I get you. I sit at a desk all day myself and am pretty wiped out by the time I get home. All I want to do once dinner is over is sit in front of the TV and veg out. And that is exactly what I do. Instead I get up early and walk for 45 minutes on the treadmill before I head to work.

I agree that it is weird that WebMD says to eat 1200 when you are eating 1500 and still losing. Maybe your one of those miracle people who don't have to exercise! Darn, if only I were one, too!!!

I put in that i have a sedetary lifestyle (since i'm not back working out yet), and it told me i burn 1680 calories on my own and to lose one pound a week, i should drop down to 1200. Doesn't really sound that absurd to me...the only thing i don't really agree with is the body shape thing. I may naturally have a tendency to be an hour glass (most people in high school told me i had no shape, when i weighed 100 pounds) but i am certainly not one now. I definately hold ALOT of weight in my abdomen area. Even though i was 134 and in a size 4 misses....there was still nothing skinny about my abdomen area. It has PLENTY of fat on it. But anways, i think it was pretty accurate to me. Going to go back and plug in when i start excersizing and see what it says i can take in calorie wise. :-)

Ohhh....reading the post above me...about walking on a treadmill before work because the desk job thing wipes you out...i soooo can't wait to try that. I am getting an elliptical at home this weekend and am hoping maybe i'll be able to do the same thing. Get up early and at least start off with 5 or 10 minutes in the morning. Still planning on getting my gym membership back next month...but who knows. Maybe the home elliptical thing will work out better than the gym membership. Sure would save me money every month.

I totally get it - and I want you to know that I'm not outright arguing or being purposefully disagreeable or nasty (I accidentally offend a ton of people in real life, so I always feel the need for a disclaimer). I want to say this - because I've seen where you have mentioned it before, not exercising and I've always meant to reply, but didn't.

I think that most of the women on this board can relate. There are very few of us, that I've seen that are construction women, carpenters or the like. Most of us have desk jobs, myself included.

I spend many, many, many hours at the desk. My day is filled with mental challenges and trials. My hours at the computer will run 12-14 hours, daily - 7x per week.

But you know - doing the exercise regardless, not giving into excuses (because not doing it is an excuse) makes me FEEL better. I preform at my job better, I sleep better and my free time is spent better. I too am mentally WIPED at the end of the day. I lay down and am asleep in seconds - ready to do it again the next day.

I did the same work 140 pounds ago - but I was completely miserable, drained and unhappy. It's amazing how clearheaded a little exercise can make things.

I understand time crunches very very well. I own my business, boss my employees (nicely), run my house, mother my son, baby my pets and husband, cook meals and shop - all in between putting 12-14 hours in on the computer 7 days a week. I do these things because I have to.

I swear to you - I totally understand - I also swear that a bit of activity thrown into the day makes the day itself easier to deal with.

I used my work and schedule as an excuse for so long. I allowed to compromise my health and happiness. I really believe that exercise is an integral part of a healthy body. It's not just weight loss, a slender figure - it's the complete picture, spiritual and physical health. Exercise has given the spiritual/mental health I was missing.

So that made me laigh that it said i was a pear. At this current moment i am more of an apple or a upside down triangle. But im working back into that hourglass shape i once had.

Calorie wise it days 1597 a day was good for me. I try to stick between 1500 and 1600 so it seems pretty accurate.

I don't find it strange at all that WebMD would over or underestimate someone's calorie needs - or that it would be spot on for some folks, either, because there's no way for a web calculator to determine your metabolic rate through a questionairre. It's a "guess" at best because everyone's metabolic rate is completely unique to them. The calculators are all based on averages of huge numbers of people - so how average are you?

I've been using these calculators since I was 12, when you had to do the math with pencil and paper (dieting definitely improved my math grades in school). Their accuracy has waned through the years, with almost every successive diet. This might be (as some research has shown) because each diet reduced my metabolism slightly - or it could be the natural slowing of metabolism with age, and also the metabolic decline from becoming less active for many reasons. More probably, it's a combination of all three.

