[Xanadu]

I've been working out and counting calories for about five months now. So far I'm down 37 pounds so I can't complain too much.*

When I stalled a month or so ago people said my 1200 calories a day was too low. I moved up to 1500 and lost 2 lbs a week for the next two weeks.*

I then got the idea of really going for a good burn-3000- on my bodybugg for one week. I did that with the calorie intake of 1500 and lost nothing that week. I tried for another week and only lost one pound.*

Now I'm hearing people say, again, that my calories are too low.*

So now I'm confused. It seems like every online calculator gives me different answers- and I just hate the idea of another week with no loss.*

Can someone give me some guidance on this? Should I be looking at a set deficit number each day instead of a set calorie intake number?

[ncuneo]

I know this makes a lot of people cringe, but everytime I've increased the amount or intensity of my exercise I've had to increase my cals to keep losing. I'm losing at more cals now than I was when I weighed 20 lbs more than I do now, so go figure. Everyone is different. I've always liked freedieting.com's calorie calculator. It seems high, but it works for me. For what it's worth my daily average (I zig zag) is in the 1700-1775 range and I'm losing about 1-2 lbs a week when you average it out. What usually happens though is I lose 3-5 lbs two weeks out of the month and nothing the other two weeks. But also keep in mind that I exercise A LOT, usually daily and ranging from intense weight training to 3-5 mile runs and occassionally walking. You just have to keep tweaking. I'd say try an extra 100 or 200 cals if it doesn't work then lower it 100 or 200 cals.

[chnkymonkey]

You are losing 1 to 2lbs a week, how is that "no loss". That is a healthy weight loss and you shouldn't be complaining about that.

If I read this right - you decided to go for a "good burn-3000-" does this mean you are working out that much? If so - the sudden change in activity level could also be causing your muscles to retain fluid. Give it a few weeks and it usually works it way out, or give your body a rest for a few days.

[Xanadu]

ncuneo - It seems so odd to think of needing more calories, but that might be exactly what it is. I'll definitely check out freedieting's calculator.

chnkymonkey - It's not that I'm having no loss at all or all the time, I just hate the idea of going at this full force and having a week with no loss, which has happened about 4 of the past eight weeks.

The reason I went for the 3000 burn is with my bodybugg I saw I was hitting about 2700 to 2800 per day when I worked out. I thought it would be a good goal to try and hit 3000, and it might give my weight loss a little bump. If it worked, great, if not, I figured I was at lease assuring myself a couple pounds lost that week. I did add in some aerobics to get the extra calories, and I haven't done those in a while, so maybe that's holding things up.

Thanks to you both for the advice!