1200 cals a day... not working

I have recently started logging my cals. I generally take in 1180 to about 1280. I've been doing this for a week or so and I was just wondering when I should start to see results? I've stayed completely consistent. Also, before this I would consume 700 cals on day and 1700 the next. Is my body going to take several weeks to get used to the change?? I'd like to start seeing a change soon. Any suggestions on how to jump start the weight loss without going into starvation mode. I've also recently joined a gym, but don't know what cardio/weight training will be most effective.

You're 5'3", 19 years old and 120lbs..... doing exercise now?  http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html  If you enter your stats into this link you'll find that gives you a BMI of 21 which is a perfectly healthy weight.   You need about 2000 - 2200 cals a day to maintain your weight and, since you're under 21, you should be at no lower than 1500 cals a day, every day if you need to lose weight... which really you don't.  Your stated target of 100lbs (College students who want to lose 20+lbs by summer) would make you severly underweight with a BMI below 18.... that's not going to be possible without damaging your body so that's a really poor idea. 

NB.... You may have weighed 107lbs in the past but presumably that was when you were a kid rather than a grown woman.... the rules change as you get older.

I would suggest that you aim for a policy of eating better food rather than less food and combine that with more exercise.... Your shape will change for the better and you'll be less at risk of malnutrition. 

I've also seen 105-110 as a healthy weight as well. but right now i'm not concerned with how much i weigh but how i look. i have excess fat that i want to get rid of, and i'm assuming its 15-20 lbs worth but i could be over estimating.

and 107 was last year, same height, and i still had a little extra fat. but like i said, i don't care about how much i weigh, because if i gain muscle, i'll weigh the same but won't have as much fat. thats my goal. i just generalized it at 20 lbs. thanks for your concern thou :-)

For me, it was weird but I exercised 60 min a day on the elliptical for 6-7 days a week while eating 1600 cals and lost NOTHING...not that I was aiming to lose any. I am also in college and pretty fit. I am 5 8.5 and 120lbs. Right now, I am again eating 1600 cals and working out the same but before this, I was 115lbs and same height and thought I should gain some...so ate 1800 cals a day and worked out the same...and I gained... so now I am 120lbs. I personally think you need to be very careful when losing weight because if you have a very low weight for your height, you can lose your periods and increase your risk of osteoporosis later in life. And this is the time to continuously build up your bone mass. However, being active and changing your diet WILL NATURALLY take your excess fat off. Dieting, I think, won't work because it won't last and all the weight will come back once you start eating regularly again because you mess up your metabolism.

Be careful and good luck!

Hey thanks for the reply. I have started working out at the gym recently so my goal is exactly what you said, lose the weight naturally. I'm doing it the "hard way" lol. A friend of mine has told me to increase my cals to 1500 on days when I work out, so I'll be trying that. I'm trying not to slow my metabolism more than it already is so I'm trying to stay at or a little bit over 1200.

Your friend is not doing you any favours.....  You should listen to the previous poster.   1200 is far, far too low for someone your age who isn't overweight and who is very active.   You need at least 1500 every day and you need to eat more when you exercise.... Otherwise you're headed straight for malnutrition and all the nasty little problems that go with it.... loss of periods, hair falling out, skin problems, reduced immune system...  

Andrea, I see you tossed the rest of gijane's answer right out the window. You're undereating. If you want to gain muscle and tone rather than "lose weight" you're doing it wrong. You're wanting to avod starvation mode, but you're 18, already at a healthy BMI, and undereating; of course you're going to hit starvation mode and may have already done so.

Eat more. Exercise more. Skip the losing weight mentality and actually work with what you said in your response to her about not caring about a number and just caring about having less fat and more muscle.