Serious this time!

MFP will calculate all of that for you based on your age,weight etc...

Steph-
First, congrats on making a change, it's so worth it. I am a little concerned though, losing 4 pounds a week is too much and not healthy. First step is getting out of the mindset that you have to lose it fast. That mentality will only lead you right back to putting it on. I have lost all of my weight since January 1st. I have stuck to losing around 2 pounds a week and to lose almost 40 pounds in 4 months is awesome and healthy. Stick with the calorie recommendations that MFP gives you. I always have at least 1200 calories a day and burn on average 700 calories a day in exercise, but up to 1500 on days that I want to push it and have time. Settle into this as a life change, not as losing weight quickly. There is no magic pill, no magic button to push, just hard work, discipline and doing it yourself. Good luck on your journey, you'll love it here, there's so many great and supportive people.

I have used this site for a few days now and I think it can really help me achieve my weight loss goals I need to lose somewhere between 40-60 lbs. I am trying to do this the healthiest way possible (but as fast as possible). Does anyone know how many calories I need to burn per day to lose 2-4 lbs per week?

1lb equals 3500 calories-

You can create your deficit in many ways cut 250 out of your daily calories and burn 250 calories 7 days
a week- Or you could eat reasonably and burn 500 calories in working out- There isn't a big science to this its what everyone has been told to do

This is what I did 2000 calories - 500 calories = 1500 calories thats what I ate and I started losing weight ( I don"t follow MFP's way mine is set up for me personally I just use MFP as a guide and a tool where I can enter my foods without having to do the math)

How many calories are you eating now before you decided to log your calories and decided to lose weight?

You would be surprised how fast calories add up-

If say you are taking in 2400 calories on average a day and you cut 500 from that you will be eating 1900 calories that deficit alone will help you lose weight and if you start working out on top of that you will lose more.

Hello and welcome to MFP. This is the best website ever. I love it here and I think you will too. This website is so helpful, supportive, motivational, and everyone here is so nice and friendly. I just wanted to wish you a lot of success on your weight loss journey. You can do this. :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

To work out how many calories you need to sustain your PRESENT weight, do this:

Multiply your body weight in kilograms by 35.

My weight is 76 kilos. To maintain this, I need (76 x 35 2660 cals per day.

To shift 1 lb of fat per week, you need to reduce your calorie intake by 500 calories per day.

So to lose 4lbs a week, you need to cut out 2000 cals per day... well, I'm sorry, but that's EXTREMELY unhealthy, and that's not what this site is about at all.

Unless you are eating 3500+ cals per day, this is SOOOO bad for you.

Nothing good in life is attained easily; i.e., the only worthwhile things in life come from HARD WORK. There are no short-cuts.

Cut your cals by 500-1000 per day, reduce your fat intake, and do some exercise. That's how you will lose weight - AND keep it off, not just put it back on after you've come off your "crash-diet".

WOW! Thank you for this info! I am currently 140 kilos and x 35 that is 4900 calories just to maintain my current weight! I had no clue I was eating that much! When I started my fitness pal, I had no idea how many calories I was consuming or needed to consume to lose weight. The system put me at 1680 calories per day. So that means I am cutting out atleast 3220 everyday! Some days are better that others and for a week I have been fluctuating between 1250 calories and 2800 calories per day.

Am I cutting out too many calories?

Oh I also walk on the treadmill 100-120 minutes per day.

I got the information from a booklet that came free with my boyfriend's "Men's Health" magazine. I found it quite useful too! I'm on about 1600 cals per day as well... that will cause me to lose 1lb per week.

Because I'm not really that big (a size 14), MFP has obviously put me on a less strict diet than yourself. Because you weigh 140 kilos, you can stand to lose weight much faster than me. I couldn't couldn't cut out 3220 cals per day - that's more than I eat in total! So that's why MFP is such a good site. It uses formulas (like the one I posted originally) to calculate a healthy weight loss program.

This is why Steph's idea to just ignore MFP's recommendations is a bit silly; the reason they calculate it for you is because that's the healthiest way to go.

Sounds like you are really cutting down the cals - well done. It's great you're doing exercise too. It means that when you lose weight, you'll be more toned too. Keep it up - you seem to be doing a great job.