[megsss94]

Calories do you eat per day and how much do you lose per week? Do you exercise?

I'm trying to stay around 1200 calories/day and get in some kind of light exercise each day. I don't have time to go to the gym for an hour (or even a 1/2 hour, considering I have to take a shower after). I'm wondering if I should expect weight loss or not with my current plan.

[ap90]

I eat around 1400-1600 calories a day. My exercise is very sporadic. I try to go to the gym or on walks but it's so hard with my schedule. I've been calorie counting since March 1st and have lost about 10 lbs. Although lately I've noticed it's starting to slow down a little. The best thing to do is to try out your current plan for a week or two and depending on your results tweak it to suit your needs.

[cynthialynn0313]

I eat 1400-1600 cals a day...I zig zag my calories though...I also work out about every other day with turbo jam videos and a recumbent bike. I lose about 2-3lbs a week.

If your plan is different/less cals from what you were previously doing you will probably lose weight. Adding more exercise will definately help though. I do work out videos because being a stay a home mom I don't have a lot of time to make it to the gym. Good luck on your journey!!

[ncuneo]

I eat 1650 cals per day on average (I also zig zag).

I exercise 5xs a week usually a 4-6 mile jog/walk (you should mix it up though it you can, my lifestyle just doesn't permit it).

I am losing 1-4 lbs a week (there are also weeks when I lose nothing).

I know that 1200 is the favorite starting number, but I'd highly recommend starting a little higher. At 1200 you are likely to plateau pretty quickly, I'm not saying it will happen but there is a good chance. If you plateau you'll have nowhere to go with you cals because you're already at the lowest recommended level. Also the lower your cals the slower your metabolism becomes and the slower your weight loss will be. In general I think you'll find that people who start out higher and gradually reduce their cals as necessary (if necessary at all) lose weight more consistantly with less plateaus and sometimes at a faster rate. I'm in no way an expert, but am only speaking from my experience and from what I've read here. I started at 1300-1400 cals and quickly stalled, so I bumped up to 1500 cals and stalled again, finally I went to zig zagging with my average of 1650 and have been losing consistantly since. I'm hoping to make it all the way to to my goal at this level, but am comfortable knowing that if I have to shave a few cals off there is room to do so. Good luck!

[countryhomeschoolin]

I do 1200 and have been on since the middle of January. I have only weighed twice and the last time I had lost a total of 24 lbs. I do a lightweight cardio for 30 minutes a day (broken up into 2 15 min. segments) and 100 crunches and 10 girlie push-ups. Thats pretty much my routine. I only drink water and do not eat meat (fish/chicken) but a few times a week. I eat alot of veggies and fruits along with almonds and fresh milled whole wheat bread every day. I feel great! My loss is about 2 lbs a week.

[three herring]

I am also 1200 and under. 54 pounds lost since Sept 1, 2009 with no exercise.

[Andreaislosingweight]

I eat anywhere from 1200-1500 calories per day and workout for an hour and a half at the gym 4-5 times per week. I constantly change up my gym routine so my body doesn't get used to anything. On days I don't go to the gym, I go for walks outside or play basketball.

I lose 2-3 pounds per week most weeks.

[VeeDeValentine]

I eat 1200 a day XD So hopefully this'll be of some use as we're about the same height and I was nearly 160 when I started~
When I first started losing weight, it was about 2/3 pounds a week, the only excercise i got was walking to and from school- about 2 miles each way, so about 40 mins of quick walking a day~
Now I lose about a pound a week

[Danielle2842]

I'm 5'7'' and weigh 225. I aim for my calories to be around 1,000 per day, but I sometimes have days as low as 800 or as high as 1,250. I have lost about 2 lbs. per week, every week since I started in January.

800 calorie days are OK every now and then, but be careful not to drop your calories too low for any amount of time. Trust me, it doesn't work! It just slows your metabolism down and you starve for no reason :-(

I also aim to exercise 4 times per week (speed walking for 45 mins. + weights for 10 mins.) but sometimes I only exercise once per week.

Good luck with finding your "ideal" calorie limit! Once you find it, you'll have your eating plan down to a science! :-)