Also, I have an 8 mile/week challenge going for myself. Do you already get in more than 8 miles, Sophie? If so, how many do you get in?

its 9.22 pm here. so that means i will have done my run much earlier than you right? but it doesnt matter - its just the motivation that counts right? and also you will be able to see what i did to give you motivation to do it!
erm it depends on what my training program is - although i tend to think of it in kms. this week i have done probably about 20-25kms ish. i dont know how much that is in miles

20 kilometers = 12.4274238 miles
25 kilometers = 15.5342798 miles

Ok, I don't think I can push myself up that far since this past week was my first week back on the treadmill.

Added you as a friend on myspace!

i am a runner - am traiing to be selected hopefully for national squad thi/next year which is why im pushing my training up. 8 miles is a really good target for you

Hi photocrazed Did you include your daily activities in the BMR calculation? Have you seen wishes' website? She has a good explanation of calculating your BMR: Free Simple Easy Weight Loss :: Free Weight Loss Website
I calculated my own daily calorie need is about 2300 calories and I eat 1500 calories on average which is 5600 calories a week deficit or about a pound and a half a week (in theory!). Given that a pound = 3500 calories. So as Sophie said, to lose a pound a week you need a 500 calorie deficit a day, and therefore 1000 a day for 2lbs a week. 1200-1300 is the lowest intake for a woman so your current calories are okay
I hope it helps
Congratulations on the 7lbs down so far and good luck!

EDIT: SORRY I WAS REALLY SLOW IN TYPING THIS OUT AND HONEYBUNCH82 HAS ALREADY TOLD YOU ABOUT BMR AND CALORIE NEEDS - SORRY!!!

The only thing I did was go to a website linked somewhere here and put in the numbers it asked for. .. man, why is this so very hard? HA!

So I guess I need to check out wishes stuff! Thank you for the link!

I ran track, played volleyball and was a cheerleader in high school. I loved running, and could really see myself doing a lot more of it, if I just had motivation.

Ok, based on that, I should be at least 2084 BMR ....

SO cutting back to 1300 cals would be enough to get me about 1.5 lbs per week at least if I'm guessing right.

Recommended Daily Calorie Intake Calculator for Adult males, females & Children & Pregnant Women - Hpathy.com

Just noticed this link on Wishes' website to the easy way of calculating! Hope you saw it too!

Thanks so much, Rachie!

To lose 1.5 lbs/week
Cals: 1324.50
Carbs: 182.12
Protein: 49.67
Fats: 85.81

I know I don't get that much fat in each day. I try to limit the amount of fat to 20-30G.. I don't know if I feel comfortable increasing to 85G.

Ok, I got my rear up and on the treadmill! My weekly goal was 8 miles, and my actual was 10.45, so that's 2.43 miles today!!! YEAH! I have reset my mileage for this week Starting on Sunday!

Hey - that's great on the mileage! Great job I thought the amount fat sounded like a lot too? I thought I read that 20-30g was good. I'll try and find out some more about that... will let you know what I find tomorrow

Thanks, I see that you went out and did a run outside.. you deserve more Kudos than me!!! Good luck at your party and your on your long run tomorrow!

I just read all of your journal just now, and you have been quite successful. Great job on the 7 pounds. 7 pounds is a lot. And it feels great to put out exercise goals and then meet them. It feels like you are pushing yourself and increasing your body's limits. That's a great feeling, like an athlete almost or something. anyway, you're doing great.

I also used that BMR formula, and I figured out what to lose 1.5 pounds a week, I need to consume around 1300 calories a day. Thanks for posting how to do the calculations.

Thanks! The 7 lbs is all weight I have gained probably since Thanksgiving. =( and what took me all of January to lose.. with a real focus these last 2 weeks.

I was really excited when I met my exercise goal on Thursday and I'm going to stick with this goal for February and then maybe increase the goal for March. I really don't want to increase until my body is used to getting this much exercise per week. I really am pushing myself and some days it is harder than others. My hubby wants me to be healthy and understands my need to exercise so it helps most days, but he has been working long hours and we haven't seen much of each other so I feel bad about exercising when he's been around.

Thank you for your words of encouragement.