Trying to Lose Weight

by Maria R, W.
(Philadelphia, PA)

Which calories should I follow?

I am struggling to lose more weight. I was 216 pounds Jan. 2009 and as of today Jan. 2010 I am 186 pounds.

I exercise 3x week about 40 minutes to 1 hr (calories burned = 400 to 600). I consume 1200 calories a day.

I read other websites and calculated my calorie intake anywhere from 1800 to 2400. I put myself as "moderately" active. Which calories counting should I follow?

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First of all...congratulations on losing 30 pounds over the last year. That means you've averaged about a 300 calorie deficit/day over the course of the year.

Good job on the exercise. However, I'd suggest classifying 120-180 minutes of exercise per week as "light" or "mild" when using the calorie calculators.

Without knowing your specifics, it's difficult to recommend a calorie level. However, a healthy rate of weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week. If you're not losing at that rate you need to either reduce your calories or increase your exercise...or both. If you're losing more than 2 pounds per week, you can increase your calorie intake slightly.

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