1300-1600. Most days around 1400.

My BMR is around 1550 so I try to cycle around that number. I loose on average about 1 to 1.5 a week.

Hi
I pulled my Archilles tendon and can't exercise. I'm pretty new here and decided to begin counting calories. I checked a couple websites and found that I'm supposed to eat 1800 calories. I don't want to eat that many calories so would it be okay to stay around 1200-1400 calories?

2000+ to maintain, and I usually aim to eat around 1300 calories. Lately, however, I've been eating less (under 1200 and yesterday, under 1000!) without consciously trying too hard. I cook each meal by myself and I have to weigh each ingredients before I cook them. I usually get so lazy that I only grab whatever it is I could. Laziness sometimes CAN indeed help with weight loss.

I ate 1200 calories almost every single day while losing 190 pounds. I never had a plateau and lost it pretty quickly with unstructured moderate exercise. When I reached goal I was able to maintain at approx 1900 calories. After about 2 years a minor weight creep started and I had to lower my maintaince calories to around 1600ish.

I started this process at age 42 and I am now 46. I probably don't exercise as much because of time restraints, but I'm still very active and have a physical job.

I decided to change my calorie limits a few weeks ago and it's been working really well for me. I joined fitocracy and have been working out with my friends a lot more/harder but I was always starving at the end of the day with an hour+ workout and 1500 calories. I kept going over--was still losing but feeling guilty all the time. So I upped my calorie limit to 1800 on hard workout days, 1650 on light or cardio days, and 1500 on no exercise days. I still get at least a 1 lb. loss each week but no longer beat myself up.

I also try to work out 6 days a week, but only 2-3 are my intense days. I'm sure I could lose more weight faster with a lower calorie limit, which is what a friend of mine is doing--1200-1300 a day. I really like how my new plan is working for me though. I also started following Alton Brown's list here, except I only eat 2 servings of oily fish a week.