Hey guys and girls, I need to know, how many calories a day is good for trying to lose weight steadily. Im 154LB's im not sure what its based on but any help?

No less than 1,100 and no more than 1,800 seems to be a good range for me. Of course, everyone is different. I'm very physically active, so I may need (or be able to get away with) more calories than someone whose lifestyle is mostly sedentary.

Still, no less than 1,100 - you don't want to deprive yourself or have your body convinced that it's starving. P)

Sounds good, Ive been doing about 1,500 a day but im going to TRY for 1.200 and exercise every day for a half hour constant AT LEAST

First go to this site.

That will tell you how many calories you need to maintain your weight. Then subtract anywhere from 500-1,000 or stop at 1,200 calories whichever comes first.

I require 2,450 calories. So I shoot for at least 1,450. Even if I go a couple hundred over this does not impede weight loss. Of course, I'll have to adjust my caloric intake after every ten pounds or so. At your relatively low weight you may need to increase your exercise rather than continue to decrease your calories.

Well, Ill tell you this right now, a week ago when i weighed 157LB ( WOO ! ) i ate soo much, i ate pie after pie and everything.

Oh and I was about right :0 told me 2,050 and thats about 1.5

Question, then...
What if you ALREADY exercise A LOT while fat?
When you lose weight, you still have to exercise more? *Sighs*

I would disagree there, I think for most people its eating, personally, I ate so much grocerie shopping ( spending about 300$ ) in a 3 person family theyd be gone the next day, mostly on my part.

Hey NightengaleShane,

I think what queennmab meant is that when a person has a lower weight, they have to add exercise to keep a calorie deficit going, or else they would have to lower their intake below 1200.

For example, at my weight and age, if I want a 600 calorie deficit (1 pound a week), I'd have to eat below 1200 unless I do 100-200 hundred calories' worth of exercise a day.

Jay

Not to high jack the thread can some explain this calorie deficit thing to me. If am intaking 1500 calories how do I know how many calories to burn?

I don't even know if that made sense.

Oohhh, okay. Thanks for explaining that to me That makes sense... as I know your body burns less as a basal the lighter you are.

Go to http://www.fitday.com and enter in your information. It's not totally accurate, so I suggest setting your activity level to bed bound if you really don't do much during the day or seated work if your job has some physical demands (mine requires walking around quite a bit, which would go under "seated work, some movement" but I'm playing it safe). Then, you will see how many calories you're burning as a basal (just by doing nothing). You can do whatever physical activities you like to burn more. Don't bother putting in around-the-home activities unless you're doing any for a long period of time - just enter in your normal exercises.

If, as a basal, you burn 1,500 calories, then for weight loss, you should aim to burn an extra 500-1,000 calories a day. This equates to 1-2 pounds a week in a perfect world.

So if my basal is 1,500 I need to burn with activities 500 or 1.000 calories. Right?

well...according to that bmr link, without excersize and putting in lightly active (since i work behind a desk all day and only go to class and workout 3 times a week for an hour) it says i should be eating 1784. now if i subtract 500 calories for a pound a week loss, i should be eating 1284. so basically, me sticking with a 1200 calorie plan like i am already doing is perfect huh??? I guess though eventually, i may have to increase my days at the gym to 5 cardio classes a week!!! YIKES!!!

Needtolose & Notfatforlong~ Everyone's body/metabolism is different. Try the 1500 calories and if you haven't lost any weight after a week or two then lower it to 1400. No need to go down to 1200 cals a day if you can lose on more.

Myself I walk for 30 mins 3-4 times per week and I eat 1400-1500 calories per day. I lose approx 2 lbs per week and I have a desk job. I'm not saying this should be your plan, it's just an example. We are all different and we just need to find what will work for our bodies.

Figures - according to the site, my BMR is 1530. So that means I have to drop to 1030 or less - which is pretty much what I was expecting. I've seen the magic 1200 number here a lot so I've edged closer to it than my typical 900/1000 mark... but I gained a pound recently so I think I had better go back to the smaller calorie intake. ~___~ I don't have time to exercise for about a week and a half, unless I want to take an hour a day away from my boyfriend before I go on vacation for three weeks - which I don't. :P