Before I had my son, I was 260lbs and got down to 187 before I found out I was pregnant. I ballooned to 228 right before I had my son (thanks peanut butter eggs and taco bell...). I got down to 215 two times thus far and lost my way. I'm tired of it and I want to be as close as possible to my pre-pregnancy weight by his first birthday. I was a calorie counter before him and I am back to my calorie counting ways! I weigh everything I eat, make every calorie accountable for....but I'm struggling with how many calories I should eat.

I'm around 220 right now on a good day. Before at this weight I was eating around 1800 calories a day. At 187 I was at around 1500 calories. I use ************ on my phone to track my calories and it says I should eat 1500 calories with my activity level (1200 for sedentary!). I've been trying 1500 calories with little to no results even with exercise (burning around 300-500 per workout). I previously used thedailyplate/sparkpeople and to lose 2lbs a week for light activity is 1900 calories.

I'm at a loss at what to do.

You might not be eating enough calories, especially since you are working out along with cutting calories. Try upping your calories to 1800 again and see what that does. I started at 1500 and bumped it up to 1750-1800 and usually lose about 1 pound a week (and I exercise every other day). Try it for a few weeks to see what happens, though. Don't just try it for one week. And don't panic about boosting up the calories ~ I panicked at first, but I'm glad I upped calories because I'm losing!

I agree just bump it up- sounds like that worked before anyways

I would definately not eat 1,200 off the bat as you will hav to lower your calories as you loose weight, why start of with absolute minimum?

I started at 223lb at 2,100 calories
At 195lb strted eating 1,800
At 170lb started 1,500
At 160lb started 1,400
And now at 1,350 and absolutely refusing to lower any more ever. I've sense in two my friends and my sister what eating 1,200 can do to their metabolism.

If the calorie number does not work then I "play" around with nutrient proportion like 50% carbs or 20% carbs and so on to get things moving.

Back in the day when I had great success in dieting (and I am starting again), I break my meals and snacks up into calorie brackets. Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner are all 300 calories, snacks in between Breakfast and Lunch and Lunch and Dinner are 200 calories and a after dinner nosh for 100 calories all for a total 1800 calories. I have been back on for a week and I lost 4 pounds (with no excersize ...yet). Before a bad car accident I was super fit and always had great success with eating every 2-3 hours. Some people "save" their calories and I feel that the body needs consistent nourishment through the day to keep it burning. I have a 19 month old, so I know it's hard sometimes to do anything at all, let alone eat 6 times a day. Plus. another thing I found is after a baby EVERYTHING changes. Up your fiber and drink plenty of water to absorb extra fat out of your diet and keep things going! I feel funny giving advice at my size, but I used to be a gym-rat and just lost my way. I wish you luck!

Thanks! My meals generally range from 300-500 with 400 calories worth of snacks per day, landing between 1600-1800 but I altered it for 1400/1500. I ate 1750 calories last night, weighed myself this morning and I'm down three pounds. I am just going to calorie shift between 1600-1800 and work my way from there!

When I saw 1200, I was like "yeah right!" Girls at 150lbs eat around that to loose weight. I'm 220! It's just hard because I'm even more depressed over my weight because it's been 9 months since I had my son. I could of done a lot in those 9 months.

Girl, don't beat yourself up! You had a kid...who cried all night and required tons of attention and time. You are not a celebrity who can hire a live in trainer and chef...be proud you are starting to get healthier now...rather than waiting years. Don't be depressed! You can do it now!

I've eaten between 1500-1800 calories since I joined 3FC and started my 59lb weight loss journey. I've not had to lower my calories (actually...I REFUSE to..I LOVE FOOD too much..lol) The only thing that I have changed is my exercise "intensity" and "amount of time". I have increased those 2 things...gradually throughout my journey. This DOES NOT have to be painful...enjoy your weightloss journey!