1200 calories or less

jacaylac

I have always eaten right. And exercised. I can honestly say I'm about 80 percent clean eating.drink well over my water limit. Well over the last two years I put on 10 lbs. So back in January I started tracking. Started pumping up my work outs, lost 4 lbs. Then nothing....I'm 127 @ 5'2. So I'm at the lower end of the spectrum eating 1200. With no wieght loss and 8+ hours per week at the gym, it was suggested to me that I wasn't eating enough. So I increased to 1500. And allowed myself one day off a week ( but I never gorge myself and do eat healthily) gained 5.
I follow my Marco nutrients, so I am getting the most out of what I eat. So as and experiment, I wore my polar watch two full days, while working ( I work on my feet all day) both days over a 14 hour period, total calories burned approx 950. Hmmmm, so everyday that I eat 1200 calories I am in the red. My basal metabolic rate is only 1286 for 24 hour period. That means I would have to exercises everyday and burn over 3500 via gym time just to see results. This,can't be right. How do just loose weight without killing myself at the gym or starving?

msujack

Make sure you measure your food with a scale and you might be eating more than you think.

queenliz99

When you are close to your goal weight your logging has to be pretty darn accurate. Do you use a food scale?

JustMissTracy

Agreed...you would be shocked at the difference a digital food scale makes...huge diff between 6 and 16 grams of cheddar.....but they look almost the same!

arditarose

How did you log your calories? Did you use a food scale? I'm 5'4" and 129, I do no cardio and am lightly active and will lose weight on 1500. Two inch difference, but still.

jacaylac

I use my food scale down to the gram.

atypicalsmith

If you increase your caloric intake, you will decrease your caloric deficit and gain weight. One day off a week? Do you log your food on that one day off? You're simply eating more than you think. CICO never fails.

jacaylac

I am more concerned that in any given sedentary day, I still only burn 1286 in a 24 hour period. I have lost 3 in in my waist and it has stayed there, however I fell like I should be seeing some results, but I am stuck at the same two numbers on the scale. ( I'm still and inch and a half from were I was prior to weigh t gain)

Unknown

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arditarose

What are you doing for 8 hours at the gym though?

jacaylac

Again I don't get it....I do log my days off., any hints for speeding up metabolism?

jacaylac

I usually do about 45 min of hi interval cardio, with circuit training, average gym work out is 1hrs 40min, 4 to 5 times a week. Average work out burns 600 calories.

daniwilford

I am a short girl too. I feel your pain. I have to make sure every bite counts and is counted. For me aerobic exercise is the key. It helps to keep my appetite in check, plus I can eat some of those calories and still lose. I do strength training too, to retain muscle.

jacaylac

I guess at the end of the day, if I am not burning 1200 during my waking hours, is it okay to drop below that. I have never been an advocate of that, but I truly have no deficiency Russo go to the gym everyday.

fitnessqueen91

1200 calories isn't very much or very healthy. It's just about the bare minimum for your body to function. Especially if you exercise, you need more calories. I eat between 1500-1900 calories a day. I once was on a strict 900 -1200 calorie diet including exercise and l wasn't losing any weight! I did eventually start losing weight but I became obsessed with calorie counting and had a borderline eating disorder and ending up gaining weight because my body was undernourished.

I count calories but I try not to get obsessed with them. All in moderation and watching portion size works for me. Listen to your body, if I feel full I know I've had enough and won't finish everything on my plate. If I feel hungry, I haven't eaten enough. Also weighing food is a bad idea as it can lead to obsessive behaviour around food. Just eat whatever feels tight or look at guidelines on the food packets. Hope this helps!

queenliz99

The one day off may be your problem. How many calories do you eat on that day?

jacaylac

Thanks ladies for all your input

princessbride42

jacaylac wrote: »

I guess at the end of the day, if I am not burning 1200 during my waking hours, is it okay to drop below that. I have never been an advocate of that, but I truly have no deficiency Russo go to the gym everyday.

Shouldn't you count sleeping too? You burn calories when sleeping. Wear your watch at night also I'm guessing.

shadow2soul

jacaylac wrote: »

I am more concerned that in any given sedentary day, I still only burn 1286 in a 24 hour period. I have lost 3 in in my waist and it has stayed there, however I fell like I should be seeing some results, but I am stuck at the same two numbers on the scale. ( I'm still and inch and a half from were I was prior to weigh t gain)

If you got those calories from a HRM, then it's likely wrong. HRM's are only meant to give the calorie expenditure for steady state cardio. Even then it's an estimate that can be off to some degree. It will not give an accurate calorie count for time at rest or anything outside of steady state cardio.

Would you mind opening your diary?


