1.How many calories do I need everyday? 1200,1400 etc
I am a Female, 26,125 lbs, md built. I need to lose 10 lbs. But gradually. with exercise and healthy diet(food).

2. How much of the following do I need daily:
1 Percent fat
2 Total Fat gms.
3 Saturated Fat gms.
4 Cholesterol milligrams
5 Sodium milligrams
6 Protein gms
7 Carbohydrates gms
8 Dietry fiber gms
9 Vitamin A %
10 Vitamin C %
11 Calcium %
12 Iron %

Thanks! SOBIA

If you go to ivillage.com to there diet & fitness board. they have a catagory health tool. they ask you a few questions and break everyting down for you. it is great. i love it. it helps a ton. GOOD LUCK

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Check this out:
http://pages.ivillage.com/cl-shonda777/bmr.html

It is a BMR formula. It will help you break down your caloric needs, total fat per day, and total carbs & protein per day according to your age, height, weight.

Good Luck!

In the end everybody is different. Your calorie intake requirement is a personal thing. All these charts are worked out on averages. Start with them but if you don't lose weight you may need to realise you need less calories to maintain weight. Then you might, in order to eat the things you want to eat, need to change some things in your life that can change your metabolism that will permit you to eat more. So you may hav eto do some weight training to build muscle mass, do some exercise to rev up your metabolism. YOu may like to experiment with more or less carbs to see what suits your body.

In the end its what is right for YOU! Your body will tell you, if only you will listen.

In my experience (as a runner), the charts are by and large a waste of time. Listening to your body and what it tells you and what the scales and the calipers say is most important.

Good luck.