ok i am starting calorie counting and wondering where i should start. i had a exam done for work and they did my bmr and it says 1739 cal...does that mean to maintain or what. cause i was on my daily plate and they recommend just over 2000. anyone have any suggestions?

I think that probably means about to maintain. The BMR calculators aren't always that accurate though. I would say its best to perhaps start with that and see your rate of loss and if it's too much, add a couple hundred calories in, and if you're not losing, drop a couple hundred. It could take a little bit to get on track how you want to be, but then as you lose it is also going to change constantly.

I'm no expert on the science of it though. Perhaps someone else can give more insight.

BMR is basically what your body would burn if you did absolutely nothing all day. It's the number of calories your body requires to maintain your basic bodily functions (ie: heart rate, respiration, digestion, hair and nail growth, etc). So if you sat on the couch all day, you'd burn 1739 calories.

Where you should set your calories is kind of a personal thing. If you set them too low you'll be really tired and sluggish, especially if you workout, and your body might not drop any weight. Setting them too high and you won't lose either. I agree with Everlasting, I think BMR is a great starting point. See how you feel, see what the scale does and then you can play with your calories a little. I find the more weight you have the lose the more room you have to fiddle. The lower your body weight gets the less stored energy (aka: fat) you have and trickier it is to achieve an optimal balance between starving yourself and eating at a "maintenance" mode.

thanks....i am starting today and will test the water for a few days and then decide where i want to start. i'm sure it will get harder once i'm at work