I really need some help from you guys :) I am trying to figure out what sort of calories I should be eating to lose a pound or two each week. Currently, I excercise with heavy weight training 3 days a week, and cardio 2 or 3 days a week (on off days from strength training). Right now I weigh in at about 170 lbs, and i'm 5' 10". I figure I only need to lose about 10 pounds or so. I'm fairly lean in the arms/shoulders/upper chest (I have decent vascularity, and can see many small muscles moving under the skin if I flex), but I've still got this gut that rolls up whenever I sit down or bend over, flabbly and unattractive. For my size, body weight, and age (Oh, yeah, I'm 21), most calorie calculators place me at 2500 calories a day to loose 2 lbs a week. It seems to me that this is way to high. If I ate that much a day I'm afraid I would "gain" weight instead (if not working out regularly). Do you guys have a better site that I coudl check? A tried and true method of figuring out what you need? Or is it possible that my metabolism just sucks that badly that in reality I am so far under estimated numbers? (To maintain, I've had sites tell me I need 3500 calories a day! I rarely eat over 2500 nowadays, don't see any weightloss, and if I do splurge for a week and eat a bunch of junk to put my in the upper range I put on a ton of weight). I coudl really use your advice. If there is anything I've left out, just let me know, I'll be glad to add a footnote :) Take care

The best way is to start out with a particular number of calories - which may as well be the one you've estimated from the formulas - try to stick close to this level for a few weeks, and then if your weight is falling too rapidly, increase the calories slightly, and if it's falling too slowly (or not falling), decrease the calories slightly. Then stick with the revised level for the next few weeks and re-assess.

Bear in mind that you MUST look at the net change over at least a couple of weeks to get an accurate picture of how your weight is responding to the calories.

I really need some help from you guys :) I am trying to figure out what sort of calories I should be eating to lose a pound or two each week. Currently, I excercise with heavy weight training 3 days a week, and cardio 2 or 3 days a week (on off days from strength training). Right now I weigh in at about 170 lbs, and i'm 5' 10". I figure I only need to lose about 10 pounds or so. I'm fairly lean in the arms/shoulders/upper chest (I have decent vascularity, and can see many small muscles moving under the skin if I flex), but I've still got this gut that rolls up whenever I sit down or bend over, flabbly and unattractive. For my size, body weight, and age (Oh, yeah, I'm 21), most calorie calculators place me at 2500 calories a day to loose 2 lbs a week. It seems to me that this is way to high. If I ate that much a day I'm afraid I would "gain" weight instead (if not working out regularly). Do you guys have a better site that I coudl check? A tried and true method of figuring out what you need? Or is it possible that my metabolism just sucks that badly that in reality I am so far under estimated numbers? (To maintain, I've had sites tell me I need 3500 calories a day! I rarely eat over 2500 nowadays, don't see any weightloss, and if I do splurge for a week and eat a bunch of junk to put my in the upper range I put on a ton of weight). I coudl really use your advice. If there is anything I've left out, just let me know, I'll be glad to add a footnote :) Take care

I consider your activity level is 1.55 that says 2900 for maintenance and 1000 off for 2 lbs loss says 1900 calories. Your splurge probably is at 3500 level.

Learn how to count calories and try 1900 a week for 6 weeks. No cheats. You might eat some heavy choice or lean cuisine frozen dinners for lunch and supper to show you what 300 calories looks like. Add a slice of WW bread and 1/2 glass of milk plus water. Drink 1-1.5 gallons of water a day. :gl:

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

In my experience, most mainstream "calorie counter" sites grossly overestimate most people's calorie requirements.

IMO, 2500 is too many calories for serious cutting at your height, weight, and activity level.

Try cutting it back to 2000-2100 or so for a few weeks and see what happens. If you're still not losing fast enough, 1800-1900 would not be out of the question.

You can also try more days of cardio per week (2-3 days/wk. is fewer than many people do), and/or cutting out your "splurge" days to create a bigger calorie deficit.

Good luck.

I'm still relatively new here, but one thing I discovered is I was badly estimating my calorie and protein intake. In the past I'd just estimate my calories based on the labels, and round off as best I could remember. Using fitday and literally tracking each and every morsel that I put in my mouth for a week led to quite a revalation, namely I was sabotaging myself with sneaky calories. Example, tuna sandwich on whole wheat with lettuce, tomato, and MAYO!! Or salad with blue cheese dressing. Or the late night fistfuls of peanuts while watching tv, with a beer chaser. You get the idea.

I'm currently trying to eat ~1900-2000 clean calories over 6 meals, and I'm feeling full a lot, because not having the empty calories from stuff like mayo, dressing, etc., means I have to make up for it with real food like chicken, tuna, veggies, etc. I know its working because clothes are looser & my gym strength is up, but I haven't lost more than 2-3 lbs of scale weight in 6 weeks.

If you haven't done so yet, go to fitday and really track what you're eating for a week or so. It could be an eye opener