Q & A- how many calories should I eat to loose weight?

Hi,

A couple years ago I was the same weight and just by eating about 1200 calories a day I lost the 10-15 pounds I wanted to (at the end of December I was about 126 - I am 5'2'', female, petite - I want to be around 114.) So I started doing that again. But, I also incorporated a 25 minute walk home a few times a week (not every day because it's so icy out) and some days playing about a half hour of wii boxing and tennis (combined not half hour each). Other than that I am pretty sedentary - I work in an office. I also switched to eating gluten free, thinking I might have an allergy. I don't think I do now, but thought gluten free might be healthier anyway since I tried it.

So, last time, I was consistently losing 1 pound a week. Now, I'm not. I am 122.4 today. On Saturday I was some how 121.4 and had my off day on Saturday (ate chinese food). Now, I don't know if I am recovering from eating a lot on Saturday, or if walking and playing wii is really having an impact and I should eat more.

Anyone have advice?

Thank you.

Katie's answer

A good rule of thumb for your size (im the same size almost) is to never eat under 1200 calories. It will put your body into a starvation mode and your metabolism will slow down significantly. I agree that you need to up your caloric intake. I would aim for around 1500/day. At your size you can easily loose weight this way.

When do you eat. If your body has stopped loosing weight then it is time to change somethings. Basically you need to add 2 small snacks per day to your diet. Lets say right now you are eating 1200/day in your 3 meals. You can add 1 100-150 calorie snack inbetween breakfast and lunch and 1 100-150 calorie snack between lunch and dinner. This is going to put you into the calorie bracket that you need to be at and it is also going to rev your metabolism significantly, therefore you are going to notice your body loosing weight.

Also, your at a good weight for your body. If it comes to the point where it is getting really hard to loose weight (through diet only, not exercise) I think of that as your body telling you that it is happy where it is at. When this happens you can do 2 things. 1- either be happy with your healthy weight. 2- start to up your exercise.

I hope this helps you!!

-Katie