I lifted this from Jessie Ahroni on Smartbandsters. I think someone may have posted the link already, but nobody tells it like Jessie.

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In diabetes education we figure a person's calorie needs based on 10-16

calories per pound of ideal body weight. If my ideal body weight were 135

pounds I would need to eat between 1350 and 2160 calories per day --

depending on my age, body fat, lean muscle mass, gender, activity,

medications, etc. I ALWAYS use 10 calories per pound of ideal body weight

in formerly obese females at the usual activity level. Only if they are

very small or losing more than 2 or 3 pounds a week would I start to worry.

I don't recommend people drop below 1,000 calories a day for long. You can

actually meet all your nutritional needs in 1,000 calories a day if you make

perfect food choices. But nobody does that. In my case I'm obviously

eating enough since I'm not losing.

Here's a place where you can calculate it. Remembers these numbers are

estimates.

Protein (15%) for your Basal Caloric Rate

187.95 grams of carbohydrate (55%) for your Basal Caloric Rate

Thanks, Leatha! I calculated mine and at the bottom is says that I will lose 1 pound every 16.588 days. That is based on no less than 1200 calories a day. Once I get good restriction will I be eating a lot less than 1200 calories a day? Otherwise how will I be able to lose 1-2 lbs per week?

Hmmm....sometimes I think the more I learn, the more confused I get!

lol, me too. All I know is that it says no one should go under 1000 calories per day.

I am not mathmetician, but one thing that has stuck with me from Jessie..

If you want to weigh or your ideal weight is 120 - you need to only consume enough calories to maintain THAT weight, which would be 1200 per day. This would equate to 10 calories per one lb of body weight.

If your ideal weight is 130, then it would be 1300 and so on.

That helps me to understand sort of 'why'. I suppose once you enter in exercise and Protein vs fat and carbs and your own real metabolism this could fluctuate or vary?

Bottom line, if I'm not losing, I HAVE to be eating enough calories to maintain this weight.

This is great info. And of course if you want to lose faster than what it says, I suppose you could increase the exercise.

Nancy