(sorry for the typo in the title. *too few )

I ask because I whittled my calorie intake down to 1200 from around 1400ish, and not long afterwards my wight loss slowed to a crawl and I've found that I sometimes gain a pound or three back, which slowly fall off again during the following week or so, but it's barely any progress. I've lost the same pound for more than three weeks.
The thing is, I'm good at calorie counting and I don't cheat. I drink plenty of water and avoid too much salt. I exercise 4-5 times a week, and I go hard. So, is 1200 making my body think I'm starving? I'm only 164lbs and 5'2, so as I'm small I figured a low number would be good. :/ Anyone else have this problem? Am I just having a regular plateau?

1200 is slowing down your metabolism completely, and for your height and weight its definitely too little. Keep it at 1400 and just up your exercise/try new routines to break out of the funk.

Why did you drop it from 1400 initially? What was your progress/rate of fat loss looking like at that number?

I found 1200 to be too low for me as well. I do very well between 1400 and 1600.

1200 required an awful lot of planning, for me. There was no room for anything except very basic, whole foods. I missed having an occasional glass of wine, piece of dark chocolate, or even a little piece of good cheese. And for all that, my weight loss stalled too. Wasn't worth it. At 1700, I can lose a few pounds a month, and still be very content.

I think it depends. A lot of low carbers go even lower, as low as 1000. Protein keeps you feeling fuller. It depends on your body and if you're too hungry. I do 1000-1400 depending on how much I've walked/worked out.

It just depends. 1200 calories has worked well for me and if I ate 1400 to 1600 calories I would gain. But that is my already slow metabolism so some of this is just individual.

i think its too low! esp for the amount of exercise you're doing. i'm about 5'3" & weigh in the 140s & i'm eating at 1500-1600 range. you need to fuel your body for the workouts you're doing~

Yep!! Although none of us can know for sure, it is likely your body needs more fuel.

I found it totally confusing last fall when I could barely workout until I upped my calories by 200/day. I was still trying to lose weight, so the thought of eating more was kind of scary! The next month, I had to up it 200/day more! I still lost weight very near my goal eating 1700 calls/day, when I started out doing 1200 for months!

Wow, thanks, lots of good advice!

I do have a very slow metabolism, though, and the reason I dropped to 1200 is that my logic told me I would lose more at 1200 because I just don't metabolise as fast as many people. At 1400 I was losing, but slowly. Like.. 1lb in a 2-3 week period kind of slow. I experienced a brief spurt of weight loss but then hit a wall.

As per all of your info and advice, I've upped to 1400 again and will give it a couple of weeks and measure the effects. Thanks!

It really depends on what your lifestyle is like and your body type... I'm 5'2" as well, and 1200 cal on a day is right on the border of what is too low. I try to follow a plan between 1200-1400 - and if I exercise, then between 1300-1600 at a minimum. If it's obvious that you've plateaued, then hike those cal's back up! Stick with what works until it stops.... don't fix what isn't broken. good luck!

I could never do 1200 calories!

I did 1200 calories a day (most days with a few 1500 days sprinkled in) all the way from 333 pounds to 140ish. I never had a plateau, never gained, and lost 190 pound fairly quickly. I found 1200 calories a day a very doable and effective weight loss plan for ME... Though I think I'm one of the very lucky few to have had such great success in following such a structured "starvation" diet!

I would eat whatever you feel comfortable with and an amount your Doctor also agrees on.

I'm an inch shorter than you and at 1100-1200 calories. However, I do sprinkle in a cheat day so my average calorie/day is probably 1300-1400 (guesstimating). I'm also extremely sedentary and deskbound.

With you exercising 4-5 times a week, you might be a bit on the low side. If you were losing before at 1400, go back up to it! No need to change a winning formula!

Hey, I was impressed that you used "few" rather than "less"! I sort of cringe each time I'm in the express line at the grocery story and see the sign that reads "20 items or less." But I digress . . .

To your question: Like another poster indicated, I find it very difficult to stay at 1200, and I can only do it if I do not have ANY extras & stick to just whole foods while also watching my fat intake (e.g., measuring out a teaspoon of oil). I can count on one hand the number of times I actually stayed at 1200 for the day during my weight loss. Half of the time, I was at 1400. Later, I started eating 1700, and oddly enough, it seemed that my weight loss sped up (I'm guessing, though, since I never actually weighed myself while losing; I'm going by the fit of my clothes). One thing you may want to experiment with is calorie cycling. Some people say that it helps you to avoid plateaus.

Good luck!