5'2 and under calorie intake

Rfekech

Hi, I am a 46 yr old female, 5' 1.5" and I haven't been able to lose weight for 6 yrs. I am stuck at 137-138 lbs no matter how little I eat or if I increase my calorie intake. I have an auto immune disease, Hashimotos(under active thyroid). Which is in check and I should be gluten free but struggling with it. Any tips from any women around my age, height would be great! Also, I am shooting for 1,200 cals a day. If I exercise do I have to replace the calories?

Elise4270

Hi Rfekech! Im 44, 5'4.5, 127 lbs and I do not have a thyroid issue. But I do feel your pain about the diet/weight loss in to the 40's.

You do not have to replace the calories you burn. Although if you are burning a significant amount or feel famished/weak after a few days- I recommend eating back half of those on work out days.

there is a zig zag diet that (i think) is useful at our ages. Your weekly average, say the 1200 does not change but you eat 900-1500 calories a day- not 1200 each and every day. i just eat like i feel- if im starving then that day is my high day..

I'm on the gluten free diet too. I suspect I have an intolerance, (celiac blood work was negative). I do much better off of it. It has taken me 8-9 months eating like this to develop a new normal in my diet. I dont crave breads and dont even care for the gluten free ones anymore.

I'd suggest ditching the gluten, increasing the fiber/fruits/vegetables and trying to zig zag the calories for a few weeks and see how you do. Of course try to get out at least for a walk or gym a few days a week. Keep your body guessing! Good luck!

Edit- I don't lose any until i'm 900 cals/day. you can chalk that up to error in my logging or that food packaging/values may contain a 20% error. So it may say 100 cals but could be 80-120. I plan on buying a kitchen scale this year. Because I know I am a sloppy logger.

Rfekech

Thank you so much Elise! Interesting idea! I just started logging again because I need to be accountable. I am working with a dietitian too and she has been a big help. I am mostly walking as I have had a hip issue this year and now tennis elbow. But even just a good walk with the dog makes you feel better. Keep fighting the good fight.

editorgrrl

Rfekech wrote: »

Hi, I am a 46 yr old female, 5' 1.5" and I haven't been able to lose weight for 6 yrs. I am stuck at 137-138 lbs no matter how little I eat or if I increase my calorie intake. I have an auto immune disease, Hashimotos(under active thyroid). Which is in check and I should be gluten free but struggling with it. Any tips from any women around my age, height would be great! Also, I am shooting for 1,200 cals a day. If I exercise do I have to replace the calories?

I'm 46, 5'2", 124 lbs., and I have Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroid disease). Twinsies! Thyroid meds (in my case, Synthroid & Cytomel) reduce the fatigue so I can be more active. But I kept gaining & gaining until I learned to log everything I eat & drink accurately & honestly.

It's human nature to underestimate your food & overestimate your burns. Open your diary for personalized advice, but if you're not weighing everything you eat (even packaged foods), then you're eating more than 1,200 calories.

MFP has a hypothyroidism & hyperthyroidism group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/753-hypothyroidism-and-hyperthyroidism

Rfekech

Thank you! How many calories do you eat to maintain your weight? I was 120 lbs for years and then the weight just came on with no changes to my eating.

editorgrrl

I honestly thought I was gaining for no good reason. Learning to log everything I eat & drink accurately & honestly was a wakeup call. I was seriously underestimating my intake. I think Hashimoto's messed up my hunger cues. Logging changed my life.

A kitchen scale will be the best twelve bucks you ever spent.

Rfekech

I've had a kitchen scale for years. I am also working with a dietitian. I think I haven't been eating enough and I am in starvation mode. Thanks!

editorgrrl

Starvation mode is a myth. If your weight has been stable, then you're eating at TDEE (aka maintenance). To lose weight, you need to eat at a deficit. (At your size, anything greater than 250 calories per day or 1,750 calories per week would be way too aggressive.)

Your diary is private, but you are not maintaining at 1,200 calories.

farfromthetree

editorgrrl wrote: »

Starvation mode is a myth. If your weight has been stable, then you're eating at TDEE (aka maintenance). To lose weight, you need to eat at a deficit. (At your size, anything greater than 250 calories per week would be way too aggressive.)

Your diary is private, but you are not maintaining at 1,200 calories.

