[taragettingthin]

Hello,
I just started using Calorieabout website...and well..
My life style is Sedentary, as I mostly sit at work and at home, too. However, I do work out and burn about 700 cal daily. Altogether with the sedentary + the exercise, Total Estimate on Burn meter is 2740..(meaning I'm expected to burn about 2740 cal per day) I read somewhere that to lose 1-2 lb per week safely, the daily deficit should be about 500-700.. Well...2740-700 to 2740-500..which means I should eat about 2040-2240 cal, which seems A LOT to lose weight. Am I doing something wrong? However, I don't want to eat like 1600 cal which will give over 1000 cal deficit according to the expected burning calories and put myself in starvation mode. Any ideas?

**I'm 5'7 and currently about 206 lbs.

[findingfawn]

All of the calorie calculators like that seem to be way off.. on the high side. I think 1600 would be a good starting point for you. Try it out for a few weeks and see what happens. If you are losing too fast you can up your calories by 100, wait a few weeks and see how it's going and up it another 100 then if you need to. If you are not losing you can do one of 2 things, you can up your exercise to burn more calories in a day or you can lower your intake by 100 a day, stay at that level for a few weeks and see and then go from there.

Counting calories does work, however it is not an exact science. Everyone is very different and you will only find what works for you by trial and error. Personally I try to wait out any change for at least 2 to 4 weeks to see what happens with it, then I adjust accordingly.

[KateB]

I would suggest starting out around 1800 calories a day. See how you feel and how your weight loss goes. If you are starving add a few more calories. Remember it is not JUST about COUNTING calories, but making your calories COUNT!! Meaning 1800 calories of sodas, chips and fast food isn't much food, not to mention how unhealthy it is. 1800 calories of whole grains, fruits, veggies, lean meats and fat free dairy products goes a long way!! Also you feel sooo much better in a very short time!!

Good Luck!!

[Ija]

I'm not an expert on calorie requirements, but I'm inclined to think that the estimates given by some of these websites are a little inflated. According to a couple sites I checked, I need over 2800 calories to keep me at my current weight. But even though I consume (on average) 1600-1700 calories per day, I typically only lose a pound a week. And there are some weeks where I lose no weight at all.

The statistics they give you are really just guestimates, because there is no way for them to include all the variables that affect your metabolism. Some people naturally burn more than others, even at equivalent weights. And when you start reducing your calorie intake, your body will usually make some adjustments to your metabolism. The extreme form of this is sometimes called "starvation mode" but it can happen even with less severe reductions in calorie intake.

You could try starting a little bit higher (1800-2000) and see how your body responds, then adjust it from there.

My two cents

[zenor77]

To lose 2lbs per week you need a 1000 calorie deficit. 1 lb roughly equals 3500 calories, so 3500 x 2=7000. Divide that by seven days in a week and that equals a 1000 calorie deficit for a 2 lb per week loss.

I agree that those calculators can be off a bit for some people (they were accurate in my case) and it's also hard to truly gauge how much you are burning during exercise. I'd use the number as a starting point and tweak from there. Why not try 1700-1800 calories per day for a few weeks and see how you do? You can tweak later if necessary. Also, if you are just starting remember that you may drop a lot more than 2 lbs the first week due to water weight. Don't let that worry you, after that your rate of loss should slow down.

[Hat Trick]

Try this site to get an estimate on how many cals. to eat. Nothing is 100% but this seemed more reasonable and on target than some other sites. If the #s still seem high you can always cut back.

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

[taragettingthin]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I think I am going to try with about 1600 cal/day. Freedieting website also gave about 1650 cal/day for "extreme fat loss".

[JayEll]

Hey! You may not want to go for "extreme" fat loss--that's usually unhealthy, IMO.

Jay

[Heather]

One other point to add -- the estimates for how much we burn with exercise are often inflated too. I can have an elliptical session and the machine and my nutrition website may both say I burned 500 calories! But my heartrate monitor says it's more like 350. While all of them are estimates, the HRM is based on my actual heartrate/performance and may be closer to the truth.

So, be careful of taking any of these estimates as gospel.

The best way to find out how things work for you is to track and measure your calories and your weight for several weeks and see what happens. Then, adjust accordingly!

Good luck!

[Daffy29]

I have followed a weight loss program at our local hospital with their leading weight loss research doc. We were taught a lot, as well as being followed/supported for our nutritional intake and weight loss. Although I subsequently fell off that wagon, I am once again using much of what I learned there.

Currently, the findings suggest that those of us who tend to overweight easily have metabolisms that do not function as well as those with 'normal' metabolisms. A 'normal' person my height (5' 4.5")and typical sedentary work at a desk lifestyle would need about 2000 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight, considered to be about 125 - 130 at my age. In addition, if they were to overeat, say for a restaurant meal on occasion, their metabolism would automatically speed up to burn off the excess.

Alas, not so for me. Whether by genetics, a lifetime of dieting/overeating/sedentary, a virus (that is one theory) or some combination of these, my metabolism is slowed down. By the end of the programme, I was down to 160 lbs and 30% bodyfat. I was jogging 30 minutes 5 - 6 times a week and I was maintaining my weight at 1600 calories a day.

Most of those calculators are developed based on the 'normal' metabolism at a 'normal' % body fat. If your bodyfat% is higher, your muscle % is lower and you burn fewer calories just sitting there than a same-weight person with less fat and more muscle. (muscle needs more oxygen and blood flow than fat does). If your metabolism is slower than average on top of that, then you can see why the 'normal' calorie consumption might be high for you.

There are a few ways to approach your situation: trial and error, using what seems a reasonable amount of calories per day for yourself. You may want to consider 'zigzagging' calories as it seems to avoid prompting the metabolism to go into 'famine' mode. If you can determine your bodyfat% relatively accurately (ie, using scales, or through a professional assessment - fat calipers are difficult to use correctly if one isn't trained to do so), you can use that info to figure out a close enough approximation of your BMR to help you answer your question. I have a program for my Palm device that helps to calculate BMR, and keeps track of everything I eat. It's also available for PC. Not long ago, I did a search for 'calculate BMR' on Google and it came up with a number of sites. If memory serves, one compared three different methods for calculating BMR and there was very little difference.

Being from a science background, I tend to get a little too fixated on precision. Every once in a while I have to remind myself that I have 70 lbs. still to go and close enough is good enough for now.

Hope this helps.

Ti'an

[taragettingthin]

aha! Thanks Ti'an. My bodyfat IS like 45% so very high. Therefore I would probably burn less calories than other "normal" people.. As I'm doing exercise for both strength and cardio, hopefully those muscle I'm trying to burn will help with my metabolism, too. Thank you for your advice!