Calories Needed To Maintain Health & Lose Weight At A Reasonable Rate

I'm trying to ensure I'm eating the correct number of calories daily for optimum health and reasonable and sustainable weight loss, so today I calculated my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), not to be confused with one's BMI (Body Mass Index).  I entered my height, weight, age, and sex, and the number it gave me is 1543.024. 

I then had to take that number and multiply it against my activity level.  Ordinarily, my activity level would be classified as "sedentary", meaning, I typically engaged in little to no regular activity other than my normal day-to-day moving about.  I do a fair bit of farm work, but sitting in a tractor doesn't, apparently, classify as physical activity.  :-) As I've been walking 2.5 km. daily this week, I'm not sure whether to classify my activity level as "lightly active" or "moderately active", but these are the numbers I was given to multiply my BMR based upon those classifications:

Sedentary:  1543.024 x 1.2 = 1851.63
Lightly Active:  1543.024 x 1.375 = 2121.66
Moderately Active:  2391.69 x 1.55 = 2391.69 

Those final numbers are my daily caloric needs to maintain my current weight, which I clearly don't want to do, so the following helped me determine if my goal of between 1200 and 1400 calories per day is healthy, while also allowing me to achieve weight loss. 

Calorie Needs to lose weight

There are approximately 3500 calories in a pound of stored body fat. So, if you create a 3500-calorie deficit through diet, exercise or a combination of both, you will lose one pound of body weight. (On average 75% of this is fat, 25% lean tissue) If you create a 7000 calorie deficit you will lose two pounds and so on. The calorie deficit can be achieved either by calorie-restriction alone, or by a combination of fewer calories in (diet) and more calories out (exercise). This combination of diet and exercise is best for lasting weight loss. Indeed, sustained weight loss is difficult or impossible without increased regular exercise.

If you want to lose fat, a useful guideline for lowering your calorie intake is to reduce your calories by at least 500, but not more than 1000 below your maintenance level. For people with only a small amount of weight to lose, 1000 calories will be too much of a deficit. As a guide to minimum calorie intake, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that calorie levels never drop below 1200 calories per day for women or 1800 calories per day for men. Even these calorie levels are quite low.

An alternative way of calculating a safe minimum calorie-intake level is by reference to your body weight or current body weight. Reducing calories by 15-20% below your daily calorie maintenance needs is a useful start. You may increase this depending on your weight loss goals.

I think what I'm doing lines up with all I've read today, so I'll just keep on keeping on.  I'm sure the biggest hurdle I'll have to deal with is the rate of loss.  Every overweight person just wants the weight gone, like yesterday, and I'm no exception.  But I've been there and done that, it all came back and then some because I couldn't or wouldn't maintain such a restrictive way of eating.  I'll have to learn to somehow adopt the mantra, "Slow and steady wins the race.", but I'm sure I'll be frustrated with it from time to time.

"Lord, You ordained certain and specific principles to apply to all of life and practice, including how much food our bodies need to function well.  For too long I've ignored those principles, satisfying the lust of my flesh, rather than subjecting myself to Your governance.  I can do nothing but plead mercy in the Name of Jesus, and ask You to forgive me for being so foolish and sinful.  I need Your help every hour, Lord, in this and every area."