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Eliza is a licensed professional counselor specializing in all aspects of disordered eating, overeating, and eating disorder behaviors. She is also the Clincial Director for Wellspring Camp La Jolla in California. She has a passion for helping people understand the links between their physical and emotional selves. To have weight loss success, Eliza believes that people need to understand the connections between thoughts, actions, and behaviors as well as proper nutrition and exercise. In this blog she will answer all weight-related questions from weight loss followers.

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Teen Weight Loss Advice: How Many Calories Should I Eat?

Posted by Linda Daignault on Tue, Mar 16, 2010 @ 01:53 PM
  
  
  
  
Add to delicious  delicious  
  
  

Eliza,

I am 5' 5" and weigh 185 pounds. How many calories do I need to eat to lose weight?
Thanks,
Kristin

 

Hi Kristin,

This is a complicated question that has more than one "right" answer. I don't like to prescribe a calorie goal for people trying to lose weight because it varies so much from person to person for so many reasons. The number of calories your body needs can be affected by exercise, metabolism, age, gender, stress, genetics, etc. etc. So instead of focusing on a specific number, I would suggest keeping a food diary about your calorie intake. Research has proven that for those struggling with obesity, sticking to a considerably low-fat diet is what works best for long-term weight control. At any Wellspring Program you would be asked to stick to a diet under 20 grams of fat per day.


Along with decreasing the fat significantly in your diet I would highly recommend keeping a food record, or diary, of what you eat every day. I would calculate at least the calories and fat of all of your meals. This way you can have immediate feedback and information about what you are eating and why you may or may not be losing weight.


If you find that you are eating around 20 grams of fat per day and around 1500 calories, and you are losing weight each week, maybe this is a good calorie goal for you. You can use your food record to look back and make any necessary adjustments to your diet to achieve the goals that you are looking for.

I hope this helps!


Eliza



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Comments

hey watz up i am 5foot 7 inches i weigh 238 pounds how many calories do i need to lose to lose weight
Posted @ Monday, March 22, 2010 11:21 PM by shannon
Hi Shannon,  
 
 
 
Another tough question. Calories needed varies so much from person to person depending on your metabolism, activity level, etc. Just like I told Kristin above, I would start by keeping track of your food intake for about a week or so. Maybe start at a calorie intake between 1800-2000 calories. Write everything down, and I mean everything! If you are eating this many calories and not losing weight, you can go back through your journal and look at what you might take out or decrease. Keeping a food log of what you eat daily is the best predictor of long-term success, and it gives you a lot of information about your food habits.  
 
 
 
Don’t forget that losing weight is not just about what you eat, but also about how much you move! Don’t expect to lose all the weight you want by decreasing calories and not getting off the couch! Losing weight is a difficult and sometimes slow process, it’s important to consider all factors involved and to STICK WITH IT! It’s a lifestyle change, not just a temporary endeavor.  
 
Posted @ Tuesday, March 23, 2010 10:21 AM by Eliza
I am 203 pounds overweight 5"3 inches female. I need to know how many calories I should be eating total per day and all per meal. I also wanted to know if cardio exercise (running around track 3 times- occasionally walking most of the time) is a good way to burn calories and a DVD called Slim and 6 which I will do together afterward the cardio. I also wanted to know if yoga (artistic) will help. If you can answer these questions and email it to me I would be really obliged!
Posted @ Monday, January 03, 2011 7:34 PM by Alishba
Thank you for sharing your great article and I like it very much. Welcome to Canada Goose Parka.
Posted @ Thursday, September 29, 2011 10:07 PM by Canada Goose Parka
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