Frustrated with lack fo weight loss...what am I doing wrong?

krystynecar is partly right in not letting people tell you that gaining weight = gaining muscle, specially 10lbs of it. You told the OP that the weight gain might be due to an increase in muscle mass. Highly unlikely. Your plateau is nothing like the OPs. You don't gain 10 lbs of muscle without losing inches. 10lbs of fat takes up a heck of alot more space than 10lbs of muscle. One would see a notiable difference with that amount of muscle gain.

Again, two separate posts and scenarios. I follow my statement to the oiginal poster about additional muscle mass with a section about underestimating calories consumed and overstimating calories burned and a suggestion that she see her doctor and work with a trainer or nutritionist. I do think I'm trying to responsibly share my experiences here rather than offer expert advice.

Would like to add as others have stated on this site that sometimes eating too little whilst undertaking heavy exercise can stall weight loss. It may not have this effect on everyone but it certainly has on some individuals.

Could it be that your body is retaining fluid? Storing water as glycogen? If you are under-eating the body needs to find a source of energy to support this added demand. When this source is not coming in as food it will also slow-down the rate at which you burn fuel in order to stop you from eventually dying of starvation. It does not know you are deliberately choosing to eat too little for your daily needs.

Too little carbohydrate when exercising in a serious way can make the body cling to the water and glycogen to fuel your muscles. Without a certain amount of carbohydrate the muscles cannot work at optimum level and, indeed, are far more prone to injury and slower healing.

Once again, the key to success is moderation in all things.

I agree with Kstubb, you say if your not hungry you just don't eat.....you have to determine how many calories your body needs in a day and create a calorie deficit either by reducing what you eat or exercising. Once that number is determined you really need to eat that many calories everyday so your body has a consistent amount of nutrition, it will adjust and burn fat if it regularly gets the same amount of nutrition.

Also as others have mentioned don't let the scale alone determine sucess try monitoring your body fat in some manner (electronic body fat analyzer on a scale or some are handheld or calipers) you may not lose weight because your burning fat / gaining muscle at a similar rate. I haven't lost any weight in about a month but I have dropped by body fat by about 1% so i know im doing a good job maintaining my weight while also making small gains along the way.

DIET DIET DIET!!!You can lose without doing heavy cardio if diet is on point. So, now that you fix up your diet see how it goes. The other thing you can change is making sure your doing cardio AFTER you lift weights and NOT before. If you have time, do cardio in the am before you eat. If you need energy, have a cup of coffee(only use stevia). the cardio in the a.m would be better for 45min to 1hour very low intesity. Key thing is to not just burn calories, but burn them from stored fat. many higher intesity cardio sessions will burn more calories but doesnt mean anything if its not from stored fat

If you are working out that much and not eating enough, your body will store fat instead of getting rid of it. Once I age the right amount, my similar problem went away. Its important for your body to get all the calories you are alloted in a day. Also, eat often to keep your metabolism ticking throughout the day.

hey there! all of your info is closed to the public so without knowing what you eat and drink its tough to provide advice expect this: alcohol can SLOW or STOP fat loss for up to a week. this is because your body burns off chemicals like alcohol BEFORE it ever burns off fat. not to mention all the food people generally consume that they wouldnt have if they where sober. If you are serious about losing weight for your wedding i advise you stop partying on the weekend until your big day =)

good luck!

oh, i forgot to mention that i used to weigh 189lbs and was consistantly losing about 4LBS a month ( not great) but then i STOPPED drinking on the weekend and began losing 10LBs a month.

cheers!