Hi, new to this group, and calorie counting as my weight loss tool...I've been low carbing it for years now, not always Atkins, but still low(er) carbing it, and really want to do the calorie thing because it just makes good sense to me...and I am SO tired of all the DANG MEAT!! LOL.
So, where do I go to find all the info I need. I use Fitday to count my calories, but where do I find out how many calories/ day I require, and how many I should lose, ect. I'm 37, and 5 foot 11inches ( yes, Amazon woman). I currently weigh 205, and want to weigh 165, that might be a bit low for me, honestly, I would be thrilled with 175 lbs even, but am aiming for the bullseye on this one.
Any info or web linX would be really appreciated.!
There are calorie intake calculators online, but they are only estimates really. They don't take into account your individual metabolism and how much muscle versus fat you carry. A lot of us have just had to use the trial and error method. There's is (unfortunately) no magic number that works for all of us. I do want to stress though, that going too low is as bad as going too high on calorie counts.
Do you know how much you eat now? You say you are tracking in fitday. Have you done that for awhile? If you know what you are eating to maintain, then it's easy just to cut back to 500 calories less and see if you start to lose. Otherwise you can see what the online calculators say and tweak from there. If you google "calorie calculator" you'll find a lot of them.
For most women, calorie counting to LOSE weight (you up it slowly to find your maintenance calories) is somewhere between 1200-1800 a day. More if you weigh more or are more active (or both) and less if you are less active, weigh less (trying to lose the last few pounds, etc.) and so on.
I normally recommend trying a week at 1800 calories first. If you show a loss, then stay at that level until you plateau. If you don't show a loss, then drop it by 100 a day down to 1700, and so on and so forth, until you find the level where you are losing 1/2-2 pounds per week.
Calorie counting is a very personal thing-so you have to try the trial and error approach to find the calorie level that is right for you-and it changes over time as you lose weight, or become more or less active, so you adjust it at times.
I agree with the above posters. Record what you eat, and use trial and error to determine your "zone". I would suggest you resist the urge to cut to the bone and eat as little as you can, because it tends to boomerang on people -- they can't keep it up, end up binging, feel like failures, and give up... You don't want to do that... you want to find a solution that will work long term... the goal is to keep the weight off, not just lose it.
I will tell you what I learned....and you can fiddle with it until it makes sense to you!!
An "average" sedentary women will use 11 calories per day per pound.
If you weigh 225....times 11 = 2475 calories per day to maintain
An active women will use 12 (or more) calories per day per pound.
if you weigh 225...times 12 = 2700 calories per day to maintain.
To lose weight....you must burn up 3500 calories more than you take in.
Therefore....1 pound per week.....eat 500 calories less per day.
2 pounds per week... eat 1000 calories less per day.
1 pound per week...means eating 2475 cal - 500 cal = 1975 cal per day.
2 pounds per week..means eating 2475 cal - 1000 cal = 1475 cal per day.
Of course...calories requirements change with your weight...lose 5 pounds and you would need to refigure....
Calorie requirements also change dramatically with increased physical activity. If you love to eat....then love to exercise!!!
As was stated above....start at maybe 1800 calories a day and see if it works for you.... if you just have to have 2000 calories a day.....work at exercise.... you can still lose weight. (Besides the more you exercise the less you want to weigh....the better your eating habits become!!)
I think you can have your metabolic rate measured, too, but that would require a visit at a doctor who has the necessary equipment, and knows how to use it properly. The rest is just, unfortunately and as others have said it, trial and error. I know that currently, my 'losing range' is between 1200-1350 (I refuse to go lower than that, if I plateau I'll just up my exercise, otherwise it's not really worth it IMHO), but it used to be higher than that, and it will likely be lower once I reach goal weight. At which point I should normally not be wanting to lose more, but go fig.
With your starting weight, 1800 can indeed be a good number to try. You'll quickly see after barely 1-2 weeks if you lose or not (well, normally). Good luck with that, and don't forget to journal your food--calories tend to quickly add up for all the little bites, licks and tastes everyone tends to take now and then without even paying attention.
I'm gonna second aphil and wyllenn ... again, I often do.
If you have nooo idea, it'll make your life a whole lot simpler to just try 1800 cals. If you can plug what you normally eat into some kind of calculator and see what you used to eat ... cut from there.
My problem is getting the 1800 cals...That just seems like lot of food to me, much more than I'm used to...I struggled yesterday to get 1650 cal. I know I need to be watching what I eat more, I am still in the mindset of very low carbs, but when I eat too many carbs I fall asleep! I know I ate a pile to get as big as I did, but before Christmas I had severe attacks of Gallstones, and wasn't able until just recently in April; get the dang thing out. This forced me to eat no fat, and really watch everything I put in my mouth, obviously this was not a low carb time. I struggled to maintain 900-1000 cal/day at that point. Old habits die hard. I'm still stuck on my gallbladder diet, throw in a bit of Atkins, and a tad of wanting to be bad...I had raviolli and barbecue peanuts for breakfast, LOL. I am royally in trouble aren't I....Aw, heck I'll get it eventually...I really wanted to get the last bit of weight off before summer's end though, and be into maintenance by the end of September...
What I think is important to remember, is it isn't carbs that are bad for you-it is the TYPE of carbs. Oatmeal, fruit, vegetables, whole grains, etc. are actually GOOD for you-and many of them are low calorie and filling. It is the refined, sugary, processed carbs like Pop Tarts, kids cereals, donuts, cake, chips, white sugar/flour, etc. that cause the "crash and burn" after you eat them.
A lot of people have success following a low carb diet, but what bothers me is that diets like Atkins equate all carbs equally. They are not.
I realize that it is going to take a while to get out of the low carb mindset-but the key is to eat healthy carbs in your diet in moderation with the protein, fat, etc. and avoid the junk. Every food group has "junk", even on the low carb diets. Bacon isn't healthy no matter how you slice it. (no pun intended! ) There are junky/unhealthy proteins, and there are junky unhealthy carbs. The key to making calorie counting, or ANY plan healthy-is to eat healthfully as much as you can.
Rather than think about carbs being unhealthy-as low carb diets claim-think about the fiber and cholesterol reducing properties in oatmeal, and the antioxidants, cancer fighting properties, and vitamins in fruits and vegetables.
Goldfleks; I understand how hard it is to eat more calories. Before I started this journey I was eating 600-800 calories per day. And when I started this journey I figured 1500 was a good starting point to aim for for weight loss. In the beginning it was hard to get over the mental thoughts of I can't eat that much. And people here can tell you I had a hard time with this. But here is what I did to get over that. And I will use 1800 calories to saw you how I did it. I took that number 1800 and divided it by 5 and got 360 calories. So I eat 5 meals (about 2 to 2 1/2 hrs apart) and try to get as close to 360 calories as possible. I ate even if I didn't feel hungry I ate. After 1 1/2wks to 2 wks I noticed my hunger came back. And it was easier to eat every 2 hours. Because by this point my body had readjusted to the food intake. Now about 30 minutes before time to get I start feeling hunger. So it can be done. But it takes support and encouragement that you can get here from every one.
How many Calories/Day ???
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) There are junky/unhealthy proteins, and there are junky unhealthy carbs. The key to making calorie counting, or ANY plan healthy-is to eat healthfully as much as you can. 
