if the daily plate is telling me that i should eat 2200 calories a day to lose 2lbs. a week, what's the minimum i should eat? since i started, the most i have had in a day is 1700. usually i eat from 1200-1500. is that ok? or will it stall my weight loss?

At your weight I would definitely say you should eat more.
Not that eating 1200-1500 will necessarily stall your weight loss, but if you can eat more and still lose weight, why not? If you're eating 1200-1500 now, you won't have anywhere to go when your weight loss stalls (like at 200 pounds, or so). Plus, you'll probably have more energy if you get something more like 1800-2000 healthy calories a day, which means energy to exercise! And less likely to binge or give up.

I think TDP does overestimate a bit, when it says what people need to eat. That being said, I think you're probably a bit low for all of the reasons peccavi mentioned...nowhere to go if you stall, and you could lose consistently on more.

yeah that's a good point. i guess my reasoning was that i knew it would get harder when i had to keep going down, so why not start there? but what you are saying makes more sense.

If you start at the right calorie levels now and adjust it down as you lose (like, re-evaluate it and adjust it ever five or ten pounds lost), you won't even notice the decrease in calories, because you will still be providing your body with the same amount of nourishment per lb that it needs. It's much easier on your body than picking a lower calorie level now that is not supporting your current weight adequately.

I adjust mine every five lbs. For every five lbs lost I knock 27 calories off my previous allowance(for sedentary activity level). I can't even tell that I'm reducing it.

I started out like you, wanting to eat as little as possible, but I hit a point where I was so weak I could barely fix my food, and that isn't helping you at all. The more energy you have, the more you can move to build muscle, raise your metabolism, and speed up your weight loss. I finally hit a plateau (about six weeks in), because I just wasn't eating enough.

Thanks so much you guys. I am definitely going to eat more. It makes sense now that I think about it that my man is eating more than me and beating me in our weight loss goals!

i just went and checked mine and it says i should be eating 1390 for a 2lb a week loss. that's weird because i'm eating 1300 as it is- so mine was pretty close! i don't know how much they could overestimate but do you guys think i should bump it up to 1390 or just stay where i'm at?

(sorry to threadjack beauty!)

corazonas - It sounds like you are fine. I was just wondering since I was eating 500-1000 calories (often) below what was recommended. I'd say a 90 calorie difference won't really hurt anything. Then again, if you have 90 extra calories, why not enjoy them?

that's what i'm sayin! haha i dont think it really matter either way- i'll just keep the 90 in mind as "wiggle room"

but yeah, 1000 under is a much bigger gap than 100! enjoy your calories! hahaha

lol thanks i will! i'm so not used to it now though, i'll just have to try to make sure those calories are healthy ones!

mmm that would be the hard part for me! me and my veggies are getting to be much better friends now though- i love to eat a pound of frozen spinach now! hahaha (with a couple mix ins, mind you)

Huh. I just checked out the site myself and it says for a 1 lb a week loss I can eat 1850 calories a day Good news if it's true, since at my current 1600 daily goal I go to bed with a growling tummy. Mayhaps I'll add another helping or two of veggies at dinner.