wooh loved the alliteration in that title!

ok, so I am getting confused as to what really is the best, most effective, healthiest way I should go about counting calories.

so, I hear "no one should go below 1200" a lot. How is that possible? some of us are way shorter than others of us, how can they say that? some days i barely hit 1000, I don't really feel deprived, I just don't hit 1000. I do notice when that happens too often though I lose weight a little quicker than recommended. (I went from 130.2 to 128.2 in 4 days, & I know its bad to lose that much in anything less than 7 days).

& is that 1200 net calories? so days when I burn 400 calories working out, I should actually be eating 1600? doesn't that defeat the purpose of me working out?

& finally, i read these articles saying if you lose too fast, you are hurting yourself, not helping yourself. that you're actually losing muscle, not fat, which means you're only making it harder on yourself in the future to keep off the weight. i mean, i know that makes sense...but how am i supposed to know what type of weight I'm losing?

gah all i want is to lose weight the healthy way. i know from experience that if i feel like i'm depriving myself, ill end up binging (whether i actually feel hungry or not) articles like that mess with my head and somehow make me feel guilty about my progress.

i would love any input you have to offer

I think it's just extremely hard to get the nutrients you need only eating 1200 calories a day. For example, it may be hard to find foods that allow you to eat say 100 grams of protein, without going over the 1200 calories. If you are on a "medically supervised" diet, then it's easier to do this because you are drinking shakes made up of only the vitamins, proteins, carbs, fats, etc that you need.

I also think you'll find that your body will adjust to whatever you feed it. So it you are losing weight at 1200 or 1000 calories, your body's metabolism might slow and become used to living on 1200 calories, and then to continue to lose weight you'll need to go even lower. Obviously, this doesn't happen for everyone, but most people will begin to adjust if they eat a lower calorie diet every day for an extended period of time...

I don't get how anyone can stay under 1000 calories unless the portions are microscopic! Either that or I'm counting my calories way too high. I've had a grapefruit, coffee, 1/2 chef salad, 2T dressing, 1 pita bread and apple and 2 servings of rice chips today and I'm already at about 1200 calories. Does that seem like a lot of food?

I wouldn't worry so much about what you read. If you are not feeling deprived and have plenty of energy for the day, then it sounds like it's working for you. In a few weeks, if you start to feel like binging or feel tired, change it up. I agree with Wildflower - your body will adapt to whatever it's given, so be careful not to go too low or you will have no place to go.