[SKermie17]

Hello. I've just recently staring counting calories and I'm not sure how many calories I should be eating a day. On FitDay it gives me 2200, but I know that is way too much for me. I'm trying to stick between 1200 - 1500 a day. Just wandering if this is a good range.

[srmb60]

Hi Dori! You've asked a question that has enough answers to set your head spinning
I'm am a huge fan of calorie counting. Seriously think it's the way to go.
How well have you been managing between 12 and 1500? Are you satisfied? Do you have enough energy to do the things you need to do?
A lot of it depends on your activity level. What do you do for a living and do you exercise?

[Glory87]

Another thing to consider is the eventual plateau (happens to nearly all of us). If you are losing weight on 1200 calories a day and you stop losing weight...how do you eat LESS?

Being hungry sucks, eating a good number of calories a day makes it easier to meet all the nutritional goals necessary for health (servings of fruit/veggies, healthy fats, protein etc). Satisfying the body keeps us happy and motivated while losing weight.

I would try experimenting to try to find your "sweet spot" - where you are consuming the optimal number of calories while still losing weight. It's tough, because it requires patience initially - trial/error and watching the scale for a couple of weeks.

[rebeleagle1965]

Your basal metabolic rate depends on a number of factors-height, weight, usual activity level, age, and even dieting history.
One thing that should be known, however, and that has been discussed in many other threads here, is that while Fitday is an excellent source to use for calorie tracking, it is absolutely useless when it comes to the aspect we are discussing here. It very grossly overestimates the "lifestyle" calories.
I don't know how tall or how old you are, but I think you are doing well to stick to the range you are in of 1200-1500. I am also a fan of calorie cycling, instead of keeping to the same number every day. It seems to keep my metabolism up-"dieting" can lower the metabolic rate by as much as 20%. You've already lost 25 pounds, so I think you're doing great and should stick to the plan you already have. Good luck!