If you're young, healthy, and active, and have never dieted before, perhaps the calculators are fairly accurate. Or possibly, they're just incredibly inaccurate for almost everyone.

I think a better way to determine your unique metabolism is trial and error. Pick a fairly high calorie level (don't start with 1000 or even 1200 calories) and see how much weight you lose (not counting the first couple weeks). Tweak as needed, allowing yourself not to feel horrendously starving all of the time, and to lose weight at a regular, but fairly slow pace (crash dieting also can slow metabolism).

IIRC, I don't think it tells you you're a pear. It just makes a statement about pears having a healthier fat distribution.

I agree the calculator doesn't really know much about you- it probably takes averages of people in similar weight and size ranges.

You say you work at a desk all day- have you tried working out during your lunch hour? This is what I do- there is a gym 5 minutes from my job- so I change at work, go to the gym, work out half an hour, come back, shower, and go back to work- helps my day go SO MUCH FASTER I love it. :D I don't know how flexible your work is, or if you have showers there- but even if you just half an hour lunch, maybe the first half get up and go for a walk just half an hour- then come back and have your lunch and rest for 30 minutes before going back to work :)

Congratulations on your loss so far :D

Hey kelly315, :wave:

My own experience as a very very busy sedentary person who sits at a desk all day is that exercise/physical activity actually makes me feel better rather than worse--especially once you get used to doing it.

I started out by walking in the morning for 20 or 30 minutes. Nothing really strenuous, just to get myself moving. Then I joined the YMCA and got evaluated there, started using the treadmill etc. on my own. I am not into punishment--I went by my heart rate and got a good workout, but I never felt like I was going to die from it. ;) To me that's not necessary.

Anyway, I always figure those numbers are probably not accurate for everyone. For one thing, the ranges depend on age as well as height, weight, activity, etc.

Congratulations on your loss so far! :cheer2:

Jay

If I have to have big boobs to be healthy then I'm screwed.

I looked at it. It doesn't actually know your body shape. That is just silly. I've also never heard that being a pear puts you at increased risk. How I am supposed to make myself NOT a pear? I was a pair at 85lbs. That is my shape!

It says my target heart rate is 97 to 146 beats in 1 minute, and it should not exceed 194 per minute. Sweet. I am above 97 right now sitting on my butt doing absolutely nothing (my heart rate is usually around 100 beats per minute at rest). I guess that means I don't have to workout anymore. :lol:

WebMD is pretty close to what I should be eating. I eat about 1,500 - 1,800 calories a day in rotation. I aim for 1,800 on workout days and less on the less eventful days. I work out 3-5x a week. I'm aiming to do 6x a week, even if it's just for 30 minutes.

Your calories will go down if you choose 2 lbs per week. Also, the scale measures your activity levels.

For me to lose 1 lb per week, and I'm at a moderately active level (workout + keeping busy walking around campus 5 times per week minimally), I would have to eat 2868 calories. I stick to 1650-1900, sometimes on an off day up to 2200.

It told me 1200 calories too. I try to stick to around 1350.

LOL- yeah really I mean when I work out I get to like the 160s! It also told me no higher than 146 I was like uh yeah that's not going to work for me- no matter what I do my heart rate shoots up that high- I guess it's good though cuz before it used to shoot up to the 180s.

Your Personal Summary

* Gender: Female
* Height: 5' 6"
* Age: 30
* Current Weight: 195
* Current Pant Size: 16
* Weight Goal: Lose 2 pounds per week
* BMI: 31.5
* Wast to Height Ratio: 0.55
* Healthy Body Weigh Range: 115 and 154
* Target Heart Rate: 95 to 143
* Target Caloric Intake to Meet Weight Goal: 1516

I work out everyday (30-60 mins treadmill 6-7 days a week) and I stay between 1300 and 1600 cals a day (honestly I eat mostly junk), so I'd say it's pretty close to what I was doing anyway.