How many calories are you eating?

Hi, I'm asking this question because I'm curious how my daily caloric intake is compared to others.

I've been on a 1300 cal diet for 5 days and some days I'm okay; other days, not so much!

I'm 5'3 and 136. Is this too low?

well old are you, and how much exercise are you getting? those are important factors.

my stats:

i'm a 16 year old female that's 5'2" and 143 lbs, trying to get to 120 lbs on a 1500-1700 calorie diet with moderate exercise 4-6 days a week.

For 5'3 and 136, if you are SEDENTARY, you burn around 1600, so 1300 is perfectly fine.    However remember, sedentary is just that.  NO activity other than very basic needs.

If you exercise or have an active lifestyle or job, you need to log your activities and aim for a 500 calorie or so deficit per day.    I personally don't stick to the exact 500# per day (it's too hard) I just make sure i get weekly deficit of around 3500.

But to answer your original question, on sedentary activity days I eat around 1400 and burn 1900 (I'm taller and heavier than you, that's why the different #s).  On my more active days, what I eat depends on what I burn.  I just aim for that 500 deficit.

I'm 23 (24 in Nov) 5'5 and 256lbs (started 284). Site told me to do 1600 at first, so I did 1500 so I would have a 100 safety net in case I counted wrong. Losing weight was so slow. I changed it to 1400 and it seems to be doing better. I eat between 1200-1400 (1365 I have totaled for today, I do my meals a day in advance) each day. I'm extremely sedentary, it is quite sad. I haven't really exercised since I started, could be why it's so slow. It's hard because I have social anxiety and going out to do anything is a joke in itself. And I enjoy walking... I have a treadmill, but that is SO boring... I've tried music, reading, watching TV... I get so bored.

Since I went to ~1400, I've been losing 1 pound a week. CC says my burn per day is 2330 being sedentary. If I do do something, I add it to the activity log.

I am 5'4 and work out 4 times a week, 30 minutes cardio 30 minutes weights. I am maintaining my weight of 110lbs by eating around 1800.

I eat between 1100 and 1600 calories a day, depending on my activity.

Kisteel -- what are your stats?  I ask, because NO ONE should be eating less than 1200 calories per day -- and that really should be reserved for the petite females -- which you don't (based on your profile pic) appear to be.  Men should be eating no less than 1500 calories -- and that is if they are sedentary.  Eating too little is NOT the secret to weight loss -- and can actually discourage weight loss.  Read these articles for more information on the danger of undereating:

• Dieting & Metabolism (explains starvation mode and why undereating is counter-productive)
• The Body Neglected (explains what happens when you undereat a long time)

And, btw -- this is how a petite, female uses those 1200 calories:

Your body needs at least 1200 calories per day to survive. Here is a very rough scientific break down provided by a dietician for a  5' 2", 19 year old female weighing approximately 100 pounds, sitting around all day and doing nothing:


-The heart needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The kidney needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The Liver needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The brain needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The skeletal muscle needs 30% of the calories (360 cals)

Oh wow, I can't imagine being on anything as low as you guys. My goal is 1850 calories per day, but so far that hasn't worked out (though I didn't expect it to this week - this is my first week of counting calories so I"m eating "normal" just to get an idea of where my bad points are). Btw, I'm 5'7" and 31.

The biggest thing for me is not so much what isn't in my food (i.e., calories, fat), but rather what is in my food (i.e., vitamins, nutrients). It's great to have a low calorie diet, but to have it so everything you eat is low calorie, from my experience, is also low nutrients. You need things like potassium, calcium, iron, etc. Also to remember - be wary of making sacrifices for even worse things. A lot of low cal/low fat things are high in sodium or sugar. High sodium is a one-way ticket to hypertension (especially as you get older).

Just my thoughts and experiences talking here. Not meaning to rag on low-cal diets. They can work well, they just have to be done right :)

I actually started out really badly by eating way too few calories; I'm about 5'10" and I weigh about 200 (female, 21).  I began by eating only about 1,000 a day.  I read online about how counterproductive that can be, so I'm working my way up to about 1600-1700.  Part of the reason I haven't been eating is because I'm depressed and I have very little appetite, so I've been drinking 100% juice to get some more calories without actually having to eat anything.  That's not a problem either because I looooove pineapple juice.  I've also been walking about two miles a day.

It was actually even worse before I started "officially' dieting.  When I first hit this little spell of depression, there was a week or two when I would eat something like a few spoonfuls of Cheerios for breakfast, a string cheese stick for lunch, and a package of sandwich crackers for dinner, with maybe a Twizzler or a Hershey Kiss thrown in there.  I was eating under 500 calories, but I've quit doing that because the last thing I need to do is get myself into starvation mode!