This is correct . You say you have had a kitchen scale for years...are you using it? with every meal?? I worked with a dietitian before and she never mentioned calories/weighing my foods. Good basic information but the key to my weight loss was MFP and portion control.

Rfekech

Wow you girls are rough! No I never said I was maintaining at 1,200. If you don't eat 1,200 then you can stall weight loss. Have you heard of this?

editorgrrl

Sorry if I was "being rough." No matter how you've been measuring your food and logging it, you are eating 250 calories per day more than you need to lose weight. You have been eating at TDEE.

You said yourself upthread that you tried eating more to lose weight and it didn't work. You lose weight by eating fewer calories than you burn, period.

Many of us accomplish that by carefully weighing our food (even packaged food) and learning to identify accurate database entries. (Anyone can add to the database, so it's full of junk data. Choosing a low calorie entry will never get you closer to your goal.)

This may not be the answer you were hoping for, but it works. I'm your age & height, we have the same thyroid disease, and learning to log accurately & honestly changed my life.

Logging is simple, but it ain't easy. Logging works.

Rfekech

I had metabolic testing done and they said I needed 1,524 calories daily just for my body to operate. The trainer told me to not go below this calorie figure and so did my thyroid doctor. They must be wrong because I can't lose at that calorie level. Do you mean to decrease this by 250 to lose weight? So eat about 1,275 to lose? Regardless of exercise? Or do you eat back your exercise calories to stay at the net of 1,275?

pscarolina

47 & 5'2" & losing steadily at 1500/day (according to my measurements since I don't really care about the scale) I work out almost every day & eat my exercise calories if I am hungry & don't worry about it if I'm not. I tried the 1200/day routine & while I lost more quickly it was not sustainable for my lifestyle. I'm a LOT happier at 1500.

although I understand the thyroid issue (my mom is on synthroid), if you're appropriately medicated, logging correctly is the key

farfromthetree

Rfekech wrote: »

Wow you girls are rough! No I never said I was maintaining at 1,200. If you don't eat 1,200 then you can stall weight loss. Have you heard of this?

No one is being rough, I promise. I wanted to reenforce that you were getting good information because there is a lot of crap advice on MFP.
And if you eat less than 1200 calories you will lose weight. Your body will not start holding onto the weight because it thinks it is starving. Eating under 1200 calories is not advised, especially if you are young and active. Its too aggressive and not sustainable. When I ate at 1200 cals/day I consistently lost weight. I weighed and measured everything I ate.

editorgrrl

Eat 250 calories less than your maintainence calories (which you're eating now). If you don't how many calories you've been eating, then set your goal to .5 lb. per week http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided and learn to log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly.

Yes, MFP is structured in such a way that you must eat back most if not all your exercise calories. Your calorie goal already has your 250-calorie deficit built in.

farfromthetree

Rfekech wrote: »

I had metabolic testing done and they said I needed 1,524 calories daily just for my body to operate. The trainer told me to not go below this calorie figure and so did my thyroid doctor. They must be wrong because I can't lose at that calorie level. Do you mean to decrease this by 250 to lose weight? So eat about 1,275 to lose? Regardless of exercise? Or do you eat back your exercise calories to stay at the net of 1,275?

I have to add...When I weighed my highest, I would not have been able to lose at 1500 calories/day. That is why I stayed around 1200-1300. It seems now that I lost the weight my body has become more efficient and I can eat 1700-1800 calories a day now to maintain

Rfekech

Thank you to both of you! I will get this weight off! I appreciate your help!

sexxxyleo

well im 5' at 154lbs - seems like I can never lose weight. oh yeah, im also 40 - I only wish I could weigh 130 again. Weight doesnt come off so easily after 40
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rosebette

I'm 56 and 5'1.5", and I average around 120 lbs. right now (maybe 122 post-holiday, but that'll come off in a week of non-holiday eating). I started MFP early this year around 126 and lost on 1200 + eating back exercise calories then plateau'd. The lowest I could get was 118 and I have a tough time maintaining that weight. I had a body fat and BMR eval done at my health club late fall and my BMR is only around 1136 (due to height and age). So, theoretically if I'm sedentary, even 1200 is too many calories for me, so I don't have any "non-exercise" days or I can't eat a reasonable amount of food. Anyway, the long and "short" of it is that if you are older and petite, your caloric needs are fairly low and it's very hard to stay at a deficit. So, if you want to lose, you have to be pretty vigilant about weighing and measuring everything and not overestimating your "burns." The past couple of days I've been over 1500, which is probably more of a maintenance amount than a deficit for me.

