I'm trying to help my husband figure out where to start, but all of the calorie counters I find seem to say something different. So, I decided to come to the experts!

I know for women, most of us start at around 1600-1800 calories a day and we try not to go below 1200 a day near goal. Where do most men begin and what number should they try to not fall below per day?

a healthy woman should eat 2000cals and a man should eat 2500cals so i would think a man would start at 2000 and maybe not go below 1800 for weight loss..i think starvation mode is the same for men as it is for women.. if its not then i would assume it would have to be 1700 for men if its 1200 and men apparently need 500 more calories than a woman.

sign him up for myfitnesspal if it is for men also (it must be) i have found that one to be the most useful for losing weight and giving me a good idea of how many calories to eat. ive found most of the other ones say i should be eating 1200calories or way to few but MFP says i can eat 1550 and i lose about 10lbs a month

My husband uses myfitnesspal.com and has lost about 25lbs counting calories. He gets just over 2000 a day compared to my piddly 1200!

If you use a calculator that works from BMR (basic metabolic rate) then you shouldn't be getting conflicting information. Caloric needs are based on a standard formula that takes into consideration an individual's age, height, weight and activity level called the Harris Benedict equation.

Most of the sort of the "one size fit all" type diets for men that don't use online calculators that don't take BMR and all that into account that I've seen seem to start men at between 1800 and 2000 calories a day and don't usually go much lower than 1500... Which is the number like 1200 is for women that many people think you shouldn't go below so you are getting all the necessary nutrition...

1600 - 1800 cals would be fine for him that's what i'm consuming a day and i feel fine. Your body only goes into "starvation mode" after about 48 hours of no eating.

Simplest method: Multiply goal weight by 10. If his goal is 180, the his caloric intake should be 1800. If it's 200, then it would be 2000.

You can google a calculator for calories needed to maintain weight. For example if it said he needs 2400 a day to maintain it will say eat 1900 a day to lose. It's all based on what his body needs based on his weight. Guys are supposed to eat more due to having more muscle mass which requires more calories.