Can someone explain deficit?

I found on spark that i should eat 1200-1550 calories per day to lose weight.

How many calories should i eat to not gain weight? lets say when i have reached my goal and don't want to lose anymore.

Thanks, Jo

I think that if you're trying to lose weight AND you're exercising, that's a bit low for someone at your weight. I know that a person needs to reduce caloric intake to lose weight, but at a current 192 eating as little as 1200 and working out could put you into a severe deficit where your body will go into starvation mode, you'll stop losing weight, you'll start to lose muscle mass and over large periods of time it can weaken the heart; not to mention the train load of mental anxieties that happen when your body is in starvation mode. Hopefully Steve will see this and give you a better explanation than myself. But everyone's body is different and it's seems wrong that one site can generalize for the ENTIRE population.

As someone who has been a frequent dieter and someone who has tried the 1200 calories while weighing between 175-185, it was never safe. I know there are going to be a ton of people who disagree with me on this. But now that I eat a minimum of 1700 calories while exercising, the weight comes off easily, I'm not starving, and I'm not plateauing either. 1200 calories may be okay once you get into the 140s. But everyone should remember your body needs a minimum of 1200 calories a day and once you exercise you start cutting into that 1200 calories, your body goes into starvation mode, holds onto your body fat and cuts into your food intake. I wish that would have made more sense.

I'm going to stop talking before I give out the wrong info. Someone else take over please!!!!

OK, i was going according to everyones advice with sparkpeople, and it stated i should eat that much.. hmm. could that have meant without exercise? would that make more sense?

Thanks for your quick reply

The average daily calories for average people is around 2000. You can calculate your daily calories based on your age, height, weight, physical activities and thermic effects.

So 1550 calories per day is just about right if you want to lose weight. So once you reach your target weight just add back 500 calories.

After a week check your weight. If you lose weight, add 500 daily calories. If you gain weight, cut back 500 calories. Rinse and repeat.

Thanks Rubylee for that info.. I did the formula for the BMR and my total came up to 1668.. I just don't understand if that is the amount i should consume if i want to lose weight or just to keep my current weight?

Anyhow, i will up my calorie intake to 1400-1600 a day then and see how i do with that. Even with my current intake of 1200-1550 I always stay in the 1200's, so that should give me an extra 200-400 calories a day.

spark calculates my daily calorie needs to be between 1200 -1550 - and I grossly underestimate my exercise... I probably consume between 1600- 1900 a day and except for the past two weeks - have lost weight pretty steadily...

I think their calorie estimates are little low - but I like the food diary which is why i stick with it... the numbers they give are to lose weight - they are not maitenace calories... because you're not in maitenance yet.

the bmr calculation - is the number of calories it woud take to maintain your weight - provided that you had a perfectly functioning metabolism - which - most people who 'diet' regularly -do not... a 3500 calorie a week deficit from the bmr calculation should result in a 1 lb a week loss... so whatever the bmr rate is subtract 500 from it per day.. (i think anyhow)

If i subtract 500 it would leave me with around 1100, thats kind of low, unless i miscalculated I'll check again

ok so then maybe i'm wrong...

BMR is simply the calories you burn at rest. Trust me, you burn a lot more than that throughout the day when you factor in activity.

Ohhh I see now, i thought that was the amount of calories i should eat.. Thanks Steve, I should seriously take some time and read about calories. Right now it all seems so confusing.

It really isn't confusing. We all burn calories doing nothing at all. Surprisingly to most, this comprises most of our calorie expenditure each day. On top of this, we have to factor in activity and the thermic effect of food. Obviously, the more active you are, the more calories your body requires to maintain itself. The thermic effect of food is simply the energy it requires to catabolize the foods that we consume. Certain foods require more energy to breakdown, protein being the highest, which is another reason why it should be a large part of any diet.

Steve, do you find that exercising in the mornings start your metabolism earlier and thus better for your body?