First couple days with GoWear Fit
 

It seems i don't burn very many calories even on a busy day with some exercise. Ugh. I am now dropping my calories from 1800 to 1500 and that will give me a 1000 calorie a day deficit. I was sure that being so tall 1800 was fine. Most sites i read that was the average... but, that's just it, it's an average and not maybe right on for everyone.
Ugh. Today was an easy 1500 calorie day and i still get a snack later ;)
Anyone else have to drop calories after finding out something like this?

I'm thinking that if you go for a 1000-cal deficit, you'll go below your RMR (resting metabolic rate). That's not the best plan...

"When you cut calories to BELOW your RMR, your body fights back. Restricting calories below your RMR is like asking your car's engine to run on too little gas. If your car is sitting in the driveway with the engine on, it is burning gas as it sits there. If you put the car in drive and step on the gas, it burns gas at a faster rate. What happens if you choke off the supply of gas to your engine? It sputters and eventually stalls. The same is true for your metabolism."

That information comes from this site:

http://www.shapeup.org/atmstd/sud10v3/sud10s7.php

You'll find a lot more about it if you go there. They have calculators.

Shape Up America is a nonprofit organization founded by the former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D.

Good luck,
Jay

Thanks for the link! That's a really interesting article. I have a quick question about it though. It says that you shouldn't dip your calories below your resting metabolic rate (mine is 1390), but if I exercise every day and burn extra calories, does that mean I'm inevitably eating under my metabolic rate if I eat about 1400 calories a day? I don't want to risk slowing down my metabolism (it's slow enough!) but I'm not sure if that's what the article is implying. Thanks so much for the advice!

Ellie

TakingCharge--no, you eat what you eat, that's all that you count. As long as the total calories you are eating is above your RMR, on average, then you're OK. (Generally speaking, of course! The RMR they calculate is only an average estimate as well).

If you were eating only 1200-1300 calories, you'd be below your RMR.

Jay

Thanks a lot for the info!

Ok, i am going to read that article BUT this isn't my RMR... this is my daily burn. It's what i get from cleaning house and doing all those chores, looking after a 1 year old for the day and also taking a 40 minute brisk walk (i was having some hard breathing and sweating).
That makes me think my RMR would be even lower? I do have PCOS and i know it messes with stuff but not sure about this. I do NOT want to cause my body problems but i do know that on 1800 calories (a number i got from many sites) i stopped losing after just a few weeks. This week i was actually up.
Are you thinking i should stick to the 1800 calories then? Ugh. I need a team of physicians and mathletes to see me thru! LOL!

barefootnikki - how are you calculating your daily burn? Do you have a heart rate monitor or like a bodybugg? Or are you calculating off of estimates? Cause estimates are pretty hard to do.

I think the more important question might be what did you do when you lost the 12 pounds on your ticker? What was your average weekly weight loss? If it's a pound a week or more, I'd say leave your calories where they are.