Calories - so how much is TOO much?

[lindsayanne0]

I know counting calories isn't important right now but instead following your "hunger signals". Perhaps it's because I'm so addicted to the low cal/low fat diets I've been following for so many years...but I worry about going overboard with the calories. I use Sparkpeople to track what I eat. The 'recommended' calorie range listed on there for me is 1200 to 1550. I don't necessarily follow that right now but I typically find I'm eating about 1500 to 1650 calories per day. Is this going overboard? Or is it more just a matter of making sure your ratios are in check? Thoughts?

[tmn]

Some of it depends on how tall you are.

BMR Calculator Use this link to learn your basal metalbolic rate. This will show you what you're burning when you're doing nothing other than the body doing all it needs to at your weight. Then figure your active metabolic weight for the calories your body would need for the kind of activity you do. Anything above that, and you will gain weight. Eating less than that will create a deficit and you'll lose weight.

I now am trying to watch my own calories because when I'm attempting to regain my health, it turned out that I wasn't eating enough (below 1200) and actually putting myself in starvation mode. When I wasn't trying to lose weight, whew, I don't EVEN want to go there! My BMR is 1800 and my active is over 2000. The one point I'm not clear about for myself is can I go below 1800 and am looking for the answer to that. What I do know is, don't go below 1200. I'm thinking from others' examples I can eat 1500 and safely lose weight properly as long as I'm working out well.

At the very least, the info above should help you determine if you're eating too much, and don't go below 1200.

[lindsayanne0]

Thanks. I'm 5' 4". It says my BMR would be 1534 cals with no activity. So I must be okay since I obviously have physical activity on top of that.

[carbless_in_seattle]

Originally Posted by lindsayanne0

Thanks. I'm 5' 4". It says my BMR would be 1534 cals with no activity. So I must be okay since I obviously have physical activity on top of that.

There's a calculator on fitnessmagazine.com-- i used it today-- I'm 5'4" and I said my activity was moderate. It said to maintain my weight I would need to consume 2300 calories.

They say you aren't supposed to count calories on Atkins, and that's because atkins does it for you. If you follow the numbers correctly and the percentages correctly, it keeps your calories in check accordingly (1600/day for induction)