Because I only weigh 110lbs (which is technically a healthy weight for my height, but I have tons of extra flab on my belly and thighs which HAVE got to go) the lowest recommended calorie intake is 1200, but at that rate I will only be losing .32 lbs per week. It will take me until the middle of September 2010 to reach my goal at that rate. I am trying to lose 15lbs which would putme at my "happy" weight and the weight that I had maintained for years until I met my husband. I have a very very small frame. So 95 was perfect for me. Is there anyway I could safely go to 1000 calories per day to speed up the process? Of course making sure I include lots of veggies, lean meats and fruits and keeping a good balance. I was at least trying to be at my goal weight by bathing suit season (May or June around here). That gives me a good 7 months which does not seem like to short of a time to lose 15lbs. Any thoughts?? Losing .32 lbs per week is not going to keep me motivated!!

Does the calculation you did take into consideration workouts? Are you going to be working out? Not just cardio but weights?

If you feel you have extra flab maybe you could make sure to get in a good weight lifting/toning routine so that your skin will firm up and muscles tone?

I would stick to 1200 calories a day for one month (do you know how much you currently eat?)- and in that time have a weight training program as well as cardio- after one month re-evaluate- if you didn't lose one pound or one inch- then maybe go down?

I have been "trying" to exercise some, but it is really hard with my schedule to have an actual routine down. I do Jillian Michaels DVD's but it is really sporadic because of my schedule. So I don't really want to take into account exercise because some days I might get some in, but most days not. Maybe 2times a week average I guess I will just try 1200 like you said for about a month and see if there's any progress. If not I'll try a little lower and find some way to get more exercise in somehow.

I really would try to get a routine done because say you lose 10 lbs, but without any weight training and workouts you could still be flabby, just a smaller flabby?

Is there anything you could cut out so that you could have more time? Or heck even if you only dedicate 15 minutes a day to exercise that's better than nothing- a lot of people also workout during their lunches a few times a week then just eat their lunch at their desk- could you do that?

Good luck with whatever you decide! Maybe a nutritionist could help you out as well?

Eating less than 1200 calories was something I struggled with too. My really good friend is my personal trainer and a nutrition major currently. She told me that it is actually worse for your body to get under 1200 calories than it is consume 1200-1800 for weight loss. Starving yourself (which is what eating less than 1200 cals is) will make your body do everything it can to prepare for a famine. Not only will your body learn to adjust to the lower amount of calories by slowing down your metabolism significantly, but it will make your body store all the fat you are trying to burn and get it's fuel from muscle. Therefore instead of getting the desired results you will be 'skinny fat' as my traine calls it; someone with a Teeny tiny body, but flabby and fatty in problem areas like hips belly and thighs.

Hopefully that helps. She spent 45 minutes explaining all this stuff to me, so hopefully me touching on the main points have gotten the general idea..

Oh, and by the way, I started my weight loss aug 2 of this year and I have lost 33 lbs since then eating 1300 calories MWF, 1800 T Th, 1200 sat and whatever I want on Sundays. Calorie cycling has worked wonders for me bc your body can never really adjust to a set amount of calories when you are switching it up.

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Thanks for the advice guys! I was worried about the whole "starvation mode" thing if I ate less than 1200. I guess I will just have to accept that the weight is going to come off slower since I'm so small. I started a workout routine yesterday, acutally got a 1 mile run in and about 25 minutes of strength training. Hopefully I will be able to stick with it. Maybe all I really need to do is tone up more so than lose much weight. I'm just jiggly all over lol. Maybe if I firm up some I might find that I need to lose less weight than I though.

carbcrazy - I recommend HIIT - high intensity interval training - for some crazy fat burning. It's so exhausting that I don't do it often, but I include it in my workouts when I feel like the scale just isn't budging, and I'm getting close to my goal weight.

That, and as beerab said, weight lifting. Definitely.

And I wouldn't go under 1200 calories, either, unless its ok to do so because you're so small? I'm not sure, but like Leilah said, the body will hold onto fat if you don't eat enough.

GOOD LUCK!!!