I have a couple of questions about counting calories, I didn't see the answers in the FAQs so I thought I'd post them here.

1) According to a calorie calculator I use, I should be consuming 1800 cals a day for weight loss. Physically I usually feel very satisfied on less than that (however emotional eating tends to bring my daily calorie intake closer to 1800). I know there is danger in eating too few calories. I am trying to get a handle on the emotional eating, but should I force myself to eat 1800 cals a day even if I am not hungry on 1500 or 1600? 1800 cals just sounds like a lot! I hear different opinions on this depending on whom I ask.

2) How do you guys divy up the proportion of cals from fat, protein, and carbs? Again, I have heard different theories on this from different sources.

Well I thought I had another question, but I can't remember it now, lol. If I think of it I will post it here. (Sorry if the questions are common, I know how annoying that can be....)

If you're happy on 1500-1600 and losing consistently, you should stay there.

There are many different ways of dividing up the nutritional stuff. I tend to go 50-25-25 because it seems to fit very naturally with my preference for healthy, whole foods. Most of my carbs come from veggies or complex sources. 40-30-30 also seems to work very well for many people. I think the important thing is to strive for a balance that reflects a healthy and nutritious diet.

1) I'm under my RDA for calories too. My fitday says I should be eating 2200 a day... and I'm at 1700. Honestly, I'm seeing the losses I want, feeling more fit, able to exercise daily and not be hungry so it's adequate for me. (I drink a massive amount of water too) If what you're doing is working I'd stick with it. I"m not a nutritionist though.. and the first time I lost a bunch of weight as a teen I did it by starving myself... so I'm so not the person to give you advice!

2) I aim for 60/25/15(fat) but usually end up about 60/20/20. It may not be the best but its working for me right now. If/when it stops working I'll look at it again.

and thats my 2 cents! all the best

I think Fitday (and other calculators) often overestime the calories needed for "maintenance." One thing I did that helped was to track calories for a while without restricting. I did it at the end of the day so wasn't thinking about stuff in terms of calories throughout the day and saw clearly how much I ate when left to my own devices. I then knocked some off of that and went to a level I felt comfortable with. I'd say if you're not consistently hungry, and eating healthy, stick to whatever calorie level you want.

I aim for 20% protein, and let the other percentages balance themselves out. Once again, I just took a look at how much protein I was eating normally and tried to figure out how I could boost that. There are many ladies on here that aim for 30% protein and I commend them. The more protein, the more muscles, the faster metabolism, but other than that I don't think it's a hard and fast rule.

1) I agree with blues that the online calculators often overestimate the number of calories you need. I've certainly found that to be the case personally. 1500-1600 calories per day sounds perfectly reasonable to me, so if you aren't hungry at that level and are losing at the rate you'd like, I'd stick with it.

2) I just worry about calories, I don't spend to much time thinking about what percentage of my calories are from fat, etc. But I'm on a fairly low calorie restriction (1200 to 1300 per day) and I exercise a lot, so I have to be very careful about what I eat or I will be hungry all day. Without even trying, I usually end up with about 30% to 35% of my calories coming from protein, 10% to 15% coming from fat, and 50% to 60% coming from carbs. I think it would be better if I could lower my carb % and increase my protein % by about 5% to 10% in both cases, but I'm not worried enough about it to really make the changes in my diet that would be necessary to achieve this.

I have found the calorie counters to be right on target. According to calculators, my maintenance level is 2200 and my weight loss level is 1800 and that's exactly what I've been following. I've been eating 1800/day (while zig-zagging calorie levels) and always steadily lose when I am consistent.

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I have been reading these boards for a little while and am impressed with everyone's kindness and encouragement with each other.

I just started counting calories this week, could not continue weight watchers due to financial constraints. I was on weight watchers for about 2 years, this time. I have been reading the post for a while and I am greatly encouraged, everyone here is so nice and helpful.

My goal is around 1500 calories a day, I use calorie king software to track.
What should be my fat, carb and protein goals? So how does 1500 calories sound?

When I was doing weight watchers I figure I was at 1400 claories and was always hungry I did eat alot of whole foods and tried to have 3 meals and 2 snacks a day.

