5'5 women, around 140 pounds, how much are you eating?

JAT74

It's really interesting reading this thread, however it's proved to me what I always thought, ie. that despite the fact we are all a similar height and weight, we lose, gain and maintain be eating different amounts and by doing different activities.

In my case I'm highly sedentary and I've been able to confirm this by use of a pedometer over the past couple of weeks. I do exercise daily for around 60 minutes or more sometimes, but that doesn't help me to generate large enough calorie burns.

I also have a very low TDEE based on being so sedentary, so I can only eat 1500 calories to maintain my weight maximum, and that figure may even be a little too high.

This means that in order to lose weight I have to eat significantly less to be able to lose, and this is why it's necessary for me to work out daily so I can actually eat a little more (ie. 1300 calories per day as opposed to 1000 per day which I would only be able to lose on if I didn't exercise).

It's a shame for me and it's great that others can eat so much more, but on the other hand I find it keeps my eating in check, as I know if I had the possibility to eat more calories I'd start eating unhealthily again, just because I could get away with it! The fact I can't eat so much means I am not so tempted to eat a lot of high calorie/high sugar or fatty foods because they have a much larger calorie content compared to veggies, lean meat/fish and other healthier alternatives.

bekkyhadley

5'4 and about 138lbs - I eat 1480 and noted as sedentary as I have an office job and only work out a couple of times a week at the gym. I'm losing about about 0.5lbs a week. I also eat back my exercise calories.
I did 1200 aiming for 2 pounds a week loss for about 4 months and lost round 9lbs (I started at around 158lb) which was okay as I was trying to lose weight for my sisters wedding but once I'd gotten that out of the way I upped my calories and slowed down the weight lose - have lost another 7 since then.
I self sabotage badly and go over a lot because I have 0 self control!

GulfcoastAL

I'm 5'4" and started at 140 back in September. I've lost 15 pounds so now at 125 with 5 more to go. I usually eat in 1270 range, don't eat my 280-350 exercise calories back. If I get hungry, I will eat 100 extra until hunger goes away, but that happens maybe once a week. Very sedentary other than some walking/running maybe 3-5 times a week if weather cooperates. If I remember to do it, some free weight arm stuff. My TDEE to maintain with no exercise is 1470s. This checks out with my fitness tracker too. I am not a fitness beast like I thought, I guess! LOL.

Even though I was flat uncomfortable eating so much, I did experiment with eating more for 2 months in Nov-Dec, about 1480-1670 calories and began gaining. I'm not here to gain, but it was good to see real life personal TDEE for me. Now I'm back to the 1270 calories, sometimes eating more if I'm hungry from exercise- only losing half a pound a week on average so not getting crazy with the weight loss. I've also taken the additional step of having blood work done before I started and also recently, and all is well. One reason I did it was to check my protein and vitamin levels, since I don't like meat. I'm nearly 46 years old and I haven't been this weight since early 30s! I was 115 pounds during my 20s.

Everyone seems different in their calorie needs, age, hormones, etc. so if you are hungry, experiment with upping the calories. I also find giving alcohol the boot helps tremendously.

00figg

this is all so fascinating! i am 42 years old, 5’6 and weigh 138. last june when i started i weighed 185 and ate 1200ish calories since i thought that was what i was supposed to do. i work a full time office job and my fitbit tells me i walk 14k steps a day and burn approximately 2200 calories. i stalled 6 weeks ago and started researching bmr and tdee. it indicated that my calorie intake as too low. it took a while for me to actually take the plunge to increase my calories, but i have since upped my calories to around 1400 and i am very pleased with the results. it makes no sense to me, but i can’t argue with the scale.

GulfcoastAL

JAT74 wrote: »

It's a shame for me and it's great that others can eat so much more, but on the other hand I find it keeps my eating in check, as I know if I had the possibility to eat more calories I'd start eating unhealthily again, just because I could get away with it! The fact I can't eat so much means I am not so tempted to eat a lot of high calorie/high sugar or fatty foods because they have a much larger calorie content compared to veggies, lean meat/fish and other healthier alternatives.

Sounds like we are twins!

Alexmycat

I'm 5'5" and 139 pounds. I'm losing on 1600 to 1800 calories per day. The weight is coming off very slowly now, but I'm okay with that, since I'm getting close to my goal.

newport08

I'm 5'5 and I eat about 1500-1800 calories per day, it typically depends on whether I'm highly active that day. I also allow myself treats here and there. I started in July 2014 at 141lbs. It's taken about 6 months for me to gain some lean muscle and lose about 10lbs. I believe in moderation and flexible dieting. I track all of my macros to make sure that I hit at least 130 grams of protein per day. I'm still trying to lose about 3-4 more pounds.

