As a nurse, I'm going to concur with Midwife ... our Doc's send you to a dietitian quick as a wink.

Okay I see where you are coming from. I still completely disagree though... it is my HEAD that is telling me what is right and to do it; my body begging me to let it have control. :) But we are thinking along the same principle otherwise. :)

Actually my favorite series of tapes is called "Slaying the Goliaths in Your Life" and is about exactly that... taking control over our bodies and the things in our life which are "giants." But my BRAIN is in my HEAD, and it is my BRAIN I need to use; not my bodily impulses LOL. I say when my body can have food and what; it doesn't tell ME that!

But whatever.... :)

I have been on a lot of 1200 calorie diets and never kept the weight off. I think of them as something I could never maintain. I exercise and eat about 2000-2,400 calories a day and have lost 35 pounds since January. When you have a lot to lose like me, its hard to say with a 1,200 calorie plan IMHO.

For me, it seems to vary on a daily basis. I usually try to stick to around 800-900 calories for breakfast & lunch. Sometimes when I try to work out before dinner, I find that I have NO energy and have to eat first before working out. And I think I eat very healthy during the day - yogurt, high fiber cereal, fruit, and usually chicken and veggies for lunch, with another piece of fruit in the afternoon. I always say I can't figure out why my body acts the way it does from day to day!

I agree with you, and so does my doctor! She advised me not to go under 1800 and I would lose just as much as on the lower calorie "diets" as those would just crank down my metabolism. And it's working! It helps too that I focus mostly on natural foods; very little processed stuff, and lots of fruit and veggies!

I have lost 35 pounds since the first part of February, so we are at about the same spot in our loss. :) Feels great, huh? :dance:

Kelly your plan sounds really good too! Good for you!!! :woo:

Congratulations on your loss! You big loser you!! :cheer:

I work out an hour to hour and a half each day, and eat between 1200 and 1500 calories of (mostly) clean food - although this week is a poor example of that on FitDay, as I've had lots of events I had to go to - I'm still on-plan calorie wise, but my foods aren't exactly as whole as I'd like and two days there have been fairly significant percentages coming from alcohol...but if I can go to an event and still stay around the right calorie range, I'm calling it a victory, and taking a multi-vitamin, and I refuse to give up socializing and a few glasses of wine until this weight is off - if it takes a bit longer, so be it. It appears to be working, though I may up my limit to 1600 or 1700 to see what my body does with it, as I think with my activity level I have a little breathing room, but we'll see after I experiment.