Calorie Question
 

I have heard it all.. I have been told that for my 5'1 height and 175 pounds for light activity ( walking etc) I should consume 1297 calories per day to lose 2 pounds per week. Boy its not easy! But I have also been told that I should be eating 1600 on other websites. I am very confused.. where can I find out for sure?

I think it has to be what works for YOU. No website can tell you whether or not to be hungry. I eat about 1300 a day and that works for me, other people at my height and weight need to eat more like 1600.

I think that 2 pounds a week is considered trying to lose quite a lot of weight, which is why they suggest around 1200. At 5'1, I think your body can handle a lower cal intake than someone who's much taller :)

Alas, calorie calculators are estimates and actual bodies are very individual with their needs and demands. Sorting this out is going to take some trial and error. How many calories have you been eating to lose those 39 pounds? If you don't know that, then there's nothing for it: you'll have to start counting and see what happens. I'd pick a moderate number to begin with--say 1400 (1600 seems a bit high for someone of your weight/height/activity level) and try it for 2 weeks and see how you go. If you lose too quickly, you can add calories, if you lose too slowly (or barely at all) then you can drop your cals.
You might want to think about adding in more exercise/activity too, to create a bigger calorie deficit (ie, don't eat more to compensate).

Rikku ~ I have had the same dilemma myself. I am the same height and weight as you are but I am active. I have been all over the internet trying to get advise. I found the best advise here, experiment because every person is different. My body is very stubborn but its not its fault. I just left a plan that was 1200 calories a day and I was losing fast but it was very had to do, just like you said. I was also eating some foods that were slowing me down and I am discovering which ones help me lose and which ones don't. Right now I am consuming between 1500 - 1700 calories. I have lost 2 pounds so far this week. So it is possible to lose with higher calorie counts even though you are short but you will just have to experiment and see what happens.

Have you ever calculated the calories your eating right now or before you started reducing your calories? Maybe that can give you a place to start. Just subtract a couple hundred calories a day and you will lose. The goal is to reduce the calories enough to lose but not enough to let your body know what your doing. LOL! If it figures it out it will do all it can to stop you. So gradual lowering is better then one day going from 2200 (calculators I found on line suggest this is how much I need to maintain my current weight) to 1200. That is way to noticeable. So, I am doing between 1500 - 1700 calories a day. I won't lose as fast but I should lose stead. I may need to reduce down the road but I will deal with that when I get there.

Thanks so much for all of your replies!! Actually, I lost my previous weight doing low carb.. but I am trying to lose weight the right way now since I got very depressed and weak on Atkins. So, here I am brand new to calorie counting! I can handle 1200 calories a day.. it's just been very hard for me to go from high fat/low carb to low fat/low calories/low sugar moderate carbs... ahh! Anyway, maybe I should see how 1200 works for me. I want to get in shape for the summer!

Lol. I like this. :)

1200 calories per day would starve me, even 1500 calories. I eat an average of 1829 calories per day. Personally, I think people should eat at their target weight's maintenance calories and eventually they will end up there. :)

I eat between 1300 and 1500 cals a day, but I also just read through the New Rules of Lifting for Women and am going to start that training program - and they recommend more calories and protein while working out like this, so I just bumped my range on my Spark-people up to 1700 on the high end ...

We'll see how that goes!

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