So...i've been noticing lately that I keep consistently going over my 1200 calories a day goal that I have via livestrong.com.... this is due to the amount of fruit and veggies I eat (that are 0 pts at WW)... and I was thinking that I should increase my daily caloric intake...but how much?

I'm about 170 right now, 5' 5", I work out for at least 45 min 4-5 days a week... I'm allotted 29 daily points at WW. So what should my daily caloric intake be? I thought 1200 would be good because my "goal" is to lose 1-1.5lbs a week but is 1200 too low? Too high??

So many different articles and sites are telling me way different things. One says I should be eating 1100-1150 calories a day, one says it should be 1200-1300, one says 1500-1600...

so confused!! HELP!

I honestly think you should be eating at least 1800 calories per day, especially since you're working out quite a bit. That's about what I eat in a single day, plus I also eat my activity points!

How many calories you can still eat and lose is really going to be an individual thing that you'll have to work through by trial and error, but I would say 1200 is too low.

I am 175 lbs, 5'7" and am pretty active. I eat on average, 1600 calories a day (some days higher, some lower, depending). I also get 29 P+ and usually eat most or all of my weeklies but none of my APs.

I primarily CC, since PP seems to be a slower way to loose. Not that I am looking to loose 3 lb a week, but .6 was a bit slow.

Anyway, I aim to eat 1800 calories, and I burn 2800-3000 a day (I have a bodybugg so I know what my burn is). Since doing this I've lost almost 8 lb in a month, versus 10 in 2 months.

I'd suggest bumping up your calories to 1700-1800, and see what happens. Good luck!

thank you ladies! i think for the next couple weeks im gonna bump my calorie intake to 1400-1500 a day and see how that goes.

So you all follow WW and track your points and also log your calories? I never even thought about doing that.

Spooky, I never did until we switched to PP and I was having trouble with consistent losses (I was up, down, up, down). I think the new plan combined with the fact that I was getting closer to goal both played a part. I started tracking calories on sparkpeople and found that I liked the added info and control that CC gives me. Since I started doing CC and following PP, about two months now, I have had 'small' (about a pound a week) but consistent losses.

Since you started calorie counting have you changed any of the foods you would normally eat? Has this led to you eating more or less than your daily points target?

Well, since I was always one of those people who ate fruit on the old plan and counted it, when the new plan came in with zero fruit, I ate more than I should have. CC'ing helped me see that even though a banana was 0 PP, it was still 100 calories and eating more than one a day (on top of other F/V) probably wasn't in my best interest.

I also am sensitive to sodium, and that's one of the things I track now, so I have modified my food choices a lot in that regard. Same with fiber - I used to think the more the better and would seek out items with added fiber (like bread). Turns out I was getting way more than I needed and I can get the amount I need just by eating my regular foods like veggies. So now I opt for just regular whole wheat bread rather than the fortified stuff.

Overall, I wouldn't say CCing has drastically changed my eating habits, but fine tuned them. I still eat within +/- a couple points of my 29 daily target (i.e. some days I'm a couple under, some days a couple over) and get in all my GHGs, use about half to 2/3 of my weeklies and none of my APs.

Thanks for the reply. I guess my question is if you're willing to track your calories and nutrients in addition to your WW points do you still feel that WW is a worthwhile investment? If so, why? I mean, calorie counting is free. I count points instead and go to meetings because etools makes it a little easier and I like the support/positive reinforcement of meetings.
Sorry for all the questions but I'm really curious about this. So curious that I'm going to track my calories for the day and see how many I'm really eating with my 33 points.

I've had a problem with going over my caloric intake and meeting my 29 pts allotted at WW which is why I made this thread.

Before WW, I allowed myself only 1200 calories a day and just wasnt losing any weight. I began WW and eating all my 29 allotted points had me consistently going over the 1200 calories a day and this is, mainly, because of fruit and veggies. They are 0pts on WW so I try to eat them as snacks and desserts and stuff, but the calories can really add up. For instance, a small banana is nearly 100 points, an apple is 60-70 points, etc. A small green salad with only one tablespoon of balsamic vinagrette is just 1 pt on WW but nearly 100 calories. So, increasing my caloric intake will hopefully do me well as I am consistently losing weight now that im on WW and eating more calories.

I guess it all depends on you. From my own experience, I calorie counted for years and didnt lose as steadily as I'm doing on WW. Although I think that calorie counting is a good thing to do to keep track of how much of what you are putting into your body (fat, protein, carbs, sodium, fiber), WW really helps you learn how to eat and lose weight in a healthy way.

a lot of people like sparkpeople.com for calorie counting, but i live by livestrong.com because it shows me how much sodium & cholesterol i am taking in which is big for me.

Honestly, if I was forced to choose one over the other right now, I would probably go with CCing, since I am so far along in this process that I have most of the WW 'tools for living' down pat. The main reason I am sticking with WW is that I am so close to goal that I want that Lifetime status! It's my understanding that once I become Lifetime, the meetings are free but etools (which I currently pay for as part of my plan) will not be. So, my plan is to keep CCing and drop the etools, which likely means dropping counting points. I will always consider myself a WWer and will continue to go to meetings even after I reach Lifetime - the support and accountability I get there is great.

And I agree with what uucontentgirl said about WW giving me the information to know what to eat and how to make good food choices.

I do not think I would not have gotten to the point I am at now if it wasn't for WW - the structure, support, ease of counting, etc. So definitely I think it's a worthwhile investment.

uucontentgirl, sorry to have inadvertently hijacked your thread! By the way, sparkpeople, which is the site I use, does allow tracking of sodium (it's one of the things I do) and I think cholesterol, too. It's just not standard, you have to customize your tracking.

I calorie count and do points. If I had to do one or the other I would calorie count and keep going to WW meetings. However, I do both because I get different things from each one. Also by counting calories I learned how many calories works best for me for losing weight.

You girls have given me an idea. I'm going to try to calorie count and do weight watchers for a few weeks and see if there are patterns to help me.