I keep reading where, in order to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you take in.

A 2500 calorie diet is right for me to sustain myself nutritionally and maintain metabolism, yet low enough to lose weight because a 3200 calorie diet is what I need to maintain my current weight.

So does this mean I have to burn more than 2500 calories a day in exercise???

That's ALOT of exercise...

You burn off a baseline of calories just by breathing though. Plus, dependent upon your type of work/lifestyle, the amount burned per day can increase.

Hello Morning Star,
(I'm also in Denver) You burn calories throughout the day whether it is walking to your mailbox, sitting down watching tv, cooking, etc etc. It depends on what your metabolism is on how much your body really burns throughout the day. I started out weighing more than you but I couldn't lose weight on eating 2500 calories a day, I eat somewhere between 1200-1800 calories per day and I have been losing at a pretty steady rate. You basically have to find out what your body can lose at and staying within that limit. Exercise of course helps and building muscle helps increase your metabolism so you burn more calories.

I hope this helps.

Ah, I see. That makes more sense. Thanks for clearing that up!

I've always had good muscle tone and find it easy to build muscle, so I hope that helps. I have my workouts/walks 3-5 days a week and the most substantial exercise I get inbetween is going up one flight of stairs to my apartment a couple times a day on average and cleaning house. Everything else I do involves sitting on my butt and either letting my fingers do the walking or using a gas pedal.

Hello, my neighbor in Denver!