i'm confused about counting calories

JStarnes

I disagree. I was at your hieght/weight and I had to stay under 1200 caloriesin order to loose weight. Most women I know who are thin stay at 1200 when they are trying to lose and 1300/1400 when they are trying to maintain. I usually eat some of my exsercise calories but not all. When I eat them all I gain.

Well, I don't know your situation, but I do know that there are lots of reasons for someone NOT to eat too few calories. You may lose weight with a very large deficit, that's not the issue, it's what that weight loss consists of that's the problem, I.E. lean tissue is canabalize with people near maintenance weight and eating a large deficit, which means muscle loss, and fat storage. Never a good thing. Better to find your maintenance (truly find it though, if using this site for that doesn't work, you go see a doctor and get a metabolic rate test done) then work backwards from there.

Look, she's 5'3", that means that 1200 calories is well below her BMR, which, for someone with her numbers, is well below what is normally considered a safe calorie amount. If she was shorter, and lighter, maybe that would apply, but that's not the case. Will she lose weight eating that few calories? Sure she will. But I adamantly stand by my statement that it's not a safe or healthy practice.

I agree - weight doesn't always mean fat - just cause the scale says you are down a lb, that doesn't always mean you are down a pound of just fat, and you def. don't want to be losing weight by losing muscle. JMO.