New here...how many calories?

Hey all,

I'm new here. I like this place so far...been playing on here for about two hours already!

I've been dieting for about two weeks now, I had my usual great first week loss and then almost no loss the second week so I'm logging what I eat and upped my exercise.

I'm still very confused on how you know what number of calories you're supposed to take for weight loss. The calculator on the site on here said 2000 calories but I keep thinking...that can't be right? It sounds so high.

And...another dumb question. Does anyone else eat little for breakfast and a light lunch so you can have a bigger dinner? (Not a feast, just a "normal person's dinner"...aka something a person not dieting would eat in one sitting with no dessert or anything...)   is that bad?

I'm excited to be here and love the food log option on here. It'll reallllly save me some time. I wish I had joined this site a long time ago!

If you've used the CC calculator to help you work out your calorie intake and if you've set a reasonable activity level and a realistic target date then the number you come back with should be fairly accurate.  Generally speaking, larger, taller, younger, more active people need more energy, even when losing weight, than smaller, shorter, older, less active people.  Men need more energy than women.  Teens need most of all.

As you lose weight your calorie intake target will gradually reduce to reflect that you need a little less energy.   So if you can start at 2000, enjoy!

Regarding how to split up meals.   Imagine your body burning energy is like a fire burning fuel.   If you place very tiny amounts of fuel on at breakfast and lunch you risk the fire going out.....  Placing large amounts of fuel on the fire in the evening can choke it completely... it'll take a long time to burn up.   If you add reasonable amounts of fuel all day long, your fire will burn brightly and efficiently.

If your target is 2000 you could aim for a 500 cal breakfast, 500 cal lunch, 700 cal supper and have 300 cals left for a healthy snack or two.