How many?
 

Hello! I was wondering if anyone could help me find out how many calories I need to eat (or not eat) to lose weight? I am about 250 and 5'6". I do have a Fitday account. I have no idea where to even begin. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If the whole thing is about eating less ... do you want to try putting a normal days food into Fitday and see what it adds up to? From there you can tweak and cut for tomorrow.

Welcome and good luck in reaching your goal.
Before I started calorie counting I found this website http://nutrition.about.com/od/change...a/calguide.htm it has a little quiz that you fill in and then shows you how many calories you would need to maintain your current weight, how much to lose a pound a week etc. There's a link for women and there's a link for men.

Thanks for the suggestions!! I tried the website and it gave me an idea, so I will have a clue as to where to go from there. :D

It does help to know what you're eating now like Susan said b/c if your eating 2500 and maintaining your current weight you could cut it down to 2000 and lose weight.

Edit:
I just went to that link and it breaks it down much better than I expected.

I already reduced my eating before I decided to do the calorie counting. So, my calories, I am sure are drastically reduced already. I guess what I am saying is, I don't know where I started from. Does that make any sence?

Whoa...this calculator tells me I can MAINTAIN at 1800 calories and lose a pound per week with 1300. Im more like 1200 per day and am having a hard enough time dropping a pound per week. It says if I work out 1/2 hour per day, I should reach my loss goal eating 2 THOUSAND calories per day...that cant be right.......

It says I can eat 2376 cals a day if I exercise 60 mins+. I cannot see that happening. Maintenence for me is 2338. Wow I would be putting on weight with that.

I'm not that excited about fitday's calculations for a few things. I've set my lifestyle to sedentary or bedbound or whatever they call it and I only add intentional exercise that is unusual for me.
It's really a matter of trial and error.
For instance Lois Lane has already been reducing her intake. So if she enters what she's eating and finds that it's 1800 cals per day and she hasn't lost anything in a week or two ... then she needs to eat less.
I did a lot of tweaking backwards.
Did that make sense?

Thanks SusanB. I guess that I will have to just work backwards, so to say.

I hate to even think it but ... patience is a virtue in the weight loss realm. Drat!

Remember that these calculators are just guessitimates. You have to figure out what works for you! It really is trial and error sometimes.

I really, really despise those calculators. I find them HIGHLY inaccurate. Like Wyllenn said you kinda just have to figure it out for yourself through trial and error. We are all individuals and there is no way on earth a calculator can know what is right for each and every person. Trial and error.

calorie-count.com
 

calorie-count.com does it for you based on your weight, height, and activity level. It also measures how many calories you typically burn in one day. I love it, since it has a list of a zillion foods and their calorie content. You also get a grade based on how you ate that day!