Question about calories

mizzie

mizzie

New member
Ok, a little background. I am 29, female, 5'5" and weight 219. I would like to get down to 150 (and maybe lower, but that's the goal now). I am counting calories and being very strict about writing down everything that goes in my mouth and how many calories are in it. I'm also being very strict about only eating one serving of things.

I did a calculation and figured out that before I started making changes in my diet, I was eating about 3100 calories daily! A lot of that made up by soda, which I've cut down to one can a day and plan to cut out entirely soon. Now I'm averaging about 2000 calories a day.

So, here's my question: Is that enough to lose weight, or should I cut it down more? I know 2000 is still not "low", but considering that I've cut it down by 1000 calories a day. Plus I've started an exercise routine of 1 hour three times a week (plus making an effort to move more during the day) AND I've replaced all the chips, ice cream, etc with fruits and veggies. And I haven't cheated yet.

I'm only on day 4 and I'm not to my weigh day yet, so I don't know one way or the other yet. I'm just wondering if this is enough to move in the right direction.
 
edit: Rechecked the numbers as Kara said..I was wrong with my numbers. I should have relooked at the site. I knew those numbers seemed really low. Listen to the lady mod :)
 
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Jericho I disagree with your numbers. Where are you getting them?

According to Harris-Benedict, the basic BMR for a 29 year old, 5'5" female, weighing 219 is 1932. With an activity multiplier of 1.3 (lightly active), you get a maintenance figure of 2512.

I'd say that 2000 calories is a good starting place - that gives you a weekly deficit of 3500 cals and if you add exercise to that, you can lose a little more.

A rule of thumb way to estimate, is to figure about 10 calories per pound of bodyweight in order to lose weight.

The thing about calories is that ultimately the numbers you come up with are estimates. We're all a little different and we all burn calories differently. The best thing you can do is stick with your 2000 calories for 4-6 weeks and see what happens. If you don't lose .. then drop that by 200 calories or so. You'll find that as you lose weight, you'll need to reduce your calories even more ... but don't be too drastic about it.

Ideally you want to reduce your calories enough to lose while keeping them high enough to maintain your metabolism. It's just a lot of tweaking to see what works for you.
 
Thanks! That is what I was hoping to hear actually. I think this way of eating is going to work for me as a start. It's not too drastically different from what I was eating before (other then the soda thing), but it's different enough to be much healthier. Smaller portions, more fruits and veggies, no snack foods. I think I'm eating pretty healthy, a lot more then before anyway! And I'm not hungry at the end of the day.

At my old calorie and activity (none really) level, I was maintaining my weight. I have been at about 220 for a couple years. So I'm hoping that the reduced calories and increased activity, even if it's not exactly what others might recommend, will help me lose the weight. Get me started, anyway.
 
In 2008-2009, I lost 46lbs by eating around 1800 cals a day, and doing a fair bit of exercise (2 hours of tennis 2-3 times a week, plus 5 miles on exercise bike each day I wasn't playing tennis). I started a little heavier than you - at 238lbs, but thought that my experiences might be useful as I am female and around a simmilar weight.

I did sometimes have days when I ate a few treats - once a fortnight or so, but generally, I was really really good at sticking to the cals. The weight came off at a rate of 3lbs or so a week and every 3 months I'd hit a plateau for a couple of weeks and then get back to losing. I was quite happy with that level and speed of loss and I think eating another couple of hundred cals a day wouldn't have made that much difference, if I'd walked a bit further or done a couple of extra miles on the bike.

You got to pick something that is right for you - something that is long-term sustainable as a lifestyle for the next year....or that you can then adapt a bit to have habits that are ok for the rest of your life. I stopped deliberately at 192lbs and decided to maintain that weight for a while then have another weight loss splurge 6-12 months later on.

I went back to my old ways a bit...and ate 14lbs of chocolate back on!!! Now cursing myself and in the middle of losing that...and some more!!!
 
I should have relooked at the site. I knew those numbers seemed really low.
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NP. I actually have a spreadsheet where I run the HB numbers ... so I don't have to rely on any websites that might do weird things for the calculations. I like transparency in my numbers - so I just do it myself! :)
 
Just as an update, I've managed to lower my daily calorie intake without even really trying. I've cut out that one soda a day (and after a raging headache the first night, I've been fine) and I find that I just don't eat as much at mealtimes. I don't even have to force myself to stop, I get "full" (barely full/not hungry) faster. My guess is that my stomach is starting to shrink due to the smaller portions. I knew that would happen, but I didn't think it would be this quick. Lol, you should see my food journal, every day it's about 150 calories lower then the one before. Yesterday at the end of the day I was only at 1150! Since I know that's a but low, I had a small snack before bed and finished at 1300. It was kind of nice, actually.

And this all seems to be working. I weighed myself last Friday and had lost a bit more then 4 pounds! I know part of that is because people always lose weight faster at the beginning, so I'm not too worried about losing too fast. It was nice to see that number though!
 
I had a small snack before bed and finished at 1300. It was kind of nice, actually.
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Well done on eating healthily and making good choices.

I would say, however that 1300 is a little too low for you at your current weight. You shoujld probably be eating around 1800-2000 calories per day in order to lose at a healthy and safe rate.
 
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