Dieting and Normal Eating habits...and liking healthy foods!

You should look into the "Eating for a Future You" group (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3088-eating-for-future-you). The theory is that if you eat the amount of calories a person of your height and activity level at your ideal weight needs, eventually you will be that weight.

Last time I calculated, I needed 1440 at 5'4" and sedentary. I'm much more active now, and plan to stay that way, so I should recalculate.

Yeah I find it hard to believe you were gaining at 1750 a day? Are you very petite? 1200 and 1300 are for losing weight are roughly a pound a week (for women, most men will lose more on such low calorie intake). 1750 is like a maintenance diet. That's about what I should be eating if I'm relatively inactive once I make my goal weight. (I'm a middle-aged woman of average height).

Looking at your diary for the week, you had 2 eggs & sausage for breakfast most days. When you didn't, it looks like you had another breakfast listed as Snack plus another meal. Have you tried using 1 egg with 2 egg whites? Maybe have the sausage, whith a high fiber cereal, on the days you don't have eggs. I suggest you try adding more fiber, such as vegetables (in addition to salad) throughout the day. That is to say, use your calories on things that fill you up. If you still feel hungry, eating a salad is better than a fourth meal.

Spaghetti squash is my favorite low-cal filler. 40 calories for a cup of it? Gimme two with a tiny sprinkle of olive oil, a pinch of parmesan, and some freshly chopped garlic for 100 calories. Yum!

EDIT: Also, I notice your 1700-calorie days are rather high in carbs. The thing about eating a lot of carbs is that your body can't use them to build or repair blood cells, muscle, etc. like it can with proteins or healthy fats; they're only useful as energy, and your body stores this unused energy as fat immediately. Because of this, I'd recommend changing your daily goals to include more proteins and less carbs (I use 40-30-30 and it kept me satisfied on 1400). You'll also feel fuller if you eat more protein!

Some days I can barely eat 1200 cals, somedays it is really easy to go over..... I am eating low carb, and that is a major source of calories, so that makes it easier.

I must admit there is a bunch of stuff in your dairy I don't know

Whatever you try, stick with it for a few weeks to see really what's happening. Did you try that link I posted earlier? The Scooby Workshop calorie calculator?

thecappacino i TOTALLY get what you are saying from your first post!! Im exactly the same as you, i do eat healthily and love fruit etc but the 1200 calorie allowance does not seem possible. It appears to me that on this diet/calorie counting regime loosing weight means skipping meals and frankly that isn't an option for me because it means i binge and put way more weight on in the long run. A diet that does really work for me (and may work for you too) is the weight watchers diet. With weight watchers all foods have a points value and you must remain within your points value to loose the weight. Its great because loads of vegetables have 0 points which means you can have unlimited amounts and it doesn't effect your points value. Also foods like fruit are really low points. Because of this it makes dieting easy. I saw great results with WW too (i would loose 3 pounds per week on average) so i really would recommend it!!

when you say you gain on 1750 cals, have you checked to see if it's really fat you're gaining? If you've been eating very little for a long time, then you suddenly eat more, you will gain weight and it'll be water and glycogen, not fat. It takes 3500 calories over your TDEE to gain a pound of fat. However you can put on a lot more water/glycogen weight in a short time (even overnight) just by upping your calories intake, even if you're still in defict.

A lot of people think that they have screwed up their metabolism because of this and that they cannot possibly eat more than their current too low number of calories. this usually comes from them eating that number of calories for a day and seeing a 2-3 lb gain on the scales.... which is water weight. They then think that eating that number each day will equal that many lbs of weight being gained each day, and so they freak out and continue with the very low number of calories they were eating before. The reality is that the sudden weight gains from upping calories comes from water weight and if you carry on eating those calories then your body will adjust to it and you won't gain any more, in fact if the calculators say that you should be in deficit at 1770 cals/day, then you will start losing again at that number of calories after your body's had a chance to adjust. It takes a couple of weeks of monitoring to be sure that you're really gaining *fat* and not just water weight when you up your calories, so unless you've done that, you can't really say that you're gaining at 1750 cals/day.

Even if you have screwed up your metabolism, going to the gym and lifting weights while eating more should fix it. You will gain weight but it'll be water weight, bone and muscle mass, as your body rebuilds itself up again after having wasted away before from too few calories.

My advice is to eat 1770 cals/day, and hit the gym. Ignore any initial weight gains, wait for your body to adjust and you should start seeing not only some more losses but also body composition improvements.

Also, when you factor water weight fluctuations out of the equation, you'd be surprised how much you can eat on one off occasions (e.g. cheat meals) without it damaging your progress, so long as it's not a regular thing.

Another issue will always be your activity level. If you are not eating enough to cover what you burn your body may start storing... I am currently doing a 1200 diet... I work out everyday burn about 250 I try to replace most of those calories so I can continue to loose... As to sustainability I can see a point will as my activity level increases my calorie intake will also have to but for now until I get to my goal I will stay on the 1200...