Low TDEE

So I am getting married in three weeks and really need some advice. I'm not actually overweight but would like to lose a few pounds for the wedding. So I calculated some stuff today and figured out that my TDEE is only 1400. I'm 5'1 btw and 31 year old female. How the heck am I supposed too lose weight somewhat healthily with a TDEE that darn low.
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Replies

  • TaiMcEwan
    TaiMcEwan Posts: 8 Member
    I forgot to mention, I can't exercise other than walking. I can't get my heart rate up too high die to a heart condition. I don't know what to think, would it be okay to go super low cal for three weeks?
  • Justthisgirl1994
    Justthisgirl1994 Posts: 226 Member
    edited July 2015
    You could eat 1400 calories and burn 250 calories a day through exercise to lose 1.5 lbs before your wedding.

    Edit: Oops sorry didn't see your post until after! You could definitely eat 1200 calories a day if you're not going to exercise. Don't make a habit of eating less than that though, and make sure everything you eat is nutrient dense!
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    You didn't post your current weight/goal weight, unfortunately, so it's a little hard to give anything specific without that.

    Going super low cal for a few weeks would not do you any favors, I'd recommend against it. 1200 is the minimum recommended for women, and I wouldn't advocate a sustained time going below that.

    Do you know your current BMI? And the BMI at your goal weight? Are they in the healthy/normal range?

    Normally I would suggest looking at a body recomposition plan, but due to your heart condition you have fewer options. That said, walking can be a good way to give yourself a little more calories to work with.
  • MamaBirdBoss
    MamaBirdBoss Posts: 1,516 Member
    Weight lifting should help you make up the difference.
  • MamaBirdBoss
    MamaBirdBoss Posts: 1,516 Member
    At your height and TDEE, you could safely go to 1000. 1000-1200 is a woman's range for low calories.
  • mangrothian
    mangrothian Posts: 1,351 Member
    If you want to look ill and have no wedding, sure. Going super low calorie without close supervision from a doctor is never a good thing.

    I hate to say it, but thinking about this only 3 weeks before a wedding is cutting it a bit close. At your height, and from your profile pic, with only a little bit to lose, with a small deficit each day, tbh you should have planned it a couple of months ago.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,236 Member
    I am a non smoker. I think that I would like to take up smoking. Is it OK to light up one cigarette at a time, or should I puff two or three at once in order to get my lungs destroyed faster?

    You are not overweight. Your goal of losing weight for your wedding is not appropriate.

    Furthermore, the way you are thinking of achieving your goal will lead to you losing water, muscle, and some fat.

    At the end of the process (read: right after the wedding), you will regain the water, and gain back fat, reducing your overall muscle percentage, especially since strenuous exercise seems to be out of the question for you.

    On the other hand there is nothing wrong with going out for an hour long walk (or two) every day. Exercise walks will help you feel better, and possibly help you de-stress from the wedding preparations. If you do not increase your food intake to compensate, they may also lead to minor weight loss.

    <windmills, tilting, why?>
  • ExRelaySprinter
    ExRelaySprinter Posts: 874 Member
    TaiMcEwan wrote: »
    I forgot to mention, I can't exercise other than walking.

    Try Powerwalking in the Park maybe?
    I Powerwalk 4 miles a day (at least 4 times a week) and it can burn quite a few calories.
  • sheldonklein
    sheldonklein Posts: 854 Member
    You're confusing TDEE and BMR. Your TDEE is about 1750
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    edited July 2015
    A few pounds in 3 weeks isn't really viable (certainly not a few pounds of fat anyway, though you might be able to lose a few pounds of water weight), but you could manage something in that time. Eat at 1200, do a bit of walking and you can lose 0.5lbs/week, which is what you should probably be aiming for anyway.
  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    You are not overweight. Your goal of losing weight for your wedding is not appropriate.

    Uhhhh, excuse you? Who are you to say what is and is not appropriate for anyone but yourself? If she wants to look a little better in her wedding dress, she wants to look a little better in her wedding dress. And a weight loss journey is a weight loss journey no matter how much you have to loose. She wants to loose weight even though she is not overweight, that is what she wants to do--hell, so do I. That is a personal choice and appropriate for her (us).

