The name of this site, No. Calories Needed, is a play on the abbreviation of the word “number”, as in the “number of calories needed.”  Here’s how I estimated the number of calories I needed to eat, and still lose weight.

I visited several web sites, searching for calories needed per day, etc.  After averaging the results from the various calculators, I learned that I could eat between 2500 and 3000 calories and maintain my weight.  To lose weight, I have to eat between 1500 and 2000 calories.  Most sites put my daily caloric needs at around 2800 calories.  So, I shoot for 1800 calories a day.  So, each day, I’m burning at least 1000 calories, even if I don’t do any exercise.  If I do some exercise, I will actually burn more calories.

I am not super-strict about my intake.  Twice in the last month, I’ve eaten more than 2000 calories, but never more than 2200.  Almost everyday, I’ve eaten 1700-1900 calories.

(I also calculated how many calories I would need to eat if I wanted to weight 150 pounds.  Most calculators returned an answer between 2000 and 2200 calories.  So, If I want to eventually weight 150 pounds, I need to eat like someone who weighs 150 pounds.)

I don’t worry about protein, carbohydrates, and fats.  If you are eating healthy fruits, vegetables, and meats, these things seem to take care of themselves.  Plus, whenever I focus too much on numbers and percentages, I get overly-obsessive, I burn out, and then I go back to my old habits.