Calorie Intake?

Alright, so, I have been on my diet since September 1st. I started out at around 220 lbs. and am now down to around 209 lbs. :) I came up with my own diet and exercise regime and don't limit myself to eating only certain things. Honestly, if I want to eat a steak or whatever, I will. The whole idea is controlling how much I eat, but not limiting myself from the stuff I enjoy.

Anyways, I have been exercising and counting calories, which has helped quite a bit.

I burn about 2100 calories daily doing nothing. I have started to really exercise and burn between 1200-1500 daily, which puts me at about 3300-3600 calories burned daily. I try to eat a good amount of food, but find myself not all that hungry... I normally eat between 1200-1500 calories a day.

Anyways, my question is, how much should I be eating in order to lose weight? I know that if I don't eat enough, it can mess up the body and whatnot. When I was burning an excess of 600 calories, I tried to aim for 1200-1500 calories and just barely ate that.

Thanks for answering and any tips on higher calorie, but healthy food, would be great.

My Stats:

Weight - 208-209 lbs.

Height - 5'7"

Age - 23

*I am looking to lose at least 2 lbs. a week*

You don't want the difference between what you eat and what you burn to be more than 1000.  500-800 is a good deficit.  If your daily burn is 3300 you should eat at least 2300, and probably aim for more.  Make sure that you are not overestimating your burn, but you do not want your deficit to get too large.   As far as high calorie, nutritious food nuts, nut butter, avocados and olive oil. Good luck, and congratulations on your progress so far!

Thanks :)

I use Olive Oil quite a bit, so all good there. I tried avocados but don't like the taste of them for some reason. I love peanuts and almonds :) Don't like a lot of other nuts though. I am quite picky, lol :)

The stationary bike that I use tells the calories burned and it is pretty accurate. I go on the highest level for about 45 minutes or so at 40-60 RPM, so it does a good workout. I also use my DDR to warm up with, but end up moving my whole body, so I add a few extra calories per song which adds up quickly (usually 3 calories per song added to the 8-9 I burn (I go on basic with a high beat song).