I want to lose weight in a healthy way but not starve myself at the same time, what is an appropriate amount of caloric intake to lose weight successfully?? By the way i'm tired of doing diets and not being able to stick to them or just gaining the few pounds back i did lose. I want to find something that i can be consistent with and not just end up in the same dump i started with. sorry to ramble on i just needed to vent because i've been feeling extra fat and i have no one else to tell.

Welcome!

There are formulas you can use to find out your basic metabolic rate and the amount of calories you may burn on a given day depending on your lifestyle... but I've found that keeping track of what I eat when I'm NOT watching what I eat, adding up those calories, then eating less than that on a daily basis, is what works for me. A lot of us here also used Fitday.com, a free website that helps count calories, and has 'reports' that let you see if your lifestyle is burning the calories you are consuming or not.

For instance, it calculates (based on the stats I entered) that I burn about 2500 calories a day. If I eat 2500 calories a day, I'll maintain my weight. If i eat more, I'll gain. If I eat less, I'll lose - but how quickly I'll lose depends on the calorie deficit. The number people throw around is that 3500 calories equals 1 pound.

So, if I eat (2500x7=)17,500 calories usually, I'd try to eat 14,000 a week, or about 2000 a day... and I would lose 1 lb a week. That is of course, what the numbers say. You have to sorta find your own groove for what works for your body. Do not go under 1200 calories a day unless advised to do so by a doctor or nutritionist. That can lead to health problems!

Personally, I aim for 1500 a day. I tried 1200 for a few weeks once but my body refused to let any weight go...and I was miserable. 1500 feels "right" to me.

Hope some of that helps!

Thanks a lot that did help me!!

Welcome!
I agree with what smartbutt says..I calculated based on the different calculators available that I should eat 1670 to lose a pound a week and 1420 to lose 1.5 per week. I've ended up averaging a little over 1500 and have lost ten pounds so far so it involves a little tweaking for each individual. I've also started exercising regularly. I'm a big believer in keeping track of what you eat and how much you burn through exercise.
Good luck to you! you'll find a ton of support and collective knowlege here and omg check out the goals thread if you need inspiration, people have acomplished amazing things here.