help calculating caloric intake needed

i'm a 5-foot tall young woman looking to lose about 10-15 pounds. i've been keeping track of how many calories i eat for about a week, and i usually eat about 1200-1400 per day. although i exercise fairly regularly (elliptical and weight training), this amount of calories is apparently what it takes to maintain my weight. i've heard the to lose weight, you're supposed to cut your caloric intake by 500cal/day, but only eat 700 calories in a day seems very low to me. has anyone else been in a similar situation/do you have any advice? thanks!

Mon. Mar 31, 12:46pm

eat 1000 and workout a little more. Since you are short and young the number should seem low since most "don't go below" numbers are probably for middle aged 5'5'' people.

Monday, March 31, 2008, 1:07 PM

You don't have to cut 500 calories to lose weight - that will just net you a 1 pound loss over the course of a week.

I'm 5'3" and had about the same amount of weight to lose. I did it by keeping my weekly average around 1200 calories (and working out 4-5x a week.) That got me about 1.2 - 1.6 pounds per week. I agree that you don't want to go to 700 calories. You could probably get away with 1000 calories a day since you're not that big, but you could also try averaging around 1100-1200 calories/day for awhile and see what happens. Assess your workouts, too. Do they need shaking up?

Monday, March 31, 2008, 2:07 PM

There are numerous calorie counter websites that help you determine what toconsume based on activity level, etc. Try www.thedailyplate.com
There was a previous thread on this that had some good links, too. One thread went into a lot of specifics about metabolism rates. I don't remember the thread title, or I would give it to you.

Monday, March 31, 2008, 2:12 PM

Why do people think just because you're small, you don't need a lot of calories? I'm short too, yet according to those calculators, I need to eat around 1700-1800 calories to lose about a pound a week or to attain and maintain my goal weight. I don't have a lot to lose either (20 pounds total or so). When I do stick to that calorie amount, I do lose weight. Yes, it's slow, but this is a lifestyle change. I think what is helpful is to lift weights (of course cardio as well) to gain muscle to help decrease your body fat, since you don't have a lot to lose, while eating reasonably.

Monday, March 31, 2008, 2:46 PM

daily plater here

That website has completely changed my life.

http://www.thedailyplate.com/

The link below describes what I saw that serendipitous morning of January 2 of this year while watching a technical report on the 6:00 am news (topic was helping you techie-wise with New Year's resolutions). Been a user since, with my own recipes, personalized, customized meals I created myself (for instance, one click automatically calculates MY version of oatmeal = 1/3C oats, 2/3C soy milk, 1/2 of 1/3C dried blueberries or cranberries, Splenda, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla powder, dash grated sea salt) all at 255 calories... 4g fat... 0mg cholesterol... 690mg sodium... 52g carbs... 19g sugar... 4g fiber... 7g protein. ONE click puts it in my diary!

Same goes for my baked sweet potato (156 cals);
cottage cheese with dates and tangerines (243 cals);
grilled peanut butter and pear sandwich (310 cals);
pasta salad with sallmon (474 cals).
etc.

And those recipes are just my private instant frequent meals that are just one click away for my daily diary. Private, just for me.

It's all in modifying how you cook using alternative ingredients; i.e, Best of the Egg instead of whole eggs to keep calories and cholesterol in check, etc.

Completely addicting website. So much so that you don't want to screw up!

Today I'm making a version of low cholesterol, low fat, lower sodium tomato beef curry lo mein. I will write down my ingredients and procedure. If it's any good. I'll post it as a recipe to include how many servings it makes, and it's there for me or anyone to add to their plate for the day.

I'm actually pretty proud of my recipe for apple-blackberry pie in wheat crust (experiment that turned up well and after I posted it, a user gave me 5 stars and I became a subsequent contributor!).

Not bragging at all here. Just happy that I now have a fantastic and wonderful and I can't praise enough tool to help me and my husband eat healthier. It TEACHES you, or rather, TRAINS you about food labels, which is something we all could use an education in.

In the news, someone put what I saw that day on YouTube!

Link

Monday, March 31, 2008, 3:01 PM

Size Does Matter

That's why BMR calculators ask for height and weight - it makes a difference.

I think someone made a great analogy about calorie need and size a long time ago-

A toy poodle needs less food than a Great Dane.

In my lifetime, I will never lose any weight eating 1800 calories a day, unless I'm training for the Iron Man, and in my lifetime that will never happen either.

Monday, March 31, 2008, 4:05 PM

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