How many calories do I need to burn each day?

I am aiming for 1600 to 2000 calories a day (down from 3-4K a day) and eventually maybe less, depending on how the program is going.

Sounds like a good place to start, Kati! It's a matter of experimenting till you find where works for you - some people can lose on 2000 a day, and some can't. The thing to bear in mind is that you will need to drop your calories as you lose weight, obviously.

To give you an example, I'm 10 pounds heavier than you and I'm averaging 1850 calories per day for the last 10 days, and lost 1.5 lbs this week. Exactly where I want to be at the moment, and and when if I hit a plateau, then I'll readjust things.

The thing to bear in mind is not to go below an average of 1200 calories per day just to make sure you're getting all the nutrients etc that you need...

Here's a good thread to visit

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120973

people posted their weights, calories, amounts they lose on average.

On "The Biggest Loser" I think they recommended 7 calories per pound of body weight for weight loss, and 12 calories per pound of body weight for maintenence. If you start unde 150 pounds, you are to use 150 for your base weight anyway.

Either I need to burn 7 calories or 700. I am sorry I just don't understand that post.

Take your current weight * 7 for your daily calories.

236 * 7 = 1652

That falls EXACTLY into what you are already doing!

I say start high, if you lose, stay there until the weight loss slows and then lower it.

Thatis how much I have to eat. I need to know how much I need to burn.

More than you have been?

Ok, I'm afraid I don't know what you are asking.

For what? What is the goal you are trying to accomplish?

Okay. This is a little confusing. I thought that you had mistyped in your question about how many calories you needed to burn, as you then say that you're aiming for 1600-2000 calories a day, but that sentence seems to be clearly talking about how many calories you're looking to consume.

Now, I believe that you're asking how many calories you need to burn when you're consuming about 1600-2000 calories per day. Right? It's actually a really good question, and a really tough one to answer because it's very difficult to determine what a person's basal metabolism rate is, and thus how much she will burn just by being alive and doing what it takes (i.e. breathing, circulating blood, etc.) to stay alive. Many factors influence your metabolism rate. These include weight, muscle to fat ratio, how frequently you eat, when you exercise, etc. There are some calculators out there, though, that will guess based on your weight and your activity level (whether you have a sedentary or active job, etc.). Then, you can add activity on top of that to help boost metabolism and burn extra calories. Fitday, for example, will generate a chart that shows you how many calories it projects that you have burned versus how many calories you have consumed.

That being said, though, I just try to exercise when I can, at the highest intensity I can maintain (well, intervals, actually), and for as long as I can. I also add in strength training and try to do something in the morning to help wake up my metabolism. I've seen a figure several times on this forum that seems to make sense to me. It's 80% food and 20% exercise. I have read in Runner's Magazine that many marathon runners routinely carry an extra 10-15 pounds because they mistakenly believe that the amount of exercise they do can completely offset unwise calorie intakes. So, if you figure out a good place for your calories consumed, exercise is just a great bonus that helps you lose weight, helps you get fit, helps burn stress and reduce off-plan eating, and allows "me" time.

For weight loss. What should I aim for? I doing the treadmill. I do increments of 2.5 mhp then 3 mph then 2 mph for a cool down. Fitday says I am only burning 160 or so a day. Is that enough. Surely there is a number I can aim for.

Oh and my question is confusing I am sorry. I am consuming 1600-2000 calories a day and I need to know how many I need to burn to loose weight.

As LaurieDawn mentioned, it depends on your basal metabolism and lifestyle. Without exercise, if you use 2,000 calories, and you consume 2,000 calories, then you'll maintain your weight. If you want to lose a pound a week, then you'll need to exercise enough to use 3,500 extra calories in a week or 500 a day.

Have you entered the information in Fitday where it asks about your lifestyle, etc.? If you have, then you'll get the number of calories you need to sustain your weight. Just subtract enough per week to meet your target weight loss, and you can figure out how many calories you need to burn doing intentional exercise. However, it's certainly not an exact science because you're just estimating these numbers.

One thing I like to do on Fitday is indicate that I'm extremely sedentary, or bedridden, if you like. That gives me a basal rate of 1430 and a lifestyle rate of 270. Then I add intentional exercise (not stuff like housecleaning, gardening, etc.) and keep my calorie consumption around 1300. When I do that, I can usually lose some weight.

So, basically, in order to loose weight I have to be a math genius. I don't know what a basal is, other than an herb and I am sure that is basil. Al I want to knwo is what do i need to do to stop being fat?

I spent 30 minutes on the treadmill this morning. Yes from 5 minutes to 30, I am pushing myself, tired of being fat and all that. My treadmill says I burned 141 calories, but fit day says I only burned 80. Which one should I believe? I mean if I only burned 80 calories then I am going to have to spend almost three hours on the treadmill every day just loose that 500, right? I don't have that kind of time and I am a stay at home mother writer type person.

This is really aggravating, to say the least.

You don't need to be a math genius, and you don't need to worry about minute details. You simply need to eat less and move more. Some people like to get into the nitty-gritty details and try to apply formulas, percentages, etc. to their program, and others don't. I'm not a detail person when it comes to this. I have no idea how many calories I'm burning each time I exercise. You can't really tell for sure anyway--there are too many complicating factors, and each body is different.

Your calorie range seems very reasonable, and if you add some exercising, as you have been, you will lose weight. Do your best on exercise. Eat well. It will all work out.

BattleAx, thank you so much. I needed that.