Reached a different kind of plateau. Where to go from here?

First off let me offer my apologies if this is in the wrong section. I wasn't sure if it belongs in weight loss or weight gain, so I stuck it here.

6 months ago I was borderline overweight and begun dieting because I just couldn't stand the way I felt with those extra pounds of fat I'd racked up for the first time in my life.

My first mistake was too much, too soon, combined with insufficient exercise and I hit the dreaded plateau, so I made more eating cutbacks. Next thing I knew I found myself at 150 pounds(I'm male, 6'1", btw) and still holding on to a good portion of fat in a "strategic" location.

I'd like to think this is where I finally came to my senses , so for the last couple of months I've upped my calories to 2000 per day and have been eating a well balanced diet combined with light exercise(walking 20 miles per week). It was my intention to increase my metabolism with frequent eating and target fat loss specifically with exercise to limit ant further lean muscle losses, but now I've reached a BMI of 18.5, just barely within the healthy range, so I cannot go any further with this plan or I will be underweight.

I'm not really sure what to do now. I still want to get rid of the unsightly pocket of fat(which is all the more accentuated by my boney frame, quite a ridiculous contrast, really) but maintain my weight at a healthy level. I'm starting to think that my only option is to alternate between body building and dieting in cycles: build up some muscle, then lose some fat(and inevitably some muscle with it), repeat. Does this sound like it could work, or is there anything else I could do?

Thanks.

how about you just start weight lifting and increase your intake to about 2500 calories or so, which should be an okay range for maintenance for you. if you gain weight then that's okay, as a male, your BMI should not be that low. Don't worry about the pounds so much as restoring your metabolism and losing the pudge. when you put on weight on your whole gram, the pudge won't be so bad. a few extra pounds will make a world of difference in regards to how you'll look but will not move you out of the healthy range at all. even at 170 pounds your bmi would only be 22.5, and if that increase was due to muscle your body would be 10x better, and you'd be much much much happier! weight is not the says all when it comes to health and appearance. look at body builders and athletes whose BMIs don't even fall in the healthy range.

I would definately check in with the folks over in the fitness forum.  What you need to do at this point isn't lose wieght as you've noticed... you need to gain muscle ((and weight))) and lose fat.    Not my area of knowledge but I've read some of the posts from the fitnes forum and I think they should be able to help you find a better plan.

Thanks for the replies, to the fitness forum I go!

Yep, bodybuilding is the route for you.

Don't push the aerobics too hard but rather the heavier IRON!

As you put on muscle mass those pockets of fat you don't care for will slowly and mysteriously disappear.

I agree, muscle is for you.  More muscle means you can burn off that fat you don't like and not be underweight.

Remember, that as it take 3500 calories to lose a pound, it takes that much to gain one, so if you want to gain muscle mass, you NEED a calorie surplus.  Make sure that you're eating lots of protein, good fats and comples carbs, and that you are working out hard (since you don't have much fat to lose, you could probably cut cardio to a max of once a week), and you shouldn't have much trouble gaining muscle.

Check out some body building sites:  www.bodybuilding.com for example.  You might not want to go as extreme as some of them, but it's a great place to get an idea what you need to do.