Ladies 5'3 or under! How much do you eat???

startheory

I'm eating 1500 max a day, and not eating back any exercise calories. I've lost 8 lbs so far with 7 more to go. I've not missed a day logging for over 3 months now. Its a painfully slow process (or I'm just impatient haha).

caffeinekandie

I'm 5'2", 27, and currently 148ish pounds. I currently am eating 1600 net, and I'm only doing extra exercise about every second day. I'm moderately active (I work in childcare, and I'm a bus/walk person). Eating 1200, 1300 (and less when I was suffering with an ED) my weight stays the same. Changing it up to 1600 (roughly my TDEE-20%) has actually led to me loosing 5lbs rather quickly (I expect it to level off), whereas I haven't managed to loose anything in the past year and actually just gained.

Kelene616

Bump

johnelwell

I have been looking into this with my wife who is 5' tall, when we tried to use national averages which equated to 1200 calories it did not work to any real extent. We then calculated calories, protein requirements and mildly adjusted the MFP target and to no surprise to us she has lost 9 lb in the last 3 weeks.
Please feel free to join our group if you wish

Dead_Darling

I'm 5'2 and started on MFP at 1250 calories a day, but I was hungry and got no results. I've just recently upped my calories to 1600 a day, and eating back about 50-75% of my exercise calories and now I'm beginning to see results and losing the weight

ajcmoran2005

I really hope you ladies can help me because I can't get any help on the board. I am a little over 5'4" and I am 130 pounds. I lost about five pounds using TDEE -20% and got down to 128. My TDEE is 1675 and I lost the weight eating about 1600 calories. The past three weeks though I have gained two pounds eating the same amount and running the same amount and it's been really upsetting. My clothes are even slightly tighter . It's not my TOM and I truly am being very honest with logging. I am extremely OCD so I record everything! I have kept my sodium down and I drink about 100 ounces of water a day so it shouldn't be water retention. I started eating better several months ago when I was 143 (that was eating 1200 calories a day but I stalled at 135) so it shouldn't be anything medical. I'm just getting really frustrated at doing everything right and gaining. I'm so tempted to net my BMR everyday but I know that's probably not too smart. I honestly want to cry because my clothes were fitting better and now they aren't. I would love to get some advice. I raised my calories two days ago to 1700 to make it TDEE -15% and I gained 1/2 a pound. Grrrr! I really would love to get some opinions about this. Thank you so much!

Livylove90

Im 5'3 as well, when I first started at my HW was 240lbs, I was averaging 1600 to 1700 cals a day, weekly, little exercise, which got me down to 177 in about a year and half (although admittedly I took a lot of breaks where I maintained in the beginning oops) At 177 now and try to net 1400 to 1600 exercising 4 to 5 days a week a mix of strength training and cardio, I eat a least 60 to 80percent of my exercise cals back and average a steady pound to pound and a half of weightloss and loosing inches steadily

caitlinen

It definitely depends on a lot of other things than size.

I lift heavy 6 days a week (my goal is muscle growth) with a 5km walk everyday. Plus one or two intense cardio sessions a week.
I weigh 110lbs (50kg) and I'm 5'2. I eat around 1800 calories a day.

melissadsims

I am 5 foot 1.75 inches (not quite 5'2")
I exercise 5-6 days a week for an hour or a little more doing cardio and strength training all days. I burn 300-400 calories each workout. I was eating 1200 a day an eating back the calories I burned. I lost about 4 inches and 5 lbs. I've hit a plateau the last 5 weeks and barely loosing inches now. I'm just now starting the TDEE -20% so I will be eating 1700 calories a day. Hopefully it works

kathleenmaddox5

I'm 5'2 and I have found that eating between 1000 to 1200 cals a day really works for me. But I have found that the fat intake affects me more than the calories. I think that it really depends on the person. Just experiment with it and use the calorie counter here and track your intake and see where you lose. That's what I do.

c8linmarie

Hmmmm ... I guess I am in the minority here.

5'3", 39 y/o

I typically eat 2000-2300 cals per day and have a deficit of 15-20%. I workout 6-7 days per week, mostly walking. I also lift heavy things and put them back down 3 days per week.

cupcakes_and_cardio

Well, I'm 5'2", but being short(er) doesn't mean you're small. I weigh 202lbs. I eat 2100 a day, that's with a 20% deficit. It works for me.

JillLangOliver

5'3" about 1300 calories.

Thisisnotadiet

I am 5.2' and was eating 1200 (eating back exercise calories) for a while, and lost 12 pounds. Needless to say I gained them all back.

