I'm new to counting calories, and while admittedly I'm just using it as a guideline, I find myself falling short of my recommended calorie intake every day. I never thought this would happen, though I'm glad I'm under rather than over, but what I want to know if what the effect will be over time? Is this how I risk burning muscle rather than fat? What can I do to try to get closer to my target?

For reference: according to The Daily Plate I should aim for 2500 to lose 2lbs a week, though my doctor has agreed that on days when I'm not working out if I come in around 2000 that should be fine, and I've heard from a friend who lost 140 pounds himself that he went for closer to 1800 on non-workout days. Does anyone have any knowledge or advice they can share? Thanks.

My opinion is to eat as much as you can get away with to lose those 2 lbs per week.

Think of it this way... the more you eat now, when you end up having to drop down your calories (which you will) to adjust to your new weight, you'll be able to eat more then... and on and on.

Try adding some calorie dense foods like peanut butter or avocado.

The Daily Plate is like anything else, just an estimate. There's really no sure fire way to know that you will loose weight at x amount of calories. I would give it a shot though, if you can eat that amount and still loose weight I would take advantage of it! In my experience though most women have to stay below 2200 to produce a steady two pound per week weight loss @ your current weight. As your weight decreases, so will the amuont that you can eat OR your activity will have to increase. Just make sure you get a good variety of foods in there!!

Oh I think you're doing fine! The DAily plate (and ALL those calculators in general) tend to estimate VERY high. They are guesstimates at best.

I would think 1800 calories is a great place to start *experimenting* with the *right* number for you. And that's all you can do - is experiment. We are all dfferent.

Realize that initially you most likely WILL see a much higher number than 2 lbs per week. And then it will start to slow down. This is perfectly normal. Some weeks you may see 3 lbs lost, others one pounds, then 1/2 a pound, then a 4 lb - even if you put in the same amount of effort. Weight loss is not linear.

Just focus on the good eating behaviors. Get these good behaviors down pat and the rest will follow.

I look forward to hearing of your progress.

That's why I'm trying to find a happy balance between the estimates from online tools, my doctor's advice, and the experience of people around me... because honestly, I'm clueless. Now that I've cut crappy food out I find I'm consistently eating around 1200-1400 calories, and with that I feel like I'm eating all day. I think I'll aim for closer to the 1800-2000 mark, and like you guys have said I will try to use those calories wisely, but actually use them. Augh, it's so hard figuring all this out!

What do you typically eat in a day to keep your calories so low?

Examples

March 18 (Came in around 1300)
Breakfast: 1/2 whole wheat english muffin w/peanut butter, 1 cup fat free blueberry pomegranate yogurt, 1 kiwi
Snack: 1 slice banana walnut bread
Lunch: 2 cups garden salad, 2 tbsp light italian dressing, 1 cup tortellini, 1/4 cup tomato sauce
Snack: 1/4 cup tamari almonds
Supper: 1 bowl beef barley soup

March 19 (Came in around 1500)
Breakfast: 1/2 whole wheat english muffin w/ peanut butter, 3 sliced kiwis, glass of skim milk
Snack: 1/4 cup tamari almonds
Lunch: royal gala apple, 1 slice banana walnut bread, broccoli (sandwich bag full of raw florets)
Supper: steamed salmon, steamed asparagus, couscous
Dessert: 2 sq dark chocolate

The thing I don't track is how much water I drink, but it's generally around 3L a day, I just keep my 750mL bottle with me at all times and refill it. The only other things I drink normally are skim milk or iced mint tea (unsweetened).

That's pretty close to what I was eating when I started out (although I was on SBD phase 1 so I wasn't eating the muffins, bread, and couscous...eating more greens & nuts)...but I've always been counting my calories because I'm taking a medication that causes a side effect of loss of appetite & I was finding I wasn't eating enough on SBD *without* counting calories too. (yes, poor little weeble won't eat if she doesn't remember to, too bad she didn't find this med earlier in her life!)

Anyway, what I do know is that at 260-220, a 1200-1500 calorie diet (for me) would not maintain a 2 pound per week loss--I was losing 3-5 pounds per week. This seemed great at the time...the weight was literally melting off...I had months where I lost 12 and 15 pounds, dropping a clothing size a month...

However, this set me up for pretty unrealistic expectations later on in my journey (especially after a pretty horrendous injury setback, I had 2nd degree burns all over my foot that caused 15 pounds of water weight & took 2 months to heal and "Dr's orders" to quit the diet)--once I hit 200, the pounds have only come off about 1.5 per week. The annoying thing is, 1.5 pounds is perfectly respectable, but my expectations are warped because I showed such huge numbers in the early months, and I feel like I'm not doing well.

So you would have preferred to have NOT lost that 3+ pounds per week and be at a higher weight as we speak??? I say take it when you can get it and REALIZE that you can't always get the same results even if you put forth the same effort. Weight loss is NOT linear.

For the over 200 pound people, that 1 -2 lbs per week loss is really not telling or something that we need to go by. The *safe* rate is 1-2 percent of your body weight and since we are starting out higher, it is perfectly safe and normal to see higher losses.

You just got to learn to *deal* with all those numbers.That's why I think the most important thing to focus on is the BEHAVIORS. Not the numbers. The BEHAVIORS. Get your eating plan nailed down. Tweak it.Customize it. Make it enjoyable. FOCUS ON THE BEHAVIORS. The scale will follow in it's own time.

You guys are so wonderful. I had this feeling that even though I'm eating in a way that I don't feel hungry, and that is giving me energy instead of bogging me down, I was doing something wrong because I wasn't meeting my carlorie goals appropriately. My focus has been on trying to change the way I use and think about food, so in that way I think I am doing well! I guess I'll just try to make some of the foods I eat count for more nutritionally.