Hi DWV, I work in the field and am interested in what professional advice you have sought to date. I'd also be interested in where the 2500-3000 Cal intake and 1200 recommendation came from. I'd also be interested to know if anyone has worked out your average daily energy expenditure.
Some points.
Protein
While it is true for many people who have struggled with weight, that higher portions of protein help them feel satiated for longer, higher protein invariably means more animal sourced food (flesh, dairy, eggs).
Unfortunately, this type of food has a strong positive correlation with cardiovascular disease. Even if you go for lean cuts, the latest scientifically based recommendation is that anything over 300g a week of red meat significantly increases risk of c-v disease and certain cancers.
Carbs
Atkins and segments of the bodybuilding and fitness industry have extreme views about carbs. I have had many clients put on next to no carbs by personal trainers and body builders, only to have dramatic loss of energy within 4-8 weeks. Much of the wt loss benefit of extremely low carbs is that this depletes the body's glycogen stores. And glycogen stores bond to 3-4 times their weight in water, ergo a v. low carb diet will make you lose weight in the early stages, but much of it is water, not fat.
Nevertheless, it is true most of us eat too many carbs....and really I should be saying starchy carbs (grain based stuff like pasta, rice, bread). carbs include fruits (simple carbs) and vegetables (fibrous carbs) and these are the best diet food. So it is a good thing to cut back on your rice intake, but not to exclude it altogether.
Why do we overeat starch? they are a substrate for serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain. low levels make us feel depressed/unhappy. a hit of starch makes us feel better for a bit. but big hits of starch can also crash our blood sugar and have us craving more 1-2 hours later.
Fibrous Carbs
Perhaps the most important principle of safe and comfortable weight loss is to increase your intake of veges and salad, (and water). These have much more bulk per Calorie, and lead to a sense of fullness before you overeat. Further, they trickle feed glucose to the blood stream over 2-4 hours, thus avoiding sugar swings which trigger appetite. Apart from that, vege have essential vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants that cannot be attained elsewhere.
Simple Carbs
Many advocate not eating fruit on a diet, but unless you are pre-diabetic whole fruit (not juice) is fine. Some fruits have much higher sugar content, and these are better avoided. Berries and melons generally have less sugar per gram, whereas bananas have amongst the highest sugar content.
Low Carb Diet Success
The success of these diets is often attributable to factors not openly acknowledged by their proponents.
Firstly, decreasing starch is a good thing but that doesn't mean dropping it to extremes is a better thing.
Secondly, the satiation and stable blood sugar one feels on low carb diets is often more a result of upping one's intake of fibrous carbohydrates, increased water, and increased activity levels......success is not necessarily due primarily to the larger serve of protein and fat.
Exercise
You will struggle to burn off Calories by exercise alone. Your diet will be responsible for 80-90% of your weight loss success. For each cup of cooked rice you eat, you will have to walk very fast for 40 minutes, which will be about 4km.
Energy Dense Nutrient Poor Foods
This table shows how there's no place for convenience foods when trying to lose weight.
You really do have to go back to the foods your grandparents ate, but less of them if you aren't doing the same degree of manual work they probably did.
Energy Intake/Expenditure
Finally, it helps heaps to know how many Calories you burn. The pic below is of a spreadsheet I use to measure this for athletes. Am happy to share it with you if you PM me.
Finally, I'd recommend you read the diet program of one the world's foremost authorities on diet and health, Dean Ornish, in a book called
The Spectrum