I asked a similar question before but I don't think I phrased it properly.

How many calories does your body need? I mean for all your innards to work properly. I know that under 1200 cal/day can be drastic & is not recommended. However, if you track your exercise on fitday or other places and you know how many calories you burn, how much should you eat?

If you are eating 1200 cal/day and you burn 500, aren't you running the risk of doing the same thing as eating 6-700 ca/day?

Do you decrease your exercise if you don't want to go above a certain cal/day limit?

Boy oh boy am I stupid! I don't know these things.

I'm so glad I have you people.

I'll have a shot at one part of your question ....If you are eating 1200 cal/day and you burn 500, aren't you running the risk of doing the same thing as eating 6-700 ca/day? ....

Nope because you're still getting all the nutrients of the 1200 cals.

I think the body of your question refers to basal metabolic rate and that is very individual. Doctor's supervise very low cal diets, but even then it's based on the individual.

You could make a pretty good guess at yours if you've been carefully tracking for a while.

Mare, your body will get all the calories it needs from what you eat + stored fat. It makes up any calories it needs for energy by dipping into its fat reserves. Our only issue is mobilizing that pesky stored fat. We want to force our bodies to use their fat reserves for energy. That's the only way to lose weight. So we have to eat fewer calories than our bodies need to have the stored energy (fat) system kick in, right?

Susan's right, if you're eating 1200 calories a day, you still have the benefit of the 1200 calories of nutrition regardless of how much you exercise. The greater the exercise, the bigger the calorie deficit - a GOOD thing.

The reason that it's usually recommended that you not go under 1200 calories without medical supervision is because it's almost impossible to get enough protein, fiber, and vitamins otherwise - the things our bodies need every day to function. I don't believe there's any risk of hurting yourself by creating a calorie deficit through exercise and 1200 calories so long as you're packing all the nutrition that you can into your calories.

My 122 excess pounds represented 427,000 extra calories I had available to me as energy. That's a lot of stored fuel I had to get rid of!! I personally stayed in the 1200 - 1300 calorie range for the last six months of my weight loss and averaged two hours of exercise every day. And lived to tell about it!

Thank you very much, Susan and Spirit (aka Meg).

I feel better now. I just want to make sure that I'm not going to lose it too quickly. However, part of me feels that if I'm eating this way and ramping up exercising and happen to lose 3-4 lb/wk for a week or so, then that is extra fuel burning. We'll see what happens in the coming weeks.

Again, thank you very much for your answers.

With these answers, I'm on with my muscle beating my fat into submission.

I crack up every time I read about your muscle beating your fat into submission - what a great visual!

If you lose 3-4 pounds a week for a few weeks, don't panic. Weight loss often happens in spurts and plateaus. I doubt it will continue at that rate for long.

During the year I was losing, I had a month that I lost four pounds and one that I lost seventeen pounds ... and I hadn't changed a thing. Our bodies have their own timetables!

I'm glad you enjoy that. I just picture the fat being burned away and being replaced by muscle. Therefore, in my warped sense of humor, it's beating it into submission.

I'll quit worrying about the possibility of dumping 4 lb in 1 week. I'm just going to be glad that it is 1 or 2 and anything else will be gravy (non fat, of course).

OK Diva ... calmly now. There is no right answer to this question... how long have you been doing 1600 cals? is that accurate to the best of your ability?

Diva, Susan's right again (she does that a lot! )

There isn't any one-size-fits-all answer about calories. It all depends on what works for YOU.

But please don't waste your time with calorie calculators. They're just averages and guesses and are often very wrong.

I think you're on the right track with your 1500 - 1600 calories. Try it for a few weeks and see if you're losing 1 -2 pounds a week. If you are - terrific! If not, try bumping it down by 100 and give it another week or two.

I started at 1600 calories and bumped down by 100 whenever I stalled. That's how I ended up at 1200. But keep it mind that I was older (46) and am hypothyroid so probably need fewer calories than most in order to lose.

You're not going to be Fat Diva ... you're going to be Fit Diva!

I'd stick with the 1600 for a while, especially if you are losing on the 1900. You're doing just fine. It is awesome to have this place just for reassurance, isn't it?

Thanks Meg.