1200 calories should amount to weight loss according to pred

Mine are too, in order to lose 1.5 pounds a week. But I work out to gain some calorie points.

1200 is probably too low for you, especially if you dropped to 1200 quickly. Try bumping up to 1400 -1500 Calories per day but exercising. What can happen is your body will go into starvation mode and make it harder to lose weight. There are also some theories that if you throw in a day or two of 1700 calories with the 1200 that the starvation mode won't happen. Not sure, but I never go below 1400...

Like brybre says....1200 is not the magic number for all. Maybe go for 1400 or so and see what happens. Are you drinking all your water, getting exercise, etc...etc..?

I varied between 1200 and 1800 daily for quite a while.

Look up how much to maintain. Then look up how much to lose max. As long as you stop gaining and start losing, it is all good. But knowing your upper and lower range is good. I'm 5"2' and 47, so 1200 is the magic number for me. In fact, when I get to goal, that's where I'll be.

Exercise is the key (to expedite weight loss and to give yourself some extra calories when you need them). My food diary is public. Feel free to check out how I stay under day to day. Basically I eat lots of fruits and veggies.

1200 calories should amount to weight loss according to pred
:sad:

These are the basic equations for basal metabolic rate (calories your body uses with zero activity):

English BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

Metric BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kilos ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 13.7 x weight in kilos ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )

You multiply the results by a fudge factor that estimates your activity level to get the estimation of your actual calorie requirements, usually a factor of 1.3-1.5. You then subtract 500 calories to find the amount you need to eat to lose one pound a week. (500x7=3500 kcal which is the energy content of a pound of fat.) Subtract 1000 calories to lose 2 lbs a week, etc.

You make fidget less than average and need a lower activity factor than MFP uses. If your home is warmer than average you could even have a lower BMR, as most of the BMR goes toward keeping your body warm.

I notice that your weight loss goals are modest and that you are 50. That means the real difference in calories between what you were eating before and what you need to eat in the future is miniscule. It also means that the real amount of calories to lose 1 1/2 lbs a week could be way under 1200. MFP won't let you go that low. It's tough to hit a calorie goal that that may only be 35 calories below what you're eating now, especially when you first start learning to log.

The most common cause of not losing weight is inaccurate measurement, so use a food scale and be sure to log everything. But understand that while losing 1 1/2 lbs a week is a realistic goal, very few people have realistic expectations when they start. Your body weight will go up and down more than 1 1/2 lbs a day just from water weight shifts. It will take several weeks to see a definite trend and several months before you'll notice any real difference in clothing size. You can't think of this as a diet you will follow as long as you can tolerate it, then go back to eating what you want. This is the new way you eat now, so you have to find foods and quantities you're willing to live with.