It shouldn't matter what everyone else says or does.

YOU are 17, workout and are active a fair amount, and YOU are most likely growing. Eat to satiety, good wholesome Paleo foods, and nevermind the calorie counting.

On the contrary, I see most posts about folks who do not count calories yet claim they consume 3000-4000 calories per day, all at maintenance! Paleo folks tend to overestimate calorie consumption I think.

I have a food log, and most days clock in between 2000-2500 calories.

I counted my calories for the first 6 weeks of transitioning over to paleo and I was eating around 2400 calories per day. Then I stopped counting and just ate by hunger. I recently began tracking again just to see where I am at. I am surprised to see that I don't have a typical day. I've eaten fewer than 1000 calories and up to 2800 calories. My average is 1800, but my median is 2200. (for whatever that's worth). 5'9" 165 lbs male pretty active.

I track my intake and my one year rolling average is 1842 calories a day. I do Crossfit three times a week, and I walk on average 6.75 miles a day. Yes, I know this level of detailed tracking is probably a bit nutty. 5'8.5", 120 lbs, female.

I think the difference might be whether the person is on maintenance or needs to lose weight. I am trying to lose weight, so I do try to stay at 1200 calories, because I want my body to burn stored fat. When I get to maintenance, I'll eat more. YOU should probably stay at your intake.

Ugh, reading everyone's calorie intakes just makes me want to cry (if it were inconsequential, I'd eat a hell of a lot more than I do because food is one of life's few perks). But as I'm 5'4'', female, almost 30 and trying to lose the last 7 pounds, I have to eat at most 1200 calories, ideally closer to 1000 on days I'm not working out. I can factor in a couple hundred or so more if I'm working out, but that's it. As soon as I go much over this on the weekend or whatever, losing ceases and in fact I gain. Clearly I have a crap metabolism and can only dream of eating 1800+ calories a day, even with exercise.

If you are happy with your body at 2500 calories a day, more power to you - keep doing it and don't do anything so drastic that your BMR lowers (probably true for those of us who have had to lose weight at times and drastically reduced calories, which research tells us lowers BMR by 300-400 calories or something - permanently? Sigh.). Used to be able to eat a lot more and lose weight or maintain. Probably never will be able to again. But guys are hugely different from girls, and age is a factor, deranged metabolism/previous weight gain yet another, etc. etc. etc.

If it were down to my body, on a non-exercise (or "walking", a bit of exercise is always kinda there...), non-cold, non-ill day I'd just eat 1300kcal. I push it up to 1500 to be safe. When it's cold or I'm ill, the demand goes up to 1800 easily. This factors in two-three meals, snacks and beverages.

As of late, my weekly average was 1850kcal, including high and low consumption days.

But you shouldn't feel guilty or bad. Everyone's body works differently. I used to eat TONS when I was on a high-carb diet and still quite a lot when I was on a low-carb, low-ish-fat diet. Then I noticed my body does AMZING stuff with fat, so I put more in and needed less of everything else.

I used to worry that I eat too LITTLE (I used to have an eating disorder), but my body is holding out just fine.

Eat whatever your body asks you for, when it asks for it, until it stops asking. I'm currently convalescent, so my body is trying to replace fats I burned whilst ill and calories I DIDN'T eat when I was too active and fluid-hungry to get real food in. So my calories may go all the way up to a "normal" area.

Everyone works slightly differently. Some need 1500kcal, some need over 4000kcal. Eat what your body needs to work and NEVER be ashamed of it. :)

Recently I've been eating 3200-4000 calories on lifting days and 2200-2400 calories on off days. It seems to be mostly a maintainence level

2000-2500 (did a food log for few months). Lately, I do a lot of cycling, so maybe I'm eating a little bit more, but surely nowhere near what Strava tells me I'm be burning.

I probably average 3000 calories a day, closer to 4000 on lifting days and 2500 on off days. The only time I go less than 2500 is if I do a fast > 18 hours, and that's usually only after a sub-optimal weekend.

I'm male 6'1", 225lbs and doing straight recomposition.

2200-2500 5'9 160lb male 34 y/o

i don't count calories but this would be my guess- between 1500-1800 a day. i am 5'4" and very thin. trying to gain at least 20 lbs.

1700 - 2300 kcal, depending on activity level and many other factors. I am not too active right now, so a typical day looks to be around 1800 kcal. I'm 5'3", female, and 30 years old.

I'm interested in this as well.

My calorie intake tends to be between 1500 and 2000 calories, though most days of the week my estimated expenditure (according to the internet) would require 2500 to 3000 to maintain my weight.

5'8, 160lbs, ~4% bf