Is my body freaking out? Have I shocked it?

You cant out exercise a **** diet. Log properly and stick to your deficit.

It's not a fair place.

regular weight fluctuation

relax and go poop.

So I noticed you said you feel a bit "womanly and ranty" today...

I am up 2/3 pounds during ovulation and even up to 5 on a bad evening of my period. Could be reasons?

Also, I lost 8 pounds in June and even though I was so proud of myself I cried in a dressing room because I seemed so flabby. A month later things have adjusted

So, it appears to me that you're working out A LOT, but eating very few calories. You need to fuel your body (with the right kind of fuel) when working out hard, otherwise your body will essentially eat itself, ie. use muscle for fuel and leave you fatty and flabby. Just a thought.

I really must admit to needing help here. Years of body image issues and stupid diets have completely distorted my view of what normal eating is. I was bullied relentlessly as the fat kid at school and it’s left me with some seriously messed up ideas about food.

MFP says to eat 1200 a day as a baseline, but it's estimates for calories burned are way off, they are sky high. Should I just be sticking to between 1200 and 1400 cals a day and making sure I get adequate protein?

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

It is that ovulation time. I knew something was up when I saw a charity commercial this morning and started bawling. Now I feel all emotional and like h7463 told me off and want to cry - even though she didn't. Sheesh, I'm such an emo

Yeah, the calorie estimates on here are lame. I reckon I burn about 200 with no more trouble zones and 3 kilo weights. I think a morning and evening session is very sensible. I should just do that and up the weights and go as hard as I can. Oh, and I already have to drink 4 litres of water a day 'cause of a kidney thing. Many trips to the ladies, but incredible skin!

Speaking of which, I'm thinking of trying Insanity. Will all this Jillian Michaels have prepared me, or will I just die?

h7463 - stay off the scale for a few weeks?? That's the toughest part by far ;-) You got me worried now. What if I take my eye off the ball and I'm suddenly like 13 stone haha.

Bahahahahaha......You know, I meant the bathroom scale, right....? You're still supposed to use the food scale. If you're eating THAT MUCH that your plate won't fit on your food scale in the kitchen, THEN we know where your real problem is!!!!
No, the thing is, and I am really saying this from experience, that it takes a while for your body to process the change, get adjusted to the amount of food and exercise that you provide. The food is the toughest part, because your metabolism will probably adapt much faster to little food, than your sore body will learn to repair itself. Basically, you will have to stick with a certain amount of food, until your body has figured out what's going on. There is no switch or set time, it's an individual process.
Staying off the scale is not so bad, if you stick to your plan. You are already committed to the hard work, why would you be nuts enough to sabotage it with bad eating choices, anyway. Think of yourself as your own science project and enjoy the process, rather than obsessing about every 1/2 lbs o the scale. Not that you'll have a choice, really, if you want to keep the weight down FOREVER!
Also, look at your body composition, rather than the pounds. Let me give you an example... I'm 132lbs now, and (give or take a few muscles around the shoulders) a US size 4-6. I used to be 125lbs and a US size 8-10.....

Good luck!!!!

Bathroom scales

I've just been on this other thread about working out RBMR and TDEEs to try and work out how much I should be eating and of what. Frankly, I'm even more confused. I make my living drawing pretty things and making people's business stuff look nice. This is all too science and maths-like to me. :-S

However, I'm, fine with conducting my own science project on myself.

It's kinda tough eating much in this humid heat, which does't help. I could quite easily squaff a load of ginger beer (full sugar) and a family pack of Cornettos though.

I was going to ask your advice - do you think my Monday and Tuers recovery days should be good quality protein fests? For carbs, I like beans and chickpeas and quinoa.

Yeah....don't beat yourself up over numbers.... I'm an engineer, and even I have my doubts about what they are calculating there...

In a nut shell: The BMR is the number of calories that your body burns, when you are doing absolutely nothing... Then there is the TDEE...that's the total amount that you are burning, when you go about your daily chores (depending on how honest you are about your actual activity level...)
If you want to lose weight, the idea number is anywhere between those 2. Exactly where, largely depends on your metabolism. If you want to go the lazy way, just eat less to get to this number. If you want to make sure, your skin isn't flabby when the weight comes off, you start strength training and cardio. Pretty simple, actually.
I currently get the 'biggest bang for the buck' with a modified version of Jillian's workouts with much heavier weights than she recommends. For today, I did level 1 of 30 day shred with 10 lbs dumbbells. Half of the workout was in the top 2 heart rate zones, and all my muscles are on fire. I've been rotating workouts like this now for 4 weeks straight, and the fat is just dripping...
My mission is to shed a little more fat, not to lose weight.
Currently, my BMR is about 1300 calories, and I'm aiming for 1500 net calories/day as weekly average. I'm not beating myself up on a daily basis. Mostly, I'm a little under 1500, that takes care of sloppy work around the food scale..... I found out, that if I get 1500 calories worth of food in me, I won't feel hungry, regardless of how much I workout. If I eat 'only' 1200 calories, I'll tear the fridge door off the hinges...that's just my body being stubborn...no sense fighting back...
As I said before, I'm working around a weekly average for my calories. On days that I train extremely hard, I eat more. No problem, no guilt.
The protein/carb/fat ratios are another very personal issue. I lift heavy, I need my carbs. Period. Currently, my macros are protein 40%, carbs 35%, fat 25 %. Again, it's a guideline for me, and I won't beat myself up over being 1/2 % off...
On recovery days, I eat light. No sense in piling on food, that I would want to work off again during the week. I eat lots of non-fat Greek yogurt, add some protein powder, some fresh fruit. Lean meat and fish work well, too. Tons of veggies and salad... For fat just add organic peanut butter, almond butter, just anything that you can control. Try not to buy packaged food. It's got too much garbage in it. Chickpeas are great. Hummus is made from chickpeas, garlic and olive oil, and it's a great snack with celery or carrots.
You can eat noodles, too. Check the labels, and look for anything whole grain. Have fun with trying new recipes.
In my experience, it's easier, trying to keep the macro ratios consistent throughout the week for your purpose. This way, your metabolism will less likely get stuck.... Besides, your body will likely be craving protein for repairs right after training, no sense in packing extras on a day that you don't primarily need it.... Remember, you have to drink a lot of water to keep things moving... Easy on sodium, too...
MFP will show you a list of basic nutrients. If in doubt, supplement with a multi vitamin, and add on with food.
So much for science....lol