I am kind of confused about how many calories am I suppose to be having each day. I think before I started my diet, I was eating close to 3,000 a day! I know, alot!! So, what would be a good amount now and enable me to lose weight?

you can google this... if you find the right website. it will ask your height, your weight. and how often you work out a week. and the type of excercise your doing.. This will then give you 3 amounts of calories.. Maintain. Weightloss and extreme weightloss...

edit: ok i found it in 2 seconds lol

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Thanks

Wow, to maintain my weight, I need like 2900 calories! I have been averaging maybe 1300-1400 a day from the start of this week. No wonder the 5 lbs came off so quick.

if you read down further, it says the extreme is liek the very bottom and you shouldnt aim for it.. But i try to keep mine around 1200 also.. and my extreme is 1500ish lol.. <<; i just cant bring myself to eat this much... I think i'll be drinking alot more milk

and its only a guideline... so my assumption is theres a give and take

The old way I learned was for every 10 pounds you weigh- you eat 100 calories. So if you weigh 200 pounds you can eat 2000 and maintain your weight.

For you I'd say if you are 281 and want to lose weight you eat 75% of your maintenance calories to lose weight- so it's 281 x 10 x .75 = 2100 calories to lose weight.

As you lose more weight you should recalculate those numbers

How can you stay at 1200? That is so hard for me.

Actually I don't find it too hard, I just eat alot of healthy snacks to keep me full and I try to drink alot of water

I am wondering when your weight plateaus with 1200 calories, where do you go from there?

I don't know. I try to stay around 1400, that is really low especially since I am suppose to eating 2900 to just stay my same weight. Wow, what a decrease.

I'm no expert or anything but why not up those calories a bit. I am sure you could still lose at your weight now with taking in higher calories. That said, I will also say that if 1400 calories a day is working for you and you are comfortable with it then that is a good thing.

I think 1500 would be my max calories.

That is what I am doing now. I am staying between 1400-1500.

A few years ago I weighed 250 lbs. and I simply cut calories to lose weight, I started off around 1800-2000 calories and lost fairly quickly (2 or sometimes 3 pounds a week). Since you weigh a little more than I did then I'd suggest going at my higher level, around 2000?

I won't go below 1500. I will see how it all works out for me and decide if I need to go higher later. Thanks for everyone's advice.

Bombe- did you always lose 2-3lbs consistently?