the last 25 pounds

hey folks! i'm 5'4", 145 pounds, 26 yo. i was 225 almost three years ago and i lost 80 pounds over the course of a year. the last year or so i've been able to maintain at 145 with minor fluctuations, and that seemed ok to me, considering all the progress i'd made, but now i would like to lose these last 25 pounds and get down to a healthy 120 (and get smaller calves! my calves are the only thing on my body that never changed-- they were 16 inches around when i started exercising at 225 and they're still 16 inches around! it's crazy.)

here's my diet/exercise breakdown:

gym 3-4x/week, weights 2x week (arms, chest, back, legs), cardio 3-4x week (running, elliptical, bike, cross-trainer combo), quad strengthening exercises every day (i have chondromalacia patella, which was aggravated because i started running when i was still over 200 pounds).

calories/day: 1650. i can go down to 1400 and i did that over the summer, but i didn't shed at all! i usually have two cheat days/month when i'll let myself go over what is allowed to shake things up. these days usually amount to about 2000-2200 cals. any more and i feel like puking my guts out.

anyway, i guess my question is should i go down to 1200/day? or is there something i could try with my ratios but keep the same calories? i've done 1200/day before, but it's really hard, and i have trouble sustaining that for more than  a week or two. one meal out and i'm screwed for the whole day, usually. or would more exercise be a better route? i used to exercise more often when i was 225, believe it or not, but i never lost weight that way, only from restricting my food intake.

a doctor once mentioned to me that she thought i had polycystic ovarian syndrome, based on a couple factors, but i have an HMO and they don't test or treat you for it unless you want to get pregnant. i read that low-carb works well for women with PCOS, but want a few opinions on what i should try next.

[OneScaredBuckeye]

Make sure your calories are divided into three small meals a day and three tiny snacks.  Too little food and your body will hang onto fat because it thinks it's starving.

No sugar!  No processed foods! :)  Except the occasional indulgence, like once a week.

Lots of water.  Three liters is good.

Whole grains only, five or six servings of fruits and vegetables, mostly vegetables.

I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about PCOS.

Good luck.  I know the last few pounds are the hardest to lose.

[OneScaredBuckeye]

Oh, green tea (without sugar), will boost your metabolism as will lean muscle mass.  Maybe you need to step up the weight training?  I've found that interval training is great.  And it's great to vary your cardio as you seem to be doing.  The body gets used to one kind of exercise and it doesn't need to work as hard as it does when you mix it up.  Again, good luck.