Hi There,

This is my first post here, but I've been dieting since last August. I started out around 185 (I'm 5'4") and am now down to around 158 or so. My problem is this: at the beginning of my diet, I lost weight fairly rapidly. I was about 160 going into the holidays, and after a week and a half of eating holiday feasts at home I had gained a few pounds. Getting rid of those few pounds wasn't a big deal, but I feel like I have been STUCK since the beginning of January.

I try to count calories and have those calories come from healthy foods, and as far as I can tell I eat about 1300-1500 calories per day. I go to the gym three days a week and do cardio and strength training, but I have a very sedentary "job" (I'm a graduate student). My boyfriend and I sometimes splurge and go out to eat once on the weekend, but we limit it to once a week maximum.

The question is this: why am I not losing weight? I'm pretty sure I'm eating enough so that I won't be in "starvation mode." I had been encouraged by losing inches (I measure every two weeks), but lately that has stopped too. I feel like I've been on a diet forever and it's just not doing anything anymore. I weigh much less than when I started, but when I look in the mirror I feel even fatter. This is really discouraging, but I know that I can't quit now or the pounds will just pile back on!

Does anyone have advice for me? How do you keep yourselves motivated when you've been stuck for so long? Will I *ever* lose the rest of the weight I want to get rid of?

I have found that to keep things moving I have had to do a few tweaks over time when losses slow.

~Intensify your exercise. Are you still doing the same routine that you have eben doing for a while? If you do treadmill-add 5 minutes to what you normally do, or do the same amount at a slightly quicker pace. If you are doing weights and not feeling it like you used to-go up slightly in weight. If you do exercise bike up the resistance a notch. To keep things improving you have to increase what you are doing. By doing the same thing for a long, long time you are staying at the same fitness level-not improving it any more.
~Make healthier eating choices-Calories are the ultimate thing you want to keep control of-but now take a look at some things you could improve-more water and less coffee/diet soda? Eating more fruits and veggies in place of treat foods like fat free ice creams or 100 calorie packs (those low cal Nabisco snacks). Switch from white rice to brown rice, and from regular pasta to whole wheat if you haven't already. This will add more nutrients to the diet and cut out some of the more processed stuff.