soo i want to lose weight as quickly, but as healthy as i can. so how many calories should i consume per day? i know its LESS in MORE out. i understand that part.. but what's an ideal number for my weight? i never used to count calories before i joined here! i didn't think they mattered so much. no wonder im fat :\ i only used to count carbs. what's up w/ those carbs too?

* PS, i just made a yummy smoothie. i put in a whole banna, a half of peach (it was canned, is that bad?) and poured a lil orange juice in it. damnn its good (:

I don't think anyone can give you an exact number you need to eat. My suggestion would be to start at 1800-2000 calories per day for 2 weeks then tweak as necessary.

Also, I suggest using an online tracker for food and exercise. I use sparkpeople.com but there are others like fit day and the daily plate.

Usually, I'd say count how many calories you are doing now to see what you need to drop down to. 1800 is a good suggestion. I'm around 210 and my target is around 1450.

Wow that many calories to eat. I dont know if I could eat 1400 calories that are all good healthy ones. I myself eat about 1200 calories a day, when I first started in August I was lucky if I ate 1000 calories a day, maybe that is why I lost weight so fast. Hmm wonder if I should be trying to eat more with the working out I day..this is all so new to me and confusing at same time. Hope can get some help and input.

I would say that at your height and weight, 1200 is definitely very low. Especially if you are also working out. It's nice to lose weight fast, but you need to fuel your body.

To the OP I'd start with 1500 to 1700 and tweak as needed.