Daily calorie intake???

Hey all, I know I rarely post in this forum. I am more of a "skimmer" and I'm not actually online much to post, but I digress. I thought I would post this here because even though I posted this a few weeks back on my state board I did not get a huge amount of replies and I thought maybe getting other people who are the same length out that I am as well as people from all over the country who are going through different programs and might have different requirements. I was 11 months out yesterday. My "program" goes by cups to measure food -- not calories, etc. While I usually eat well within their "cup" guideline I feel like I may be eating too many or too few calories. Like a lot of ya'll my weight loss has slowed waaaaaaayyyy down and short of exercising every dang day for an hour I wonder what else I can do?? I have been trying to track my calories on fitday.com It seems I usually get in over 70 grams of protein and around 900-1000 calories a day. Of course there are days when I only get in like 700 and some when I am getting in probably closer to 1300 (those times when I eat out - even tho I always share - its too hard to accurately count). How many calories SHOULD we be consuming? I am not great at exercising ..... I try to do so of some sort 3 times a week, but often it doesn't happen that often. Anyone have any suggestions?? Start -- 368 3/6/06 Current -- 199.5 since 2/1/07 goal -- 160 -- ???

You sound about right to me..... Anything under about 700 calories and your body will be in starvation mode... so 700-800+ minimum. My Nut. states around 1000-1200 calories is what we should be eating now. I try to stay between 800-1000, normally Im closer to 1000, and on days when Im not so good about food choices, I go up 1000-1300 or so.... Sounds like your right on track... I understand your programme tracks by the volume of food you eat..... but weight loss comes down to simply calories in and calories out-- so tracking your calories is a good idea

I usually try to stay between 900 and 1100 calories. Usually, that is not a problem as I consume mostly protein. I was on a kick around Christmas where I started eating carbs, and they are definitely addictive, but I have been doing protein only since Sunday and the craving seems to be going away. The carbs definitely made my calorie count go up, so that is why I think I stopped losing. I have not weighed myself since Sunday, but I will this Sunday and see if the change in diet is working. I also don't work out as often as I would like. I try to make sure I get a lot of walking in at work, and shoot for 10,000 steps a day, but I know I need to get back to working out, I just have to make it a priority... Good Luck, sounds like you are doing great. You have lost 168 lbs! That is wonderful!

I'm getting between 800-900 calories and 90-100 grams of protein right now. I'm trying to step it up to between 900-1000 or even more because I'm afraid I'm not eating enough (especially since I've been working out 6 days a week lately).

I don't really keep up with my calories and mine goes from one day 600 to 1200 the next...i just try to make sure whatever I eat has protein and if I know I ate one too many things today I shouldn't have..the days I get in 1200 calories the next day I make sure I get in the foods that are better for me. My nut said to go with the weight too but she also said even though I should limit my meal to 1/2 cup make sure it's a half a cup of meat, not a half a cup of milkshake. Sounds to me like you are right on track with the rest of us....doing great by the way to go! mimi

Hi Jen, I think we are all about the same. I get 1000-1200 cals a day. The past two months my calorie intake was closer to 1200-1300 so I recently went back to no snacking. I eat 4-5x a day, mostly protein. I cut out the crackers and other carb snacky foods so my calories are back down closer to 1000 a day. I hope that it helps me as I haven't lost any weight for the past 2 months. Just keep tracking what you eat and you should be fine. Hugs, Robin