Hey guys, I'm new here. I was just curious if anyone could tell me the amount of calories I should be taking in in order to lose about a pound a week to a pound and a half per week. I'm 24 years old, 5'10 and I weighed 187 this morning when I weighed myself. Currently, because of the stupid economy, I have a master's degree and am working retail so during my shifts I work 8 hours a day on my feet the whole time, no sitting down. I'm a cashier so I'm always moving and picking up and bagging things. I'm not really sure how many calories this burns. I don't know whether to list myself as moderately active or lightly active. I've also heard some people list themselves as sedentary and then add on every single activity they did during the day. I'm not sure if that would be the better option for me. I've been using The Daily Plate, I'm not sure if there is a better calorie counter out there but if there is, let me know!

It's only a part-time job so my hours vary. For instance, last week I worked 40 hours on my feet and this week I'm only working 32 on my feet and next week it will be only 24 hours. It's basically how much they need me. On my days off I have been encouraging myself to run/walk about a mile to two miles. I'm trying to build myself up to running again. I do either that at a dirt track near my house which I walk to and then do my exercise and then walk home( i probably walk half a mile there and back combined) or I will take a 2.5 mile walk around the neighborhood. I'd say I do that about 3 days a week. My feet usually hurt really bad when I get home so I normally don't exercise on the days I work. Maybe since the days are getting longer I should start exercising before work early in the morning? I also play on a softball team for fun on the weekends on Sundays but we also have practice on Saturdays for about 2 hours or so where we practice catching and batting. Thanks, guys!

Did you read the sticky regarding calories?

I read the calorie portion of the Nutrition 101 sticky, I didn't see another sticky that just focused on calories. Basically you need to cut down on 3500 calories a week to lose a lb of weight and not go below 1200 calories a day otherwise your body will go into starvation mode.

I basically just want to figure out my BMR but I am confused as to what activity level to list myself as.

What you just said is all incorrect.

You need to cut approximately 3500 calories per week to lose 1 pound of fat. Not weight. Weight doesn't account for solely fat which is why is misguides many people.

And no, there is no set caloric intake that flips a switch into starvation mode.

You haven't read the stickies. I suggest you do so.

Start here:

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/topic...aptations.html

Your activity would be sedentary-lightly moderate (at the most) Are you doing any other activities like going to the gym, running, walking etc.?

Your weight (in pounds) * TIMES 11= calories your body needs to function

Example:

165pounds * 11 = 1,815 (Plus any other activity like exercise etc...)