Should I be exercising/more/when...?

Calorie restriction is one of the worst things you can do to your metabolism. It might work in the short term, but long term your body will store fat and not burn anything you put in your mouth. Fuel your body with the proper nutrition and exercise to that you continue to be able to burn calories long term, plus tone up. I eat all day long but it all clean food.

there are lots of good things about exercising, and really only one of them is losing weight. there's better sleep, better bone density, increased blood flow round your body, rush of feel-goods (endorphins) etc.

all the best!

I'm told that you hit plateau's over and over again where it appears you're not losing for awhile. Moderate exercise (3 to 5 times a week) will get you more results than light exercise or no exercise. Women seem to lose less than men in the same time period. Or so it has been with my wife and I.

I eat good foods 95% or more of the time. And I'm counting calories too. And it's not hurting my metabolism at all. I am limiting myself to between 1200 and 1500 cal. per day. I seldom get close to 1200 but ever once in awhile I will. I found that my body naturally wants more around 1500 or so. I can add the exercise calories to the total per day but 95% of the time I do not. Oh and I eat all day long too.

Oh, and don't do any exercise you can't do for life. It's pointless. People just gain the weight back or get flabby when they stop working out. I picked the elliptical cross-trainer at my gym. It works like a charm for me. My wife like Wii Fit Plus because she can do it at home when she has the time.

First of all Congrats on the 19 pounds, that's fantastic!!

I am not an expert by any means so I am sure others will jump in here, but MFP has a calorie deficit already built in based on your profile. So as long as you stay on plan you should lose a 1-2 a week.
If the exercises made you feel better on those days you worked out, than I say keep doing it.
Some days you will be into it and make it intense, other days it’s a causal walk around the neighborhood. Do it to feel better!

Limiting your calorie intake only stops working if you stop doing it. I fill all 1500 calories with things I think are within reason. And it's working. I don't try to fool myself into thinking this is a short-term solution for me. It's a lot easier to go for a walk at 165 lbs than 308 lbs if you ask me. (That's referring to myself) And it's alot easier to be active in that exact same comparison. Imagine trying to carry around a 143 lb person with you all the time. What got me there? Sodas and fast food. Now I just avoid both. I drink water 99% of the time. I buy healthier choices in the grocery store and I allow myself occasional overages on calories as a way to splurge. For example, I love catfish and tarter sauce and so every once in awhile I go have some. I don't worry about it because I exercise 4 or 5 days a week. (Started at 20 mins per day and now I'm at 60 mins per day) Eventually, I'll probably lower that back to 45 mins per day once I'm fit.

Sdaudel - Thank you for the in depth response! I agree, I don't think I'm harming my metabolism, and I plan on continuing these eating habits after I lose weight so it shouldn't be a problem. I think I'm going to start working out a few times a week, as you've said. And I will do something maintainable for long term.

You're on the right track!! Eventually I'll be able at my target weight and according to this website I'll be able to have approx. 2,100 calories per day or so to stay at that weight. But I'm not going to over-feed myself as I did in the past. I like my new habits and anyone can see that they're having a positive effect on me.

At the moment I avoid alcohol just because it goes against the efficiency of what I'm trying to do. But my wife had 2 Amstel Lights the other night and she counted them in her calories and was under her calorie goal for the day. Simple. Some people think counting is too hard. LOL! I don't. It's easy.