Help! I am a newbie and need lots of advice!!

Okay, so I am new to this whole calorie counter thing.  I don't really understand the burn meter and my calories that I am supposed to have is 1800.  My friend has recently lost alot of weight and said she ate 1200 calories a day, eating something every 3 hours or so. So this is basically what i have been trying to do.

I weigh160lbs and I am 5'4, I am 31 years old and on hormone replacement therapy.  My doctor has said it will be very hard to lose weight, I guess because I am on the estrogen. 

  I started counting calories 1 1/2 weeks ago and staying at around 1200 calories.  Except, I went to dinner and had no idea how many calories i ate and had a birthday party and know i went over calories.  Otherwise I have done pretty good.  Stopped drinking pop, and I have not lost anything.  I have done Weight Watchers before and lost 5 lbs that first week.  So i know usually the first week you start something you will lose alot just because your body is adjusting.  So I am a little frustrated by not seeing any adjustment in the scale.  I just really need some advice and encouragement. 

I am tired of being the fat friend! 

Thanks for any advice.

Hi there- new to calorie counter myself this week. 

Where did you go out to eat- if it was a chain in the U.S.- sometimes you can check out the calories on dwlz.com. 

Thank you for the website.  Wow-that is a great tip!  We went to a casino and at a seafood buffet.  I didn't think that I ate that bad, but who knows.  I will try the casinos website and see if there is nutrition information on it.  Thanks a bunch!

At your age, height, & weight, the 1800 cal is how much you burn on a daily basis, set at a sedentary level.   If you are activeat all, you will burn more.

Therefore you need to eat less than 1800 calories to have a deficit.  Therefore if you are sedentary, burning 1800 calories, you can eat 1300 calories and have a 500 calorie deficit, and should lose apprx 1 lb per week.

If you excercise (say 300 calories worth per day just for an example) you would use your 1800 base + 300 extra = 2100 calories burned per day, then you could eat up to 1600 cal per day and still keep your 500 cal deficit. 

Just remember, that if you set your activity level to sedentary, just about everything you do you should log in your activity log - things like sweeping, vacuuming, grocery shopping and so on. 

Also, this is probably the best post on CC - it should be able to answer all your questions.  http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/post/171 33.html

Good luck, I'm sure you'll do fine! 

Hello and welcome.

I started with almost exactly your stats - female, 5'4", 160-165 lbs, 32 yrs, on OC.  I'm now at 140-145 lbs (34 yrs), tho I no longer take hormones.  The weight is now stubbornly not moving, but I also haven't been as diligent as I could be...

What worked for me was increasing my activity level quite a bit - used to commute by car 2 hr/day, but now my commute involves 20-30 min of walking.  This is in addition to any other exercise.  I also try to do cardio for 30 min 3 times a week, and strength training 2-3 times a week.

I also started making sure I get 7-9 servings of whole fruits/veggies a day.  Every meal and snack has a fruit &/or vegetable.  Makes me happier and makes meals more filling.

Finally, I aim for 500-750 kcal deficits a day.  Deficits higher than 750 kcal seem to make my body hold on to wait.  I've set my burn meter at sedentary (so it says I burn ~1650 kcal/day with no additional activity), then I add in daily activities - walking, jogging, weight lifting, shopping, etc. 

Good luck in your journey!  And let me know if you have any more questions.