Daily Calorie Intake, Please Help!

diaryofaskinnygirl

Every so often I say to myself "Ok, 1200 - 1300 cals a day, no excuses". Then after about 3-4 weeks of it, I get worn out and find myself wishing to cheat a lot and give up altogether. That's happening to me right now. Do you think that's a sign I should up my cals? If so, to how much?

I am 5'4, my BMR is 1300 cals/day.
I am 20% body fat
I lift light weights 2 times a week
I cycle for 20 mins 3 times a week
3 days a week I work in a coffee shop where I am on my feet for 8-10 hours
I also do a lot of walking and try to go for a run 1-2 times a week.

I really want to make sure I do not eat too many calories. Any help or guidance would be much appreciated

beautifullybubbly

If your BMR is 1300 cals, you should be eating AT LEAST 1300 calories a day. Eating at or a little above your BMR is the best way to keep your metabolism normal, plus your BMR is what your body needs if you were just sitting on a couch all day. If you're working out/doing regular daily activities, you should eat more. Try 1500 calories/day for a week and see how that goes.

Miss_Hiker_Pants

There is a group on here in the community forum called Fat Loss Tactics. This guy has it down. Very easy explanation on the basic version. I raised my caloric intake from 1200 to 1366 and I started losing.
On my crazy hiking days. I raise it higher, depending on how far I'm going & how intense.
Give it a shot. I was on a plateau for nearly a year, now all of a sudden every one is starting to mention that I'm losing weight.

Erika_Whitney

I so don't go by the "recommended" 1200ish cals a day! If you are an active person that is no way enough to fuel your muscles! A few weeks ago I have started ADDING calories each week and have had a slow weight loss every week- key word slow because anything that happens too fast won't last!

I am up to about 1500 cals a day and will continue to raise it until I gain, then I will know what my true BMR is! Now I am adding about 50 cals a week. Hope that helps!

diaryofaskinnygirl

If your BMR is 1300 cals, you should be eating AT LEAST 1300 calories a day. Eating at or a little above your BMR is the best way to keep your metabolism normal, plus your BMR is what your body needs if you were just sitting on a couch all day. If you're working out/doing regular daily activities, you should eat more. Try 1500 calories/day for a week and see how that goes.

Ok would I eat 1500 including exercise? Right now my weight loss has stalled so I really need to figure out what I'm doing wrong.