How many calories do 5'0 - 5'2 women maintain on?

May33338

I've been struggling with figuring out my maintenance calories and would love to know how much each of you are eating to maintain your weight.

nonoelmo

4'11" (close...) Right around 1600 keeps me within a pound of where I want to be. When I ignore that I creep up a bit over a year or two...then I come back here for a few months and lose it again.

bunnypy

Not more than 1400, 5'0 @108lbs

HelloChampion

Isn't MFP supposed to calculate that for you?

bunnypy

HelloChampion wrote: »

Isn't MFP supposed to calculate that for you?

Maybe OP can't believe how little MFP is suggesting, I neither couldn't believe it at first when it suggested mine!

RosieRose7673

I'm much taller... 5'4.5 and around 127 now. MFP says I should maintain on 1650 (sedentary). However, I only burn off on average 300 calories a day with intentional exercise. I've been focusing on lifting with running dispersed throughout the week. So let's just say 1850-1900. I've been eating around 2000-2100 with some much higher days (I'm doing TDEE now). It's been 6ish weeks since I've been maintaining and I've lost 6 lb. so I'm working on upping the calories. (I started maintaining at 133).

Point of the story... Start with what it says and keep going up from there. You may be pleasantly surprised that you can maintain on more!

gothchiq

five three, 46 years old, 123 lb, and 1440 calories. That's before exercise though. I know it's hard to believe how little we're allotted. I say hit the gym hard so you get to actually eat a bit.

leximarie3

5'2, 110-112lbs and 2 years maintenance. I consume 1200-1600 calories. I exercise 4-5 days a week. I do have some days where I go over (1800ish). For me, if I eat more calories than that, the weight starts creeping up on me. You just have to find a calorie range that works for you!

bioklutz

5 foot exactly. 100 lbs. I stand for my job - lightly active. I work out about 5 hours a week. I just adjusted to 1900 - 2000 calories a day (it was a little less than that but I keep seeing 98 or 99 on the scale a little more often than I would like).

TeaBea

May33338 wrote: »

I've been struggling with figuring out my maintenance calories and would love to know how much each of you are eating to maintain your weight.

Scoobys TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) ...this will also include exercise you intend to do and average it out for the week

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

bkolegraff

There are a several decent Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) calculators on the web. Some allow for more input than others. But, a good one will take your height, weight, age, sex, and general fitness and tell you what your body needs just to exist. Not sure if this helps, but typing is good exercise for my fingers!!

MochiCupcake

I'm 5'0, 110lbs, very sedentary... I maintain on 1400-1500 a day unless exercising.

SomeGirlSomewhere

HelloChampion wrote: »

Isn't MFP supposed to calculate that for you?

The MFP calorie calculations are an estimate based on the "average" metabolisms of people who are the same gender, age, height, etc...but some people are going to have a slower or faster metabolism than the averages MFP uses. For example, I seem to lose weight faster than they predict the "average" 44 year old female will and I suspect this is because I never had kids and also because I (unfortunately) smoke cigarettes.

SomeGirlSomewhere

TeaBea wrote: »

May33338 wrote: »

I've been struggling with figuring out my maintenance calories and would love to know how much each of you are eating to maintain your weight.

Scoobys TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) ...this will also include exercise you intend to do and average it out for the week

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

@TeaBea Thank you so much for posting this link! The estimates given by this calculator are VERY close to what I've found to be true for my metabolism and I've bookmarked it for future reference!

kamakazeekim

I'm 5'3, 27 years old, 130 pounds and I have PCOS. I maintain at 1200. Right now my husband and I are ttc and I haven't ovulated in over a year so my doctor wanted me to bump my calories up to 1600 to 2000 calories...I've been around 1300 to 1400 most days and have gained about 5 pounds in the past month.

CoachJen71

I'm 5'2.5" and 43. I am a good 60lbs away from needing to know this for myself, but I still feel myself worrying about it in the back of my mind. I can manage 1400-1600cal days right now without getting hangry or sad about not having much food, but I tend to eat 1800-2000 at least one day on the weekend. I'm just not sure I can exercise enough to justify that kind of eating at my goal weight range of 120-130lbs.

