[a735263]

Just thought I'd post an example of a TDEE calculation in case you were curious:

These are my calculations:

Weight: 194 lbs
Body fat %: 16%
Activity Level: Very active (hard exercise or sports.. 6-7 days/week)

BMR: 1969 calories / day
Total Daily Energy Expenditures:

Maintenance: 3398 calories / day (What my body burns for BMR + exercise)
Fat loss: 2888 calories / day (-15% of Maintenance)
Gain Lean body mass: 3738 calories / day (+10% of Maintenance)

So if I eat 2888 calories / day, I'm in a daily calorie deficit of 510 calories. That is 3570 calories per week, or about 1 lb of body fat that I should be losing.

In regards to hapababy's comments.. there is a great formula for figuring out what your ideal weight is.. which is based on body composition, not scale weight. That is a much more effective, and healthy method of setting a goal weight for yourself. The formula is (Current Lean Body Mass) / 1 - (Desired Body Fat %). So for instance if you're 119 lbs right now at 20% body fat, which is considered to be 'lean' or slightly above average for women.. you have 95.2 lbs of lean body mass. Say your goal is 15% body fat (considered to be very lean and fit for women) then your ideal body weight should be:

95.2 / .85 = 112 lbs.

A goal weight of 100 lbs would give you a goal body fat percentage of 5%, which for women is practically impossible to obtain or maintain (pretty much for men as well).