I found this helpful from when I was researching the same question...
"On this question there is no unambiguous answer as depends on your way of life, the physical data, genetic predisposition, presence diseases and many other things much. If roughly, at a sedentary life of 1200-1500 calories a day, at an inactive way of life 1400-1800 calories a day at an active way of life 1800-2200 calories a day, at heavy physical work 2500-3000 calories a day."
Or decrease your calories by 500 to lose a pound a week. But that hasn't worked for me. My best advice is to stay active and not worry too much about calories as long as you are eating healthier meals in smaller portions.
I dont see your height and weight so I wouldn't know what to say.
For me...I am 6'1" and 285 right now so over a week I try to average 1800 calories a day and I have been losing around 2 pounds per week doing that. I vary my calories from day to day (1600 for 2 days, 2200 the third day). I am not exercising regularly right now but my body bugg says I burn around 2800-3100 calories. If you want to know how much to eat you need to know how much you burn and bodybugg is great for that.
It just depends on how much you weight right now, how tall you are and how much weight you're looking to lose....as well as how fast you want to lose. The greater calorie deficit you create, the faster (typically) you will lose weight.
If you google BMR calculator, you'll find out how many calories your body burns just to exist, even if you don't move at all. . I'm 5'9", 21 yrs. old and weight 203lbs right now. I need 1763 calories to maintain, according to the BMR calculator I found. So if I ate 1600 calories a day, I'd create a calorie deficit of 163 calories less than I need to survive. So, yes I'd lose weight...maybe a little slower than I might want, but it would still happen.
You can increase that deficit through exercise as well
I average between 1400-2000 a day, with an overall average each week of about 1800 cals a day. My Go Wear Fit average per day is 3100, creating a deficit of about 1000-1200 cals a day, which equals about 2-2.5# a week lost.
I try not to go above 1300 a day - and on some days I'm around 1200 - its really not that little if you eat lots of lean protein, whole-grains and lots and lots of veggies.
Dianne, 1450 calories a day BMR means you don't do anything except lie in bed all day. Even a sedentary lifestyle (i.e. you get up and take a shower and plop on the couch or have a desk job) means you burn more than 1450 calories a day.
You are well within the healthy weight range for you height by BMI, and shouldn't expect to lose weight terribly fast unless you DO cut calories tremendously. You can surely eat 1600 a day and maintain if you are entirely sedentary. If you exercise 3-4 times a week and cut to, say, 1400, you will lose weight, probably about .5-1 lbs a week, depending on your fitness level and exercise intensity, maybe even faster if you work out hard.
And yes, 1200 a day is so little. Too little, in my opinion. Don't starve yourself just to lose weight faster. Let it take time and enjoy eating at the same time.
OH girl, that is little for me. On a normal day I eat around 3,000 calories. Cutting that by more than half is really hard for me. I feel deprived! I do eat lots of protein! Im getting about 90g !
I agree. I am fully aware and content with the fact that I will lose weight a lot slower becuase I am not overweight. My GOAL is to lose 1 pound a week. Although I am not overweight, I def. have weight to lose. My body fat percentage is at 27%. I want to get it to 20% and I want to get to a weight of 120. I plan on exercising 5-6 days a week of 30 minutes of jogging and the stairmaster and 15 minute arm weights and 10 minute stretching. I hope that combined with eating healthier will get rid of the weight. I know as I get closer to my goal I will have to eat more strict and work out more, but I just want to get the first 5-10 pds off with this current plan. Today is day 3 of it. I plan on weighing myself next wed (1 week) to see if I lost anything. Wish me luck please!! Weightloss seems to be a lifelong battle for almost every woman! Very frustrating. If only we learned early on how to eat healthy :/
I can get over 90g of protein in carefully at 1600. Calorie counting IS hard. The numbers have a lot to do with weight, gender and activity level. Someone further along and thinner will have to go lower to 1200 to see aster results.
If I'm particularly active, I see results at 1800 cals/day. We're at similar sizes, ages, and you weigh less than I do You might consider eating a higher number of calories, like 1600 - 2000 and doing some significant exercise, weight lifting and cardio.
Last edited by souvenirdarling; 06-04-2010 at 10:11 AM.
Dianne, your exercise plan seems reasonable, though you may want to tweak it more in favor of strength training. BECAUSE you are in the normal range, but have a higher (but not really that high) bodyfat percentage, increasing your lean muscle mass would probably help you more than just losing on the scale.
For strength training, don't just do your upper body, make sure you do your legs, too. Those muscles are the biggies. Make sure to get in squats and lunges, or you can use the leg machines at the gym (I don't as they hurt my knees). And go as heavy as you can tolerate, it will take less time and be effective. And don't worry about a temporary gain on the scale, your body will retain water at the begining as it gets used to the exercise.
If you incorporate a good strength training program as well as moderate cardio (maybe only 4x a week instead of 6?) you should be able to eat at a maintanance level and see changes in your physique as your bodyfat percentage alters. Don't expect it fast, it may take a few months, but it will show up.
And, luck has nothing to do with it! This is your personal strength at work here! Everything you gain in fitness and positive self image is all do to YOU and your hard work!
Thanks Tarisa! I appreciate your advice. I just get SO nervous to do weight training becuase I already have good amount of muscle in my legs. I did cheerleading for over 7 years so I have a lot of leg muscle from that (yes dont laugh cheerleading is a sport). I feel like between running and the stairmaster, I am working out my leg muscles enough. No?
One of my friends used to be a cheerleader in high school, and from the stories she tells I suspect the squad could have kicked the football team's butts, lol.
I wouldn't consider running as a strength training effort, it is mostly aerobic. The stair climber is probably good for endurance, but load-bearing (with more than your body weight) is also important.
I understandyour nervousness with the weight training. My gym has a main area, and a smaller area with the express circuit and lighter weights. No barbells, only dumbbells up to 20ob. I am right on the verge of the 20 for a lot of things, and really need barbells for squats, but I wasn't ready to move.
Until I went to a different location last night and everything was in the same place. I felt a little iffy walking over to the barbell rack at first, but I took the 40lb, did my squats, and no one cared, lol. No one cares, they are all focused on themselves. The gym(s) I go to seem to be fairly friendly, I did ask a guy doing push-ups how he did them so fast, and he wasn't irritated at all, he just said "it's probably better to do them slower, but I want to get them done faster".
Calories?!
You might consider eating a higher number of calories, like 1600 - 2000 and doing some significant exercise, weight lifting and cardio.
