I have used the BMR calculator, which says my baseline is 1579 calories. I have never used this tool before and don't quite understand what to do with it.

1. Is 1579 the minimum that I need to eat to maintain my current weight?

2. Is that really enough? Most of the women my age/size/activity level that I am familiar with eat 2500-3000 calories every day and they are still changing fat for lean muscle mass. Will I slow down my metabolism by taking this kind of hit and not lose weight at all?

3. I know the BMR can be inaccurate for people with a lot of lean muscle mass... how many calories should I add to balance this out? Should I balance it out at all?

I'm Googling... but I thought this might be a good place to get a more detailed response?

The number you got is the amount of calories you need to maintain your weight if you had no activity/excersize for the day. I'm no expert but a little poking around got me to:

BMR = Base Metabolic Rate. BASE = what you need to maintain basic body functions like breathing, heart beating, etc. If you laid in bed all day and did nothing, your BMR would keep you alive.

Your maintenance calories are what you need to eat in order to maintain your weight with your normal level of daily activity. (See the chart posted above.)

If you subtract calories from your BMR, then you're not eating enough. You need to subtract from your maintenance overall .. and generally about 20% to 30% less in order ot lose weight at a healthy and safe rate.

Thanks Bob, thanks Kara. I needed to make sure I was understanding correctly because I am trying to be exact... I didn't want to misunderstand and go too far one way or the other.

I'm trying to eat more nutritious food, too... it's a lifestyle not a diet, right? It's taking me a while to get this.

BMR (1579) x 1.55 = 2447 calories

So I can eat just under 2500 calories every day and I will maintain my current weight... okay! That seems very livable. So weight loss becomes about the food choices I make then, doesn't it? And the efficiency of my work outs?

Exactly.

If you're eating really well, you can probably cut your daily intake by 300-500, and add in a little more exercise, and you'll lose at a nice even rate.

And really, it's not a race. It's about long term health. That was a hard thing for me to realize, honestly. Every time before that I decided I wanted to lose weight, I wanted to lose it all NOW. It was realizing that being healthy for the rest of my life that made losing weight possible - as opposed to a struggle.