A little shift in eating goals

I have been worried lately about gaining weight back after I hit my goal weight. My lifestyle has been so drastically changed, that I don't want to start the up and down roller coaster that so many people experience when they diet. I want to maintain a healthy lifestyle and still enjoy a few good things along the way. On Friday, Natalie said something that really made me start to think... she said, "I think I've been eating too few calories." She thought maybe that was why she didn't lose weight. I understand that if the body doesn't feel like it's getting enough, it will store away fat and it becomes harder to lose that fat.

So, I have done some research online and figured exactly what my body needs, calorie-wise (I don't know why I didn't figure this from the start..?)

For my age, weight and height, if I work out 60 minutes a day, I need 2,435 calories a day to maintain my current weight. It says I will reach my goal weight by eating 2,381 a day, but I'm not sure that is a significant enough of a difference. My current calorie intake goal has been 1400 and, as you know, I complain about feeling hungry often. I also don't feel like I'm getting all my nutritional needs from the food guide pyramid when I'm so restricted. So, I have decided to UP my calorie intake for the next week and see how I do...

My NEW CALORIE INTAKE GOAL: 1,700 calories/day. If I can lose weight at that amount, I may try to up it to 1,800. That way when I reach my goal weight, I can continue to add a bit more until I find a number that will be my maintenance intake.

So, here's to MORE calories!...