Caloric intake confusion. PLEASE HELP!

I am 20 years old, i weigh 185 and stand 5'2.
Clearly I am overweight.
I joined MFP a year ago and lost a total of 19 pounds.
I had a rough break up and gained it all back plus more, which puts me at the weight I am at now.
Desperate to lose weight and be happy that brings me to this post!
Anyways! I eat roughly around 1500 calories. of high fiber foods.
Almost all my food is clean. I treat myself to ONE dark chocolate bar a day for a total of 220 calories or a York of 140 calories. I struggle with Bulimia. Which leads me to ask, is 1500 calories too much? I would like to actively loose 2 pounds a week, in a healthy way. is 1500 too high for that? EVERYONE AND THIER MOTHER SEEMS TO THINK 1200 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER. but is it? Can I still srop this weight?
Also, I eat about 3 to 4 cups of berries a day(strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, rasberries) is that too much? Is that too much sugar? I love fruit. and In all honesty it keeps me from binging.

Feel free to answer honestly.
As far as exercise goes, I workout for about a half hour a day.


ALL HELP IS APPRECIATED!


Thank you my fellow MFP members!!!

Replies

  • If you want to lose 2 pounds a week then you need a deficit of 7000 calories (1000 calories a day)
    Your BMR is about 1900-2000 calories WITHOUT exercise!!! If you do any activity at all (such as walking around, shopping etc...) then you burn more.
    I would guess that on an average day you burn about 2200 calories, this means that you should eat around 1200 calories a day to get the deficit you need for that amount of weight loss
    1500 calories isn't too high though for this amount of weight loss - all you need to do is burn off around 300 calories to get to a net of 1200 :)

    If you want to continue eating 1500 without exercise then you will probably still lose 1 1/2 pounds per week on average - slow and steady will make it easier to keep the weight off as you won't feel deprived.

    And about the berries - that definitely isn't too much sugar! It's not refined, it's completely natural and berries contain so many antioxidants that your body is currently loving you for eating them! Trust me x
  • bonitacash08
    bonitacash08 Posts: 378 Member
    To be completely honest with you, 1200 (net or gross) is not a sustainable goal long term. If you struggle with Bulimia, have you gotten treatment? I think you should start there before you set any type of weight loss goals for yourself.

    You have to be patient. This isn't an overnight solution. Take care of your body and it will do what you want it to.