Why isn't calorie counting working for me?

Thanks for replying. I weigh everything. I suspect the calories are too low but I don't seem to be able to alter it!

plus been doing extra walking (and eating those calories per some posts I read)

I love how everyone on this forum automatically assumed that you simply weren't REALLY sticking to your calorie goal. I have other theories. You're eating too few calories, you're not eating enough fat and you might be dumping too much sugar into your bloodstream.
First off 1200 Calories is the minimum amount of calories a person burns per day in order to stay alive (keep your heart pumping, your organs functioning). When the idea of bringing someone down to that many calories, it was called a starvation diet. Because that was what it was. Starvation. When you bring your body down to that level, your body does a few things. You might lose 1 pound quickly while you're body adjusts, but ultimately what you're body will do, is bring down your body temperature, make you lethargic and try to conserve as much energy (fat) as it can, because you are now starving. Instead, it will start to cannibalize your muscle mass, which it figures is preferable to burning your fat stores, because your fat stores are both valuable (they are actually what feed your organs) and they require less calories to maintain. And as a result of this, your body now burns less calories while at rest because there is less muscle mass to maintain. So now, you have more fat, and fat is what feeds your organs. So your fat is not letting the nutrition in the fat cells at a rate that can feed your body at the rate it needs. So you're double starving. Outside to make yourself thin, and inside your body isn't releasing what nutrients you do take in. In fact, its slowing down the rate that its burning your fat, and using your insulin to feed your cells what little you are eating , which also adds more fat to your fat cells. While this would be great if you were a hunter gatherer who could only eat every few days, as a modern human, this sucks.

So, try this instead - first you want to prevent your insulin from wreaking havoc on your fat cells. You do this in two ways. first - cut down on your consumption of carbohydrates. A good general rule is to keep carbohydrate consumption to less than 100 carbs per day. but UP your calorie consumption to 1500 or 1800 (better)

Easiest way to do this:

First:

keep your cardio where it is -- about 30 minutes per day should be fine


Things to Eliminate:
Cut out starch and sugar (wheat, potatoes - including those chips, starchy vegetables, and fruits like bananas, peaches, and apples, also cut out LOW FAT dairy) --- this does include alcohol. Which your body will burn instead of your fat every time. Once glass of wine on the weekends won't kill you, but it will slow your weight loss.

Include
Eat as many other salad vegetables as you want. Some of my favorites are Eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, zucchini, cucumbers, spaghetti squash, tomatoes

Include:
Whole fat dairy products - whole fat dairy is a good source of protein and fat. This will fill you up longer, give you more energy and prevent the lactose (milk sugar) from wreaking havoc on your bloodstream. Include, whole milk yogurt, Whole fat cheeses (like mozzarella - NOT PART SKIM) ,Heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream -- I like to make my own whipped cream, but you can buy sugar free heavy whipped cream also), full fat sour cream, whole milk ricotta cheese, and real butter.

Include
Eggs - Do NOT seperate the egg from the egg white. Eat them whole.

Include
Full Fat Meat- Caveat - Do not go for lean meats. Trust me. This will make you starve. Examples: Chicken with the skin ON, Sirloin steak, Lamb chops, lam shoulder chops, Pork. Try to limit your consumption of protein to about 1 gram per kilogram of your body weight. This to will keep you full. Fish is also a good option, but a bit expensive. My favorites are Cod, Flounder, Scallops and Lobster.

Include:
Berries - Berries are great for that sugar fix. Limit yourself to maybe 10 strawberries, or a half cup of blueberries - Try to always eat these with a source of fat, such as heavy whipped cream or cheese.
Nuts - My personal favorite are macadamias. Limit yourself to about 1 to 2 ounces per day.

Include:
Fats
Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Walnut Oil, Real mayonnaise (go for organic here, avoid soy products), Avocado, Butter - I eat half an avocado per day

I usually eat about 75 total carbohydrates- and about 45 to 50 net carbs (net carbs= Total carbs - Fiber - sugar alcohols)per day, which and am losing about 1 to 3 pounds per week.

Typical daily meal plan for me:
2 Egg (full fat) omelet with butter and broccoli and cheddar

Lunch: (I make this on the weekend, pop pre-portions into the freezer and then to take with me to work)
Skinnytaste.com Crockpot picadillo -( you can find this recipe online. I made only a few modifications: I use full fat ground lamb instead of lean beef, we use two whole tomatoes instead of one tomato and tomato sauce, and we don't drain the fat after cooking the meat -- If you don't have a crockpot, you can make it on the stove -- this is under the name Cuban Picadillo on Skinnytaste.com)) -- With 1 half avocado and 2 tbsp of full fat organic sour cream(not for health reasons, organic dairy products usually last longer in the fridge) - this is what I like, but there are plenty of other ways to go. Basically, you want some kind of fatty meat, with some vegetables.

Snack: 1 ounce of nuts or 2 hardboiled eggs

Dinner: 1 serving of full fat meat: Chicken Thighs (skin on) marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, and a variety of spices (look up recipes online for baked chicken thighs OR Sirloin Steak, OR Lamb Shoulder Chops (cheaper than lamb chops) OR Cod, Flounder - Seasoned with butter, olive oil and a mix of spices -- Try to limit this to 4 ounces

Two Large portions of vegetables: I personally like eggplant and zucchini. My fiance likes Sauteed spinach (in olive oil) and cauliflower.

Dessert: 1/2 cup blueberries with 1/2 cup strawberries and 1/4 cup whipped heavy cream.

Now AFTER the first 4 days of eating like this:

Change your exercise.There's an adjustment period where you will feel like complete crap for about 3 days --- you'll have no energy and be hungry. After this, if you can ride it out, You will have a huge burst of energy)

Keep your cardio where it is. 30 minutes of walking per day is just fine.

You need to build some muscle. I suggest downloading the 7 minute workout app. If you wanted to be a body builder, this wouldn't be the app for you, but it will help you counteract the damage you've done by starving yourself. It really is only 7 minutes(I personally call it the worst 7 minutes of my day, but it works) -- start doing it every other day.

I know it sounds counter intuitive. But I swear, I've lost 17 lbs this way in the last few months.