Desperately need advice! Gained all weight lost ..

1200 is NEVER enough and it is not sustainable, as you found out!

Read up on the "road map" and the "Eat More to weigh Less" groups. And, don't listen to anyone who tell you to not eat more, they are wrong.

Two best posts on MFP (in my humble opinion):

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/813720-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-deficit-macro-calcs-hrm-zones

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/521728-upping-cals-what-to-expect-why-you-need-patience

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when trying to lose weight is slaving over cardio, day in and day out. It's absolutely not necessary and is genuinely counter-productive.

You shouldn't be doing something you hate in order to lose weight and get in shape. It's not necessary, and the mental state it puts you in is poor for your health, motivation, and weight loss. This is why people yo-yo with their weight. They do crap they hate and deny themselves things they enjoy. They lose weight, but then they get sick of it, and their bad old habits creep back in and they gain the weight back. It's madness.

The reality is that you don't need 7, 10, 15 hours of cardio every week to lose weight. It's much more important to find something you ENJOY doing and do it 2 or 3 times a week for 30-60 minutes. That's all you need for good cardiovascular health. The other side of the coin is muscles - you really need to do HEAVY resistance training at least 2 times a week. A good weight workout can be less than an hour. But losing weight DESTROYS your muscle mass unless you work it hard, and muscle is what keeps your metabolism cranked.

A couple pounds of muscle mass burn more calories in a week than all that cardio.

Just run a calorie deficit, work those muscles, and get some FUN cardio a couple of times a week.

Metformin + Curves Workout 3 times a week + 1200 calorie diet = And I lost 20 pounds in 1 month!!!!!

Just remember when you lose weight you are more likely to become pregnant So now my daughter is 4 months and today I'm going back to Curves!!!!

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when trying to lose weight is slaving over cardio, day in and day out. It's absolutely not necessary and is genuinely counter-productive.

You shouldn't be doing something you hate in order to lose weight and get in shape. It's not necessary, and the mental state it puts you in is poor for your health, motivation, and weight loss. This is why people yo-yo with their weight. They do crap they hate and deny themselves things they enjoy. They lose weight, but then they get sick of it, and their bad old habits creep back in and they gain the weight back. It's madness.

The reality is that you don't need 7, 10, 15 hours of cardio every week to lose weight. It's much more important to find something you ENJOY doing and do it 2 or 3 times a week for 30-60 minutes. That's all you need for good cardiovascular health. The other side of the coin is muscles - you really need to do HEAVY resistance training at least 2 times a week. A good weight workout can be less than an hour. But losing weight DESTROYS your muscle mass unless you work it hard, and muscle is what keeps your metabolism cranked.

A couple pounds of muscle mass burn more calories in a week than all that cardio.

Just run a calorie deficit, work those muscles, and get some FUN cardio a couple of times a week.

Absolutely, you're right! It's become a chore rather then something I enjoy doing. Beautifully said! Thank you! I'll definitely down size it to 2-3 times a week and add the strength training! How long do you recommend doing strength training?

Well.. forever Adults lose muscle mass at something like 1 lb a year. It's hard to keep that mass, and the only real way is to use those muscles. All these silly cardio things I see people doing, like getting on the elliptical with 2 lb dumbbells in your hands or whatever, is a total waste of time.

It's important to separate cardio from strength training. Let me tell you why:


CARDIO.
The entire point of cardio is to force your body to use oxygen, which stresses a variety of systems in your body:
1) The ability of your lungs to transfer oxygen into your blood and CO2 out
2) The ability of your heart and cardiovascular system to effectively move that oxygen and CO2
3) To burn energy and eat into energy stores such as glycogen

That's really it. That's the goal with cardio. It really doesn't matter how you do that; whether it's running, tennis, cycling, swimming, whatever. Anything that makes you move enough to get your heart thumping counts as cardio. That should be the goal of cardio.

STRENGTH.
The entire point of strength training is to damage your muscles. Seriously, that's it. You get stronger and build muscle mass by lifting things that are so heavy you cause microscopic tears in muscle tissue, which then rebuild themselves as larger and stronger.

You can't do that with light weights. It just doesn't work. The only thing a hundred side raises with 10-lb dumbbells is going to do is wreck your shoulder ligaments. You need to work with heavy weights. The thing with weight training is that it takes skill. You can't just walk into a gym and improvise an effective strength workout.

The plus side is that a lot of people have come before you, and have worked out concise, simple, highly effective routines. You can be in and out of the gym in less than an hour having done a highly effective barbell workout.
The minus side is that, for whatever reason, women just don't do them. They are scared of barbells and think the rules don't apply to them anyway since they want to be "toned" and not "muscular" even though those terms are completely meaningless.

So, in reality, and I mean no offense to you, the chances of you actually beginning a remotely effective strength training program are very close to zero. But you should. You really really really should. You should be working with a barbell 2-3 times a week.

I promise you that if you do, the results will absolutely astonish you.


Anyway, that's why these "fitness" plans like Insanity or P90x or whatever are completely sub-optimal. They mix cardio with lightweight "strength" training in an ineffective way. They are designed to make you feel exhausted, but that's it. Don't mix the two in the same workout. Every day should be either a cardio day, a strength day, or a rest day. And yes, you absolutely need rest days; at least one a week. Your body needs recovery.

So glad I posted this, I'm learning way more than expected! Thanks for taking the time by the way. I have been strength training - but with little ol' 5 pounders so I guess that's not cutting it? I have seen a difference in my arms though! I'll definitely have to look more deeply into strength training properly! And get some heavy weights ..

Yeah, keep the 5-pounders in the closet, they're not going to do anything at all meaningful for you. And honestly a set of home weights won't do a whole lot for you. If you can lift them now, they'll be too light for you in two weeks. The strength limitation for novices isn't their muscles - it's their nervous system training. People who have never lifted just don't have the CNS training to effectively use all the muscle mass they have, so they make enormous gains in the first few months even though their muscles themselves aren't getting much stronger.

If you're not willing to go to a gym, I highly recommend picking up a book called Convict Conditioning. It's full of strength exercises you can do at home with no weights, and it's appropriate for everyone from the absolute beginner like yourself to people who are thoroughly jacked.