I'm also a bit curious about Hashimoto's, since a few of you have mentioned it. I've had issues with acute muscle and joint pain, broken and brittle nails, and have been feeling cold more, despite a mild winter, and wonder if these could be symptoms of something. Of course, I've heard weight gain and inability to lose can also be a thyroid issue, but to be honest, I think I'm not as good at tracking as I should be and that women whose weight is caused by thyroid are quite heavy. I'm more concerned about the joint stuff. Anyway, I'm having my annual this week and wonder if my primary care should run some tests.

editorgrrl

sexxxyleo wrote: »

well im 5' at 154lbs - seems like I can never lose weight. oh yeah, im also 40 - I only wish I could weigh 130 again. Weight doesnt come off so easily after 40.

I'm 46, 5'2", and I have Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroid disease). But I lost the weight and have kept it off for six months. If I can do it, you can too!

The only "secret" is learning to log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. You lose weight by eating fewer calories than you burn—period. When you're short like us, you have a much smaller margin of error.

Logging is simple, but it ain't easy. Logging works.

NikonPal

Like several others have noted – eating at a deficit has been the key for me – tied to honest/accurate logging and moderate exercise.

I weigh the vast majority (90%) of the food I eat at home. If I measure, I am very careful not to use a “heaping” of this or that. Most people can tell when a calorie count looks way off. In those situations, it is easy to google “calories in whatever” and you get several links. I simply compare a couple and select the most appropriate (this is not a daily event). I DO NOT DRIVE MYSELF CRAZY.

Over the holidays, I did not starve and still managed (through pre-planning) to keep in the 1200 range every day. I do a modest amount of walking 5 times a week.

Good luck to you!

silentKayak

Rfekech wrote: »

Wow you girls are rough! No I never said I was maintaining at 1,200. If you don't eat 1,200 then you can stall weight loss. Have you heard of this?

This is a myth. I agree with the advice you've received here. You must weigh and measure all your food and EITHER decrease your intake by about 250 cals/day (to lose 0.5 lbs/week) OR increase your exercise level to burn 250 cals/day (a very brisk 30 minute walk or a moderate 60 minute walk would do that).

You only have a few pounds to lose, so it might take a while, but if you get your calories in/out in the right balance you will lose. I don't know much about thyroid disease but as I understand it, your metabolic rate is much lower than normal so it may be difficult to decrease calories to a safe level and still lose. Increased activity might be the wiser choice if your intake is already low.

editorgrrl

zarckon wrote: »

I don't know much about thyroid disease but as I understand it, your metabolic rate is much lower than normal so it may be difficult to decrease calories to a safe level and still lose.

This is a myth. MFP has a hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/753-hypothyroidism-and-hyperthyroidism

I lost the weight long before my thyroid levels ever reached the "normal" range. And I did it just like everybody else—by eating 250 fewer calories per day than I burn.

hiphop10

oh good info here thanks!

Rfekech

Thyroid disease and the inability to lose weight are not a myth. I have dealt with this auto immune disease for the majority of my life and my weight goes up and down, plateaus, etc. I encourage anyone who may think they have a thyroid issue to find a doctor who will do a 7 panel hormone/antibodies screening. Just looking at TSH is not enough.

editorgrrl

Rfekech wrote: »

Thyroid disease and the inability to lose weight are not a myth. I have dealt with this auto immune disease for the majority of my life and my weight goes up and down, plateaus, etc. I encourage anyone who may think they have a thyroid issue to find a doctor who will do a 7 panel hormone/antibodies screening. Just looking at TSH is not enough.

I'm 5'2" and have Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroid disease). I lost just like everybody else—by logging everything I eat & drink accurately & honestly. And I've maintained for six months.

"I can't lose weight because of my thyroid" is a myth. I thought I gained for no reason, but logging showed me I was eating way too much. (I think Hashimoto's has messed up my hunger cues—which is why I'm still logging in maintenance.) And I lost all the weight before my thyroid levels reached the "normal" range.