So how many calories should I net?

fatmom51

I've been reading the posts and reading the guidelines and at times I get very mired in numbers and all the math.

Right now, my daily calorie expenditure, based on height, weight, age, gender and activity level (sedentary) is just over 2,000. I've indicated I want to lose 2 lbs. a week (I'm currently well over 200). MFP tells me that I can cut back to 1,200, but since that's just an 800 deficit per day I'll lose about 1.8 pounds per week.

Now, say I've set my goal at 1 lb. a week. I would then be told to eat 1,500. Can I then exercise to increase my deficit? Is this where I have to make sure I don't go below a net of 1,200 (i.e. no more than 300 exercise calories without eating some back)?

What if I've eaten 1,500 to 1,600, but have taken a one-hour walk in the morning with a friend (300 calories, roughly) and then taken a swim in the evening while waiting for my daughters to get out of swim practice or their life guard job (another 300+), Now I'm at 900 to 1,000 net but I've eaten 3 healthy meals and snacks. Is this really going to mess up my weight loss.
I love food, so I'm not one of those who say I couldn't possibly consume 1,200 calories, because believe me, I CAN!! But I don't understand why I have to eat 1,800 calories just to stay at 1,200 net either.

Could someone explain this to me? Should I be trying to net a minimum of 1,200 or some other number?

onyxgirl17

You will see a lot of different posts with a lot of different advice. In the end you need to do what works for your body. That being said, you shouldn't net under 1200.