Yeah, I know that is cutting it pretty low. I do under 1200 every so often but try to not go more than two days in a row at that level.

Unfortunately, I've spent decades dietIng off and on. Some of those diets were trendy, like Atkins and more than a few were less than healthy, like extreme calorie restriction. The result is that my body has "learned" to conserve, just in case another famine comes.

According to charts, at my current weight, my daily calorie requirement to maintain should be 1745 but experience has shown that between 1500-1600 calories my weight will start to creep back up. When I started this diet, 60 pounds ago, that number was a lot higher but as I get closer to my final goal the intake that allows continued loss has sunk pretty low.

That is why I wil need to be "on a diet" the rest of my life. Maintenance level for me is likely going to hover around 1500 calories per day and I know that without monitoring, I will easily exceed that number. If we don't destroy the planet first, I think there will eventually be a "magic pill" so no one will have to weigh more than they want to. But, not in my lifetime.

@DotLewis I concur. Being on a "diet'...watching what you eat, the carbs, fats, proteins, and roughage, the total calories....too many need it, not enough do it. There's a serious epidemic in America and the world (see GIF, below). Thank you for being so conscientious!

[metrocosm.com]

Wasn't as worried about it being seen as about having to shim the cabinets almost an inch out by the time I got to the top. At 83 years old, the whole(original) part of the house leans north. I would guess that, like many of us, she's settled with age. If I go with the lean, the cabinets can be secured to the wall and the lean will be no more noticeable than the wall's lean or the slope of the floor. The joys of working on old houses.