It doesn't seem logical to me, but I am aware that one can eat too few calories and impede the whole weight loss process. I'm wondering if that's the case with me. Here's some information.

Gender: F
Height: 5' 4"
Weight: 138 (ugh, gained 5 lbs. in the last two weeks from total overeating)
Age: 26
Activity Level: I have no idea, but at minimum on weekdays I get in 30 minutes of brisk walking (to and from the train station). Other than that it tends to vary greatly. When I'm motivated I get in 10 minutes of weights every weekday morning. If I'm really motivated I'll add to that 25 minutes of yoga or 60 minutes of stationary bike (switching off daily). Weekends are completely shot - no exercise (I'm still trying to swallow the bitter pill that I might have to start that).

Currently I am shooting for (not always making) a daily total of 1400 Calories. Is that too little?

Thanks in advance!

PaniAnia

Well, I'm about 25 lbs heavier than you, at the same height, and I'm losing on 1500 a day (I range - 1400 to 1600, depending on how much I work out that day).

So based on my personal experience I'd say 1400 wasn't too little.

Are you having problems losing, or just wanting to double check where you are?

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In that case, is it too much?

I just wanted to double check where I am. I've been too inconsistent with the calories and exercise (especially on the weekends) to know whether or not that's the right number.

I have noticed though that if I don't exercise in a given week and eat whatever (although don't binge either) my weight pretty much stays at 135 lbs. According to my logic (which may be flawed) that should mean that if I stick to the 1400 calories and work out consistently I should start to lose weight consistently as well.

To get an idea, why dont you put up a calendar and write in the amount of exercise you got? It would give you an idea of where you're actually at. Are you recording everything you eat?

When I was cutting calories I averaged between 1400-1500 from 148 pounds down to about 138, thought I was eating 1150-1300 but was off portioning. From 137-127 I really was eating 1150-1300, exercising 6 days a week for 45-65 minutes. I moved up a little at 127 because I was exercising more, went up to 1250-1350. I'm an inch and a half taller than you, ten years older.

So, that probably doesn't help you a bit.

1400 is probably a good range for you, I would guess. As I'm still loosing now at higher maintenance calories, I could probably have eaten more during the process and not felt as tight as I felt sometimes...

No real way to tell honestly. All of our bodies are different. 1400 calories a day certainly seems reasonable though. Try it for 2-4 weeks and if you don't see a loss then drop it a bit. Trial and error is the only way to go sometimes.

1400 sounds just about right with moderate -- but not completely consistent -- exercise. I am two inches taller and twenty pounds heavier and I eat 1600 to 1700 with 30 minutes of cardio everyday, resistance training 30 minutes every other day and a 40 minute walk three days a week. I have been losing steadily for a little over two months on pretty close to this regime. Actually I was only eating 1400 for a while, but I was losing over three pounds a week so I upped my calories a bit over the last couple of weeks so I didn't lose too fast. I still seem to be losing just fine -- two pounds this week.

Try 1400 for, say, three weeks, and see what happens...

paniania-

1400 calories a day seems like a good area to be in for your stats, but the only way to know for sure, is to eat 1400 a day for a few weeks, and actually record what happens to YOU.

You can have two people of the same weight and height-and one person needs 1200 a day, while the other person loses on 1500. Our bodies and individual metabolisms are all different, so you have to choose a level, and tweak it up or down, based on your experience with it. If you are on 1400 for the next 2 or 3 weeks, and you drop a pound, or two, or three-then 1400 works for you. If you don't lose anything after 3 weeks...THEN try 1300 a day for a few weeks.

There are calorie estimates, etc. but we ALL have to perform the experiment on ourselves for a few weeks to find our individual level that works for US.

Yeah. For all of us this is a process of trial and error. And as you lose more weight, you'll have to tweak your calories even more. I was eating at 1700 cals for a long time. Then I dropped down to 1500. Then I dropped to 1300. Then I started lifting weights and went back to 1500-1600. So ... you just kinda have to work at it a little and see what makes your body tick over.

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In my own personal experience, 1400 was a perfect amount.