I love my fitbit and try to get in about 18,000-20,000 steps per day.

mbcieslak87

I'm 5'6" and 142 - I lift 3x a week and run 4-6 miles 3x a week and rest 1x day a week and eat 1600 on weekdays and 2000 on weekends. I've been losing pretty consistently about a 1lb a week since shortly after the holidays (6 lbs total in 6 weeks).

I have done 1200/day before and that is just miserable. I don't really worry about losing too much (125-130 sounds pretty, but my pants are fitting better than they ever have, so if the numbers on the scale never get that low but I continue to tone and feel great and am not starving, then I'm cool with that).

mymodernbabylon

I'm 46 yr old, 5'6", 147lb and I eat 1925 calories (w/o eating back exercise). Since I'm already at a healthy weight, I'm just trying to lose between 1/4-1/2 lb a week and a 15% deficit from my TDEE is perfect for that.

Daiako

1600-1700, after exercise is worked in, so around 1300 net.

Jkj95

I'm 5'6 and currently about 150. How much I eat really depends on how active I am that day, but my goal is 1550 and what I actually eat usually varies between 1200 and 1700. Some days I'm walking to class, going places with friends and running errands for most of the day and end up eating more and others I just go to work (sedentary job) and eat less. If I work out, I only eat back the exercise calories if I'm really hungry and feel I need the food.

kimny72

I'm 42, 5'5", 135ish. Including the exercise calories I eat back, I am losing v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y at 1500-1600 cals a day.

Ellaskat

I'm 5'6, 36, and started at 148 lbs on Jan 10th. I'm now 140. I do eat approximately 1200 a day, though mine averages out over the week, not day to day. I like to move my calories up and down day to day, so I look at the 7 day spread, and am usually between 500-1500 calories under for the week, with MFP suggesting 1200 a day. So I've lost 8 pounds in a bit over 4 weeks; just had TOM when weight spiked 5 pounds - it's now coming back down and I expect to be back to 'normal' tomorrow.

mom2ava07

I'm 5'5 and weighing in a bit more at 155. I'm doing 1200 (down from 167 which was 6 weeks ago) and I'm starting to grow unhappy on 1200 calories. I have my settings at sedentary (have a desk job, and goal to lose 2 lbs per week). I was doing fine. Was feeling great and not hungry, and the more I lose I get hungrier and hungrier and I'm so tired lately I'm struggling to work out. I'm thinking about doing 1400 calories to see how that goes.

lwynd002

5'5" and CW is 142 (down from 148+....I stopped weighing myself after this) and I eat between 1400-1800 and exercise 4-6x a week with cardio/weights.. This works for me as I had previously been on a restricted diet...I lost the weight, but it wasn't sustainable.

Raynne413

I'm 5'5", around 140, 33, and I eat around 2500 calories a day.

williams969

38, 5'6", ~137lbs, I eat 1700-1900 total calories daily to lose (1/2lb week loss rate--that's 1590 plus I eat all/most additional activity calories from my Fitbit).

onyxgirl17

5 feet 5 inches, 138 currently.

I'm lightly active because I'm on my feet most of the day as a teacher. My "TDEE" is between 1800-1900. I'm eating ~1600 avg right now to lose .5 lb a week. My goal weight is 130. Last time I was 130 I thought I was a bit thin and didn't need to lose any more but I might try to get down to 125. Once I get to my goal I lighten up. Right now if I only ate 1200 calories I would be ravenous.

Last time I lost weight I ate ~1300 and lost .8 lbs a week avg for a 40 pound loss. It took a year to take off the weight. Because I regained ~10 pounds I am counting calories again for awhile until I reach goal again.


Love this thread! I see a lot of us have TDEE in a similar range.

arditarose

onyxgirl17 wrote: »

5 feet 5 inches, 138 currently.

I'm lightly active because I'm on my feet most of the day as a teacher. My "TDEE" is between 1800-1900. I'm eating ~1600 avg right now to lose .5 lb a week. My goal weight is 130. Last time I was 130 I thought I was a bit thin and didn't need to lose any more but I might try to get down to 125. Once I get to my goal I lighten up. Right now if I only ate 1200 calories I would be ravenous.

Last time I lost weight I ate ~1300 and lost .8 lbs a week avg for a 40 pound loss. It took a year to take off the weight. Because I regained ~10 pounds I am counting calories again for awhile until I reach goal again.


Love this thread! I see a lot of us have TDEE in a similar range.

We have similar stats. I'm taking a break at 138 now though to see if I can recomp. If you thought you were thin at 130, are you shooting for 125 just to have a 5 pound maintenance range?

CrabNebula

5'5.5" 135lbs, losing on 1200-1500 a day still.

