newbie
 

Hi..I am..again..beginning a diet..This time I am going to do it the old fashion way..counting calories..
I am 5'3 and 181 pds..45 yrs old..
What would be a good calorie starting point for me..
I was thinking 1200 calories daily with one cheat meal a week...

??

Thanks

Sue

Hiya!

1200 is the lowest you should go. You may want to try 1500-1600 or so and see if that gets you the 1 or 2 lb a week loss. Exercise is key in calorie counting - you don't want to just be flabby when you start losing weight. Plus, the more muscle you have, the easier you burn fat.

If you can handle 1200 comfortable, you can try that, but I would personally recommend something higher, then when you plateau, you could drop lower and see if it helps, then go back up. 1200 takes a very strict person to follow, so only you can judge if that's right for you.

thanks for replying smartbutt..
I weight train 5 times a week and trying to add more cardio into my program..(hate cardio).

Yeah, if you are exercising consistently, then 1200 may not be enough for you. But like I said, you do what you can do comfortably and live with. :)