Hi ... new here. I have been counting calories for 3 days and I've been trying to stay around 1,500. However, based on some calorie counters I just found, it looks like I should be eating more like 2,500 calories. I want to make sure I am doing this the right way ... can anyone help me figure this out? My current weight is 311.

Thanks in advance.

Are you using any of the online calorie counters? I know when I signed up on daily plate you fill in age, current weight, and activity level and it gives you the # of caolries you need to consume for a 2lb a week loss.

Yes, I don't remember the website, but I entered the following:

Age
Gender
Weight
Activity Level

Also, check out the Calorie Counter Forum on this website.. very helpful ladies! =]

Hi! I'm new here. I started counting calories 3 days ago and have been averaging about 1,500 per day which is what I thought I was suppose to be doing. However, based on the calorie calculators I found today, I should be consuming around 2,500 calories to lose weight. That seems like a lot of calories to me. Am I doing something wrong? My stats are the following:

Age: 37
Weight: 311
Gender: Female
Activity Level: Low (right now, but not for long hopefully)

If anyone can explain this to me, I would greatly appreciate it. I want to get started on the right foot and I seem a little confused already on day 3.

Thanks in advance.

This is my theory on the higher calorie numbers many programs assign you at first. At your weight you will probably lose weight (slowly) at 2500 calories a day...to a point. I'm just estimating numbers here...Probably at around 250 pounds you will stall, and have to lower your calories to 2000/day. Then around 200 pounds you will stall and have to lower them again to say 1800 calories/day. The 18oo calories/day will probably get you to your goal weight to where you will (possibly) ultimately maintain. The whole theory in this is to lose slow, and learn gradually to eat less. However, many programs are the opposite. They take you to your lowest end (1200-1500 calories/day) and let you gradually work up to your maintenance calories, (like a reward). You also tend to lose a little faster on these programs. I guess the big question you need to ask yourself is do you eventually want to eat more to maintain goal...or eat less.

wow, loribell. i've never thought about it that way. that was really informative. thanks!

Thanks Lori Bell. That does make sense and I too had never thought about it that way. My main concern is that I eat enough calories because I've heard so much about your body fighting back if you don't eat enough. I guess I will have to play the numbers game until I find a point that my body is happy and willing to lose weight.

Thanks again.

One factor to keep in mind is that some people find that their bodies will adjust to their calorie intake levels more than those calculators predict. And when that happens, they stop losing weight and have to drop their calorie levels even lower. At 1500 calories, though, you wouldn't have much room to reduce your daily intake if you experienced a plateau. For that reason, it may be a good idea to start out a little higher if you have a large amount of weight to lose.

I started out eating about 2000 calories per day and kept losing at that level until I got to nearly 200 pounds (from about 290). At that point my losses started to slow, so I dropped my calories a little bit lower to encourage the scale to move. At the moment I'm about 160 pounds and still losing steadily at 1600 calories/day (with occasional treat days at 1900-2000). Even though I'm close to goal I don't plan to reduce my calories unless I stop losing weight completely. So for me, it worked well not to drastically cut my calories to a very low level from day 1. I think this has helped my metabolism to keep humming.

Best of luck!

I agree with Drina starting at 1500 dosent give you too much room to go down. I would start higher and work my way down.

HTH!!