    Now, OP, PAV8888 is right in saying that most of what you will loose is going to be water and whatever fat/muscle you do loose will come back on once you stop eating at a deficit. It would have been handier to start a little earlier, but hell, you can try? Cut down on your calories, try to stay above ~1200, drink plenty of water and move as much as you can. No guarantees because of the time period, but as long as you go about it smart and healthily, it's worth the shot.

    Enjoy your wedding day and congratulations!
  • kelleybean1
    kelleybean1 Posts: 312 Member
    From your profile pic, it looks like you don't need to lose any weight. Why not maintain, and enjoy this time in your life instead of stressing over a few pounds that you don't need to lose? Enjoy some nice long de-stressing walks and go into this marriage happy and healthy.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    Working backwards from Scooby, if your TDEE is 1400 at 5'1 and 31 years, (and sedentary) this means you are only around 88lbs and have a BMI of 16.6. If this is correct then you should not be trying to lose weight.
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    With a combination of a heart condition that none of us posters know anything about and your photo, OP, you should ask your doctor this question.

    You say you can't get your heart rate up too much due to that condition, but have you ever talked to your doctor about going "super low cal" (whatever that means to you)? For all we know, that could impact your condition. Even someone in "good" health shouldn't be going "super low cal" without medical supervision.

    If your doctor has approved light walking, as someone else said, you could simply do that over the next three weeks. But I don't think you should be trying anything more drastic without talking to your doctor.
  • kyrannosaurus
    kyrannosaurus Posts: 350 Member
    Working backwards from Scooby, if your TDEE is 1400 at 5'1 and 31 years, (and sedentary) this means you are only around 88lbs and have a BMI of 16.6. If this is correct then you should not be trying to lose weight.

    Exactly what I was thinking.
  • TaiMcEwan
    TaiMcEwan Posts: 8 Member
    mouqzorn0euo.jpg
  • TaiMcEwan
    TaiMcEwan Posts: 8 Member
    TDEE 1404 and yeah I know I'm not overweight or anything but I mean damn it's my wedding. I don't want to keep the weight off, I just know these pics will be forever. Thanks for the advice, I can walk so I'll just so a lot of that since I did kin of leave it to the last minute.
  • RAinWA
    RAinWA Posts: 1,980 Member
    TaiMcEwan wrote: »
    mouqzorn0euo.jpg

    I think you entered your height wrong - I'm 5'1 and it's 61 inches, not 52. You might want to recalculate.
  • jesikalovesyou
    jesikalovesyou Posts: 172 Member
    RAinWA wrote: »
    TaiMcEwan wrote: »
    mouqzorn0euo.jpg

    I think you entered your height wrong - I'm 5'1 and it's 61 inches, not 52. You might want to recalculate.

    She did put 62. I just tried it myself and it gave me 1404 for the TDEE.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    TaiMcEwan wrote: »
    TDEE 1404 and yeah I know I'm not overweight or anything but I mean damn it's my wedding. I don't want to keep the weight off, I just know these pics will be forever. Thanks for the advice, I can walk so I'll just so a lot of that since I did kin of leave it to the last minute.

    To raise TDEE you need to exercise...it's that simple.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Are you wearing a tailored dress? If so, I would be leery of trying to lose weight this close to the wedding. You may be smaller but your dress may end up baggy and unflattering.
  • RAinWA
    RAinWA Posts: 1,980 Member
    RAinWA wrote: »
    TaiMcEwan wrote: »
    mouqzorn0euo.jpg

    I think you entered your height wrong - I'm 5'1 and it's 61 inches, not 52. You might want to recalculate.

    She did put 62. I just tried it myself and it gave me 1404 for the TDEE.

    Must be my monitor - sure looked like 52 to me. Or maybe I need new glasses! :)
  • missomgitsica
    missomgitsica Posts: 496 Member
    These posts always crack me up. I'm guessing you've known when you were getting married for a LOT longer than the 3 weeks left before the ceremony, so you should have thought of this a looooong time ago.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,236 Member
    edited July 2015
    Uhhhh, excuse you?

    No need to excuse me, though I do excuse you for presuming to excuse me.

