I'm Just Getting SO Confused! Please Help!
 

Calorie Counting is the way I want to go. It works reasonably well for me, etc. etc.

But now that I'm halfway there and my losses are slowing down and I'm trying to set myself up for actually learning how to cope with food and learning the maintainer lifestyle...I'm just getting completely lost.

HOW many calories should I be eating per day, exactly? :?:
Should I eat to that minimum and THEN workout, or eat over a few hundred calories and burn those off to get back TO my limit number?

Shouldn't I just be planning to eat a few hundred calories below my supposed BMR?
If so, why is that when I add "workout everyday" (which I do) to these calculators, I can suddenly lose eating 1900 CALORIES instead of the 1300 limit I'd have if I didn't move at all?

Does that mean I should be eating 1900 calories, and then burning off 100-200 in workout, (as I am estimating I usually do in workout)?

My goals are getting skewed by the numbers, which aren't REAL numbers, just guesstimating, anyway!

I've been told here and elsewhere "well, just do what seems right for your body." But, honestly, with no place to start how shall I do that? I would hate to attempt eating a 1900/day diet + workout for a week only to discover that that route causes me to gain. Even in that situation, how would I know how much to drop off my limit? Trial and error is fine. I will do that if I have to. But I desperately need a guideline from someone who knows what is going on.

I've done a lot of calorie calculators, but the numbers are always so different and...well. I'm just confused.

Lately, I've not been doing as well with my food choices as I should. And much of that is because I am stressing out about these stupid numbers!!

Oh, Calorie Counting Gurus/Chicks.

Heeeelp meeeee, please! :(


Thank you, thank you. <3

Whoa there! Deep breaths.

It's easy to get caught up in the numbers and the many details that can be explored within weight loss and health.

If you're goal right now is to simply lose weight then I would start with your BMR. For instance, mine is about 1600.

I elect to set my daily caloric intake goal to 1500 so that just by eating less and not exercising I'm at least creating a 100 calorie deficit per day.

Then on exercise it's just icing on the cake. I do not really "count" burned calories from exercise. I never eat them back or anything.

If I were you I'd set my calorie goal to my BMR or a little less and just focus on that.

I've become overwhelmed during my journey too. Sometimes you need to just go back to basics.

For now, relax and just focus on your caloric intake goal. Don't worry about all those other numbers. Keep exercising regularly too and you'll see the weight come off. :)

Can you clarify something for me please? How many calories have you been eating to get "half way"? This would at least give you some idea where to start your figuring.

This is hard for me to say for certain, as I have been a rather on-and-off counter since October. It's only now that my weight loss is slowing that I feel the need to really keep a good count. Before, I was simply eating better foods and working out (having before been a junk-food addict and someone who never did more than move the few feet from computer chair to the fridge and back...) and losing weight at a rate of about 1.5-2lb a week.

As posted by MotoMichelle
"If you're goal right now is to simply lose weight then I would start with your BMR. For instance, mine is about 1600.

I elect to set my daily caloric intake goal to 1500 so that just by eating less and not exercising I'm at least creating a 100 calorie deficit per day.

Then on exercise it's just icing on the cake. I do not really "count" burned calories from exercise. I never eat them back or anything."

I agree. I keep my daily calories between 1200-1800. I usually eat around 1400-1500. I worked with a registered dietician to get this number. I do not acount for calories burned or eat them back either.

You could try to figure out how many calories you have been eating. Play with a calculator and a few days that you can remember.

OTOH ... an awful lot of folks seem to have pretty good success with 1500 or 1800 cals. Maybe a two week trial in that range ???

It's pretty common for weight loss to slow after you've lost a bit of weight and are getting closer to you goal.

Personally, I'd probably just work on going back to eating the way you were when you were losing, and not get all hung up on the calorie counts, if that is what is stressing you out and causing you to not make as good choices.

Chances are the next 19 pounds are going to come off more slowly anyway, but they should still come off if you keep doing what you had been doing.

If you really want to track the calorie count, I'd go back to the way you were eating and figure out how many calories a day that was, and then use that as your daily target.

Thanks, everyone!

Sometimes with the added pressures of school and social life...my weight loss journey just completely overwhelms me!

I have decided it is too taxing to eat 1600+ calories and burn back to a 1300 limit. Instead, I will try to eat ONLY 1400 or so a day and my daily exercise will just be an added bonus. :) Cookies and sweets (exception of diet drinks/no calorie sweetener in my tea, etc) are off the menu at least until I feel stable again.

The scale read at 147 today! So clearly, 1300 is not so bad a number. Even so, I think I will relax my expectations a little on intake and slow down a little with exercise, as well. I know this is no easy task, but I don't want to end up crying in a corner over 100 excess calories, either!

:hug: I love you Chicks. <3