Calories....
 

Hi again everyone...I know I'm really monopolizing the forums today but I'm wondering what you guys aim for as far as daily calories. I set my goal at 1200 - 1400, but find I almost always exceed that. I'm not heavy (134lbs) so I find to lose I need to be around 1300ish....what do you guys find works best for you and how did you determine that number?

Well it depends. I would love to stay at 1200 but a lot of days, I am just way hungrier. I tend to do calorie cycling without even trying. One day I will be at 1000, the next at 1600, the next at 1200. If I am staying OP, I would aim to stay under 1400. I found that if I try to stay consistently below that, ie 1200 or less, it tends to lead to a binge one day because I am so hungry. but it is tricky.. I still haven't really found my ideal calorie range. I really could eat 1800 but the weight loss can be slow for me at that, but I feel a lot more sane. I definitely am the type who needs more calories and do not typically feel satisfied on 1200 or so.

See the FAQ in the Calorie Counters forum... http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/calo...ease-read.html

I lost averaging 1700-1800 calories/day. I was running 5x/week. I did not eat the same amount of calories every day, but I am sure I never went below 1400, usually probably around 1600 with some days higher (over 2000 maybe once a week).

I generally eat healthfully -- lean protein, lots of veggies, lots of fruit. Limited alcohol.

ETA -- wow, lots of good info at that link. thanks, cornellchick!

thanks guys - wow this forum is HUGE i didn't even know there was a calorie counters forum....

I have been losing on what averages out to 1600-1800 a day. Very slowly too. I exercise at least 5 days a week for a minimum of 40 minutes cardio a day. I also try to eat clean whenever I can.

1200 would be nice but I don't have the willpower to eat that little without skipping meals.

well it's really nice to hear that i can lose on more than 1200 - i usually aim for that but always end up going over and am usually pretty demotivated by that. i'm going to aim for 1400 and see where that gets me.

thanks a lot :)

also, krampus, what exactly do you mean by eating clean? whole foods??

In the beginning, I was losing 2-3 lbs a week by eating 1200-1350 calories and working out 5 days a week. Nowadays, I am losing 1 lb a week, eating 1500-1600 calories and exercising 6 days a week<--------- I like this method better! :)

when I say "clean" my definition is just eating fresh stuff that's not processed. food where you watch it go from raw to cooked/ready and are present for all stages of the process.

Being male and pretty tall my calorie needs are a bit higher. The RMR calculator places me at needing around 2300 just to maintain current weight and I typically shoot for 1800-2000. I wildly guestimate calories though and I probably am actually eating a bit less than that on average.

check out http://www.caloriesperhour.com for a BMR and RMR calculator based on gender/ height/ and weight (RMR number is generally more appropriate for calorie counting).

If you are not feeling full, maybe increase your lean protein intake? Drinking lots of fluids helps too.

I found this website and it's guidelines to be really useful:
http://www.stumptuous.com/kristas-ka...c-konfabulator

wow, thanks for asking this!

I post in the calorie counting thread and find i tend to eat a lot more than the other posters. I try to stick below 1500 and I find this comfortable - I REALLY have to count and watch my portions as if I eat whatever I want I tend to eat about 2000 naturally. But 1500 gives me a good amount of food and I am not terribly hungry if I make good choices.

BUT, I was losing about 1-2 lbs a week and now have stalled and lost only 1 lb for the past few weeks :( I don't know if it was my body "adjusting" as I took a 2 week break in there for vacation where I ate whatever. but when I got back, I weighed and I was only up a half pound so I didn't really count that as a gain...but I'm only down about a pound since then in the last 11 days. Grrrr....

I am hoping it is some sort of water weight and soon I will weigh in and be 3 lbs lighter. LOL. :D

I'm glad you asked this! I was curious about others, but I admit, this is making me depressed! LOL!

I gain at 1200 these days. :rolleyes: I have to stick with just under 1000.

I'm of the belief that you should eat as many calories as you can and still lose. ;)

Eliana-- im right there with you

If im in fat loss mode i have to aim for 850 to 900. Doing that, i *usually* hit around 1000 lol!

I know people yell about never going below 1200, but what they *mean* in their ignorance is to not go below your bmr.
Well, guess what? Due to my history of undereating, dieting, overtraining, drug abuse and disordred eating (aka F**ing up my metabolism) my bmr IS around 1000 a day, or less. Sad...... Therefore i cant lose unless i go really really low.

it SUX

I lost the majority of my weight eating between 1500 and 1800 calories a day. I'm still trying to find right calorie level to lose my last five pounds. During the week I eat between 1400 and 1650 calories a day (I have a very physical job and need the fuel to get through the work day). On weekends I try hard to keep my calories under 1300. On weekends I'm not nearly as active as I am during the week and don't need as many calories.

I'm with Magrat--I lose on 1500-1700ish calories a day plus exercise (45 minutes of brisk walking 6 days a week).

thanks guys - with your advice I've decided to increase my calories to 1500. I'm probably eating an average of 2000 naturally so this would bring a healthy loss. I'm cool with one pound a week at this point, anything is better than gaining!

Yep. It feels rebellious to go that low because for MOST people that is low. But my eating is not disordered in any way. It's hard to keep around 1000, I can tell you that!

I lost weight eating between 1,800 and 2,500 a day and working out hard three times a week.

I think 1,500 is a really good place to start. Personally, I'd never go lower than that, but that's because I starve at anything lower than that. My body just will not let me do that.

i'm SO glad to h ear of people losing on 1500 or more....I don't know where I derived 1200 from but I can never reasonably stick to it for long and just always thought anything above that wouldn't be good enough.

loving this board...