Hello from Scotland

Hi, have just discovered this website and I'm really hoping it will help me lose weight. I've tried it all - Atkins, South Beach, those disgusting milkshake things - and manage to stick to them for about a week before falling off the wagon and eating massive amounts of chocolate.

I used to be a very skinny teenager and looking back started to put on weight when I started a job involving a lot of driving. Lots of hours in the car and lots of fuel stops = chocolate and crisps snacking. In the past 8 years I have had 3 kids, my youngest is 3 and a half and I have never really lost the baby weight.

I am 40 next May - 6 months away - and really really want to be nearer my target weight by then. I started off at 88kg (195lbs-ish) and my target weight is 65kg, or 143lbs. I am finding it OK so far, eating lots of tuna, salad, fish, vegetables and snacking on rice cakes and low calorie cereal bars.

I am trying to stick to 1200 calories per day but have no idea if this is too much or too little. With 3 small kids I don't really get the chance to go to the gym or the swimming pool as much as I'd like.