When I first started really counting my calories this last summer, I was eating about 900 calories per day, I soon hit a plateau. I didn’t stop losing weight completely, but it slowed down dramatically. I could also see some loss in how my clothes fit, but I wasn’t seeing the scale move.

Maybe the scale isn’t that important. But I think when it comes to emotional support it is. So I began to wonder if I was eating enough calories per day.

Calories needed per day

The amount of calories you need per day varies with your weight, height, and activity level. However, one thing I quickly learned was that 900 calories was way too low.

Everything I read in books, or came across on the web stated that anything below 1,200 is counterproductive. Such a low daily caloric intake can cause your body to go into starvation mode, therefore slowing down your metabolism, and eventually your weight loss.

How to calculate calories needed per day

You will need the following information (be honest):

• Age
• Height
• Weight
• Activity level

Then visit MyPyramid.Gov to create your own pyramid plan by inputting the information above.

The image to the right is “My Pyramid Plan.”  As a 41 year old male weighing 246 pounds, 5′6″, with a moderate activity level, 2400 calories is needed per day for “modest weight loss over time.” This creates a deficit causing your weight loss.

I personally started working on this about two weeks ago, I made sure to increase my daily caloric intake from around 900 calories per day, to a minimum of 1,200 calories per day, and since I created my weight loss milestone blog entry on the 7th. I have lost 5 more pounds in just 9 days.

My conclusion:

Cutting calories is important to lose weight. However cutting too many calories can be detrimental and not only slow down weight loss, but cause health problems associated with nutrient deficiency.

I hope this blog entry helped you. If you too had weight loss surgery or are considering weight loss surgery, I would love to hear from you.

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