I am beyond confused!

CrazyBeautifulCurves

Here's the "short" version... At 24 I weighed in at over 400 pounds and could no longer live that way, it wasn't healthy in more ways than just physical health so I had gastric bypass on Dec 22, 2009. I lost approx 200 lbs and was devastated by the amount of excess skin I had and the amount of $ it was going to cost (which I did not have) this killed my motivation and I stalled for 6 months or so. My now mother in law had done HCG and lost 150 pounds (which she has now also gained back) so I decided to start that I lost 21 pounds only to gain back 50 in a blink of an eye. My husband and I can now afford my plastic surgery but I still need to lose approx 80-85 pounds before that can happen. I am almost 3 years post my gastric bypass and I can eat a normal portion now so my surgery no longer provides all that much restriciton but I am willing to do whatever it takes I just want to reach my goal and get all this damn skin cut off and maybe finally feel good about my body. I intend to workout 5 times a week, resting weekends either at the gym or at home with videos, ie: insanity, zumba, p90x which I have.

So my questions to you all... What should I do to lose weight the fastest yet still healthiest? How many calories should I be eating a day? How many calories should I be burning with exercise? Should I invest in a HR that calculates calories burned if so what are your recommendations?

Please do not think I have not done any research of my own but with all the conflicting information I feel as though I've read too much hence why I am sooooo confused and don't know what to do anymore. PLEASE HELP!!!

Current stats I'm 26, 252 pounds as of this morning, 5'7", female.