HELP!

Hi

My name's Lisa.  I'm new to CC but definitly not new to trying to lose weight.  I've been a bit overweight since I was 10ish and now I'm a lot bit overweight.  I'm a female, 5'8" and I weight 227.  When I signed onto the sight it told me I need to eat 2250 calories a day...is that right?  It seems like a LOT of food, especially since I've been eating 1200-1400 calories a day up til now.  I don't know, is that too little?  Is 2250 too much?  What the heck is a calorie deficit?  I don't understand!!! Its a little more complicated to count calories than I thought it would be.  Can anyone help me make sense of the big bad calorie counter?

Welcome to c-c.

I was sceptical when I first came to c-c as wel, but I lost thirty pounds consuming 2000 calories a day.

A calorie deficit is what you need to lose weight.  A 500 deficit will help you lose about a pound a week for safe weight loss. 

May I ask how old you are?  This will make a lot of difference in the next advice that you get.

I'm 23.

Ok, so I think I get it.  If the counter tells me I need to eat 2250 calories a day and I exercise away 400 calories and eat 600 calories less thats a 1000 calorie deficit right?  How much is the most you can safely take off?

Thanks so much for the advice, I already love this site, its so supportive and the people that have been on for awhile are a great inspiration

No, not if you are exercising.

If you are consuming 2250 a day and exercising 400 calories a way, The least that you should be eating is 1750 a day.

At twenty thre your body is still growing.  Not on the outside, but on the inside your organs are still devoloping.

I am 5'5 and started at 232.  I have lost the first 30 pounds by consuming 2000 calories a day.  Yep, not a typo, 2000 a day.  I was burning about 400 calories a day exercising and I walked a lot at work.  So my BMI at that time was about 2400 calories a day.

Now I don't exercise so much and I changed places of work so I do not burn as much.  My calories per day is now about 1600 calories.  When I do exercise, I eat back half of what I burn off.  So if I burn 400 calories exercising, I would eat back 200 of that bringing me up to 1800 calories a day.