-Stats (age, height, weight, Body fat %) - 30 y.o. female, 5'5'', cw: 147, bf%19-20%

-Diet (in detail meal to meal, overall daily caloric intake, ratios)
B: 2 eggs/english muffin
S: yogurt/fruit
L: can of tuna/brown rice & side salad
S: protein shake/almonds
D: lean protein and veggies

breakdown tries to be 40P/30C/30F% w/ the help of sparkpeople.com
*i log EVERYTHING
*currently eating 1400-1600 calories/day - I DID listen to advice to up my calories from the 1200-1400 range to 1500 for 6 wks (no change) and then to 1700-1800 cals/day for 7 wks and still no loss...that is actually when i started gaining and now my fluctuation is bw 145-150 vs 140-145 - needlesstosay..i'm baffled

-Exercise routine in detail (cardio/weight training)
-Clear reason and question for the post : I went from 160-136 losing about 3 lbs /month on a 1200 calorie diet. i only saw anything below 140 prior to my wedding so technically i d say i went from 160-140....went on my honeymoon and came back at 145 lbs (JUNE 2006). i've been wavering since then first from 145-140 lbs and NOW b/w 145-150 lbs! and i cant figure out what is going on and why my weight is a)going up b)not going down....i seem to have a medium frame and i believe that 130-135 would be able the 'right' weight for me (though that i am not sure of either). i wear a size 28 jeans/size 4 pants so i am small on bottom and a large chest (maybe that puts me in large frame- dunno?).

My Question is that how do i lose approx 15 lbs? I love to exercise and have been doing it my whole life. i always enjoyed sports & always ate healthy so i'm not one of those people that ate junk and never moved and now wants to lose 20 lbs...or something like that. i used to run daily ~ 5 miles...but my body is obviously used to that as it gets me nowhere w/ weight loss. i incorporated weights a while back (yet i dont know if i was every doing it right as i never did go to fatigue, as i do now w/ reps & prob didnt lift heavy enough).

My current exercise program is like this:
Sunday: rest or active rest -- walking dogs mostly
Monday: advanced reformer pilates class
Tuesday: full body weights & 20 min HIIT
Wednesday: steady state cardio...about an hour
Thursday: same as monday
Friday: same as tuesday
Saturday: Kickboxing - 45 min advanced or SS cardio for 45 min to 1 hr

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? DOESNT MAKE SENSE TO BE STUCK WAVERING IN BOTH DIRECTIONS FOR 6 MONTHS??

-Current and overall goal - to get down to about 130-135, STAY There, and look LEAN & actually lose this last fat layer - BF% to be around 16-18%

-How long you have been doing what you are doing in diet and routine - i just changed my exercise routine 2 wks ago as i know you are supposed to change every month or so, but all i really changed was adding HIIT and changed the weight routine to less machines, more free weights

-If you have any medical problems or injuries we should be aware of - zippo


THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you post your strength training routine please?

sure....

squats
incline leg press
upper back row
chest press and flys on bench
dumbell curls w/ free weights or bar
tricep - overhead on bench w/ curled bar
tricep dips
shoulder raise
ab & lower back work
pushups & pullups (well, working on being able to do UNassisted pullups

FEEL FREE to tell me whatever is wrong!!!!!!!! thanks!!!!!!!!

Skyler, I responded to you in my journal. Plus, do you do these exercises every day that you train? What are the parameters of your program design?

thanks for the double reply, steve!!

i do these exercises on tues/friday during my weight training sessions...

Skyler, you have to remember that resistance training is instituted in a caloric deficit namely to block the catabolic signals your CNS sends while in a caloric deficit state. You are not lifting to add muscle. You are lifting, merely to maintain what you have.

That said, your workouts should consist primarily of a lot of barbell work, know what I mean. The big compound movements. Squats, deads, bench, row, vertical press, vertical pull.

Volume should be kept very low while dieting since you don't have the energy through food to supplement a normal routine. Intensity should be kept high, which triggers muscle maintenance. By high intensity, I mean, 4-6 reps of most exercises.

I do no isolation work in a dieted state with my clients. I don't see much of a point.

Full body routines would be fine in this case, training 2-3 days per week.

I forget, how many days per week are you lifting?

i lift 4x a week...

This is fine, as long as your volume is in check. If you are doing all of these exercises, depending on your set/rep parameters, you are grossly over training considering you are in a energy deficit state.