My Fitness Pal put me at needing 1200 calories a day. For three weeks, that was plenty. I burn an average of 400 a day exercising, exercising 6 days a week, and some days I eat those calories back, some days I don't, I just try to listen to my body. For 3 weeks, I was losing at a steady pace.

My HW was 211, but that was while 9 months pregnant with my third child. I got down to 180 in the first couple of weeks after her birth and over the course of the past 18 months my body settled at 159.8 naturally. I started counting calories and exercising every day the second week in February and I have lost 11lbs and 12 inches since then, getting down to 148.8.

But, I am not sure I am doing what is right, or healthy, for my body.

For the past week, I have been starving! I am not doing anything differently than I was, I'm working out just as hard. My 1200 calories are clean foods; my family is on a fairly clean and restricted diet because of food sensitivities in my oldest child.

I am getting about 60g of protein a day. Between 15-22g of fiber per day. Aunt Flow/ TOM isn't due for another 9 days. I drink 100oz of water a day. I am 26, and 5'4".

I'm started thinking that 1200 net calories a day just wasn't enough, so I upped it to 1400-1500 and I have gained back a pound - I am 149.9, for 4 days in a row.

It seems that I can go back to 1200 a day and be hungry all the time, or I can go up to 1400-1500 and gain weight back. :/ I'm frustrated.

I work a physically demanding job - I am a "parts girl". I work in a parts house and I deliver auto parts. This means I am regularly lifting heavy truck batteries, brake rotors, etc. I move constantly, while carrying heavy objects. I work on planograms during slow periods, where I rearrange very heavy auto parts. I climb up and down ladders with heavy parts regularly. I assumed it was all of the calories burned at work that was causing me to be hungry all the time, but since I have gained a pound back, I'm second guessing.

I know this is choppy and rambling, but hopefully y'all can decipher it enough to tell me what you think I might could tweak.

I would love to hear from anyone who has experienced something similar, and what worked for you.

I have lost weight on low carb before, but it isn't a lifestyle that I think I can sustain. For long term purposes, calorie counting seems to fit best with my life. I did lose 30lbs counting calories when I was 18, but I was also taking Adipex, so I was never hungry then. My 18 month old still breastfeeds once a day, so I couldn't take anything now if I wanted to (and I don't). I did sustain that 30lb loss for 2.5 years, until I got pregnant.

UPDATE I upped my calories to 1400, and I am losing again, and finding it a thousand times easier! I burn about 400cal 6 days a week exercising, so if I'm hungry, I eat those back. I typically eat back around half of my exercise calories, sometimes more, sometimes less. I'm losing 1-1.5lb a week, and I'm thrilled with that.

Shoot yeah! I am always looking for good stuff to watch on YouTube. That's how I fall asleep. Thank goodness for smartphones! I will email myself a note and check that out tonight.

That's what's kind of been in the back of my head - go back to some form of low carb. I did Atkins when I was a child (I have always been overweight) and lost a bunch, but it made me feel sick and awful and I gained it all back as soon as I stopped.

I did South Beach after my second child and got down to my prepregnancy weight and felt great, but pretty much immediately got pregnant again and gained it all back. I didn't feel nearly as sick and unhealthy on SB as I did Atkins, though.

If you don't think you can sustain a low-carb lifestyle, try a moderate amount of carbs. I'm eating about 1700 calories and try to have between 100 and 130 grams of carbs but definitely no more than 150. Not low-carb by any stretch of the imagination but a lot less than the average diet. Just as with low-carb diets, I make up the calories by increasing protein intake which helps with feeling full.

I think your gain on 1400-1500 cals is temporary, I would stick with 1500 cals for a couple of weeks to see how your weight is really affected.

Also, I think 1200 cals is too low while still breast feeding.
Good luck finding what works!

Yeah, I have been wondering that, too, Mozzy. I nursed my oldest until 38 months and he was still swallowing a lot of milk right up to the end. With my baby, she just doesn't have much interest. I offer in the morning and on my lunch break and she always refuses. She takes a little at night before bed, but watching her jaw and throat, she isn't swallowing much. This has been going on longer than me restricting my calories is, so I think I'm not producing much at all, because she just doesn't have the interest. I was prepared to nurse until she is 3, but I guess if she weans naturally because she lost interest, that's ok.

But maybe I do need to give myself more calories since I'm still making even a small amount of milk. Maybe I'm confusing my body and putting it into starvation mode more easily because I'm lactating?

I really appreciate all of these replies. I think I will start watching my carbs and healthy fat intake more closely. I seem to stay between 100-130 carbs a day easily; I looked back two weeks and they were all in that range. I have to make all of our breads because of my child's food sensitivities, and that's time consuming, so we just don't eat a lot of bread! Ha! My carbs are from fruit, veggies and my breakfast of raisin bran, oatmeal or a Luna bar.

Fat grams seem to stay between 40-60 because I use whole milk, real butter, full fat yogurt and eat meat at least once a day. I have not even a clue what a healthy fat intake would be, so I need to do some more research on that. Y'all have given me lots to look into!