Great Question! It is one I've wondered from time to time as well. I work behind a desk so I try not to go over 1,400 while losing weight, and if I'm running (which is my usual excersize) I try to aim for no more than 1,600. I've never counted calories during a maintenance period...so that one I'm not sure about
I have decided that I am going to stick to 2000 calories or under for a while. I use Calorie Counter from fatsecret. I am not thinking about fat & carbs...Just sticking to a relatively healthy 2000.
For example last night we went to Subway for Dinner. I could have gotten a much lower calorie sandwich, but I love their Tuna and I had 1100 calories left for the day.
One of my main challenges is not eating at all during the day and then eating crap at night. So my first step in this journey has been to eat 5x through the day...8am--10pm.
I have A LOT to lose, so I am not going to put a bunch of rules and expectations that I'm sure I would not be able to keep and then I would feel like a failure, so I am just going to train myself to change all those bad habits. And constantly remind myself that this is a one day at a time new life style.
As for exercise....I am soooo horribly out of shape and have chronic back pain...I am taking that really slow. Swimming about 2x a week.
That site a mentioned earlier has a great exercise tracker...it is amazing that just standing in line or grocery shopping burns calories!!
My husband and I are in a program at our gym called The 20/20 Lifestyles program.
I eat between 1350 and 1500 calories with the goal being 40% protein, 35% carbs and 25% fat.
I work out with a personal trainer 3 times per week for 1 hour each session then do 3 days of water aerobics for 1 hour each day. Normally I get more exercise as I like to go in early before personal training and do the treadmill... usually get in 1/2 hour to an hour there.
My calorie limit is 1900. I can't them on caloriecount.com. I also walk at least a mile a day and go to the gym every other day (most of the time) for about 30 mins and mostly do strength training. I try and eat decent but if I am within my calories I will not deprive myself of something that I may want. I will just limit it. Good luck!!!
1200 a day, approximately. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. I count everything I eat, and I pretty much always come in between 1100 and 1200. Recently, I've been cutting it closer, 'cause I've been exercising. I used to be averaging around 1130. Now I'm almost always at 1190 or 1200.
I honestly could probably go a bit higher, but I'm pretty happy at 1200, so I'm sticking with it.
I have averaged around 1600-1700 per day this last week with 30 minutes on a recumbent bike going between 12-17 mph. The calorie calculator on LiveStrong estimates i should eat 2300+ for a 2 lb loss each week but i am honestly barely making what i am right now. I just don't want to be screwed if its too low now and i need to drop it later but i also don't want to eat more just for the sake of meeting a number!
During weightloss I ate 1600-1700. Now in maintenance, I eat 2000-2200. As long as I stay in that range, and exercise at a moderate level 6 days out of 7, my weight has stayed the same.
Livestrong says I should eat 2000 to lose 2 lbs a week. I havent gone over 1800 all this week. I want to incorporate more small snacks during the day to keep my metabolism going so that will raise them some.
I agree...dont eat more just to reach a number. I say my limit is 2000, but at the end of the night it is always right around 1650. I guess I just want that cushion for a day when I might need it. Eating the 5 smaller health meals really is what is most important. If you've eaten through out the day, you should be less likely to binge on a bag of chocolates or chips at night...
I have an iPhone so I use "My Net Diary" it keeps track of calories and exercises. Once you enter in your profile it creates a plan for you. I currently weigh 298 and my calorie count is 1734. I tend to exercise about 400+ calories a day.
I focus on a weekly average, not so much on the exact number of calories each day. My weekly target is to stay below 1800 cal/day average, and to burn about 2000 cal with exercise. With my weight in the 260s right now, this should result in about 1.5 pounds lost/week. I try to make sure I have sufficient calories on the days (3-4/week) that I swim for about an hour (not less than 1200 on those days), but otherwise I work for the averages.
Right now my upper limit is 1930, but I'm frequently closer to the 1700-1800 range. I plan to move my upper limit down as I lose, which worked well for me the last time I was successful in losing a significant amount.
I started exercising in April at 10 minutes a day and I've worked up to 35 minutes a day. When it's nice enough to walk outside, that's what I do; otherwise, I do low-impact cardio indoors, using DVDs. I also do modified yoga and pilates once or twice a week, but I try to keep the cardio daily.
I don't eat extra calories when I exercise, because I'm trying to keep the exercise level consistent and daily.
Well, Livestrong says I should eat 2204 to lose 2 pounds/week, and I ate 2019 today. Tonight was the night I treat myself, so I had an ice cream (doh!), so without the extra 760 calories, I would have been at 1259.
I didn't have breakfast, though (which wasn't smart!); I had a large iced coffee (which I logged); so, I think I'll probably stay closer to 1500 daily if I stick with it.
Livestrong says my nutrition breakdown looks like this:
48.1% carbs
32.51% fat
19.39% protein
Admittedly, I've just been trying to behave - I haven't been cutting carbs or fat or anything specific.
How many calories do you eat??
