calorie intake

mine is 2,170 in order to maintain my weight. and the recommended amount for weight loss is 1,200. i think 900 is quite low unless you're shorter than 5 feet... hope that helps!

I'm 5'7" too, and if I stick to around 1,600 a day (plus most of my exercise calories) I lose about a pound a week.

Recently I've changed my goals to 1,800 and about half a pound a week, though. On days I'm not as hungry I will eat less, but rarely if ever go under 1,400.

:flowerforyou:

While setting a low calorie goal seems like it will make the fat peel off, it doesn't work that way. If you don't eat enough, your body will begin to hang on to every bit of nutrition it can get (what this site calls 'starvation mode') and your metabolism essentially slows down... the OPPOSITE of what you want! :noway:

The most efficient way to lose the weight is to eat small nutritious snacks or 'mini meals' (think 200-300 calories) every few hours to keep your metabolism going constantly. Make sure you pay attention to nutrition, too because 500 calories of sugary breakfast bars aren't going to give you the same energy as a proper balance of protein, carbs and fat. :happy:

If you're just worried about tomorrow drink plenty of water and avoid salty and starchy foods which make you retain water and feel bloated. Keep snacks handy and enjoy the sunshine!

P.S. most people looking to lose weight are probably eating between 1200 and 1500 calories per day

Mines is 500 or less. I just took what i eat most days without sweets

in order to lose about a pound a week my goal came up a little over 1300 calories a day before exercise, I am starting to understand the whole reasoning behind eating your exercise calories, but on some days it seems hard to get over 1200 calories but yet I am not hungary. Is there something high in nutrition that I can add to my daily diet to get me to my calorie goals?

protein powder is nice to add to coffee or smoothies and things like that. This site sets really low protein goals and that can add 100 or so calories of decent nutrition and help you sustain muscle also adding in nuts like almonds and cashews can add up calories really fast with healthy fats too!

For 4 years (after my daughter's birth) I ate about 700-800 a day and lost not one single pound. In fact, I gained a few. When I started MFP in June, I weighed what I weighed the day before she was born. So, I began educating myself. After coming here and studying bodybuilding and weight management from a health standpoint (and not a crash, instant results, won't last long standpoint), I upped my daily calories to 1200. It was rough to eat that much. I lost a few pounds at first (water weight), then nothing...and nothing...

So I upped my daily calories to 1370. I began losing inches, but have been replacing the pounds lost with muscle from my strength training. I'm down nearly two sizes, although I've only lost 7 'scale' pounds. A couple of days ago I upped the calories again to 1450 and twiddled with the nutrient allocation (carb/fat/protein).

The reason for this is that I did an actual calculation of the calories I burn in my daily routine...each and every task (tedious and boring project THAT was!). It came out to 2450 which would be my maintenance calories, so subtracting a 1000 deficit from that would be 1450 /shrug.

I've come to believe that I have been severely underfeeding myself and only by gradually increasing my calories up to a reasonable level have I begun to lose fat. The good news is my baby belly is nearly gone!

If this isn't effective after a few weeks, I'll tweak it some more :bigsmile:

Mine's 1540 for a 2 pound/ week weight loss.

Mines is 500 or less. I just took what i eat most days without sweets

What? :huh:

I know right:noway: :noway: :indifferent:

I know it's low! Maybe even lower than that. I don't eat alot. My Intake is normal high is i eat sweets that day and i rarely eat sweet.

Mines is 500 or less. I just took what i eat most days without sweets

What? :huh:

I know right:noway: :noway: :indifferent:

I know it's low! Maybe even lower than that. I don't eat alot. My Intake is normal high is i eat sweets that day and i rarely eat sweet.

That is not good at all. I would try to increase your intake to at least 1200. Your body is probably in starvation mode and your metabolism is probably crawling like a turtle.

If you need more help see about finding a nutritionist.

HTH,
Demetria

I'm trying to increases it, slowly but surely

Mines is 500 or less. I just took what i eat most days without sweets

What? :huh:

I know right:noway: :noway: :indifferent:

she probably forgot the 1...for 1500. otherwise that would suck in too many ways especially for the body


edit: my bad!! didn't read it till the end

hunny...eat something! i hate food pushers, but you are starving, if you have trouble eating, grab a protein bar or two, and some boost or ensures!

I do eat :grumble: just not that much

OMG girl-you're messing up your body! How can you not eat?:huh: I can put that much away at breakfast! Pick up some fitness mags and read and educate yourself, you'll never lose the weight and totally screw up your metabolism! Trust us, eat about 1400 cals, plus your exercise ones and your body will not only thank you, but you'll lose weight also.:flowerforyou:

stormieweather- I don't what it was but i think it was 900- 1200

Hmo4- I do eat!! Like I said im trying to up my intake. It's hard. 500 seems like alot considering how high everything is now days.

500 is hard? What do you eat? Maybe you've got the wrong calorie info.:noway: I'm shocked you can survive on 500 cals. Am I the only one who thinks this? That's anorexia amounts...or do you mean 1500? I don't mean to lecture-I'm a Mom, I'm supposed to lecture ,but seriously that is such a small amount you don't realize....

Your face looks so pretty. You couldn't possibly look like that.

RoxieFoston- If that was to meh... If you are saying that i don't look like that i do. I took that pic a few days ago for my xanga account.

Hmo4- I eat things like 1/2cup or peas or corn things like that for breakfast if i eat breakfast and the same for lunch. I don't really eat dinner and if i do i eat candy

tymaddox- Im not proud that i eat 500 but im not ashamed of it either. This thread asked how much so i said how much. Eating 500 i lose weight but not on purpose

Astridefeline- Yesh! I mean the cals are high. And i do eat veggies and fruit. I try not to eat meat and things like that

Are you on the HCG diet? Thats the only diet I know where people do 500 or less....