Calorie question for those who lost 75+

I eat 1600 calories a day, and exercise 4 hours a week.. I try to split it up where i do exercise 5 nights a week. I'm fixing to up it to 6 days a week to see if i can break a plateau. If u want u can message me. I think I'm pretty good at helping ppl.

I've lost 67 lbs so not sure I qualify for your research here....but the majority of that weight was lost eating 1600-1900 cals a day (the low end on days I didn't exercise, the higher end on days I did exercise). In essence - yes I ate my exercise calories as MFP defaulted me to 1200 cals a day since I was a little aggressive in my settings of wanting to lose 2 lbs per week I now know that this is not feasible long term and eventually adjusted it to 1 lb loss per week. At any rate, I'm 5'5 and started at 220 lbs. The closer you get to goal weight, however, you have to pay closer attention to your intake and quality of foods (I'm finding) if you want to continue losing. This is, of course, due to many factors such as a slower metabolism (if you dieted off a bunch of lean mass because you weren't eating enough protein and doing strength training to help retain it), less energy required to move your smaller body, etc. A lot of people, especially in the beginning, tend to "over exercise" - doing too much, thinking they're gonna lose faster. This might backfire on them, so be careful. You don't need to workout 6-7 days a week. Heck, most people are good with three days a week at a moderate intensity. It comes down to diet though - you cannot out train a bad diet.

Do what works best for you. I was on weight watchers for the majority of my weight loss. It wasn't a calorie based weight loss though, it was more based on carbs and fat. It worked well for me.

I would see what you average calorie intake is now and gradually reduce your intake gradually (if you are on 2400 cal diet now and go to a 1200 a day limit- you are more than likely to fall off the wagon) weight watchers does something similar with their point system where once you lose 10 lbs you get 1 less 'point' per day.

As far as eating calories burned-I would say it depends on your intake, me personally I do eat the calories I burn, each persons body is different though. I would try to stick to something for at least a month to see what your results are, like a 1400 cal limit 4 hours gym time and eat your cals burned, etc.

Good luck!

I am currently about 203 and I eat 1400 a day plus most of my exercise calories (I always net over 1200). I try and do about 5 hours exercise a week, and I drop about 1-1.5lb a week

I have just lost my 51st lb

check this out:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937709-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

I lost 87 pounds and gained back 15, all while eating 1200 cals. and working out.

I found the link above and started eating 1800 cals a day (sometimes more) and the fat is totally disappearing, as well as weight. I have more energy now; I can lift heavier, do more cardio; I am focused all day long; I am happier; and my horomones are more balanced which = less hot flashes and night sweats!