I do well the whole day with counting calories and i even leave some calories for a snack after dinner. But after i have my snack i want to eat more. And i do. I am ashamed of myself. Maybe i should just go for a walk/run then? I always go out to the local park and walk around the pond. That's like 10 minutes away though. I think i should just leave the kids at home with the husband and go walking/running in my neighborhood. Its a nice neighborhood and i'm not afraid to be out by myself. I'm just embarrassed when people see me, i'm very shy. Do you think working out at this time would be beneficial? I'm hoping that after a good day of staying under my calories and then a run or walk i won't want to eat again and ruin all the good i did. And ************.com is saying 1200 calories for me? Isn't that kind of low? I picked losing 2lbs a week. Thanks in advance to everyone! I really appreciate it everyone's input!

I do think 1200 calories is a little low for you. I would try 1400 calories a day. Plan your meals ahead of time and allow yourself a few calories for the evening. I think exercise at any time is beneficial.

I have decided that I am no longer driving anywhere to run. I am self-conscious of the red-face, hard breathing, and jiggling to run in my own neighborhood, but last week I said forget that and began opening up the door and jogging down my own street.
I tried setting my calories to lose 2 lbs per week and found it was too low to be sustainable for me, so I set it at 1.5 lbs.

try zig zagging your cals--so you eat high one day and low another, just so they balance out to an average. That way you can add a treat in there, like 1x a week. I don't see how anyone can really eat 1200 cals every day, especially just starting out, you should absolutely be able to lose on more. It took me almost a year to lose 27 lbs, and I really don't care, because I"m here now! All that matters is that you pick yourself up and keep going

Try this calculator http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

If you notice you're wanting to eat a lot during the night or at a specific time, try shifting the majority of your calories to the end of the day and see if that helps. You could also do a specific time period that you stop eating for the day and stick firmly to that. After a few days, you stop feeling hungry and realize you didn't need the cals to begin with

I try to save most of my calories for the evening...about 1/2 to 2/3 of my total. I tend to graze at night and this has been working well for me. I eat mostly fruit or protein earlier in the day and I don't feel hungry, but then I have lots of room for the evening if I need it.

I tried the calculator that you suggested pinkflower and it said for fat loss i should eat 1688 calories and for extreme fat loss i should eat 1424 calories. That's with exercising 3 times a week. That's a WHOLE lot different than 1200! I also think i will try and save a lot of calories for the evening since that's when i tend to freak. Thanks to you all!

I agree with pinkflower on cycling calories. Eating the same number of calories each day is way too restrictive. I would shoot for a weekly target instead. If you eat low calorie a few days a week, you can afford 1-2 days of indulging in larger meals.

As far as how many calories you should be eating on average, different calculators will suggest different amounts. You should experiment and tweak the actual number based on your results. If you aren't losing as quickly as you'd like, simply reduce the amount.

This calculator is good.

http://www.sheerbalance.com/nutritio...n-calculators/

Maybe it is maybe it isn't. Too soon to tell for you. For me, it is not. Where I get my calories from really matters. While you are tracking calories, how about carbs too? There is not any more effort and maybe you will find what levels your body does best with. In addition, to carbs, observe other symptoms. Then be aware of the difference between casuality and correlation. After a few months, you will be an expert on you. That is priceless knowledge.