A quick rule of thumb is that you will maintain at around
12*bodyweight(lbs) calories per day. You will lose on 10*bodyweight
which for you ends up at 1200 calories. Women need a little less but
you make up for that in that you do plenty of exercise. (assuming of
course that you are a woman!) In addition you lost 45 in 6 months - or
just under 2lbs a week.

So, everything else being equal, the answer is yes it's OK, if rather
aggressive. If you are going to lose weight that aggressively you
should make sure you eat well (get all your nutriuents etc especially
protein).
Also the body is weird. What worked a year ago may not work as well
this time round. You sound to have been through a lot and that may
have changed things

good luck and keep posting

Ray

FTR what sort of things did you eat?

Hi Pinky,

became seriously depressed and turned to food to comfort me, and
completely stopped working out and became pretty sedentary.  This went
on for seven months, I regained everything I had lost, plus some.  The
last final months, I've finally regained control of my life, and now I
want to regain control of my weight as well.  I am just wondering if
following the same plan I did the first time around will work for me
again.  I've had many people tell me that eating 1200 calories a day
does not work, because you are starving your body.  This makes no sense
to me, because it worked for me and worked well when I tried it.  I
guess I just wanted to hear if any others have had experience with
having to lose weight again, and any insights you might have.  Thanks.

It's not so much that it wouldn't work, but if you eat too few calories
it's very bad for your body and you won't be able to keep it up and
maintain your weight. It depends on your height and build whether
1200-1300 is too few - I'm on a 1400 calorie a day diet and I'm quite
tall, so if you were a little shorter than me, it's probably about right
(I'm also an emotional eater, btw).

People are talking about very low calorie diets and about going into
starvation mode, which is when you eat so little your metabolic rate
drops and you lose muscle, resulting in a very low daily calorie
requirement and leading to yo-yo dieting. It doesn't sound as if you are
yo-yo'ing like that, just that you've had a rough time and put some
weight on.

The best way to get it off again is to eat a sensible, healthy diet and
to reduce your intake to about 500 calories a day less than you need to
maintain. There are charts available to look at your gender, build, age
and activity level to figure out what your basal requirements are, and
consequently how much lower you need to go to lose weight steadily. A
500 calorie per day deficit should result in a 1-2 lb per week loss for
most people.

Weight Watchers and some other diet programs merely provide "tricks" to
make these calculations a lot easier, and also take into account that
calories from saturated fat are generally less healthy (and less
filling) than calories from good carbohydrates. They are also easier to
stick to long-term and give you a bit of structure.

Hi Pinky and welcome.  The most important thing about any "diet" is that you
can stick with it for the rest of your life, through thick and thin.  If you
can stay with 1200 calories a day for as long as it takes to lose the
weight, and then maintain that loss using habits that you developed through
weight loss, then go for it.  I don't thing that 1200 calories is too low
for someone your weight.  Just make sure you are eating a balanced diet with
plenty of fruit and veg and you should be fine.  Stick around and let us
know how you go.  Here's our welcome notice to get you going.

Welcome to this great newsgroup where you'll receive lots of support,
advice, and encouragement. Once a week on Sundays, I post a list of links
that newcomers to asdww might find useful. You may want to look for that
later in the week, or do a backwards search for last Sunday's post.

In the meantime, here's our FAQ:
http://www.didian.com/asdww/
our welcome notice:
http://www.geocities.com/welcomenotice/index.html

Frequently seen acronyms on this NG:
NSV = Non-Scale Victory
WOE = Way of Eating
WOL = Way of Life (Living)
OP = on Points or On Program
DH = Dear or Darling Husband
DS/DD/DGD/etc = Dear or Darling Son, Daughter, Granddaughter, etc
WI = Weigh-in

Amberle3's Challenges:

Generic Exercise Challenge: http://www.angelfire.com/me4/travelgirl/ge.htm
   November 29-February 27

It's Never Too Late Weight Loss Challenge:
http://www.angelfire.com/me4/travelgirl/intl.htm
   December 6-February 27

Weight Loss Challenge Summary:
http://www.angelfire.com/me4/travelgirl/summary.htm

Other acronyms:
http://www.wwlissa.com/dwlz100+/100+acronyms.htm

Here's a short synopsis of the USA Flexpoints program by Joyce -

How many points you can eat is only based on your current weight, as you
lose weight those points allowed will decrease (logic is that your body will
need less to operate).   At 183 pounds and based on the new US flexpoints
system, you will have a set point target of 24.  In addition to this you are
allowed 35 flexpoints to be used throughout the week ... as well as any
activity points you earn on a particular day.  When your weight drops to
175, your target drops to 22 points ... weight reaches 150, target once
again drop to 20 points.  3 servings of dairy of recommended per day, 5
servings of fruit and veggies, minimum of 6 glasses of water.

To calculate food and activity points, I love this computer desktop
calculator ...
http://www.zythra.com/downloads/points.exe

The basic plan is easy.  Eat at least your minimum daily number of points.
Points do not carry over from day to day.  You are allotted 35 weekly
flexpoints to be used at your discretion ... can divide them up and use
daily (would be an additional 5 points per day) or save them and use them
for a special occassion during the week.  Activity points are earned based
when exercising, but can ONLY be used on the day they are earned.

Joyce
WW starting weight: 228.8 - 2/5/02
current weight:  133.3
Lifetime: 4/4/03

And here's an explanation of Core/No-count by Laura -

It is a great plan. You DO however need to make sure that you are eating at
your normal Flex plan target number of points. This can be difficult for
some and you WILL stop losing.

Here is the summary of the plan: http://ahwww.home.comcast.net/summary.htm
Here is the detail list of foods:
http://ahwww.home.comcast.net/wwcoreplan.htm

Basic rules:
1. Eat as much of the core foods as you need to feel "satisfied" (not full).
2. If you want to eat foods that are not on the core foods list use you 35
weekly points allowance (WPA).
Note: use these points on healthy foods and not junk.
3. Activity points are used to supplement the 35 WPA for Non-core food items
only. They must be used on the day they are earned.
Note: most people find that they will increase the amount of core foods
because they are hungrier due to exercising.
4. 2 teaspoons of heathy oil daily is required.

~Laura

Please note that if you live in onther countries (UK, Australia, NZ,
Europe), the Points plans are different.  The UK and Australia/NZ calculate
points based on saturated fat and total kilojoules.  Most of Europe
calculates based on total fat and total kilojoules.  The desktop calculator
above can handle all of these programs.

Disclaimer: As an unmoderated Usenet newsgroup, asdww is unusual in that
most of the people who participate are respectful, considerate folks who
freely share their experience with and knowledge of WW, weight loss, and
maintenance. Yet occasionally, spammers, trolls, and flamers show up to post
advertising, false information, insults, and the like. Nearly all of the
time, people like this are just trying to yank someone's chain. Most of the
regulars on this newsgroup offer their experience as a suggestion to try if
you're stuck, but are quick to advise that each person has to find what
works for him/herself. If someone posts something that doesn't sound right
to you, ask the newsgroup, ask your WW leader, or ask your health
professional.

Much success on your weight loss journey! WW works!

$$ The only way you will know is to try it.  No one ever lost weight by
EATING MORE unless they increased their exercise to overcome to extra
calories. 1200 calories is not a starvation diet for the average women.

This makes no sense

$$  I've been stuck at 165 to 170 lbs for the past 2 years and 2 months.  I
walk between 1.5 and 3 miles a day and stay around 1200 calories a day.
Under that I start to suffer the symptoms of starvation - but *WILL* lose
weight.