Calorie per day and how much everyone is losing per week

hey, i've seen a lot of forums about how many calories people are eating per day, but i always want to know how much they are losing per week with this. last week i stuck to 1000/day and i lost 2lbs...then gained 3!! then i uped to 1500 and the next day, i was down 2, but still only down 1 total. i decided to stick to around 1400 this week and see if that works... i really want to lose 2lbs per week this summer so i'm very hesitant about adding calories...

i'm 5'4, i run 20 min/day, and i've only been doing this a week! lost 1 lb so far.

Here's my weight record since I started.  I started out at 1100 calories a day and lost until I hit a plateau in May.  Then, on the advice of my friends here I increased my calories to 1400 to 1500 with a lower calorie day, about 1200, every week.  The plateau broke and I've been losing.  This is going slowly for me since I've been unable to exercise for medical reasons.  Next week I start a therapeutic exercise class and hope to see good results.

2006-07-01 190.60 
2006-06-23 192.00 
2006-06-22 193.00 
2006-06-16 192.40 
2006-06-11 194.50 
2006-06-07 195.20 
2006-06-06 196.00 
2006-06-05 197.00 
2006-06-04 197.80 
2006-06-03 198.20  
2006-06-01 199.00 
2006-05-31 199.50 
2006-05-21 198.00 
2006-05-18 199.60 
2006-05-16 199.00 
2006-05-13 200.00 
2006-05-12 200.00
2006-05-09 200.00
2006-05-07 201.20   
2006-05-02 202.20
2006-04-22 199.60  
2006-04-17 201.20 
2006-04-09 204.00
2006-03-31 202.00
2006-03-27 204.00
2006-03-21 204.80
2006-03-17 205.50 
2006-03-09 206.00  
2006-03-02 208.00 
2006-02-28 210.00  bought new scale  & started at that weight
2006-02-22 207.00 
2006-02-09 209.00
2006-02-08 207.00 
2006-02-07 207.00
2006-02-06 207.00
2006-02-05 207.00
2006-02-04 207.00
2006-02-03 208.00
2006-02-02 208.00
2006-02-01 208.00 
2006-01-28 209.00 
2006-01-23 210.00 start

Oi!  the whole BMR thing has my head spinning!!   If I've done the calculations right mine is 1567.5, I walk 3 miles 5 days out of the week, which translates into about 280 calories burned.  This means that I should be eating around 1300 calories a day right?

I did the BMR calculations for my IDEAL WEIGHT instead of trying to figure the calorie expenditure, etc.  My came out to 1793 calories needed for light exercise and 2021 with moderate exercise.  I have been on this site since January 9th of this year.  I decided that eating at the maintenance level for my ideal weight was the way that I would have to eat for the rest of my life, so why not start with that?  I figured that would be around 1800 calories per day, so that's where I have been eating, with only a few days of going over and NEVER going under that by more than 25 calories or so.  I have lost 50 pounds up to today, which is something like 8.3 pound average loss per month.  I have seen the loss slow down a little this past couple of weeks, but it is still coming off and I am still doing what I started out doing, except I am now making better choices for food quality.  I figured that this was the safest way to eat. I get to eat the most food for my weight loss buck, so the speak. This will keep my metabolism right up where it needs to be for optimum weight loss and I will also be giving my body the maximum amount of nutrition for this "losing time".  It is working well for me and I plan to use this technique for the rest of my life.  I LOVE FOOD, so I want to eat as much as I can and still maintain my healthy body weight.  I have found that this has been the best way to do this. If it works for me...maybe it will work for you, too.  Peggy <*)))><

Edit:  FYI: I started out at 209 pounds here and today I weigh 159.  I had to change my weight lost and monthly average above.  OOPS!  It's all good!  P

wow ok, thanks everyone! i'm just going to exercise more! i think it has a lot to do with the fact that i'm only 1 over my healthy bmi range so i don't have too much to lose. you're comments are encouraging.