I ran your numbers through some calculators:

Scooby's Accurate Calorie Calculator
BMR : 1183
Desk Job with little exercise TDEE: 1419
1-3 hours light exercise TDEE: 1627
3-5 hours moderate exercise TDEE: 1834

Fitness Frog:
BMR : 1286
Little or No Exercise: 1543
Light Exercise: 1768
Moderate Exercise: 1993

Fat2Fit
BMR: 1293
Sedentary: 1552
Lightly Active: 1778
Moderately Active: 2004

jacaylac

I did not know that thanks...I will add you as a friend so you can view my diary.

fitnessqueen91

billieljaime wrote: »

welcome to short girl problems

you HAVE to move

you cant not. I only burn 1300 a day with just work so if i want to eat I have to go for a walk

So I invested in a treadmill

sorry girl, you got the "short end" of the stick

dont want to move extra? then you NEED a food scale and you NEED to log every single morsel FOREVER

This isn't helpful advice. This just encourages obsessive behaviour around food and weight. That's anorexic behaviour, watching every morsel you put in your mouth and weighing food. Weighing food is for cooking and measuring the correct ingredients not for weighing everything you eat!

Nobody's basal metabolic rate is that low, even if you're short! Even children need like 1500-1800 calories! I wouldn't take the basal metabolic rate thing too seriously. Everybody's body is different. Height isn't always a factor as some shorter people may have faster metabolisms. Most women need 1800-2000 calories to maintain weight leading a very sedentary lifestyle. The more active you are the more calories your body needs to maintain your weight even if you're short!

Marilyn0924

innerfatty91 wrote: »

billieljaime wrote: »

welcome to short girl problems

you HAVE to move

you cant not. I only burn 1300 a day with just work so if i want to eat I have to go for a walk

So I invested in a treadmill

sorry girl, you got the "short end" of the stick

dont want to move extra? then you NEED a food scale and you NEED to log every single morsel FOREVER

This isn't helpful advice. This just encourages obsessive behaviour around food and weight. That's anorexic behaviour, watching every morsel you put in your mouth and weighing food. Weighing food is for cooking and measuring the correct ingredients not for weighing everything you eat!

Nobody's basal metabolic rate is that low, even if you're short! Even children need like 1500-1800 calories! I wouldn't take the basal metabolic rate thing too seriously. Everybody's body is different. Height isn't always a factor as some shorter people may have faster metabolisms. Most women need 1800-2000 calories to maintain weight leading a very sedentary lifestyle. The more active you are the more calories your body needs to maintain your weight even if you're short!

Sorry to say, but you are misinformed. When you are short and older (as I am now in my late 40's), you don't burn like you do in your 20's.
I'm 5'3" and my current TDEE is 1800, BMR at 1400. So @jacaylac, also in her 40's and is even shorter and her totals will be lower.

There is nothing obsessive about weighing your food when you're trying to maintain a strict deficit, and at our height, it has to be stricter as we have a lower margin for error.

@jacaylac, it's going to be a slog, but you'll get there. Little bits at a time, but it will eventually go. Tighten up your logging, it makes a difference for us shorties!

shadow2soul

innerfatty91 wrote: »

billieljaime wrote: »

welcome to short girl problems

you HAVE to move

you cant not. I only burn 1300 a day with just work so if i want to eat I have to go for a walk

So I invested in a treadmill

sorry girl, you got the "short end" of the stick

dont want to move extra? then you NEED a food scale and you NEED to log every single morsel FOREVER

This isn't helpful advice. This just encourages obsessive behaviour around food and weight. That's anorexic behaviour, watching every morsel you put in your mouth and weighing food. Weighing food is for cooking and measuring the correct ingredients not for weighing everything you eat!

Nobody's basal metabolic rate is that low, even if you're short! Even children need like 1500-1800 calories! I wouldn't take the basal metabolic rate thing too seriously. Everybody's body is different. Height isn't always a factor as some shorter people may have faster metabolisms. Most women need 1800-2000 calories to maintain weight leading a very sedentary lifestyle. The more active you are the more calories your body needs to maintain your weight even if you're short!

Basal Metabolic Rate is the calories your body burns at rest before activity. For older, short, and light people it can be less than 1200 calories. However, once you add in daily activity and exercise, the amount that person needs to maintain will be over 1200 calories. So BMR's can be low, but TDEE's aren't.

What's wrong with weighing everything you eat? Why should it be frowned upon for trying to keep as accurate of a food log as possible? Since when did wanting to be accurate with food logs become "anorexic behavior"?


I do agree that the poster is probably wrong about their TDEE being only 1300, but then again it's possible for short light people.

