I've been seeing a trainer... and Iv'e been staying around 1700-1900 calories since I started my plan two weeks ago losing at a great pace! Today when meeting with my trainer he told me I should be eating 2200-2500 - that seems like an awful lot to me!! I can see upping my calories maybe on work out days that I train with him because he does work me HARD! like it takes me 2-3 days to recover after a work out with him but I just don't know about eating that much on non work out days when I'm pretty much sedentary.. thoughts?

Well, based on your current weight, height, estimated age (from your photo), and activity level, you would need about 3,000 calories to maintain your weight. Which means you should lose a pound a week if you eat 2,500 and two pounds a week if you eat 2,000. Any less than that is too great a restriction, IMO, so I'd have to agree with your trainer. You don't want to create an excessive deficit situation, which could leave you overly hungry and vulnerable.

As you continue to lose weight, your caloric needs will gradually go down, so to continue to lose you'll have to adjust your intake accordingly.

Freelance

but I was eating around 3000-4000 calories when I was eating bad and eating too much?? eating that much is what got me where I'm at... I'm just so confused.. I guess I can try it.. if I don't loose I suppose I can trim back some.. but I may as well eat more if I can and still loose

Your trainer is not a nutritionist and is only repeating what another uninformed person told him. Go with what's working for you until it doesn't work any more. Then take a little break for a couple days and hit it again. Keep doing this until it doesn't work any longer.

Think of it this way...at the higher caloric intake, you were eating to support a much taller woman. But you're not that tall! Your RMR for your height and optimum weight is around 1800 calories. Eating more than that means you'll gain weight. Our metabolic rates are more about how tall we are rather than how big around we are. There's research to back this up. The online calculators aren't really that accurate for us bigger girls. The math starts messing up.

For me, I'm 51, 5' 11" and I weigh 297 lbs (today). According to an online calculator, my RMR is around 2450 calories. I know from experience that if I eat more than 1800 calories I start gaining weight. I have gone with "conventional wisdom" and cut calories to 1950, with the expectation that I would lose a pound a week. That never happened for me. I don't actually lose at that rate unless I eat down around 1500 calories a day or less. Even with exercise. I don't eat that low all the time, which is why my weight loss is sooooooooo slooooooooow. But I do what I can and I work at keeping my daily average intake under 1800.

As for eating more on workout days and less on non-workout days, go with what feels good to you. You'll know soon enough because you'll be ravenously hungry after the workouts. Exercising doesn't burn that many calories, maybe 200 to 300 more in a day (unless you're training for the Olympics). So for recovery, you need a little extra protein. And a couple hours before your weight training, eat a balanced meal. Then you'll have adequate nutrients in your system available for fuel. So maybe on workout days, go for 1900 calories and off days go for 1700 calories.

Don't count calories burned during exercise. Because it's a thought pattern that can set you up to think that you can maybe eat a little more and a little more and a little more. And always over-estimate your calories eaten. And ALWAYS have a balance meal and get all your nutrients in, because that's really the biggest factor with hunger. If your body is inadequately nourished (like even with the micronutrients and vitamins), it'll tell you it's hungry, even if you just ate 3000 calories. Give it good, healthy nutritious food to work with.

Yeah I lost weight about two years ago and I was doing 1300-1500 and for my size that was a bit too low I think but I lost at a really nice rate even at that... but this time I decided I'd start off higher since I am heavier then I was last time I counted calories which is why I decided on 1700-1900 this time around.. I lost 9 lbs my first week and I've lost two this week So it appears to be a good number for me for now.. I don't know I don't' want to second guess him.. But I do feel eating that much more would only stall my progress and I'm not looking for a quick fix I know slow and steady will win this race but I'm not looking to only loose painfully slow..lol or to maintain

<<Your RMR for your height and optimum weight is around 1800 calories. >>

Just wanted to point out that RMR is NOT the same thing as daily caloric requirements. To get your daily caloric requirements, you have to multiply your RMR by 1.2 if you're completely sedentary, 1.5 if you're moderately active, etc.

<<Our metabolic rates are more about how tall we are rather than how big around we are. >>

Sorry, but that's also inaccurate. Height has a MUCH smaller bearing on RMR than weight. The heavier you are, the higher your RMR. Go to any online RMR calculator, plug in different weights, and you'll see how significantly weight affects RMR (and thus daily caloric requirements).

I do understand that every individual is different, but the basic principles still apply.

Freelance

Overall weight is irrelevant for metabolic calculations as body fat is metabolically inactive (although you might burn a little more through carrying it if you have an active lifestyle).

not all calculators account for Lean body weight which is why they start giving out silly numbers.

Assume your lean body mass is about average for your height and you won't go far wrong.
For example, Using my approximate lean body mass and activity level I'm given 1900 (maintenance) calories but 2300 with my current weight. muscle needs energy, fat doesn't.

Maria, I didn't want to get into a debate over the science and the numbers. I want to clarify that the algorythms used in the online calculators for metabolic rate are faulty when it comes to appreciably larger people.

Your efforts to lose weight are for your benefit. You must make your own decisions on how much to eat, no matter what anybody tells you. You already have data on your own experience. For people who more easily maintain their weight at a healthy level, when they feel satisfied, they stop eating. If you feel satisfied at 1700-1900 calories, then stop eating.

At that level of calories, you're not eating dangerously low or high on calories. You know weight loss is not a steady decline. As long as you cut some calories and keep up with the exercise, there will be progress in various forms. Some weeks you'll drop weight, others you'll drop inches, and even others, nothing seems to happen at all and you'll get mad, drink a big glass of wine and eat a cheeseburger and the next day there will be a big whoosh at the scale. (I know, those are real head-scratchers! 'Cause when I do them a second day in a row, the weight just comes right back on!)

My best wishes to you.

Your trainer could be right and just might be concerned that for the amount of exercise you're doing that you may not be eating enough. It's pretty shocking how much we can actually eat! If you're eating a lot of non-processed fresh things then you will find it is quite a lot of food and I'm sure it feels like SO MUCH, but try to compare it to the nutritional value of the food you were eating before. It's pretty easy to consume a lot of empty calories when you're not paying attention.

For example, I need around 2,000 calories to maintain my weight as I'm a very active, 118 pound person. Seems like a lot (and it is a lot of food if you eat the right things) but when I stick to 1600-1800 I lose weight!

That said, the amount you're eating isn't too low or too high and you know you can lose weight on it. If you want to try what your trainer suggests, you may be pleasantly surprised. Otherwise you're doing fine