My current weight loss calorie range is 1200-1400, which I'm comfortable with for consistent 1 to 1.5 lb loss (at my weight my basal rate is about 1500, and I exercise rarely if at all but usually walk about 30+ minutes a day around campus just to get around). Most days, I try for 1200 calories and fail, clocking in somewhere at 1300 including a late-night snack of cereal.

But some days I wake up late and skip breakfast, or miss lunch while running around. There are two options to dealing with this: (1) grab something, usually unhealthy, to eat on the way; (2) cram in more calories, usually unhealthy, into the remaining meals; (3) clock in at 1000-1100 kcal for the day. I know (3) isn't supposed to be a good idea, but options (1) and (2) tend to make me feel ill or derail me with cravings and so on. Is the minimum-consumption-to-keep-up-metabolism a hard and fast rule, or is it okay to miss the mark some days and leave extra calories for others?

I think it's totally fine to cycle calories. Eating the exact same amount every day is almost impossible. If you forget to eat one day and end up at 1100, you'll probably wind up having a little extra another day and be at 1500. I like to think of it in terms of weekly averages.

What krampus said. Eating 1000 calories (or even much less) on occasion won't throw your body into starvation mode, make your muscles fall off, throw you into early menopause, shut down your metabolism, or any of those other myths you read on Teh Internets.

And, don't worry about it. Stress elevates cortisol, which is counterproductive to fat loss.

//b. strong,
Kim

Haha... best advice ever. Stress is unfortunately one of those things I'm having trouble reducing. Hopefully the cortisol doesn't wreck my weight loss!

May I suggest nuts? I never leave home without them so I can always grab that together with some string cheese. It keeps my blood sugar steady and I don't struggle with the calories. I do have days when I eat less and don't consume all of my planned calories and then there are the days when I may eat a bit too much so it ends up evening out.

I have never understood how anyone can manage to undereat. This is a dubious skill I sometimes wish I had.

Seriously, though, there are easy ways to increase your calories with healthy foods: nuts and nut butters, olive oil, avocado, etc. These are low-volume, high-calorie healthy foods that help you to meet your caloric needs without making you feel like you are eating too much.

That said, though, certainly there is no issue with going low on calories some days.

I have fallen into a sort of intuitive way of eating, or cycling my calories. Throughout my weight loss I have had hungry days and not-hungry days. Now I just go with it, within reason. I do best when my higher calorie days are with healthier foods though. If I go way off plan and have donuts or pizza or something like that it's harder to reign myself back in. If my higher calories come from apples, WW bread, or the like, often the next day will be a lighter calorie day just naturally.

Petite powerhouse -- I'm a grazer and a gorger, which means I eat food that's in front of me when I'm already full, and I also like to eat much more than I need at any meal. So if I'm eating on-plan (in terms of food composition -- veggies, protein, 1 carb) I'll be full around 400 or 450 calories, full-stop. Then I go off to work on something, isolate myself from edibles, and don't remember to eat until the next meal (ditto -- about 400 calories and I'm full).

My problem is that late at night when I still have 100-200 calories left in my allowance I sometimes want MUCH more than that... we're talking whole slices of cheesecake... so it's always a matter of self-control to not reach for that treat.