Just out of curiousity. What caloric intake are you at? How are your results in relation to this? I know there are a lot of variables that I am leaving out (height, gender, etc).
I do 1200 - 1500. Of course there have been quite a few days I have gone well over but on most days I stay there. I have had great results with this plan. There were weeks I did up to 1800 just to mix it up, and some days I am a little under 1200, but I try not to do that often. (I also try and workout as much as possible).
I try to stay between 1200 and 1700 with one off evening a week, just the evening meal. Although lately I'm either just barely over 1000 or I'm right at 1500. I've done pretty well. 17 pounds since mid October.
I'm currently taking in about 1800 calories a day and trying to maintain. When I was losing weight I took in anywhere from 1200-1600 depending on my exercise level.
I generally shoot for around 1500 but some days I go as low as 1200 and others as high a 2100. I would guess my overall average to be between 1600 and 1700 each day.
When I started I averaged 2000/day. Now I've lost almost 50 pounds, and I've backed that down to about 1900/day. I look at averages over a week, including all indulgences. I typically range between 1700-2100/day, with rare exceptions.
I am 5'5", almost 40 years old. I exercise at least 3-4 days/week (around 30 min), and have been losing about 2 pounds/week on average.
About 1500 before exercise (I usually add exercise cals in). But...sometimes more, sometimes less. I've had two days this week where I was beyond starving and my blood sugar tanked (and no, not because I ate something sugary...just ran out of gas). I had a larger than normal, but healthy, meal or two on those days. And....The scale continues to creep downward.
(I should change my ticker, I actually started on 3FC at 245, but started the year at 270).
I try to stay under 1200. I lost 20 lbs so far this semester and I am have been steady for about a month without any more weight loss. Its kinda bumming me out.
Hey dramaticdiva, you're probably stalled because you're not eating enough. There really isn't any reputable diet, dietician, or program that will recommend eating below 1200 calories. For most people, 1200 is even too low...depends on your age, your activity level, whether you're doing intentional exercise, etc. Your body probably things it's starving and has gone into "survival mode" and slowed your metabolism to maximize the little food it gets--hence, the month-long plateau. At the very least, go back to 1200 cals and see what happens.