I did have a strange event this month where I unexpectedly lost three pounds instead of one. I hit a new low weight of 137lb (ok, expected and good) and then two days later, it dropped another two pounds (wut?) and stayed there until TOM dragged water back into the mix. This hasn't ever happened and I have been losing weight for nearly 18 months now.

My goal weight is 130 and then my range for maintenance is between 125 and 140.

longandpink

I am 5ft 5 and weigh 178lb's and i eat around 1300 a day. No exercise due to health.

pinkbike2ride

GulfcoastAL wrote: »

I'm 5'4" and started at 140 back in September. I've lost 15 pounds so now at 125 with 5 more to go. I usually eat in 1270 range, don't eat my 280-350 exercise calories back. If I get hungry, I will eat 100 extra until hunger goes away, but that happens maybe once a week. Very sedentary other than some walking/running maybe 3-5 times a week if weather cooperates. If I remember to do it, some free weight arm stuff. My TDEE to maintain with no exercise is 1470s. This checks out with my fitness tracker too. I am not a fitness beast like I thought, I guess! LOL.

Even though I was flat uncomfortable eating so much, I did experiment with eating more for 2 months in Nov-Dec, about 1480-1670 calories and began gaining. I'm not here to gain, but it was good to see real life personal TDEE for me. Now I'm back to the 1270 calories, sometimes eating more if I'm hungry from exercise- only losing half a pound a week on average so not getting crazy with the weight loss. I've also taken the additional step of having blood work done before I started and also recently, and all is well. One reason I did it was to check my protein and vitamin levels, since I don't like meat. I'm nearly 46 years old and I haven't been this weight since early 30s! I was 115 pounds during my 20s.

Everyone seems different in their calorie needs, age, hormones, etc. so if you are hungry, experiment with upping the calories. I also find giving alcohol the boot helps tremendously.

pinkbike2ride

You are my hero! I am 5-5 and currently coming down from my lifetime high weight of 147 with a target to get back down to my "30's weight" of 126-128. I am 52 and pretty active. Thanks for the inspiration.

chele402

I'm 5'6" and 148 - I am eating about 1350 during the week and not eating back my exercise calories. Over the weekend, I tend to go up to 1700 and eat back my exercise calories. I'm losing at a good enough rate for me and definitely not feeling deprived

JdoubleJ

So interesting to see! I'm 5ft 5, 137.5 lbs and having around 1400 cals a day to lose slowly whilst trying to eat more protein and doing weights 2-3 times a week, cardio 1-2 times a week. I gain very easily at over 1800 a day.

Always on the lookout for a new buddy or two if anyone wants to add me?

GulfcoastAL

pinkbike2ride wrote: »

You are my hero! I am 5-5 and currently coming down from my lifetime high weight of 147 with a target to get back down to my "30's weight" of 126-128. I am 52 and pretty active. Thanks for the inspiration.

Awww, thanks. I really appreciate that. It is doable. I've been a homemaker, but about to start a job so hope to get more active in my day to day outside of exercise. It is hard for me to even get in 5000 steps a day, lol.

jendpositive

This is my first post on mfp, I read the responses all the time, but I want to join in for support. I'm 5'5 and currently 142 lbs. My weight has jumped around in the last five months and I've gained back 7lbs even though I exercise 6 days a week, cardio and weights. I was on 1200 for 9 months and lost 35lbs over a year and a half. I want to get down to 130, but I'm struggling to lose weight right now and going over my 1350 a day. I feel I need to be constantly hungry in order to lose weight, but that's not sustainable in the long run. Oh yes, I've just given up eating a lot of fruit so hope that helps.

arditarose

jendpositive wrote: »

This is my first post on mfp, I read the responses all the time, but I want to join in for support. I'm 5'5 and currently 142 lbs. My weight has jumped around in the last five months and I've gained back 7lbs even though I exercise 6 days a week, cardio and weights. I was on 1200 for 9 months and lost 35lbs over a year and a half. I want to get down to 130, but I'm struggling to lose weight right now and going over my 1350 a day. I feel I need to be constantly hungry in order to lose weight, but that's not sustainable in the long run. Oh yes, I've just given up eating a lot of fruit so hope that helps.

Hey! I had plans of 130 too. I've stopped for a bit though. Need a break because I was hungry as well. Why don't you try .5 pounds a week? There's no rush. You'll be able to eat more while still seeing the scale drop. You'll lose 8 pounds by bikini time and be really close to goal!

KitkatcuteNYC

I'm 5.5'5 and around 115-119 pounds. I eat around 1600.

williams969

I'm 5'6"/137lbs, 38 years old, and my maintenance calories are ~2100-2200 (lightly active/active walker plus 3x/week strength training). If I wanted to lose (I'm "good" where I'm at for now, though), I'd cut to 1800/1900. I don't like aggressive cuts (I get HANGRY very easily and my strength training sucks at any lower of intake).