A very, very basic question
 

so, i've scoured all the threads in this forum, researched on the net, and yet i'm still stuck with the most basic question of all -- how many calories should i eat?!?!

i'm 27, F, and weigh 183 lbs. i workout 6x a week for 30-60 minutes to a point where i am toast.

i've checked out a number of different websites - mayo clinic, spark people, and other randoms, each which say i should eat about 2300ish -- i take it that is to maintain?

cutting it down by 500 cals a day, which presumably loses 3500 cals/week, or 1lb, takes it to 1800. is that what i should be eating?

i've tracked all my calories for the last week and have averaged to 1480/day, BEFORE including exercise.

am i right in paying attention to the 1480 number?

i also calculated the caloric deficit i've accumulated this week, as 2300 - calories consumed + calories exercised. i've accumulated a 9110 deficit. im going to weigh myself tomorrow and see if my weight has gone down about 2.5lbs - that will prove my science!

if i'm doing this wrong, can someone please help me get back on track? it's so confusing with so many different numbers to pay attention to!

also, last q (for now) i promise!
if i'm averaging 1480/day but have a bmr of 2300, am i setting myself up for starvation mode or a plateau in the near future? definitely do not want that. i love eating so can easily take my calories up if needed, lol :)

thanks so much!

LOL - you are doing it right, and your calorie counts are on. 1800 calories is a good starting place for you. You can adjust from there. Starting at around 1500 isn't too bad - only you can tell what will work best for you. I think I started between 1600-1700.

However, I'm here to tell you that the "math" and "science" just don't work that way. How I wish that my body obeyed the math. Eat 3500 less calories - the scale will go down 1 lb. In a perfect world ...

What WILL happen - most weeks - if you eat fewer calories, your weight will go down. Some weeks it will stay the same. Some weeks it may even go UP. Hormones come into play. So does water weight. When I eat salty or processed foods, my body retains water. It eventually lets go, but sometimes it takes a while.

So - stick with your plan - but don't be surprised if that scale goes down more or less than 2.5 lbs.

I think 1500 is a great number. Focus on whole foods, getting your water and fiber and you will do great.

Counting Down gave you some really great advice there. She knows what she is talking about.

thanks so much to you both! to clarify, i definitely DON'T expect 2.5lbs....just thought it would be interesting to see the correlation!

thanks again :)

I agree with the other posters--just wanted to add that your BMR (basal metabolic rate) isn't 2300. That number is your estimated daily burn including BMR plus activity--in other words, your maintenance level. BMR is the number for if you're just lying in bed 24 hours doing nothing.

Jay

I worked out how much to eat this way and created enough of a calorie difference to lose 2lb-2.5lb a week and so far I have lost about that since the last week in March. A few weeks i haven't but it's been water weight and the next week I've alway lost more than 2lb on the scales. I've been amazed at how well the maths has worked for me so far though I don't expect it to continue like this.

On that show "Cook Yourself Thin" on Lifetime they have a good rule of thumb that makes sense to me and it seems about right...take your goal weight and multiply it by 10. So if you want to weigh 150, eat 1500 calories a day. It's a very basic rule of thumb but in my experience it really does make sense.

Amy, I actually think thats an EXCELLENT rule of thumb...I would say doing that with getting some exercise and you are SO gonna be in business!

perfect! thanks so much to everyone for your insight :)