How many calories do you think you eat a day?

1200-1400 normal day. My BMR is 1300, so some days I'm under and other above (aprox)

When I work out I eat 1300-1500, but the days I work out I usually net under 1300. I'm not a fan of eating my calories back, just half or a quarter of them.

I'm on a losing weight diet and I'm 5'2

My TDEE is 1700... So with the 1200, I'm in a 500 deficit.

My goal and net are typically around 1310, I'm an admin so not much physical activity at work, at home I am a mom of 2 so I keep pretty busy. I eat around 1500 calories not including my exercise.

I have lost 7 pounds in 5 weeks.

I am 28, 5'6" and currently 148 pounds.

My diet before was TERRIBLE, I could eat an entire bag of Doritos.. =( So I'm eating 1100 for now. Trust me! It is a pretty good 1100 I'm prepared for the 'plateau' though.. where I'll start eating more.. but for now 2 lbs a week. I take a multivitamin and snack on veggies. I've got tons of frozen veggies in my freezer

I'm a gainer, but adding anyway:
Female, 33, 5'4" currently 103lbs, 2000 to maintain, anything below and I lose, (at 1600 I lost 3 lb in a week) 2250ish to gain 1lb a week. I eat back all my exercise cals (so I eat 2500 4 days a week at least)

I'm a twisted freak of nature and my metabolism is out there (it can be a curse), but I do feel for 1200 eater's, that's seems so small! I applaud those who can stick to that goal!

5'2", 100.5, 19% fat (per scale, could be higher), older. Unable to exercise because of injury, nor can I walk long distances.

I seem to need to aim for about 1150 to stay at this weight. Some days I go over, less occasionally, under. I kept bouncing back to my start weight -- 103.5 to 104 - when I used 1200 as a goal.

I'm a twisted freak of nature and my metabolism is out there (it can be a curse), but I do feel for 1200 eater's, that's seems so small! I applaud those who can stick to that goal!

You're very fortunate. But at least you recognize that some people need to maintain that low a level and they're well informed and healthy.

That's a pretty aggressive goal. You don't have a lot of weight to lose. I'd cut back to a pound a week.

i agree, better yet a .5lb / week is much better. im 136lbs at 5'4" and was stuck in a plateau then started gaining weight because I was in such a huge deficit....im talking for like 6 months. i started missing that TOM guy and was depressed. Be careful. Ive been on maintenance and i eat anywhere from 2100- 2600 calories a day. to lose weight i just need to eat around 2000 cals a day.

Im the same stats as you mentioned currently, if I ate 2000 calories a day I would for certain be gaining. I have my activity set at light and eat back my exercise calories. I end up eating around 1500 calories a day. I am also set to lose one pound a week and this has been about how much I have been losing since I started. Its been about 3 months and im down about 15 pounds. This includes many days mixed in with eating some bad meals and 3 weeks where I couldnt exercise because of health issues.

sorry. when i first started out i was only netting 1200 cals per day. after a few months I had to start upping my intake. i too am sedentary while at work but i never burn less than 2100 calories a day via my Bodybugg info. Once i break out of this place im usually on the move until i go to bed. the lower your weight gets the harder it is to lose more. everyone is certainly different and we all burn calories at a different rate. i have a lot of lean muscle and tend to burn a higher amount throughout the day now. also, with doing the re-feeds or cheat meals or whatever you want to call them helps with sanity and to keep your metabolism in check. i choose not to really indulge in cheat meals every week and instead just keep things even over the week but higher calorie rather than lower cals and cheat meals. its what works for me but i bet on average we would probably balance out.

if it is working for you then by all means keep up the great work. at some point i do believe a vlc diet wont be good and upping ones intake may be neccessary.. this is my opinion though and coming from my own personal experience with the situation.

Well I started off trying to eat 1200 that didn't work......
Now I try to eat around 1500 calories but I usually end up eating around 2000-2300 calories in a day but I end up working the extra that I eat plus a little bit more off. So I am usually under for the day!!
:drinker: :bigsmile: :laugh:

PS I have lost 13 pounds in the last 3 months.....so I am happy with that!!

5'7" and 206 lbs. Losing at 1650+ exercise calories and losing 1-2 pounds per week. I like doing it this way because I know later on I will be able to maintain because I have not done anything extreme.