Need Motivation :/

Hiya, what's your ideal weight? How many calories does MFP say you need to eat a day to lose a pound a week.? It's crap when you can't find the right menu. I find evening times my worse point of the day, I can be good all day but I struggle in the evening.
For me, I find it hard to keep to a certain amount of calories so I use exercise as a way of filling myself up. If I exercise, I can eat more!
X

Hello!
I'm a Sergeant in the Army and I too need to have a lot of energy at work because I'm constantly on my feet. I start early with some V8 fusion juice and a few handfuls of honey nut cheerios. The sugar and whole grains help a lot during the morning. Once work starts I fit in a yogurt and then PACK A LUNCH! I know this sounds like a duh thing but eating out kills a healthy diet so I just don't do it any more. Most days I eat a reduced fat peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread with some honey in it, a banana or 100% fruit juice cup, and a can of diet arizona green tea (0 cal!). Of course this doesn't curb my hunger till dinner so I also pack a nature valley oat and honey bar for an afternoon snack. Dinner is something low carb or if it has a lot of carbs I just watch the portion. Most of the stuff I've mentioned is pretty tasty and will keep you satisfied throughout the day. Feel free to message me with ideas or questions. I've lost around 70 lbs, most before I joined fitnesspal so I've tried it all.

Maybe right now if you're having a tough time with motivation, your focus can be on maintaining your weight right now without making any huge changes yet? 20lbs is not the worst weight gain but it's good to catch yourself now before it goes any further. It's obviously preferable to lose 20lbs rather than 40.

Counting calories helps tremendously to see what kind of dietary changes you should be making. If you work at a hospital, I would buy some healthy snacks and pre-cook some of your meals to take with you during long shifts (when I was losing weight I'd make a big pot of soup and have it every day for lunch for a week... Economical and delicious). You are probably already on your feet a lot, but I bet there are some moderate exercises you can incorporate into your breaks.

"I'm okay being heavier, if I turn it to muscle though."
The thing is, you can't turn fat into muscle. Fat can't become muscle. If you're ok with being heavier but you want that extra mass to be muscle, you will still have to lose fat.

1200 calories is too low for most people unless they are extremely small and sedentary. If you're looking to start a strength training program to gain muscle, you're not going to want to be losing 2lbs a week on a huge calorie deficit. I would set your goal to 1 or 1/2lb a week, and make sure you get adequate protein (MORE than MFP suggests on its own) when you are building muscle.

I have it set to 1200 so I can lose the last 15 lbs more quickly. Chances are there is something that you can cut out. I hate to say it but the easiest way has been for me to eat the same things a lot; especially for breakfast and lunch. Dinner then I could see what my calorie count is up till then and adjust for what I have left. For instance, last night I wanted pizza but I only had like 350 cal left so I had soup instead that kept me within (or darn close to) the calorie limit.

JessiCat, thats good but don't make it so complicated that your reinventing the wheel. If being balanced is important to you then thats great. As long as your meeting your food requirements, consider how your exercise needs may need to change. You can kind of tell when your body is on the right track. I set goals with weight but really didn't like using the scale. fitting into clothes I wanted to wear was more important to me.