How Many Calories Per Day?

I'm 5'2" and have been trying to "do good" on and off... I just got back from vacation so I've been off for a week and a half.  How many calories per day should I be eating?  I have tried increasing my calories to about 1200 but that didn't do much so I decreased it to 1000.  Is that too low? 

1000 is too low. your body needs 1200 just to function and anything less than that is harming your body and will just end up hurting you in the long run. eating more (1200+ cals) will help you lose weight in a healthy way and it will be weight that you can keep off.

What is your age, gender, and weight? 

The allowance calculator (link below) on this website is very helpful for calculating daily calorie needs.

http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/calorie s-goal.php

I actually did the calorie count and it said 1400.  That just seems like too much, although don't worry because I usually end up having much more than that.  I think I'll bump it up to 1200 and see how that goes.  I was just curious as to what everyone else was doing but I'm sure it depends on the person.

I'm curious as well, on how to rate my activity level.  I'm a programmer so I spend 8 to 10 hours a day sitting at a computer, very sedantary.  During the school year I don't do much activity in the evening either.  But this summer my neices are here and we end up either going to the park or pool for an hour each afternoon. 

Is that enough activity to put me into the very light category rather than sedantary?

I started doing around 1200 calories and in the first three weeks lost about 9 pounds.  But now, even though I'm doing about the same, I have not lost any weight in the last two weeks.  Could I be undereating and therefore slowing down my metabolism?  Quite confused and any advice would be appreciated. 

Infinityiz,

You probably reached a plateau ((I hit those alot myself)), you just gotta work through it. Don't get discourage, you've lost 9lbs so far and that's awesome!!! I remember when I hit my first plateau...I wanted to quit because I didn't understand what was happening to me..but I didn't and I lost 100lbs :) just keep with it...if you can maybe just add a 30 minute walk to your schedule everyday of the week?? That could help you plow right through your plateau...

Winterzlove,

Thanks so much.  Great advice and very doable!  Great job losing 100lbs and also being so positive.  I finally think I've found something that makes sense and is a way of life rather than a diet plan.  take care and enjoy!

Infinityiz,

I spend hours per day in front of my computer, too.  I put myself as sedentary and then I get to log all of the exercise I get...I figure anything that is moving for at least 10 minutes deserves to be logged.

After setting to sedentary then logging exercise......how do I figure the amount of calories I should consume?

Hi Everyone,
  I'm new to this part of the website.  I've been using the calorie counting part since the end of May and have lost 19 lbs so far.  Anyway,  I wanted to reply to Infinityiz and the plateau....that we all dread.  I hope that you all don't kill me but what I do to get through that is eating a little more than I normally would, but only on the weekends.  Right now the counter shows me that I can eat about 1300 to 1400 calories a day.  I'm 5'2" and weigh 156 lbs, hoping to get to at least 140.  Monday through Friday I'm very good about staying in my calories but Saturday and Sunday I usually eat more.  It helps jumpstart my body and I get to eat the things that I crave during the week.  Of course I don't go crazy but it helps. 

personally, my "planned" meals and snacks add up to about 1000-1200, but i snack on random things frequently every day, so i always get up to more than that. so, planning your meals to come out to about 1200 is a good idea if you're a constant snacker, because that leaves you enough room to have those extra little tidbits (:

but i don't have to worry as much since i'm now maintaining and trying to up my calories.

wow... im depriving my self... i keep mine down to 500 a day MAX

Hi Nicole!  :) 

500 calories a day is too low for your body to function properly. 

Since you are a teenager, I would recommend increasing your calories significantly.  How much weight are you trying to lose?  (What is your age and weight also). 

Here is a great Healthy Eating Plan Calculator that would better fit you as the calculators on CC are geared for adults.