I'm only 5'0 and can only have 1200 calories. Any other short girls out there with the same goals?

angela233Z

I am 5 feet, almost 50 years old and sedentary, so yes I need to average 1200-1300 to lose.
I think it is hard to do and so easy to go over - but I would love to get suggestions from all of you of what makes it work

nataliesweet19

I´m 5`3(okay, 5`2 and a half) and I also have 1200 calories a day (in order to lose). I eat protein+veggies and that helps me stay full

segacs

Yep. 5'1" and losing verrrry sloowwwwly on 1290 calories here. I maintain at 1600 calories/day with my normal activity level, so 1290 is only about a 20% reduction or a little over a half-pound a week. Considering my goal is to lose 40lbs, if I used the recommended 1lb/week target, I'd have to set my daily calorie goal to 1100, which is just far too low.

It does get a bit frustrating when you can't eat most of what's on your plate because serving sizes are meant for people eating twice what you are. It also does get a little tiresome to hear so many people (usually taller, bigger men) deride us shorties for eating an appropriate amount for our weight, or telling us we must be overly aggressive in our goals (not true) or mistaken (also not true). And certainly, losing at that slower pace can be a bit frustrating, too, since the numbers on the scale move so slowly.

But it can be done.

itsjustmish

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Move more, then you can eat more.

Exactly this. I'm 5'2", weigh 103 lbs and was still losing (albeit very slowly) on 2000 calories per day. I just increased my goal again today as I'm trying to hit maintenance, and then transition into slowly re-gaining a few pounds as I've now lost more than I intended.

0somuchbetter0

5'3" 48 yrs old, still have 40+ lbs to lose. I've figured out that I can't net over 1350 to lose weight, so I have to exercise on a regular basis or be hungry all the time. Even at 1350 it's SLOWWWWWW and frustrating, but I can't go lower, leads to binging.

Isabelle_1929

I am 5'4, 123 pounds, after losing 7 pounds, I started gaining weight (at 1200).
So I reduced to 1100, and now I am maintaining.

I suppose I would have to go down to 1000 to lose weight, but this is very difficult. At 1200 I was not hungry. At 1100, I am often hungry, especially between meals or in the evening, but it's tolerable.

At 1000, I know I would be hungry most of the time, and that is not good.

But this struggle is everyone's, I suppose, not only the shorties !

segacs

Isabelle_1929 wrote: »

I am 5'4, 123 pounds, after losing 7 pounds, I started gaining weight (at 1200).
So I reduced to 1100, and now I am maintaining.

I suppose I would have to go down to 1000 to lose weight, but this is very difficult. At 1200 I was not hungry. At 1100, I am often hungry, especially between meals or in the evening, but it's tolerable.

At 1000, I know I would be hungry most of the time, and that is not good.

But this struggle is everyone's, I suppose, not only the shorties !

At 5'4" and 123, you're right in the middle of a healthy BMI.

Of course, this varies person to person based on body fat percentage and bone structure. But in your case, you may want to be looking less towards losing more weight -- you're already basically at your goal weight, give or take -- and more towards body composition if you're still unhappy with how the weight is being carried on your frame. In other words, upping the strength training to gain lean muscle mass.

At some point, though, if you're cutting to something like 1100 calories before you lose weight, it's probably your body telling you that there's no more weight to lose.

segacs

0somuchbetter0 wrote: »

5'3" 48 yrs old, still have 40+ lbs to lose. I've figured out that I can't net over 1350 to lose weight, so I have to exercise on a regular basis or be hungry all the time. Even at 1350 it's SLOWWWWWW and frustrating, but I can't go lower, leads to binging.

Right there with ya! Slow and steady. We didn't gain it overnight; we can't expect to lose it overnight.

Isabelle_1929

segacs wrote: »

Isabelle_1929 wrote: »

I am 5'4, 123 pounds, after losing 7 pounds, I started gaining weight (at 1200).
So I reduced to 1100, and now I am maintaining.

I suppose I would have to go down to 1000 to lose weight, but this is very difficult. At 1200 I was not hungry. At 1100, I am often hungry, especially between meals or in the evening, but it's tolerable.

At 1000, I know I would be hungry most of the time, and that is not good.

But this struggle is everyone's, I suppose, not only the shorties !

At 5'4" and 123, you're right in the middle of a healthy BMI.

Of course, this varies person to person based on body fat percentage and bone structure. But in your case, you may want to be looking less towards losing more weight -- you're already basically at your goal weight, give or take -- and more towards body composition if you're still unhappy with how the weight is being carried on your frame. In other words, upping the strength training to gain lean muscle mass.

At some point, though, if you're cutting to something like 1100 calories before you lose weight, it's probably your body telling you that there's no more weight to lose.

I was 10 pounds lighter last year, and most of my adult life I was around 115. I would be surprised that all of the sudden, my body "decided" that I could no longer be that weight.
I gained weight because I ate too much (not because of hormones etc.)

As for muscle mass, my legs, buttocks and arms are already so big and muscular, NO WAY IN HELL I am to increase it. However I was thinking to try to increase the muscle mass of my abdominals, but if I exercise, I am afraid that 1200 cals daily will leave me starving.

Anyway, I am stuck here and don't know what to do. I suppose I will get used to eating 1100 cals, then I will start exercising my abs, and see what will happen then.

segacs

Just a thought: If you've gained muscle mass versus last year when you were 10 pounds lighter, it's possible that you're actually just as small but weigh more because lean muscle is denser than fat. What's your body fat % as compared to when you were 115? How do your clothes fit in comparison?

Only you know what's right for you. But if you add exercise, you will definitely want to add calories. It may take some trial and error to find the right balance for you where you're not gaining weight. But you should feel better, and be able to eat more and burn it off.

ewartluft

I'm 5'0" and 120 lbs. (30 years old). To lose .5 lbs/week, my goal is set at 1900 calories! I strength train 4-5 days each week for about 45 minutes per session.

Isabelle_1929

segacs wrote: »

Just a thought: If you've gained muscle mass versus last year when you were 10 pounds lighter, it's possible that you're actually just as small but weigh more because lean muscle is denser than fat. What's your body fat % as compared to when you were 115? How do your clothes fit in comparison?

Only you know what's right for you. But if you add exercise, you will definitely want to add calories. It may take some trial and error to find the right balance for you where you're not gaining weight. But you should feel better, and be able to eat more and burn it off.

No, I have no exercised at all (except the daily walk / bike to everywhere, as I don't own a car). I gained only fat - and inches.

Most of my clothes don't fit (jeans, suits, etc.,) and are presently packed away from my sight. I had to buy everything new. Not fun :-( But I am not throwing a pity party, as pretty much everyone on MFP went through this!

WinoGelato

OP - not sure what your current stats and goals are, but I agree with posters above that often people who are given the default 1200 cals/day by MFP have entered in too aggressive of a weight loss goal. I think people also often find that if they are being meticulous with their tracking (weighing and logging all foods and using reasonable activity levels and exercise counts) that they can consume considerably more than this.

I'm 5'2 and when I first started MFP gave me 1200 as well. I ate back my exercise calories and still exceeded my net goal fairly often. I started reading the forums and realized I needed more reasonable goals, upped myself first to 1400, then to 1500. I still kept losing at about a pound/week. I got a FitBit and used that to help track my activity and calorie burns, and after losing about 20 lbs I changed my goal to 1650 and was still losing about a half pound/week. I eat around 1900-2000 cals/day and maintain pretty easily now.