Peggy, did you lose all your weight by keeping to 1800 cals.  I've been with CC since June 1st and lost nothing even though I've kept to 1300/1400 cals per day and been drinking lots and lots of water.  I'm 154lb and need to lose about 15lb - maybe I should try what your doing. K

Yes.  I only occaisionally go over that and seldom am under 1800 by more than 25 calories.  Like I said, I love food, so I make sure that I eat all that I can every day!  As long as I stay close to this calorie intake, I know that the weight will eventually come off.  I plan my meals at the beginning of every day and take food with me when I go out so that I will never be really hungry and so not tempted to make poor food choices.  I little planning goes a long way.  I am also eating several meals a day and drinking plenty of water.  I have even managed to plan a 300 calorie Pepsi (sugar, I know, I  know!) into my calorie count on most days because of all the other good food choices that I make.  Funny, I am still getting A's and A-'s.  This site has been such a treasure trove of information!  I have learned so much about good nutrition here.  It has changed the way I look at food, probably for the rest of my life.  There is a learning curve, to be sure, but once it's in your head, it's there to stay.  K, about doing the way I am:  I would highly recommend it!  Peggy <*)))><

I think I will give it a couple more weeks then if no joy I will up the cals and see what happens.  Thanks Peggy for the advice. K

IX, I read your post.  Good information to know.  Where did you find that information??? I would like to read more about this.  I wasn't aware of this but I've been taking in from 1200-1400 calories a day.

i'm 5'5", i alternate between jogging 30 mins or 20 mins each day and my average calorie intake is 1000 calories. i don't know how much i've lost as i started this week and my weigh-ins are on Fridays.

My daily calorie intake is 1200, or 1000 deficit if I exercise more than usual. (so if I burn 2350, Ill up my calories to 1350 etc..) I lose about 2 lbs a week.

(know this q was asked ages ago, but think its interesting anyway...) 

Original Post by lollipopfairy:

I use the following website when planning my grocery shopping, it is a list of The World's Healthiest Foods:

http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php

Also be sure to have a good ratio of calories, 40-50% Carbs, 25-35% protein, 20-30% fat. Under 2500 mg of sodium and over 25 grams of fiber. This information can be found once you enter information into your Food Log and using the Analysis tool from the top menu. Also drink lots of water. The recommendation is 8 eight oz glass. I personally drink twice that, for 1 gallon of water per day, totaling 128 oz.

3500 Calories = 1 lb. Divide that by 7 days, and you have a reduction of  500 calories per day for a week. You can safely lose 1-2 lbs per week. It is recommended to reduce your calories by 500 per day, but never more than 1000 calorie deficit per day.  When your down to the last 5-10 lbs, you should just focus on toning. Tone. Tone. Tone. Start lifting weights, keep up the cardio. As for the number of calories, don't reduce by no more than 500 less than what you burn. It's only, if you have 20 or more lbs to loss, that you don't reduce by no more than 1000 calories less than what you burn. Never go below 1200 calories if you are a female, because your body will go into starvation mode and it is possible that you mind gain weight, besides doing damage to your body. (1500 if you are male.) Increase the number of calories if you particpate in any form of exercise. As a female, your body and organs needs a minimum of 1200 calories just to function.

@Author - Thanks for the contribution, this is a good chunk of valuable information here.

 

If your still looking for a body fat calculator check out the http://www.FitClick.com website or find something similar by using Yahoo! search...

 

Thanks again for your community input, I appreciate it :D

 

+Max Letni

p.s. remember to never give up and think positive

instead of purely focusing on calorie reduction try and increase your energy usage. 20mins of exercise a day is not long enough to get your body into an anaerobic state, even tho you will improve you respiratory styem you will not burn fat. you will see much greater results if you combine a 40 min of burst traning (run as hard as you can for 60 sec then jog for 60) with a reduced calorie diet.

JoshX

Anywhere between 1000 and 1400 is where i'm at however i'm ashamed to say that some days i eat less than 1000 (not on purpose), those are the days i have lots of things to do or when I have stuff on my mind. Here on CC it is recommended that with my lifestyle right now 1400 is the magic number to lose the weight, i hardly exercise. Of course when i become more active the numbers will go up.

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