Please someone help me with the math

Alright friends I need insight..I am 5"0 weigh 120.7..I am eating 1200 cal daily..I do the Gazelle and burn approx 200 cal extra daily.My burn is saying 1470 without any excerise 1550 with the excerise I am doing..

I looked at calories for a 120 lb woman and a 110 lb woman both have same calorie intake of 1200 cal.If my goal is 110 how am I gonna lose weight if my calorie intake is the same for both numbers..110 is my goal..

I have been doing this for 2 mon and have only lost about 2 1/2 lbs.It says I will loose 0.6 cal weekly..

Ok here comes the math quiz what am I doing wrong..I would like to loose more than a pound a month........ On your mark....Get set....GO.......HELP ME....

I don't believe you are eating enough calories.    Everything that I have read says that eating 1200 calories a day is the bare minimum for someone who is just sitting around and doing nothing.  That calorie intake just covers what your body needs in order to properly function all of it's organs.  Try eating more calories spread through out the day.  IT is better to eat 5-6 small meals rather than 3 larger ones.  That will help you take the weight off.  If you completely deprive your body of the calories it needs then it will go into a starvation mode and it will start storing up the fat, because it thinks it needs to hold on to it.    I really believe that you should try eating 5 small well balanced meals a day.  That will help and it keeps your metabolism going at a nice steady rate and you will burn more calories.  Oh and drink lots of water.  I hope that helps, but keep in mind I am no expert!

I can't check your calculations at the moment and I am not sure what the "Gazelle" is.  The variable for the calorie requirements equations are height, weight, age and sex (the equation for women has different constants than the equation for men).

You don't provide your % body fat so it is not possible to tell how close you are to your ideal weight.  It is possible that your lean body mass is such that getting down to 110 will be difficult if not impossible.

Other than that, Griffmtn's suggestinos are good.  You probably should not cut your calories by more than 10% (about 150 calories).  So perhaps shooting for 1300 to 1400 calories might be a good idea.  On the other side of the equation you could increase your workouts two to three times per week.  You could also vary your exercises.  Working in a couple of high intensity workouts that burn 500 to 1000 calories a couple of times a weeks would be a start.

I guess I am not being clear..The info on CC says to consume 1200 cal in order to loose weight and with a sednerary life style I burn 1480 a day...I do the Gazelle its like a cross trainer almost everyday.I burn about 200 cal on it..

 I dont know what my body fat is..I am very small boned and short 5ft...CC calculated me for 111 lb at 1200 day calories at  my age and height and frame..I am 44...

My question is I checked the calculations and a 120lb and a 110lbs  women with my stats eats 1200 to loose..How can this be?If I am 120lb eating the same amount as someone my age and at 110lb..How can I loose weight on the same consumption..

Truly I wish I could up my calories and still loose.I just dont get it..I want to do the best for myself to be healthy.I gained the weight after major surgery last year.

1200 is the bare minimum. If you don't put a goal date, and you set your activity to sedentary, it will always show 1200 calories to consume, but it will give you a differen date of when you should reach that weight.

Mantience for you at 120 lbs, is 1500 calories, for a 110lb you it would be 1400calories, both are if you stay sendentary. This is what you should eat if you want to maintain the weight.  

If you are eating 1200 calories that means that at a 120lb you, you are losing 300 calories a day day diet alone. if you work out and burn say 200 calories, your deficit for the day would be the 200 you burn plus the 300 that you deducted from your intake. a total deficit of 500 calories/day. It would equal 1lb loss per week.

The last 5-10 lbs are the hardest to lose. your body doesn't want to really let the lbs go, so you may be seeing a less dramatic change on the scale because you have so little to lose.  But you can lose those lbs, it may just take a bit longer. as long as the scale keeps going down in numbers, even if it is slowly, that is good. the best way to keep the weight off is to lose it slowly.

If you would eat 1300calories, or even 1400calories, you could still lose the weight. you would lose it more slowly, but you would be able to lose the weight.

Let's just start over at the beginning:

1. BMI Tool: Based upon your current Body Mass Index (BMI) of 23.4, you are currently classed as at a healthy weight.
   
   A healthy BMI for your gender and age is between 20 and 25 and a reasonable weight loss rate is 1-2 pounds a week.
2. Use the Burn Meter  I get 1500 calories as your sedentary expenditure (44,F,120.7,5'0"). 10 lbs does not make a significant difference in your expenditure.
3. Doing the math.  Calories from existence + calories burned - calorie intake(1200F/1500M minimum) should equal less than 1000.  1500 sedentary burn + 200 exercise - 1500/48 (30 min. on gazelle) -1200 calories eaten = 468 deficit.

Since it seems like you're right on track, I'd suggest looking at your nutrition and considering zig zagging with calories and exercise.  The nutrition areas that are most often over looked are fiber and fat, you need both in your diet.  Also pay attention to water, sodium, get enough sleep.  You can also try increasing your calories by 100-200 calories, sometimes this does get things going again.  A week at your maintenance calories might be enough.

Is there any chance that you're over or under estimating your exercise or your calorie intake?  That can also throw your calculations off.  Essentially, you are your own guinea pig and have to experiment to see how your body responds to a variety of treatment.  You might have gotten so used to the gazelle that you're too efficient at it, perhaps a hip hop exercise DVD to change things up?

 

Thank all of you for your wisdom ..It makes sense to me now..What a great network of people on CC..I so appreciate all of you taking time for my questions..

Just let us know what works for you so we can try to help the next person...it's really a "Pay it Forward" concept.

I just wanted to add that you might try calorie cycling. Eat lighter than usual for 2-3 days and then normal for 2 days and then light again. I have lost 19 lbs in the last month this way. Hope this helps. Also watch your carb count. Keep it low and your protein high.

you don't have to keep your carbs low. it should be about 50% of your intake or more. As long as your carbs aren't coming from over processed foods or junk foods.  The official poster only has to lose a small amount of weight. it would probably be better to just do portion control of things she already eats. and just modify it to be healthier. 

The ideal proportions are 15-20% fat, 20% protien, and 50-65% carbs. This is according to a major dietetics textbook, and many nutritionists.