How many calories should I eat ?

My weight is just coming off too slow and I been exercising as much as I can which is dancing every day or going on the treamill for a hour now to two hours at 3.0 to 4.0 in 20 minutes intervals.  I change back and forth and take a little break when I am too tired.

I am weighting in at 163 and I am only 5 1 1/2  I NEED HELP!
Should I eat less then 1250 calories a day ?  I am eating mostly fruit , vegetable and a little bread and some fish tiny bit of chicken thights. I cut the dressing off my salads every other day and use a tiny amount of oil and vinegar. Home made.  I am eating most my veggies raw.

My friend suggest I should go on a liquid diet for a week like smoothies with fruit and slim fast.    I need help. I am dying to lose ten pounds so I can ride my friend's horses........

Angel

Don't reduce your calories.  You should add in a little bit of extra exercise, in particular weight/resistance training.

I would say instead of adding extra exercise, just try something different. I am only 5'0" and weigh less, and I have lost about 10 pounds starting out eating around 1400 calories a day and now around 1250-1300 without counting on the weekends. So I don't think you are eating too much. Your body may just be used to the type of exercise you are doing.

And to clarify, I don't have any particular regular exercise routine, but I do try to "get out" a lot and play games, ride a bike, take a walk, etc.

Liquid diets are a myth.

First of all, I'm wondering what you mean by the weight coming off 'too slow'. A healthy rate of weight loss is .5-2 pounds a week.

If you're exercising that much, you should probably eat MORE. I lost 25 pounds (150 to 125) eating 1500-1600 a day (I'm 5'2).

As the poster above me said, liquid diets don't do anything good for you. You'll drop the weight quickly, then gain it all back as soon as you go back to regular eating.

A couple things.  One you might not be eatting enough.  I know that sounds crazy sometimes, but if you are working out a lot, and burning a lot of calories, you need to make sure you are eatting enough.  And make sure you are staying hydrated. 

Second, from what you said you are eatting, it doesn't sound like you are getting very much protein.  You want to make sure that you get a little protein with every meal/snack. 

Finally, you have to remember, you didn't gain 10 lbs over night so it isn't going to come off over night.  Usually the longer it takes you to lose, the more likely it will be to stay off.  Losing 10 lbs in one week would be nice, but not if you gain it back plus 2 more lbs the following week, it isn't worth it.

Good Luck!

You never want to eat less than 1200 calories. I see and hear so many different things about dieting, exercising, etc., but the one thing I have heard and read everywhere is to never eat less than 1200 calories.

Keep up the exercise, both cardio and some resistance training. That can be as simple as some dumbells or tins of soup. Do resistance exercises SLOWLY to maintain good form. Maintain a base of 1200 calories intake daily, but ensure they are low GI so that you avoid spiking your blood sugar and causing your body to remove the excess sugar and store it as fat.

If your anxious about your physical shape, try meditation or relaxation. I can personally recommend the Centerpointe program as a way to break out of destructive habits and really feel good in yourself. Check out their website.

And finally, stay patient. I'm sure your friend's horse will be there in six months time. Make riding him your Xmas present to yourself. :-)

You won't like this at all, I know it already, but here is my suggestion.

Eat more calories.  (You are a dancer.  It's part of your normal activity level, so go and change your activity level in the caloric intake section of your profile and let it calculate what you should be eating.  You probably did a GROSS underestimation of your daily activity.  You are highly active currently so you burn more calories just to get through your day.  By eating only 1250 cals, which is less than your active body needs to do the things you usually do everyday, you are sending signals to your body that it is starvation time.  What does the body do when it thinks it's starving?  It stores fat and doesn't burn ANYTHING.  So..you should probably eat about 1500 calories...

Do different exercises.  (Switch up your cardio weekly.  Instead of a treadmill every day, transfer the treadmill out for something new like a bike for just one of your cardio days.  Guarantee me you'll feel the difference.)

Hope this helps!  I'm large myself, so if you'er thinking "how do you know?"  it's because my weight loss buddy is much shorter than me and weighs less than I do and she works out everday to the same exercise tape, while only eating soup and smoothies.  I told her this, and she was relieved, and it actually helped her get off her wicked plateau.

 

Liquid diets are a big mistake. Most liquids don't have much fibre. Then you'll be blocked up and the scale will go crazy. Don't even think about it!

You probably should eat a little more, at least 1300. Try eating 4 smaller meals a day, not 3. I do this by breaking my midday meal into 2 as I already ate a smaller dinner and I stand by my big breakfast. I feel fuller and it seems to work some magic with the metabolism.

Also, try new forms of exercise - your body gets used to your routine and you need to shake it up.

Don't let your friend pressure you!