and your muscle...much faster.

So by the time all here are at their goal weight, I will still be working on mine. Congrats you got there first no problem, because when you go to your maintenance calories, and gain back the weight, I'll be reaching my goal and you might reaching your goal,

I'm on 1200 but I exercise every weekday for 40 mins - 1 hr. I don't think I'd be able to do it without my exercise as I need those exercise calories to not feel hungry.

I find weekends really difficult as that's when my boyfriend comes over so I don't have time to exercise and end up going out for dinner and going over my calories. I've asked him if he'd like to go on dates to the gym at weekends but he's surprisingly never very enthusiastic...

You are not alone, and, quite simply, science is still struggling to understand this.

Anyone who gives you any strong, immediate opinions on this - is probably just uninformed.

I strongly recommend you read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes, otherwise you're just shooting in the dark.

My opinions:

(1) it is all in the kitchen. don't even bother about exercise. you're now in "advanced" weight loss for your last few kilos, so it's all in the kitchen

Whatever you do, DO NOT " ' eat back your exercise calories ' " if you exercise. At your stage of weight loss it is inconceivable you could take that approach (unless you're a marathon runner), so forget that. Read the book, get actual science on your side.

(MFP laughably includes the concept of "eating back your exercise calories" - just ignore it. They'll remove this feature in future versions.)

(2) carbohydrates will be key. you must find an exact intake per day - what about 65 grams per day - of carbohydrates which will make you lose the last few pounds

(3) you should have NO PROBLEM eating only 1200 calories in a day, at your height. Anyone who tells you otherwise is uninformed. I typically eat 1400 cals (I'm also losing the "last few pounds", but I am 6' tall) and I feel stuffed all the time, I can barely eat that much. I experimented with 1200 a day for a couple weeks, and it was perhaps a hair low, I'd feel a little peckish. At your height it should be no problem at all, as long as your pancreas is in good condition.

you'll only feel HUNGRY, like you're not getting enough food, if you eat too much carbs. if you were eating say 125 grams a day of carbs, and only 1200 calories overall, your body would be starving itself, and psychologically you would be bitterly hungry all the time. in contrast if you are eating 70 g of carbs per day, and 1200 calories overall, your body will be stuffed with all the wonderful food it needs, and you will feel fantastic, energetic and full all the time.

(4) eating a good amount of FAT is key to FEELING FULL. FAT makes you feel full, CARBS make you feel hungry, and PROTEIN builds and repairs your body. FAT is also key to the health and beauty of your skin. A good source is something like pure, absolutely well-made Greek Yoghourt (made from full cream mlik). carefully included that type of fat with each meal for that really satisfied, stuffed feeling.

(5) EXPERIMENT and LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. If you feel good eating 1200 a day - great! Try it CAREFULLY for a week. If you feel too peckish at 1200, try a different amount of carbs and a different level.

Some thoughts.

why would we gain back the weight on maintenance calories ?

I'm on the 1200 calories diet...for a meal

1200K cals? What is the K for? Is that some metric thing? If not, that is like 1,200,000 calories. Not nit picking, just curious.

Thanks Kat. I have other motivation pics, that's just my fav! How much have you been able to lose being on 1200kcals and walking?

I'll give an example.
My BMR is 1439 my TDEE is 2300. So if I ate at a 15% cut I would be eating 1955. Losing weight slowly. When I reach my goal I go back to maintenance, which isn't much more. I would still keep the same activity level.

however I ate 1200 calories a day and reached my goal, and then went to maintenance I would be increasing my calories by 1100 a day, That calls for a huge weight gain. So then I go back to the lower calories and the cycle begins again.

Sorry, but that is flawed logic. You don't set your BMR, for the most part, nature does. It's based on height, weight, and age, not on the amount you eat or the amount you should be eating. The only thing you control is your activity cycle.