Healthy Weightloss

Question
Hi, I'm 5'2" 132 lbs right now, and 21 years old.  I'm looking to only lose about 15-20 lbs, but I want to do it properly.  I've been told that at rest my body burns around 1700 calories a day, and that regardless of the amount of exercise, women my age should not eat any fewer than 1200 calories/day.  My problem is, that I'mnot sure how much I should be eating on days that I excercise a lot.  Since I've started trying to lose weight I'ven been working out a lot, but I've been told that if I have a calorie deficit of more than 500-800 calories that my body will go into starvation mode... How much is safe, to avoid my body from hoarding fat, while at the same time losing about 2 lbs per week?

Answer
Hello Meredith!

  Thank you for your nutrition question. A deficit of 500 calories daily is ideal for weight loss because it comes out to losing 1lb per week.  This would be the healthy way to lose weight.  However, you should stay above 1,200 calories because if you go below this number you run the risk of going into starvation mode. This would make it much more difficult to lose weight. You can actually create your own healthy eating plan at www.mypyramid.gov Hope this helps!

-George Rapitis, Bsc. Nutritionist
www.juiceblend.com

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