Coach_K... I'm fine.

She asked a question... I answered.

Not everyone on this site needs to be lectured constantly about starvation mode.

 

Wasn't lecturing -- however, the Calorie Count Plus's mission is to promote healthy and sustainable weight management.   By posting a calories load that is clearly under the recommended values, you are violating the posting guidelines of this site -- and as such, your post becomes subject to possible deletion. 

I eat about 1200-1400 a day, and work out and go to school. I try to aim for 1400 but sometimes am stuck under, i need to eat more, its just sometimes i get scared im gonna gain weight by eating before bedtime and i get home late

I tend to stay right around 1300 and exercise twice a week.  I am 5'2" and work a desk job so I really don't get any more exercise than those two days at the gym.  I would go more but I also go to school at night and those two days are the ones that are free. =)  I have the same issues though....sometimes 1300 seems impossible to get to as I don't feel like eating anymore that day and then other days it's like 1300 is sooooo little. 

i don't count every day anymore, but a bare minimum for me is ~1400.  i can eat up to 1700-1800 and still lose weight. 

i want to note that the CC calculator WAY underestimates the calories i burn.  i think it's important to note that people vary a whole lot in the energy they use in doing identical things - including sitting (i'm 40, female, BMI 22-ish, and i'm in grad school, so my work consists of sitting in front of a computer, sitting reading, sitting writing, etc.)

Man, I think my CC might be broke.  I see all these smaller females that get to have 1850 a day, with sedentary burns the same as mine!  At 6'2" & 190ish, 34 y.o., large frame, CC allows me 1900 a day!  And that's hardly over the "Males should never have less than 1800" mantra! 

So to answer the question, I eat as close I can get to 1900, but I often find myself under in the evenings, occasionally over budget early in the day.

I've been on this diet for two weeks now with my husband.  I'm 5"6, 27 years old and 145 when I started.  Now I'm 141.  I've been eating 1400 calories a day and trying to workout at least 3 times a week.  I've also been trying to increase my activity on a regular basis such as taking the bike to the store, walking at night with my husband... yada. 1400 is really hard though!  I figure that I'll aim for 1400 but as long as I stay under 1600 (and do some activity that day) I'll be fine.  Yet, the second week of the diet I didn't lose anything :(  Sigh.

My husband is 25, 200 pounds when he started and 5"10.  He lost 6.5 pounds so far eating 1600 calories to begin with but then that was way to hard (and now from what I read here too low) and now he is eating 1800 and working out when I do. 

In October he might get put back on shift work at his job though, and that will really make dieting together much more difficult.  Sigh. 

5'7", 31... on my way to 145 from 185.

I eat between 1200-1500/day.  I try to stay on the lower end, usually around 1300 :)

i'm female, 24, 5'7, 226#.  i just started a few days ago, but my average is around 1400/day.  i make sure to have 1200 bare minimum, and CC recommends 1699.  i like to keep like 200 calories left, just in case i have a late night craving that can be satisfied with a 100-calorie pak or two.  those things are amazing.  i've done a calorie counting diet before and found that 1400-1800 works best for me, with about 1/2 hour to 1 hour of walking (or more if i'm in the mood), or a day of work (i work in catering, so i'm on my feet walking for 4-6 hours when i work).

I am a 33 year old female, 5'5", 160 lbs. I started yesterday at 1300 cal/day. So far, its easy, but maybe because its still new?

I tried every activity (sedentary, lightly active, moderately active, etc.) in the calorie target thingy and it targeted 1300 for sedentary, 1500 for lightly active, and 1800 for moderately active.

So, I figure I'll eat 1500-1800 on the days I go to the gym. Someone else told me that might not be right, but...?

I feel really full right now (after dinner) and still have enough cals left over for some light yogurt. I am hoping to see results soon!!

 

im 18 years old 5 foot 5.

exersize: very active.

i eat around 2900 to as much as 3200 on days that i lift weights.

On weight gain ( weights day) i eat aorund 3500 calories. its acutally rather hard to eat that much food.

39, 5'8", 177 lbs. I eat around 1600-1700 per day, which is very much on the low side. I'm shooting for a 1000 cal deficit for as long as it works- I've lost  20 lbs so far- but will decrease the deficit when the inevitable plateau occurs. I'm already scratching my head over how I'm going to get in another 250-500 cals daily.  I feel like I'm eating a lot already!