Thanks

Special K, I think 1500 sounds like a reasonable target to start. You can adjust up or down as needed. If you make wise choices, 1500 will probably keep you full. 3 meals and 2 snacks are an essential part of your plan - make sure you leave enough calories to be eating every 3 hours or so to keep your blood sugar level. I have seen many different recommendations for % splits, my favorite is 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat. Sometimes I try to lower the fat and put that percentage in one of the other categories. I am not legalistic with my percentages and use them as an ideal target rather than a requirement.
I use Fitday to keep track of everything to keep me honest.
HTH

So far I have benn trying to keep my fat below 30%. Other percentages seem to work themselves out naturally. Eventually want to get my fat below 25%, but for now, 30% seems to be working out.

I agree with the folks who said you shouldn't force yourself to eat. If 1500 keeps you full and you have good results stick with that.

I just count calories and try and buy healthy stuff, fish, chicken, turkey, vegetables, milk, yogurt, beans, fruits, and olive oil. I found that if I keep the processed stuff low the better I do. That way I don't have to worry about calculating percents of this and percents of that. If I did all that I would surely have quit by now.

Hi MissChris ~

Thanks for posting those questions, which confounded me when I began my healthy eating new leaf July 1. I looked high and low to find the answers, and am still very interested in what's working for people who are losing lbs.

After much reading, I've settled on 50% carbs/30% protein/20% fat as a goal. I use www.fitday.com to track everything I eat and love that the site breaks down my food into the 3 categories (including which type of fat). I make most of my carbs complex, protein is lean.

Re: Fat: I aim for zero % trans fat & polyunsat, 4 g of fat for saturated fats per serving, and try to get most of my fat calories from olive oil, or other mono ("healthy") oils.

Most Dr.- / nutritionist-authored books I've read lately all agree that 1,200 calories is an absolute minimumper day to maintain good health.

I was so confused trying to find a formula to calculate how many calories a day I needed to be healthy and lose weight! I finally decided to shoot for 1,200 calories a day, but usually end up 1,400 -1600.

I figure if I shoot for 1,200, manage to hit 1400, AND exercise that day, I'm burning alot more fat than if I eat, say, 1,800 and exercise that day.
I've found I'm too hungry at 1,200, and being hungry leads to out of control eating for me.

Since July 1 I've lost 25 lbs., am now walking at least four hours per week, and feel GREAT.

Best of luck to you! Let us know how you're doing and what you decided!

Hi Special K95!

Lots of newbies in this thread.

Congrats on your 60 lbs. lost! Wow!

I'm doing 3 meals with two snacks (or 5 mini-meals) and it's working well to keep me from being hungry. I struggled alot at the beginning with being hungry regardless of calories in the 1200-1600 range because I had cut out too much fat.

Once I added more *healthy* fats, that the Hunger Monster. I add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to my food a couple times each day.

Good luck on your journey!

According to most counters, when I reach my goal of 135, 1750-1800 cals per day with my current exercise level will maintain my weight. When I started I tried to stay around 1500 as an average. Although it's weird I find the closer I get to goal, I'm now averaging 1550-1600. I think it may be that my food choices are getting better and I'm naturally exercising more and building more muscle so I'm burning more. I'm loving it though....I think of all the "diets" I went on at 1000-1200 calories that were not balanced at all....then I wondered why I couldn't maintain anything. You live, you learn.

Go with what your body tells you, keep thing balanced at 50/25/25...and it takes as long as it takes...

I am new too.. I have been posting in the 100 pound club but I am a calorie counter too!

I started out at the 1800 level but found that I snacked too much with that big of an allowance so I struck it down to 1200. I am very satisfied at 1200 and I think part of that is because I do a lot of fiber and at least 3 servings of dairy every day. I use skim milk, sugar free (but not fat free) yogurt, full-fat hard cheeses, and 2% cottage cheese for dairy and they satisfy the creamy comfort food cravings. I use Fiber One bars and make sure to eat high fiber fruits and veggies and occasionally use Fiber Sure powder to bulk things up and make me feel more full. I have taken some jabs for starting low, but I have had good results (11 pounds in 4 weeks) so I think it is working well for me. I did my own sort of "induction" to stop the sugar cravings and now I rarely eat any refined carbs, nor do I desire them.

I haven't given much thought to the ratio of fats to proteins and such. I just know what foods satisfy me and what foods I need to fit in to get the nutrition I need.