how many calories...
 

hey I'm very new to this forum and I have a dieting question. How many calories should i be taking in? Does it matter? I mean I dont want to not take in enough. Because right now I'm taking in like 1100. :)

I am not positive but I think that is was too low I am 157 lbbs and I am suppose to have 1200-1400 to lose weight check into it
canadagirl

You are definitely too low. You should really avoid going under 1200, and you should not be at that level until you are much nearer to your goal.

I would honestly raise your intake to about 1600 a day...and aim for 1-2 pounds lost per week. Once you get to the point where you are no longer losing (a couple of weeks with no loss...) then drop it to 1500 a day, and slightly increase your exercise. (It can either be by adding an extra 5 minutes a day, or raising your weights if you use them, or walking an extra 1/4 mile if you walk for exercise, etc.)

The more you weigh, the more calories you burn during activity. I have explained this in another post-but think of it this way-if a 250 pound woman walks a mile with a woman who weighs 150...the 250 pound woman burns more calories doing it. (She is carrying an extra 100 pounds WITH her all of the time...) This is why when we are overweight, exercise, going up stairs, etc. takes so much more effort!

As you lose weight, your body has less weight to carry around, so we expend less energy to do it...so after losing 15-25 pounds, you might find at 1600 you need to drop your calories to 1500 a day or increase your exercise, and so on and so forth.

If you are in the 240's and are already at 1200 (and you are even lower!!!) then when you hit 200, or 180, and your losses stall-you have nowhere to drop your calories.

Make sense?

thank you so much for helping me =] I kind of thought it might be too low but I wasn't sure. This forum is so helpful for advice and support! I love it.

What Aphil said. Thats pretty much the plan I've been on, and I'm now able to lose (at 180 lbs) at 1400 calories a day. I will have some room to move down if I need to, but I hope I don't need to...I like this level!