How many calories should I be eating?

o.k. - I used the tools here to find out how many calories I burn per day (I put in sedentary) and it came back as 1700.  My question is how many calories should I be eating??  I think that I may be eating too little (1300) as I have gotten stuck on a plateau at 152 lbs.

I usually walk 3 miles 5 times per week so I know those calories need to be added in, but I am just SO confused as to how much I should be eating.  Help!

Hi!

I see from your profile that we are close to the same age. I have been wondering the same thing myself. This site says that I should be consuming 1200 calories a day and I burn 1500 daily being sedentary. It's great that you are walking 5 times a week. I think you should count in those calories burned and try not to have too big of a calorie deficit. I usually try to have a deficit of about 500 calories a day. If I burn a total of 1800 a day including exercise and eat 1200 that gives me a deficit of 600. I am thinking of increasing my calories for a while though because I have been stuck at the same weight for about 3 weeks now. I cannot eat any less, the minimum calories for a woman are 1200. I am 43 and only 5 feet tall so that is how many calories I am supposed to eat to lose weight. Eating too little will only hinder your progress. Are you going by how many calories CC says you should eat?

Hello Icrum - thanks for the reply.  Yes - I have been trying to go by what cc recommends (1200 calories per day).  Accounting for the exercise I do, I have been eating around 1400-1600 calories per day.  I burn 1700 calories a day being sedentary.  Maybe I have too much of a deficit?

I am 5 ft. 7 and am 42.  I too have been stuck at the same weight for about 3 weeks also.  Well - I guess if it was easy everybody would be doing this, right?

Maybe we can add each other to our friends list and keep track how each other is doing?

 April