not enough calories?

According to this site I should be eating 2600 calories a day to lose weight. I am eating healthy foods and there is no way I can eat that many calories. In my first week I have lost 5 lbs eating 1400-1800 calories a day. I think I am going to just ignore the recomended calories and just keep doing what I am doing since it is working. Any thoughts?

I think as long as your not starving you'll be fine. Just make sure your eating healthy & feeling good.

Losing weight is of course about calorie restriction. However, it is also about our bodies being "happy" and get what they need. You have a good chunk of weight to lose, and your body does need quite some calories to run at the size you are now. As you lose weight, it will be less and less, but if you want to KEEP losing weight, you might want to be a little closer to your RDI. I would recommend that you maybe shave off another 500 calories from what Fatsecret recommends, but generally not more than that.
If you go too low for too long time, then you will end up stalling, which is a royal pain.
Why not live a little, have some fun while you are losing weight, and enjoy that you can actually have the calories?
Trust me, you're gonna wish for them later, when you are closer to your normal weight and your diet will be much more strict.
I myself started even heavier than you, and had trouble eating all the food, but even when I felt I ate a LOT, I kept losing weight.
Mind you, I always went 500 calories under my RDI.
Good luck.
Also, if you SHOULD stall, please come see me. I have some trick to get you going again.

You're right! The calorie calculator in calorie counter is wild. Congratulations on your progress. It will slow down after the first week or two, because at first we lose a lot of water. But hold on and you will keep dropping.

Some people notice that the weight loss pattern begins to resemble a flight of stairs more than a slide, after a while. That there are plateaus and short periods of loss. This appears to be normal too--Keep hydrated. Avoid sugar and watch the salt. Drink as much plain water as you comfortably can.

yea i dont really trust these calculators
appearantly for me it was 4000 to loose weight hahaha i dont think i ever ate that much in my life
i went to my doctor and showed it to him
he just laughed at it

he gave me a limit of 2000 couse he said thats what normal people usually eat and since im really overweight, thats already a cut big enough for the next couple of months.

I calculated my RDI using the calculator provided. I come up with 2400 calories. There is NO WAY on God's green earth I can eat 2400 calories per day and lose an ounce. Nor could I possibly eat 2400 calories of Good nutritional food in one day, I would be sick.

I've done this weight loss thing a few times in my life after babies and now after 50. What works for me is keeping my calories to 1200-1500 per day during the losing phase. Once I have lost what I wan,t I raise it to 1500-1800 per day. the calories are all high nutritional value no junk at all. The easiest time I ever had during maintenance was to eat according to plan 6 days per week and have a free day usually Saturday. This worked well for 15+ years for me. The problem for me got to be that the free day spread itself out over the week. Lol!!!!

My metabolism has SLOWED considerably as I have aged, and I also take a heart medication that has slowed it down even more because that is how it works in order to slow my heart down as well. Huge pain in the butt, but I do what I have to do! Beats the alternative.

I worked for WW for years and if I had a nickel for every person who came to the scales with a written diary that showed they stayed within their points range and didn't lose weight I'd be retired, living in Tahiti now! You can stay within your points range or calorie range and not lose. If you do not eat good nutritionally balanced food and indulge in junk it just seems to take longer. This especially holds true for people trying to lose from 10-30 lbs. People who need to lose 50lbs or greater seem to lose easier in the beginning but as they progress they find themselves in the same spot we are in almost from the beginning.

Good luck!

Originally I set my RDI to 1200 .... FS set it about 800 higher. However I wouldn't recommend that, I lost an average of 2-3 pounds a week which was fine (I had 60+ pounds to loose).

As my weight slowed down, I INCREASED my RDI to 1300, then 1400, then 1500. My activity level increased - so I felt I needed more calories.

I have now reached my goal - after reading your post.... Out of interest I peeked at what FS felt was My RDI to loose 1 pound a week at sedentary (it came up with 1400), low active (it came up with 1600).

On average, I eat around 1500, give or take .... I am pretty stable in my weight (157 pounds) my activity level is probably average.

I would think your RDI should be 1800-1900 - to loose 1-2 pounds a week and be comfortable. Always remember, loosing weight too fast is not ideal. It can put your body into starvation mode (your body thinks there is a famine and becomes ultra efficient in the way it uses calories). There is also more danger of "excess skin" as your body shrinks the skin doesn't shrink as fast - so you end up with 'baggy' skin, which can be demotivating. Plus, you get 'fed up' with the whole "diet" process and end up failing. Kingkeld is right .... Enjoy the process - it is a lifestyle that you will need to continue, even after loosing weight. Incorporate exercise, as this will help with fitness - even if it is just a walk. Moisturise and buff your skin to help with elasticity.

When you start to get near your target weight, it is soooooo worth it

I pretty much agree with everyone's posts, so I'm just gonna add a hearty "Amen!" and a PS to Sk1nny---I LOVE your "wherever you go..." signature!

Thanks for the tips everybody. I am really excited about this process.