Thanks so much everybody! I feel really supported, and it's really inspiring to see people who started as high as me and are now lower...

I did have a GREAT experience tonight though.

I picked up my scale and moved it to another room, then I couldn't resist hopping on it.

Shazam! I had magically lost TEN MORE POUNDS.

Sigh.

I know that wasn't real, but it was fun imagining that I will no doubt get to that point.

I don't seem too hungry on the amount of calories I'm eating. Except for when I'm exercising, I sit down a lot. (I'm a writer.)

But, it's nice to know that I might be able to eat more.

my friend ate 1200 cals a day for several months, then she plataued, for a REALLY REALLY long time because she couldn't decrease her cals anymore and still be healthy. she got fed up with not losing and then gained 15 lbs back.

she is back on the wagon and hopefully eating more cals this time, it gives you some wiggle room for when you plateau.

12lbs in the first month is great!

I agree with everyone who says you may need to eat more - I stalled on 1200 but lose well on 1500.

Also, if you want the weightloss to be sustained, you really do need to weigh and measure everything, otherwise you just can't know how many calories you're eating.

I think you're doing great too! And, like all the wise ladies said before me, you may want to up your calories. I find that if I'm not eating all my allotted Points (I do WW), then I don't lose as well...I do better when I eat more! Do you plan a snack for after your workouts? If that is when you get hungry, you should have a little something then too!

I have to agree with everyone who said to up your calories. The thing to remember is that as your weight goes down, your calorie intake will also need to decrease. You're starting out so low that there's really no room to decrease without getting into unhealthy territory.

Depending on your age and activity level, you should probably be eating 1700-2000 calories a day. It seems strange, but you really will lose better when you're eating at the recommended amount. For one thing, your body doesn't go into 'starvation mode' and starting hording fat.

Lisa

You are doing wonderful! Just keep going. Soon those 12 pounds will turn into 24 and 48. I started to really feel like I was making progress at about 20 pounds lost, so very soon you will be amazed!

Keep up the good work!

Hmm. Everyone is telling me to eat more calories.

For one thing, I wonder if I'm underestimating my calories by not weighing measuring. I try to be generous in my estimations-- if I'm not sure I round up and when I've estimated and then weighed, my estimations are close.

But also, I do wonder why I'm not hungrier. For example, today it's almost five o'clock and I've only eaten about 450 calories.

I do try to eat something before I work out. After, I'm not so hungry.

I would weigh and/or measure what you are eating to get more of an accurate count of what you are eating. You may be eating more than you think or less.

I can eyeball certain things but for the majority I tend to overestimate my portions while trying to underestimate my calories