    Who are you to say what is and is not appropriate for anyone but yourself? If she wants to look a little better in her wedding dress, she wants to look a little better in her wedding dress. And a weight loss journey is a weight loss journey no matter how much you have to loose. She wants to loose weight even though she is not overweight, that is what she wants to do--hell, so do I. That is a personal choice and appropriate for her (us).

    Concept NOT that hard to understand: not appropriate goal = goal you have... that you shouldn't.

    Says who? Says I.

    What YOU are absolutely free to do, is ignore the opinion of any random forum @$$^013, including myself.

    In the meanwhile my version of being supportive continues to include pointing out to people with potentially inappropriate goals, that the problem is their goal. And NOT to cheer them on while they blindly tumble off a cliff because they stated that it was their goal to head that way.

    The OP's picture looks like someone who has little room to achieve a good outcome from caloric restriction.

    Exercise and strength training, on the other hand, may well be valid alternative paths for her.
  • flaminica
    flaminica Posts: 304 Member
    RAinWA wrote: »

    I think you entered your height wrong - I'm 5'1 and it's 61 inches, not 52. You might want to recalculate.

    ^ This. I'm an inch shorter and twenty years older and my TDEE is 1822. You've made a math error.

  • isulo_kura
    isulo_kura Posts: 818 Member
    You have a BMI of 20
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Best thing you could do is walk as much as you can, at a good safe pace, eat back 50% of those cals.
    Really concentrate on good posture/ form while walking. It can make a real difference in how you look.
    If you can carry a couple of light hand weights to swing while walking.

    Primarily-
    Buy a food scale and weigh everything.
    Eat your cals plus the 50%.

    Being the same height, but older than you by 3 decades makes my bmr about 200 cals less than yours and the one thing I learnt while losing was accuracy in my intake was everything.

    Sorry that is a bit random, rushing and on my phone.
    Cheers, h.
  • LynnSullivan1
    LynnSullivan1 Posts: 24 Member
    As a photographer, yes, the photos are very important. Your personality is what shines in those photos, not your body image. That said, eat reasonably, do not go on a crash diet which can turn you into a not nice personality!, do not endanger your LIFE together with your partner. Blessings on your upcoming event.
  • sixxpoint
    sixxpoint Posts: 3,529 Member
    edited July 2015
    What's the problem here? This question is rather simple.
    • 5'1''
    • 110 lbs.
    • 31 years old
    • Sedentary Female
    • Goal: To lose bodyfat (and therefore weight)

    body-fat-percentage-women.jpg

    TDEE if Sedentary (desk job with little to no exercise):

    1351 cals/day (assuming 30% bodyfat)
    1416 cals/day (assuming 25% bodyfat)
    1468 cals/day (assuming 21% bodyfat)
    1533 cals/day (assuming 16% bodyfat)

    TDEE if Lightly Active (1-3 days/week light exercise or sports):

    1548 cals/day (assuming 30% bodyfat)
    1623 cals/day (assuming 25% bodyfat)
    1682 cals/day (assuming 21% bodyfat)
    1756 cals/day (assuming 16% bodyfat)


    TDEE is maintanence calories. In order to lose weight, you have to eat less than your TDEE on a consistent basis. Exercising more will allow you to eat more calories than if you were sedentary and still maintain. Cutting bodyfat (and weight) will be easier if you are exercising and watching your calories/macros.

    A safe range to lose weight is 10-20% less than your TDEE. <--- Do the math, using one of the TDEE targets referenced above, and this is your answer. Remember that your TDEE can change over time, particularly with a change in weight and/or activity level.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,236 Member
    edited July 2015
    sixxpoint wrote: »
    What's the problem here? This question is rather simple.
      A safe range to lose weight is 10-20% less than your TDEE. <--- Do the math, using one of the TDEE targets referenced above, and this is your answer. Remember that your TDEE can change over time, particularly with a change in weight and/or activity level.

    The problem is that the OP is 2lbs above being underweight. That is random water weight change territory.

    So is there a point where "cutting calories" is not the best solution for achieving the look you want to achieve?

    Some of us believe that the OP is already there and should look at other options as opposed to cutting 10+% off of her TDEE.

    Up to and including doing nothing in regards to changing her weight if her doctor is not on-board.