I am having a difficult time sticking to the calories

If you exercise, you get more calories! :-)

tis true. exercise so you can have your wine.

working out daily will give you more calories, you could also make "lite" versions of your meals or whatever it is you want to eat, and be sure to drink enough water.

Making lifestyle changes are tough!!!

My nemesis is chocolate...so I have just worked it in to each and every day. I save it for the end, and only if I have room

1200 calories is tough - you can up it by:
- exercising (and then eating / drinking back those calories...perhaps you will be more likely to go for a brisk walk if there is a glass of wine waiting for you at the end of it??)
- up your calorie allotment - you can either change your goal (to 1/2 lb per week, lets say) or you can manually just add an extra 100 or so. Try it for a few weeks, and if you aren't seeing any progress, then make another adjustment. The great thing about this site is that you can adapt it to what you need, and if it doesn't work, you can change it back!

Hope this helps...good luck!

Try switching to a lighter beer, or wait till Happy Hour on Friday and enjoy your favorites. Try to cut back where you can on other calories (ie coffee creamer, bread, etc). My biggest success with weight loss has come the week after a "splurge"

I'll admit that I do have a cocktail or 2 almost everynight (I'm 53). so two things to think about....you must exercise so you can have those as part of your calories and still ge enough nutrition from real food!

And second, with only 20 pounds to lose, your calorie goal maybe a tad low at just 1200 cals. That is all I had to lose as well and after researching the site extensively, I found that dropping cals too low would hinder a small time loser like me.

Set your loss goal at 1/2 to 1 pound per week and see if that gives you more calories to work with and yeah - exercise to earn a few more!

Best of Luck!

If you feel the craving to have that glass of wine, just do an extra 30 minutes of exercise?

Well, if you just want the taste of wine and don't really care about getting tipsy, alcohol free wines have up to 75% fewer calories. You can heat your own favorite GENTLY which evaporates some of the alcohol. It's not a bad idea anyway--alcohol is associated with a higher risk of breast cancer.

reported you for suggesting someone drink alcohol free wine. that is the worst thing i've ever heard in my life. i award you no points, and my god have mercy on your soul.




ps, i'm joking. please don't tell on me.

1200 calories really isn't enough for most people. What happens with a low calorie diet is -- yes, you lose weight. But, you can't and won't stay on the low calories the rest of you life and the weight goes back on. The key is to learn to eat the right amount and right type of food daily without counting calories. A person can cut out perhaps one or two servings and lose weight. People generally gain weight because they simply eat too much. They stuff themselves rather than stopping when full. I say have your wine. Eat healthy foods in adequate amounts. Don't stuff yourself. Exercise. And you'll lose weight. When people deprive themselves, they'll eventually make it up by making a pig of themselves and gaining back all the weight plus some.

Just my opinion based on scientific studies.