suggestions please?

Congrats on the big loss! I would suggest strength training /weight lifting if you are not already doing so in your routine.

Have you thought about setting the next goal for three pounds instead of ten? Once you reach that goal, you can adjust as needed.

Congrats on the weight lose so far!

How long were you eating 1200 calories? What does your exercise look like? How are you measuring progress besides the scale?

I was eatting 1200 cals for 7 months and eatting back only half of my exercise calories, so there were many days where my net was below 1200, I know not the best idea - which is another reason I increased my calorie intake to 1400. My exercise is on the treadmill at the highest incline, level 10 at a brisk walk for average of 45 minutes (sometimes 30, sometimes 60 minutes). I can't afford a gym membership right now and have tendonitis in both my wrists which limits lifting and arm exercises that are strenuous.

Couple of general thoughts...

1. If you were my client, I'd be having your systematically ramp calories up to maintenance over a week or two. I'd then have you stay there for another week or so. This would give your body a break. That break has the real potential to offset some of the negative adaptations you're likely rocking given your shortsighted approach taken.

Once you allow some time for your body to reset, you can try a saner deficit and see if your body rewards. As a relatively small female, you're rocking a very sensitive system... I can assure you of that. More often than not, the "beat your body into submission" approach fails miserably while the longer term perspective, "coax the fat off" approach wins out.

2. I'd reassess your goals. Are you doing this to weigh a certain number? Or are you doing this to look better naked? If it's the former... by all means, keep doing what you're doing. If it's the latter, you really need to ensure you're managing not only the fat side of the coin... but also the muscle side. You're dealing with low funds and bum wrists. That doesn't mean you can't do any resistance training whatsoever. You can get very creative with resistance training in your home... I assure you.

I'm about the same size as you, about 5 lbs lighter. It's been a slow process the last 10 lbs. You just have to keep plugging away.

Try lifting weights. You will get a better looking body which matters more than the scale!

best of luck! feel free to add me

1. what would maintenance look like for me 1400 cals? 1600 cals?

How active are you outside of the exercise you're currently doing? Do you work? Mommy? Watch a lot of TV? What?

AT 143 lbs, assuming you're relatively active and assuming you didn't have any sort of metabolic slowdown, an estimate of maintenance would be in the neighborhood of 2100. Given that you've dieted pretty aggressively and given that you've lost substantial weight (congrats btw), you likely do have some slowdown.

Given that, maintenance might be closer to 1800 or thereabouts.

2. the answer to number two is both. My ultimate number is just to be somewhere in the 130's. But really just want to look better.

I have some female clients who end up heavier than when they started and MUCH happier with their physiques, how they feel, their strength, etc.

Point is, you need to rearrange your focus... prioritize physique and function over weight. Right now, by way of your initial post and the path you've been taking nutritionally and with exercise, it's evident that weight comes first in your mind and it really can't be like that at the stage of the game you're at.

Eatting at maintenance for a while to reset sounds like a good idea, I am all for that.

Good. Just keep in mind that your body, as it stands right now, is likely primed to put on weight. It different for everyone once they start "refeeding." Some actually lose. But many, in my experience, gain. I like the idea of gradually ramping calories up over time.

So if we say 1800 is your maintenance and you're currently at 1400 (I think that's what you said)... it might look something like:

A week at 1600 followed by a week at 1800.

There are many ways of skinning the cat... it's just one option.

Just get in in your mind that these 2 weeks aren't about weight loss. It's about recovery and preparation for the next phase of body recomposition.

Any thoughts on strength training exercises I can do at home in addition to my current treadmil exercises to help build muscle?

Even a couple of days of full body exercises would help you maintain muscle. It takes less work to maintain muscle as it does to build it... and when you're dieting... maintaining is really what we're after. The reason is simple... as we get leaner, our body's tendency to lose muscle increases. Which is why it's important to throw incentives at the body to preserve as much of it as possible.

Those incentives, by and large, come by way of resistance training and consuming adequate protein.

Things like squat variations, lunge variations, hip hinge/deadlift variations, pushing variation, and pulling variations all fit the bill of quality exercises. You'd have to test the waters with the upper body stuff to see what bothers your joint issues and what doesn't. But with your joint issues, if you haven't already and assuming you have insurance that will cover it, you should be thinking about getting them resolved. Tendonitis tends to be a catch all phrase that bandied around by a lot of professionals.

Not that it doesn't exist. But at a minimum there should be some treatments available such as soft tissue therapy and such that can help.

But back to the exercises, assuming you have zero equipment beyond your treadmill, you could start with solely your body weight. From there, as you get stronger, you could add external resistance. If the funds are present to buy some adjustable DBs (can usually pick up a set relatively cheaply at a sporting goods store), then you can improvise. Fill gallon jugs. Use a school back filled with book. Whatever. Resistance is resistance... your body doesn't know whether you're lifting a dumbbell or a stone.

A really basic intro routine might look something like this:

Day 1:

Body weight squats
Modified Push-ups (can even make cheap homemade handles that are more wrist friendly out of PVC)
Inverted rows from a table or sturdy dowel that's across the back of two chairs

Day 2:

Romanian deadlifts with milk jugs
Bent over rows with milk jugs
Modified Push-ups

Do a handful of sets of each exercise for 10-20 reps and that's a start at least. You'll want to modify it and progress it as time goes on... as your body gets used to this you need to stay ahead of it in order to tease out further progress. But again, it's a start.

You might also consider, at a minimum, picking up some exercise bands. I have them in my gym as a supplemental tool... it's not the greatest as the primary source of resistance. But it'll instantly upgrade your arsenal and expand your exercise options at a relatively cheap cost.

No problem... keep me posted please.