Diet questions?

Question

How can I figure out how many calories I should eat a day in order to lose weight?

Is counting calories and fat grams enough?

Answer 1

Eat several (5-6) small portion meals a day...your body will burn calories faster and build your metabolism in a short period of time.
(eat about every 2 hours)
The first 8-10 pounds you shed is water...after that you will lose an average of 2 - 3 lbs per week
Meal suggestions:
piece of fruit
bowl of cereal (high fiber low sugar)
string cheese, summer sausage
cottage cheese/yogurt
tuna/turkey/ham sandwich (lettuce, tomatoe)
pizza
soup
salad
raw veggies
boiled eggs
popcorn
Always eat a good dinner (small portions)...fish, meat (bake, broil, or grill) potatoes/pasta/rice, veggie...your body needs carbs, protein and vitamins to stay healthy
Low calorie sweets...ginger snaps, fig bars, 100% juice popsicles
Drink plenty of water
Drink milk or juice/water with every meal (no soda pop)
Stay away from munchies, fried & fatty foods (no fast-food)
Never eat before going to bed.
Cardio exercise is great, but most people don't continue for an extended period, do "daily" simple exercise like walking/hiking, biking and swimming which are low impact, play games like tennis, basketball, baseball, or volleyball, they will help to lose weight, tone your body, make new friends and you'll have fun doing it.

Answer 2

Weight loss depends on one thing - taking in less calories than you burn up. This is affected by may factors. Your starting weight, how much weight you have to lose, your metabolic rate, your activity level, your sex, build, and your food intake.
So if your a small person, fine build, not very active, and have a few pounds to lose, you should eat less than some one who was the same height and build as you, but did a 30 minute cardio work out 5 days a week, and weights for 3.
Search the web for the various charts describing activities and calories consumed, and recommended calorie intake charts. Its too variable to give you a definitive answer here.

Answer 3

Your diet should be no less than 1200 calories a day.
Otherwise,you will lose muscle mass and your metabolism will slow.

(I know you don't want that)

Good Luck! ^_^