new to cc help please

After struggling since christmas to lose any weight(or lose a few lbs and put back on) I have decided today that cc would be my best option!
i weigh 11st 10lbs and im 5ft 6
How many calories should i be eating? different websites say different amounts of calories needed to lose weight and im really confused. please help!

i would like to lose about 19lbs not sure if that makes any difference to my total calorie intake

How many calories are you on to maintain now?
its 3500 calories to save to lose 1lb in weight in theory, so you could work out yourself roughly what to have as to how much you want to lose a week.

Do you do much exercise?

Because you dont want to lose too much I'd stay as high in cals as you can then when you get to goal you're comfortable with how much you can eat.


I would start at 1500 cals and see how youre doing after a week at that, maybe you can go up and still lose if youre active. Theres no set number really, except I would avoid going too low while your 'normal' weight to begin with nearly.

Hi Kerry! The best online tool for working this out, in my opinion, is thedailyplate.

Calorie Counter, Calorie Tracker & Food Journal | MyPlate on LIVESTRONG.COM

Pop your details into there and you'll be given a magical number! If you exercise, then you may want to either factor this into your daily allowance and increase your net calories per day, or eat the exercise calories on the day you're exercising (I do this for the extra oomph!).

I also agree with Rowan's post - Because you dont want to lose too much I'd stay as high in cals as you can then when you get to goal you're comfortable with how much you can eat.

Thanks Rowanx2 and fattack
i didn't count calories before, as i was on slimming world so have no idea how many calories i been consuming! i struggled to lose weight but did really well with them previously.
Before i seen your posts i decided to do 1200 cals a day and have done this the last 2 days, when i went onto the calorie counting website as suggested, it says to consume 1630 cals a day to lose weight (this seems an awful lot to me! i want to lose the 19lbs by beginning of may (if possible)for hols but think ive left it too late!
i do not exercise much at all probebly 15 mins 3 times a week as i am worn out after a day in work- excuses excuses!lol

Hi, i eat 850 a day. Last yar i was earing around 500 - 700 a day! Lost alot of weight. Around 2 stone. Im 11st atm and ive stared again by havin 850-900 a day ( this is to make it more healthier) and im also wanting to loose weight for around the same time as yourself. X

Ok, so there's 10ish weeks to the beginning of May, so 19lbs isn't an unhealthy goal if we look at it as 2lbs a week.
If you're uncomfortable with 1630, maybe try 1500 for a week and see how that goes? If you don't lose, then drop an extra 50 until you get that 2lb loss. If you have 19 to lose then I'm guessing you're not particularly overweight anyway so 1500 may give you better results than 1630.

If you do even a little bit more exercise you'll really notice the difference and it'll boost your metabolism too, making it easier for your body to burn the healthy things you're putting inside it! I know it's hard when you're busy and tired from work - I'm lucky because my work is within a half hour walk of my gym so I have no excuses!

Thanks i will definatly step up the exercise!
im finding it really strange going from slimming worlds unlimited food to calorie counting, so much of my favourite syn free foods are high in calories, but i am not hungry and just have to find low cal foods that i enjoy- not struggling on the snacks (found plenty)just the main meals.