[staceysmission]

Hi there! If this is the wrong area for this question I apologize. But here’s what I’m trying to find out:

“If I know exactly how many calories I burn each day, and I know how many pounds I want to lose each week…how do I calculate how many calories I should be eating each day? Is there a website that can help me calculate this?”

I really need it to be a website that will do the math for me. I’m all about time management these days, and the faster and easier it is for me, the better! LOL!

Any information anyone can give me would be a great help. Thanks!

[seagirl]

Sparkpeople will give you that info.

[lackadaisy]

I use LoseIt.com... I was a SparkPeople user for a week, but found the software kind of tedious. It is also a calorie-tracker and forum, and adjusts down as you continue to lose weight.

[Bac0s]

How many pounds do you want to lose a week? If you multiply the number by 3500 (the number of calories it takes to gain a pound), you get the calorie deficit you need for the week. So, say you want to lose 2 pounds per week. You need a calorie deficit of 7000 for the week, or roughly a 1000/day. For example, if you know you burn 2700 calories a day, you need to consume 1700 calories a day to lose approx 2 pounds a week. It probably won't work out to exactly that because none of this is an exact science, but that's the gist of it.

[astrophe]

Here... a calorie need calc. Go to the link and scroll to the self assessment tools and find the "calorie need" one.

http://ahealthyme.epnet.com

There are others online. This puts you in the general ballpark, but if you have extra health issues like me (PCOS, Hypothyroid) keep in mind that it might not be quite the right ball park. But that one I find pretty close, even for me.

You can also keep a food log and maintain. Change nothing. Whatever that is? That's your maintain level. -500 cal per day for 1 lb a week. or -1000 per day for -2 lb a week.

It can be from cutting calories, adding exercise burn or a mix of both.

HTH!
A.

[staceysmission]

Thank you everyone! All of that info really helps! I'm gonna go research your suggestions now!

[michelle7]

My fave calculator is here:
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

I have used it throughout the last (nearly) 3 years. Good luck to you!

[Heather]

Just be aware that all of those calculators are going to give you estimates. And they aren't necessarily good estimates. The real problem is you can't know which estimate is right for you without trial and error.

So, do some research, pick a place to start, and then track your calories and weight for a couple of weeks and see what happens. Then, see if you need to readjust!

Good luck!

[marciewoo]

I use the livestrong.com site. Plus I have an app on my phone for it, so it is with me everywhere.

[kaplods]

Originally Posted by staceysmission

“If I know exactly how many calories I burn each day

That's a big if... If you figure out a way to do this at home, you'll win the Nobel Peace Prize in medicine, and will be an overnight billionaire. All of the online metabolism estimators are notoriously unreliable.

Metabolism isn't a static thing. If you lose 1 lb per week on 2,000 calories, it doesn't mean that you'll lose 2 lbs at 1500 and 3 lbs at 1000.

Also what you eat can affect your metabolism. For example many of us here, including myself find that we lose more weight on low-carb than on an equal calorie count of high-carb. I lose more weight, and lose it more reliably (and am much less hungry) on 1800 calories of low-carb than 1800 calories of high-carb. So where the calories come from, can matter.