Now, I eat 1900 for maintenance, and I eat 1600-1800 for weight loss. I exercise 3 times/week for about 45 min, but I have a job that allows me to easily make 10000 steps/day.

With your height and built and activity level I would recommend do eat more, just so that you learn how to avoid putting all the weight back once you stop "dieting". That was my mistake.

chelseascounter

4'10" I eat 1,100 cals. I don't exercise but if I did I would eat more calories... and the rare times I do exercise I don't eat back the calories. I started at 117 and lost 15 lbs so far.

Sjenny5891

Have any of you smaller women lost weight eating over 1200 calories a day, I keep reading everywhere that if you are smaller its harder to lose weight and I'm getting nervous eating at 1300 won't get me where I want to be by November. I am 5'2 and I want to be 110, I am 122 right now.

You look great at 122. How much of that is muscle?
You need to eat a minimum of 1200 unless you have done one of those tests that say your BMR is like 1,000.
It is a slow loss unless you exercise a lot. I was eating beck around half of my exercise calories when i was eating 1200 a day.
I'm eating at maintnance now. I don't want to lose too much more.

mcoy1201

5'2 and 28 years old. I eat about 1600 a day and do about 90 minutes of exercise a week.

Wantingslim

Bump

biggsterjackster

5'3 and eat about 1000 cal. a day.

Yanicka1

4'11"

my TDEE is 1750 calories and I cut about 2000 calories a week

fhargis0002

I am 5'2. When I started out I ate 1200 calories, but as my exercise regimen intensified I bumped up to 1500. I don't usually eat my calories back, unless I have a big burn day. I am currently doing Insanity 6 days a week, along with zumba and running once or twice a week. When I combine workouts in a day, I burn big calories, like 1200-1400, so I have to eat some of those back to have energy. As long as I eat right and exercise I lose weight consistently, about 1.5 lb loss per week. when I start getting off track with my eating is when I gain or remain the same.

quebot

I'm almost 5'3, 149lbs, and breastfeeding. I can only lose with 1500-2000 cal, depending on activity level that day and how often my son nurses. I plateaued for a season when I was sticking to my MFP number, but when I started looking at it as a minimum, my weight started going down again. That and making sure I was only eating whole foods and eating plenty of protein and meeting my nutritional needs (taking vitamins). I don't log my foods here anymore now that I've figured out what works for me (I'm a student with 4 kids, no time).

I'm not a huge fan of weight loss for birthdays or weddings. I'm more of a fan of learning how to live and eat healthy. Birthday diets aren't going to stick and are usually fueled by vanity.

jmcreynolds91

Hi. Im 5, 3 and I eat 2100 calories daily. I have 2 kids and my TDEE is about 2800-3000. Depends on your activity level.

Jess830409

Hi :-)

I am 5' 3" and current at 128. I started out at 1,200 calories like many others too...but as I started to exercise more and build more muscle I needed more fuel. I have my goal set for 1,500 - but some days I do go over that. I try to come in at 300- 500 calorie deficit daily...so it all depends on activity. On days I run 5 miles and lift I of course eat more than on days I sit around the house and do nothing. Find a balance - but don't look at 1,200 calories like a magic number. It is different for everyone.
Good Luck!

healthybodyhealthylife

I'm 5"2.5 and eat between 1700-1900 on exercise days depending on how hard I worked out and 1400 on non-exercise days. I exercise pretty hard, lifting heavy weights and very high intensity cardio, 1hr sessions 3-4 times a week. Other than my exercise, I don't live a very active lifestyle - bus to Uni, bus back home, walk to work (5 mins away) and walk back and I'm on my *kitten*/cleaning the house the rest of the time.

blueyegirl0712

bump

Escape_Artist

Almost 5'2, I eat about 2000 a day cutting :flowerforyou:

blueyegirl0712

This is all very interesting to me to see how different everyone is. I'm 5'2 and started at 153. I got down to 135 on 1400 calories but then hit a plateau. I took a few months and now trying to back on it. I'm at 139 now on 1400 calories. Hopefully I can lose some weight. I would like to be at 130 by the end of the year. My next goal would be 120 by summertime.
Any feedback is appreciated! Thanks!

dawlschic007

I'm 5'2 and 125 pounds. I eat between 1440 and 2000 calories depending on how much I workout. I've lost about 20 pounds this way and am working towards losing another 10 to 15 more pounds. It's a slower weight loss, but it's a lot easier to sustain. I tried doing the 1200 calories net when I first started here and it didn't work for me. I just plateaued until I upped my calories.

pari_06

I'm 5'2" n i weigh 143lbs. And as of now i just have 1200 calories or less sumtyms because i dont exercise much. Once i increase the workout time i will increase the calories too