Really needing help with caloric intake...

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Pursegurl85

New member
Hello everyone! I'm so glad I've found this forum! Okay so here's my story...after I graduated HS I decided to lose weight...I counted calories and walked about 1-2 miles a day, changing my lifestyle to a healthy lifestyle, and lost about 35-40lbs...I kept it off for 4 years. Then I moved away from home and gained 50lbs. There's no excuse, I just got lazy, a little depressed and let myself go. And on and off I've "tried" to lose it, but looking back, I never really made a real effort to change my lifestyle. Now I'm really ready to get this weight off...and I've actually already made some positive changes--I make sure to stick to 1300-1400 calories a day, as well as taking walks. (I know only walking 1-2 miles doesn't seem like a lot to most, but it worked for me before). I've lost 10 lbs. in about 3 weeks or so with just these simple lifestyle changes. I intend to continue these changes. The first week was really difficult--I was hungry all of the time, but now it's quite easy. It comes naturally to me.

But I am a bit concerned about my caloric intake...I am afraid I've cut down too much too quickly. I feel comfortable and all, but I'm afraid I won't lose anymore weight because I've cut down to the least amount of calories possible. Does this make sense? I can always exercise more to lose weight, but I guess what I'm concerned about is not getting enough calories. I know everyone is different, but I guess I need a little insight.

If I've started out eating too few calories, how do I remedy this? Do I start all over again? :banghead: Or could I just slowly add exercise to my regimen, and when I reach my goal, stay within 1500 cals a day to maintain?


Thanks so much!
 
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1500 calories a day is not maintenance for anyone - unless they're very small. :)

The first thing you have to keep in mind is that whatever number you come up with, it's going to be an estimate. The numbers tend to be accurate for most people (barring medical conditions, medications you may be taking, years of screwing up a metabolism, or other things of that nature) within a range. Everyone is just a little different. Also the numbers will and do vary from day to day, so really what you come up with, as well as being an estimate is going to be an average amount. The calories that you burn sitting at your computer today could be up to 10% different tomorrow - for any number of different reasons.

Within those guidelines, the formula I use is very simple. I start with a figure of 15 calories per pound of bodyweight for someone who is moderately active. If you're less active, you can drop that a little, if you're more active increase it. But generally 15 calories works. Then you subtract 30% to get to a healthy and sustainable amount to lose weight.

You don't say how much you weigh, so I can't figure it for you, but I can give you the numbers as they apply to me and you can see how it works.

My current weight is 174.
174 * 15 = 2610.
2610 calories is what I'd eat to stay the same weight.

I want to remove 30% of those calories, so I'll multiply by 70%.
2610 * 70% = 1827.
1827 calories per day is what I eat in order to lose weight.

I generally wind up eating between 1600-1800 a day. It gives me some wiggle room and I still can lose about 1.5 lbs a week at that rate.

Once you get to your goal weight, just multiply that by 15 and you'll get an estimate of what you should eat to maintain that weight. For example, my goal weight is 135. So multiplying 135 * 15 = 2025. That's what I'll aim for when I get to my goal in order to maintain a healthy weight. :)
 
Thank you! I haven't hit a plateau yet...should I wait until I hit a plateau to add calories?

What should I do? Am I going to put all of the weight back on and have to start all over again?

I really appreciate your input! I'm so confused!
 
No you should add calories now. Waiting until you hit a plateau just means you've lowered your metabolism enough to stall.

As long as you're eating fewer calories than it takes you to maintain, you're not going to gain back ALL of your weight. But it is likely that you'll gain back some. Don't freak out about it - just keep eating at a healthy level and it will start coming off again.
 
Okay so I weight 196 now and want to get down to 150...I'm currently eating between 1300-1400 cals now. What do you think I should raise it to? About 1600?

thanks again I REALLY appreciate your help!
 
Well, using the formula above -

196 * 15 = 2940.
2940 * 70% = 2058.

So I think you should be eating between 1800-2000 calories a day to lose healthily. That also assumes that you're exercising 3x a week or so. If you're not exercising, then drop that to around 1600. (But I highly recommend you exercise - it'll help with the weight loss and it'll make you healthier overall.)
 
Thank you SO MUCH Kara...this really helped me out. I have been freaking out about messing up my metabolism for about 2 days now...and it's a little discouraging to think I have to go backwards, but in the long run it's really worth it! Thanks so much again!
 
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