RoxieDawn

5'4" 115 lbs.. maintain at 1250 - 1450..

shaniz06

That really depends on your activity level . At 5'2 I maintain at 1800-1900 but can easily get to 2,300 on a really active day. However if I became sedentary I would probably maintain at 1500-1600.

mirrim52

I am 5'0", 126 lbs, 37 and pretty active (3 lifting sessions a week and approx 5-8 hrs of roller derby).
I would eat 2000-2100 calories to maintain, including exercise.

lporter229

I am 5' 0", 103 lbs. Currently I am maintaining on about 1870 calories/day. I run between 35-40 miles per week, which I estimate burns about 2800 calories, or 400 calories/day. I do not account for these in my eating, so if I did not run, I would guess my maintenance would be somewhere in the range of 1450-1550.

GetThatRunnersHigh

5'1.5", 128 lbs, 23 years old, 22% BF. I have a sedentary job but run 21-28 miles per week. Currently maintaining on ~2000 calories per day.

sgthaggard

SomeGirlSomewhere wrote: »

HelloChampion wrote: »

Isn't MFP supposed to calculate that for you?

The MFP calorie calculations are an estimate based on the "average" metabolisms of people who are the same gender, age, height, etc...but some people are going to have a slower or faster metabolism than the averages MFP uses. For example, I seem to lose weight faster than they predict the "average" 44 year old female will and I suspect this is because I never had kids and also because I (unfortunately) smoke cigarettes.

I would imagine it would still be a bit more accurate than getting a general consensus of posters here who have nothing more in common than their height.

OP, there are a lot of different variables you would have to take into account, not the least of which would be your maintenance weight, age, and your activity level.

higgins8283801

1400-1600 before. I wind up eating 1700-2300 a day, depending on exercise. Run days get me closer to 2300

lngrunert

I'm 5'2" and I maintain on 1800-2000 calories a day, but that's with working out 5x per week (cardio and heavy lifting.)

smiichan

I'm 5'2", 117lbs , very sedentary, and I maintain on 1900 - 2000 calories a day

gemmamummy

4'11 102lbs and 15% bodyfat, maintain on 1850-1900 a day with 3.5 hours a week weightlifting and 1 hour of boxing sparing a week.

Whitezombiegirl

I'm 5ft0 and 114lbs. I maintain at 1362 (according to computations) and lose at about 1100. Currently around 20-21% body fat.

Of course when i get to goal weight that will drop further. At 103lb mainenance should be about 1302cals.

This is without any exercise.

CockneyLady2014

There are so many faactors to be taken into account and they are personal. I am currently on 1440 and I aim to lose 1lb per week. There are several formulas for calculated Basal Metabolic Rate (the amount of calories your body uses doing nothing) but even this is only a guide. However MFP uses a formula to calculate this based on the profile you enter. Then 500 calories, per pound of loss you want, are deducted from BMR to achieve this. However these are only a guide. Generally, when you have reached your goal weight, you would be advised to increase your daily calories by 200 and trial this for a week. Weigh in and see what has happened. If you have maintained and want to eat more then increase again. I hope this helps.

angelpinkgal

5'0, to maintain around 90-93lbs (my ideal) around 1300, im currently closer to 100. Im having trouble maintaining >.<

RaspberryTickleChicken

May33338 wrote: »

I've been struggling with figuring out my maintenance calories and would love to know how much each of you are eating to maintain your weight.

First of all congrats on reaching your goal.

Second, if I learned anything from this whole journey is that one simply can't base one's maint. calories on others as everyone is different! Height & Weight alone doesn't account for body frame & activity levels.

Best suggestion is to figure it out for yourself using your current stats. I saw someone posting the much raved about Scooby or try this IIFYM Plug in your data and use it as a guide. Make adjustments as needed.

As with weight loss, there is NO magic formula which will work for everyone. Because if that was the case over 50% of people who lose weight wouldn't gain it back.

Best of luck to you!

fr3smyl

The information on here has been very helpful!