Help! I'm stuck at this weight.

Hi, I'm hoping you can help me because I've tried everything and I just can't lose weight! I am a 32-year old mother of two, 5'2" tall and 130 pounds. I've tried low-calorie diets but stopped because I was told I was not eating enough; exercising 30 minutes a day and increased to 60 minutes because of no results; I switched to a more active job, and gave up drinking soda. I've tried all of this for months and have not lost a pound! What is going on? The really odd thing is that I can eat huge amounts of chocolate, soda, steak, etc and won't gain any weight. So really my weight is very "stuck". I can't gain it, I can't lose it.I would really appreciate any advice you can give me because I really have no idea what to do at this point. Even my family and friends are amazed I haven't lost a pound after witnessing all my hard work.
Jen S.

Dear Jen,

I know how frustrating this can be!
I wonder for how long, and how consistently, you've stuck with any of these low-calorie diets or hour daily work-outs? If you eat less and exercise consistently (especially for an hour, 5 days a week) for a whole month with no exceptions, you will probably see results. I would suggest you try this for 30 days, while keeping a food diary.
You see, people tend to remember their hard work, and brush off an occasional slip or treat. So we end up focusing on all the working out and all the smart lunches, but ignoring the cookies someone brought in to work, the dessert for the special occasion, the 3 days we didn't feel like working out last week, and the quart of ice cream we had to have due to cravings.
Since you know you can have huge amounts of chocolate, soda, and steak, I assume you have been doing this! You won't notice weight gain from eating 1000 calories more or less over a few days, but adding those calories in to your diet will certainly negate any results you've had!
Because of your small size you can't expect to lose more than about 1/2 pound a week, even with a reasonable (1200-1500) calorie restriction and daily exercise.
So here's my suggestion: Try again for 30 days in a row (note any exceptions in your food journal as they are bound to occur!) to eat a reasonably low calorie level, exercise an hour a day (as often as possible) and see if you don't get 2 pounds off. I know it's slow-going, but in the mean time you'll be developing great eating and exercise habits, and when you stick with those, the rest of the weight will come off too!

Keep in touch to let me know how it goes :)