So I'm around 295 right now and I looked on a calorie calculator website and it old me to eat 2360 calories to lose weight. Really!? Because that seems like a TON. I eat around 1200-1500 and workout for 30 minutes a day and sometimes I still won't lose weight. Those calories aren't going to big mac's either. It's like egg whites and veggie sausage.
So how many calories should I really be eating? I'm burning around 300-400 in each workout session..
The amount of calories a day per person is going to vary, but I'm eating about 1800 - 2000 on average and not having any issues.
Remember that any calorie estimators or calorie formulas are just estimates... they can help you get into a range that works. Then it's about tweaking to fit.
You also say this:
Quote:
I eat around 1200-1500 and workout for 30 minutes a day and sometimes I still won't lose weight.
What does "sometimes" mean? Because NO ONE loses in a linear way. Some weeks are up. Some weeks are down. Some stay the same. Weight loss charts and graphs are all over the place. It's very, very normal to go up and down.
Only over the course of many months or even a year do patterns show up, and trends emerge.
The site i use gave a similar number and i thought the same as you. I don't have an exact daily goal, i like to stay below 1800 but my average tends to be 1600. On a weekend, i may use 2000 or more but it balances out because i may have a day where i only had 1300.
As long as you eating healthy and over 1200 calories, you should be okay. If you are not losing, sounds crazy, but you might just need a little more.
I'm not losing 10 lbs a week like on the biggest loser but i have a steady loss so far.
I think those things tend to overestimate. Mine are always very high. When I was your weight, I lost 10lbs/month by eating 1400-1500, with no added exercise. Hope that helps!
I also think the calculators tend to overestimate, and I also agree that it's extremely rare for anyone to lose every signle week, without fail. Heck, as long as I was drinking water, even if I ate nothing else, I bet I would still gain during TOM week - because even when I eat 1500 calories of low-carb foods, and haven't had a single off-plan day the week before and week of my TOM, I still gain 6 - 8 lbs with PMS/TOM.
It's obviously not my calories, it's the water retention and the constipation (TMI, I Know) that tends to accompany my period. Within the two to three days before my period starts, I start gaining weight. If I'm patient and stick to my food plan, the weight will disappear just as quickly - but I can't "make" it go away.
If I were to judge my diet by that week, I might be able to say "what's up, I'm eating only 500 calories and still gaining weight."
And that's not just a fictional example - as a teen, I did think think just that, quite frequently. I would be eating a starvation diet and get so angry and upset to still see a gain. I started thinking that losing weight was impossible no matter how little I ate.
I now know the body doesn't work on a weekly schedule, or even necessarily a monthly one. Many times in my life, I would go 5 or even 6 weeks without a loss, and then would experience a sudden drop of several pounds (up to 8), almost overnight.
I joined Nutrisystem in my mid-20's, and they had me on either 2250 calories or 2500. I actually think it was 2500, but it may have been 2250. My starting weight was about 290 lbs, and the first week I lost 9 lbs. I lost 4 - 8 lbs almost every week (except period week).
In my mid-40's, my metabolism is a lot slower. I now maintain my weight on the same 2200 - 2400 calories (especially if I'm not watching carbs). I also found that I can eat about 300 more calories on very low carb as on high-carb to lose about the same amount of weight. With low-carb, I also see more consistent loses (still see period gain, though). For example on a high-carb 1800 calorie plan I may lose 3 lbs in a month, but it will be a sudden drop of 3 lbs. On 1500 calories of low-carb, I will lose the same 3 lbs, but it will be about 1 lb every week (not counting period week, of course - though instead of gaining 8 lbs, I usually only gain 5-6).
There's not enough of a difference that I can say that I have to eat low-carb to lose weight. It's just more convenient for me to eat low-carb (more because low-carb controls my hunger more. The weight loss difference doesn't bother me as much as the high-carb hunger does. Eating high-carb makes me so incredibly hungry that I feel half-starved, even when I'm overeating to the point of gaining. Low-carb controls hunger, and I'd much rather be comfortable than hungry).
Not everyone experiences a discrepeancy between low-carb and high-carb losing, so you have to experiment to see what is true for you (just remember to look for big-picture patterns. You may have more success comparing one month to another, than to compare one week or one day to another).
I didn't read each reply so I apologize if I bring up something that has already been talked about...
From what I've learned so far, I sometimes seem to stay at a certain weight for a while and then the drop comes drastically after a few days/weeks.
For example, I went from 330 to 305 in a month.. Then I stayed between 301-303 for almost 2 weeks ! All this while eating 1200-1800 calories a day and working out 3 days a week to the point where I would want to throw up. It was discouraging to say the least... Eventually, I read that I wasn't drinking enough water and decided to start drinking tons of water, to the point where it almost makes me sick.. By doing so, my weight went back up to 305 and now I'm down to 297 within a week and the weight seems to be melting off again.
So to answer your question, I eat around 1200-1800 a day and I have a cheat day or two per week where I might hit the 2k. My biggest mistake was that I was avoiding drinking too much water because I knew that I would weigh myself in the morning and I would be discouraged from the weight gain due to drinking all the water. In the end, I simply gave in, knowing that everyone says it's the key to weight loss and they were right ! Now I drink tooooons of water and I feel great.
I guess this is the point where my body decides to test myself. I've actually been going to the gym -everyday- I do this crazy elliptical machine for 10 and then go to a tredmill or bike for 20. Do light leg and arm weights after. My diet is really high protein. Egg whites and chicken, weat bread, salads and a ton of water (mostly crystal lite ) I've been doing this since Last monday keeping around 1000-1300 calories, and only lost 1 pound..
I hope everyone's right and magically I'll be down a few pounds or something next week! I'm going to stick with this though. No getting frustrated and giving up this time!
I use myfitnesspal and it has me at 1560 calories for my base at 290 pounds (It adjusts each 10 pounds I lose and I don't remember when it adjusted me.) Then when I do excercise, it adds those calories in. Rarely do I eat my exercise calories. I figure when I start going over my calorie allotment then it's time to use my exercise calories.
So I weighed myself this morning and I'm down to 292! 3 pounds down from my stuck point! I guess you all were right, I'm sticking to around 1300 calories and burning 300ish every 3 days at the gym then a break. Thank you for the support!
How many Calories!? HELP!
I'm going to stick with this though. No getting frustrated and giving up this time!
