Not losing weight despite diet and exercise

Question
I have been going to the gym pretty regularly for the past 5 years, with my weight yo-yoing up and down, but over the last 2 years I have slowly lost 10 pounds each year. I am 5'8" and currently weigh 153 pounds, and I would like to get down to 135-140 for summer. The past 3 weeks I have upped my cardio to a 45 minute elliptical session (burning about 550 calories) 6 days a week, and 3-4 days a week I throw in half an hour of strength training. On average I've been eating 1500 calories a day. The first week I quickly dropped about 3 pounds, and now the weight has gone back up to my start weight. I don't think I look any thinner, my clothes do not feel looser. The only difference I have noticed is I have been consistently sore somewhere on my body many days.

Basically, I try to maintain a 1000 calorie defecit daily, without going under 1200 calories. 3 years ago I was able to lose 30 pounds in 3 months by eating 1100 calories a day and burning 400 (I was anorexic), with a huge initial weight loss of 10-15 pounds in the first 3 weeks. I don't understand how now trying to be healthier by eating more and exercising more makes me gain weight (the scale keeps going up this week).

I am sure I am measuring the calories in food correctly, I record everything meticulously (even things like ketchup). I stopped using artifical sweetners. I know I don't drink enough water because I'm never thirsty, and every time I drink water I just gain all the water weight and it never comes off. I was checked for hypothyroidism in the past 5 months (negative). I get 8-10 hours of sleep a night. I eat enough fat, but perhaps too many carbs (2-3 bananas daily, a mini bagel, a cereal bar, fruit, raisins) and not enough protein (1 protein shake, one yogurt, some chicken). The other unusual thing is that I don't feel hungry or stressed out at all with this diet, which is why I am concerned that I am not losing weight - the diet is too easy it seems, and no wonder I'm not seeing results...

Any suggestions? Is it possible that I have put on 6 pounds of muscle in 3 weeks (I think it's highly unlikely given that I don't eat that much protein)? That I am retaining 6 pounds of water? Will I start losing weight soon? Is there anything I can do or anyone I should see (besdies getting my fat % measured, I am a poor student and can't afford that). I have always been successful at losing weight rapidly before, but by starving myself and being miserable, I hope that is not my only option.

Thanks again for your help!

Answer
First, I want to congratulate you on such diligent efforts toward health.  You certainly appear to be doing a great job.  I believe that the 6 pounds in question is a combination of some muscle mass gain and some actual fat storage.  Let me explain why.  

There are three things that might be helpful in getting the additional weight off.  You mentioned two of them in your question - water and protein.  You said that you don't drink enough water and you don't eat protein.  Both are vital to fat-burning in the body.

If you don't drink enough water, your liver is forced to take on some of the body cleansing tasks of the kidneys.  One of the liver's main functions is to metabolize fat.  If it's not working at capacity due to sharing part of the kidneys' load, fat is not burned as efficiently and ends up getting stored in the body.  Try to drink at least half your bodyweight in fluid ounces of water every day.  In your case, that would be about 75-80 ounces daily.  You'll see a difference.

It's also important to get enough protein.  Your body burns carbohydrates first, then proteins including your muscles, and finally fats.  You need to give the body plenty of protein to enable it to burn the stored fats instead of your muscle tissue.

The third thing to look at is timing of meals.  Try to eat 5-6 meals per day instead of the three standard meals.  Keep your daily calorie consumption the same but break it up into mini-meals with snacks.  This method keeps your metabolism at a constant level.

These three items together should break your weight gain problem and get your body moving in the direction that you want.  All these points are part of an 8-week online class that I teach called 'The Answer's Right Under Your Nose.' You can find out more about it on my website at www.JerryRyanPhD.com.

Thank you for your question, Laura.  I hope that my answer was helpful.

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