Read all the stickes on calories still confused

In the starvation thread for instance, Steve talks about using: 14kcal per lb, and then finding a deficit of 20-30%. There is also mention that you can use 15 cal per lb at your goal or desired weight, and finally, most people say 10-12kcal per lb is healthy. What should I do?

Here are my numbers of 3 websites (I weigh 180, 6ft 1", male):

Fat Loss with Moderate activity (3-5 exercise sessions per week)
2412 – Calorie counter
2453 – Sheerbalance
2202 – Freedieting

And here are my numbers for the number per lb:

10 per lb = 1800
12 per lb = 2160
14 per lb * .8 = 2016
15 per lb of goal (160 lbs) = 2400

I have been eating 1700-1800 but I feel like I haven't been eating enough (low energy). I only want to lose fat at one pound per week, so I don't want to drastically cut my numbers. Can anyone offer me some much needed advice? I guess what I'm saying is, I want to up my calories, but not by preventing 1lb per week of fat loss.

Thank you for any response!
 
on the tool that i use, it gives me your bmi as 23.8 (which is nice and healthy)

for weightloss it gives 2000kcals/day
for maintenance it gives 2500kcals/day

i cannot say that it's 100% correct (i don't think anything like this can ever be, as it's too personal), but you can use those numbers as guidelines
 
One person's idea of moderate intensity tends to differ from another. It is not just a case of how many sessions - but things like how arduous they are.

Other aspects like age, gender, weight and muscle mass come into the equation.

People often suggest taking the equations as a starting point and eating at that level and seeing how things work out for you. If you do so and do not lose weight - you drop down the calorie level a little (or increase the exercise). If you lose too much weight - you experiment with eating a little more healthy food. Use the equations and suggestions as a guide - not something that is set in stone.

Some people have stalled their weight loss by eating at too low a level and they try other things - but this is not relevant to you.

If I were you - I would average out all the suggestions and come up with a number - try eating at that level for a few weeks and see whether you actually do lose weight - and if you do whether it is at the rate that you desire. Tweak it until it is. Then you have the right answer for you.

As far as the query by Doctormos goes - I suggest that you get a free account from and set up your profile information. You can then log all your food and see not only the calories that you are eating - but also the nutritional breakdown of such things as protein, fibre, fats, calcium, sodium etc. You can then hone your diet for both optimum health and a great level of weight loss / weight control.
 
One thing to keep in mind is that overall calories are just an estimate. No one burns the same amount of calories every day ... it varies from day to day, depending on a whole slew of factors. Everything from how many times you get up to go to the bathroom to how cold or hot it is, to how far you park from the door at the grocery store can change your daily calorie burn by several hundred calories, depending.

So when you run the calculators and one gives you 2100 and another gives you 2006 and another gives you 1900 - well, it's all an estimate. Start with the highest number (2100) and see where that gets you. If you're losing weight and you're not feeling hungry and fatigued, great. If you're not losing weight after 3ish weeks, then drop that number by about 200 cals. See where that gets you.
 
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