Please...help me to understand
I'm 5'4", 180lbs. My goal weight is 125lbs.
I've lost 10lbs in the first 3 weeks. I've been exercising daily and eating around 1200-1250 calories a day, but now it appears it's staying stationary.
According to the calorie counter I should be eating around 1200 calories a day for a sedentary lifestyle or 1315 for a active lifestyle. I work in an office, I do both running around the house after work and relaxing, and plan on continuing to excerise 5-7 days a week.
How many calories am I supposed to be eating to lose weight?
I don't know but I think that 1200 is too low. How many calories does CC say that you burn a day? I think a deficit of 500 is usually a good figure.
1200 is the minimum you need to sustain life, but if you are exercising as well, you definitely need to eat more. Your metabolism is probably shutting down in self preservation. How long have you not been losing weight?
I weigh 150 and I'm supposed to eat 1600 calories in order to lose weight. CC says I burn 2100 calories per day.
I burn anywhere from 2500 to 2700 a day.
1200 is way too low. That's exactly why you are not losing anymore. You should be eating at least 1600-1650. But again, are you eating the right food ? Try to eat more than 1200, and with all the exercise you are doing, it should work just fine.
Good luck
Wow...that many calories...really? How come the calorie target on this site tells me to eat 1315 then? I've never tried to lose weight before so I'm naive on how to and just trying to figure it all. I do my best to eat healthy. No junk food or fast food. Lot's of veggies and fruit. Thanks for all the advise...it's truly appreciated.
When using the CC calculator set an appropriate average activity level and also a realistic goal date. 1-1.5lbs a week would be a very good average for someone your size. 45lbs is therefore 30-40 weeks away... February/April 2010.
Hey,
You need to eat sufficient calories to prevent your metabolism from slowing down that's why.
Let me give you some tips that helped me lose weight last summer :
1) Eat five times a day, add two snacks ( a fruit and a 0% yoghurt) to the usual meals.
2) You have to eat enough proteins, so that you won't burn muscle but fat. I mean 100-150g of meat or chicken or turkey at lunch and 100-150g of fish for dinner.
3) Keep yourself moving ( you already do it ).
That's what I have in mind for now, but I could talk to you more about this if you want to, give you an idea of what was a typical day for me.
Good luck anyway ;)
I think I was setting my calories burned too high. I had mine set at light active and then was also adding for my work and excercise. I believe I'm supposed to be around 1300 calories and then if I excercise I need to eat more calories and protien. It sounds like a safe way to lose 1.5lbs per week is to eat 500-750 calories less than I burn that day. Sound right?
