Can someone help the newbie? :)

lraien

I chose my own goals - because I wanted my protein upped - and put my daily goal at 1350. I'm down 17 pounds in 8 weeks and have continued to lose. Sometimes I go over the 1350 - don't think I've ever been over 1500 in a day - but even when I go over, I've never gone over my "allowed" because it's never been higher than the calories I've earned by my FITBIT syncing what I've done that day. I try very hard not to use my FITBIT calories because the point of exercising is a bonus, but some days when I'm not making the greatest food choices, it makes me feel like I didn't fail because I'm still under my overall goal.

I think the most important thing is what others said above about making sure whatever you are doing you can stick with. If 1200 makes you feel deprived, you're eventually going to spring back and go to the opposite extreme. I would say maybe go higher and see if you still lose weight. I know when I've done weight watchers, they take your calories away gradually. If you think about it, to sustain the weight you are currently at - you've been eating probably well over 2000 a day. For me, gradual has been easier to stick with.

SoozeE512

Pay attention to the people telling you to eat more.

I did the 1200-ish thing when I started on the site a little over a year ago, and I ate back my exercise calories for the most part. I lost quite a bit in the first couple of months. Then the weight got a lot harder to take off. I started gaining and losing the same few pounds, and when the gain was 5 pounds up, I decided to give it a break and I left the site for a while. I continued to eat healthy with some splurges here or there, but I stopped tracking calories and I only ate enough to satisfy my hunger, not to fill up to the point of feeling really full. Without the site, I managed to maintain that weight for a few months (I was pretty lucky there). But I came back this year looking to lose more to reach my goal for real this time, and I realized the 1200 thing is just not sustainable.

I'm 5'3" and currently weigh 148 lbs so I'm eating between 1,500-1,600 to get a small deficit. I know losing is going to take longer this time, but while the numbers aren't moving that much yet, I'm already seeing some improvements in my waist and hip measurements so I know the eating more thing is making a difference. It's all about patience and commitment!

Good luck!

EDIT: By the way...my tracker shows I've lost 22 pounds. Only 11 of those were from being on MFP. The other 11 were from before MFP -- the first 11 took about a year to take off and was mostly only done by cutting down on portion sizes at meals and only eating enough to feel satisfied without feeling full. At 1200 calories, you're pretty much starving yourself, but clearly that's not necessary for losing weight. Just saying.

cakeikins

Thanks everyone, all the advice is really appreciated! I'm gonna eat a few hundred calories more, I want to lose weight but I don't want to do it unhealthily!