How many calories should I eat

[Rachel87819]

Hi everyone! I'm a 20 year old asain female and I want to lose around 10 pounds. Right now I'm at 120-122 and I've lost around 4 pounds already but my weight loss has stalled. I was eating around 1200-1300 calories and going on a 3-4 mile run on T, Th, S and Sunday and doing a HIIT workout and walking 2-3 miles on M, W, F. And going on a 6 mile bike ride once a week.  My fitbit says I burn around 2000-2200 calories a day. Does this seem reasonable or is the charge 2 overestimating? I was thinking I was eating too little and so I stopped losing weight but I'm not sure on what's going on. Also, I feel like eating 2000 calories is a lot for maintenance. As even on my more relaxed days I eat around 1,600 calories but my weight loss is still super slow. It's been 2 months since the beginning of my journey and I use a scale to weight my foods. Any advise would be helpful!

[Baltoscott]

Hi @Rachel87819 I saw in another post that you are 5'3". So at 122 lbs, you are right in the middle of the 'normal' BMI range at 21.6.

I like to compare Fitbit's calorie burn estimates with the NIH body weight planner calculator here. You have to estimate your activity, but using the 1.6 default multiplier it gives you probably are burning around 2000 calories a day.

So, if that's all true, and you are eating 1200-1600 calories/day, why aren't you losing weight?  My guess is because you are already a normal sized person.  To lose more weight you will likely have to lose muscle as well as any fat you have. Your body resisting this (being underweight is not a good long term survival strategy).

But what if you started thinking about this process differently?  You really are at a pretty good weight now. Instead of trying to lose more, which will cost you muscle, increase your calories to around 2,000 for a couple of months. Not junk or calories just for calories, but good nutritious food with a balance of macros including plenty of protein. Add some weight training, some yoga, or some bodyweight exercises.  As you build up a little more muscle you will might find that you look better in the mirror than you did at a lower weight.