How many calories do you need?

Anonymous

How many calories do you need?

Anonymous

Here's an easy way to determine how many calories you need to maintain your weight, based on age, height, gender and activity level. It seems about right in my book, although I find that I need a few hundred less than a reasonably active person. As we've discussed here, I'm guessing that our metabolisms as well as our battles with estrogen/lack of estrogen mean that we need to consume fewer calories than normal, average women. But if you plug in your info and then set the weight for your desired weight, you'll have a ballpark idea of what you can consume to get there, however slowly.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598

~Marin

abbadoodles

Thanks, Marin, great tidbit.

Now to figure out how the heck I can live on 1600 calories or less per day.

Tina

roseg

One thing to do is to move up to the next activity level. That increases what you can take in.

I work with a woman who is about 55, and she lost 30 pounds by skipping a bag of M&M's and a coke every day. Her Dr. was saying her blood sugar was marginal and she wants to avoid medication. 

ginger2345

Another way to look at it is : 500 calories less a day for 7 days = 1 pound. Do that over quite a number of weeks and you'll have substantial weight loss.

Increase your activity level and you don't need to make it the 500. I  find the most success when I combine calorie counting and moderately vigorous activity for 35-40 minutes daily.

It's not easy, but doable.

my3girls

Thanks Marin!!  I added that site to my favorites!! I have always been good about watching what I eat, but hitting my age, and this inactivity this past year due to BC..and now early menapause...sure has set me back.  My goal is to lose before my reconstruction!