weight loss calorie restriction confussion

So, I am confused on the best way to go about losing weight by cutting calories. I hear that you should just cut 500 calories from your diet daily to loose 1lb per week. But there are also people that are on like 1200-1800 calorie diets. I am pretty sure i eat more than what subracting 500 calories from my diet would get me to get those totals. If I cut too many calories wont my body go into starvation mode and store the calories. What should I do. Please Help. Thanks

To avoid starvation mode, never go under 1000 calories a day.  Stick around 1500 calories (give or take a hundred).  You should do fine with that for a bit, and adjust accordingly.

Weight loss boils down to a very simple formula in the end, if you burn more calories than you eat, you will lose weight.  A pound of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories.  so if you eat 500 calories less than you burn each day for 7 days, you will lose a pound (7*500=3500).  The key point to understand, however, is that you must eat 500 calories less than you burn.  Cutting 500 calories from your normal diet may or may not allow you to lose weight.  For example, lets assume you normally burn 3500 calories a day and eat 4000 calories a day.  Cutting 500 calories a day in that case will not cause you to lose any weight at all, it will merely bring you to an equilibrium where you wouldn't gain or lose weight.  If, on the other hand, you were burning 3500 calories a day and eating 3500 calories a day and you cut 500 calories from your daily diet, then you would lose a pound a week. The problem is knowing how much you burn.  You can get an estimate of that number from many sites on the net, just google basal metabolic rate, pick a site and plug in your height and weight.  That will typically give you an idea of your resting BMR, or how many calories you burn a day if you do pretty much nothing during the day.  There are more accurate methods of determining your BMR, but usually those require a visit to your doctor.  Once you know that number, you can set a calorie limit 500 calories below it and reasonably expect you will lose a pound a week if you stay to that daily caloric intake.  You may lose more per week depending on your activity level. The reason you see people on 1200-1800 calorie diets is primarily because a typical BMR for a normal weight person is between 1800 and 2700 calories a day.  Thus, they need to shoot for a caloric intake below that range.  The heavier you are the higher your BMR will be though, which means you do not necessarily need to get down to a 1200-1800 calorie diet to lose weight.  The reason I or anyone else would go to that level of caloric intake is to maximize the weight loss per week. Hope that helps,

Wow.  I found that incredibly useful and I didn't even ask the question.  Thank you.

I think one of us has some skills in the calorie field.  Thanks for the info. 

If you have been lurking at all round here, then you know this has been a bit of an ongoing  discussion.  Yes, a person would lose eating 500 less calories...let's say she starts out at eating 3000 calories every day, and reduces down to 2500 caloires per day. That person would lose...for a while. After a certain amount of weight loss, she will notice that the weight loss slows or stops - that is the clue for  the calories need to go down even more. 2500 daily to 2000 daily.... and so on. I am at a point where i'm fairly close to goal +/- 15 more pounds. I am currently eating about 1500-1600 ish calories and for my body to lose at all, it's looking like I need to get down to more like 1200-1400 ish daily and stay there. (But I am an older person who has %^^$-ed her metabolism UP, long story...) In my opinion, the more weight you have to lose, the more you can/should eat in less shocking increments. I seriously think going too low out the gate tends to set a person up to fail.  It's drastic to say the least to go from 3000 to 1200. Much better to actually stay within a range you know you will stay within. More importantly, learning something about how to realistically "get there".  I so respect anyone who can and does do eat that little bit  - look around...they are around here.

This from my profile - a link somebody on Lapband Forum puts up once in a while. (NOTE: I'll tell you right now, the online bmr's tend to be toooooo generous, this is how scientific standards are typically, a little one-size-fits-all.  For example, mine says I should be able to eat more like 1700 calories and lose...NOT! You have to do your own body then see what REALLY works for you) ANYWAY, the article: Your BMR, or basal metabolic rate (metabolism), is the energy (measured in calories) expended by the body at rest to maintain normal bodily functions.  This continual work makes up about 60-70% of the calories we use ("burn" or expend) and includes the beating of our heart, respiration, and the maintenance of body temperature.  Your BMR is influenced by a number of factors, including age, weight, height, gender, environmental temperature, diet, and exercise habits.

Because of the increased activity of cells undergoing division, the younger the person, the higher (faster) the metabolism.  And the taller and heavier a person is, the faster their metabolism.  The good news is that when you are heavier you burn more calories, and thus it is easier to lose weight -- however, one reason weight loss becomes more difficult as you lose weight is your BMR decreases.  Because of the greater percentage of lean muscle tissue in the male body, men generally have a 10-15% faster BMR than women - so it is generally faster for men to lose weight.  And when you go on restrictive, traditional diets, your BMR can drop, and that makes it important to increase activity levels during that time.  In general, depending on the intensity and duration, consistent exercise can also increase your BMR.

To lose 1 pound per week means that you have to consume 500 less calories daily than you burn.  To lose two pounds per week you have to consume 1000 less calories daily than you burn.  Beyond this amount of weight loss you can develop loss of muscle mass, which makes you feel tired and is not a healthy way to lose weight http://www.drsimpson.net/06_weight_loss/BMR_calculator.htm

Neecee, the online calculator that I used said you should only be able to eat about 1500 calories to stay the same weight, without exercise.  I'm not saying you are wrong.  It just goes to show there may be a vast difference in online calculators.

Also depends entirely on your starting weight to begin with. My mom chastised me and said that 1250 a day isn't *that* low. What she wasn't understanding is that for a woman of the size I was, my basal needs were something like 2700 calories a day-- and that's if I never moved!

yeah well, i do exercise and eat about that and am not losing! Go figger.