helped me a LOT was starting to use FITDAY.com. You can track all your calories on there and it is way better than guestimating or just writing them all down. Really it is way better. Give it a try.............its worth a shot!

Also, if there arent enough healthy options for you at your cafeteria, request them! I work at a small college and I know that our Food Service company really listens to our students and staff in regards to what food is really wanted. Demand they get you healthier options if you feel there arent enough. Besides, you are paying tuition there and YOU, the student should come first.