Example:
I plugged in a random stats in scooby's calculator
5'
woman
44 yrs old
110 lbs
Desk job with little exercise
BMR: 1074
TDEE: 1289

upped weight to 120 lbs
BMR: 1119
TDEE: 1343

So for a short, sedentary, older, and light person it is possible. If I changed the age down to 20, the TDEE's increased by about 140 calories.

Liftng4Lis

Can you open your diary?

Mediocrates55

Yeah my BMR sits under 1300. Its a fight to get my burn up to 2000 total for the day to make any significant deficit and not eat the table and plate. Short girl problems for sure. The struggle is real.

shadow2soul

So what I noticed:
Your logging isn't consistent. Lot's of days not logged. So tighten up with that should help.
Generic entries. I didn't see many but I did see a few. These are typically user created and can be very off on the calorie counts. The reason is you don't know what the user who put it in the database used for the dish or the amounts they used. So be careful with those. It's typically best to just either create your own recipe or add each ingredient individually.
Quick Add's - Are you adding the calories from a package because you don't want to look it up (I'm guilty of this too) or are you just adding them because your not sure how much you ate? If it's the latter, you might want to tighten up with that as well.

middlehaitch

Innerfatty, my BMR= 960; NEAT=1200; TDEE=1400 this is accurate as I have maintained on these numbers for 6 years.
Short, small boned women quite often have low BMR's- not a lot of far to haul around.

Jacaylac, happy that you are letting someone look through your diary, a few incorrect entries can really throw you off when you have so few calories to work with.

Not to depress you but it took me almost 6 month to lose the last 10 lb.
5'1 and 103 lb.

Cheers, h.

daniwilford

innerfatty91 wrote: »

billieljaime wrote: »

welcome to short girl problems

you HAVE to move

you cant not. I only burn 1300 a day with just work so if i want to eat I have to go for a walk

So I invested in a treadmill

sorry girl, you got the "short end" of the stick

dont want to move extra? then you NEED a food scale and you NEED to log every single morsel FOREVER

This isn't helpful advice. This just encourages obsessive behaviour around food and weight. That's anorexic behaviour, watching every morsel you put in your mouth and weighing food. Weighing food is for cooking and measuring the correct ingredients not for weighing everything you eat!

Nobody's basal metabolic rate is that low, even if you're short! Even children need like 1500-1800 calories! I wouldn't take the basal metabolic rate thing too seriously. Everybody's body is different. Height isn't always a factor as some shorter people may have faster metabolisms. Most women need 1800-2000 calories to maintain weight leading a very sedentary lifestyle. The more active you are the more calories your body needs to maintain your weight even if you're short!

I have to disagree, if I were not exercising, I would gain eating over 1500 calories. And I know many people who weigh food and are not disordered in their eating or weight. People lose and maintain healthy weight watching every morsel put in their mouths without developing unhealthy attitudes or behaviors. Generalizations about that being anorexic behavior is out of line.

MarcyKirkton

I recommend using the US Department of Health and Human Services guidelines. There is excellent information on dieting and what truly is and isn't healthy. You will get wrong information on this message board. My experience is that the macros suggested for me at 5'2" do not work. So I've modified and adapted the program so that it is a very useful tool.

I'm losing 2 lbs per week, am within 7 lbs of my initial goal. Not sure if I'll try to lose more or not....we'll see. But it's been very good and steady progress. More important, I'm not obsessing over measuring and all that. I have definitely upped my protein and eliminated all empty calories, so my nutrition needs are being met actually better than when I ate a lot more.

If the program isn't working for you, I suggest you do what I did.......figure out why and how to make it work for you.

atypicalsmith

daniwilford wrote: »

innerfatty91 wrote: »

billieljaime wrote: »

welcome to short girl problems

you HAVE to move

you cant not. I only burn 1300 a day with just work so if i want to eat I have to go for a walk

So I invested in a treadmill

sorry girl, you got the "short end" of the stick

dont want to move extra? then you NEED a food scale and you NEED to log every single morsel FOREVER

This isn't helpful advice. This just encourages obsessive behaviour around food and weight. That's anorexic behaviour, watching every morsel you put in your mouth and weighing food. Weighing food is for cooking and measuring the correct ingredients not for weighing everything you eat!

Nobody's basal metabolic rate is that low, even if you're short! Even children need like 1500-1800 calories! I wouldn't take the basal metabolic rate thing too seriously. Everybody's body is different. Height isn't always a factor as some shorter people may have faster metabolisms. Most women need 1800-2000 calories to maintain weight leading a very sedentary lifestyle. The more active you are the more calories your body needs to maintain your weight even if you're short!

I have to disagree, if I were not exercising, I would gain eating over 1500 calories. And I know many people who weigh food and are not disordered in their eating or weight. People lose and maintain healthy weight watching every morsel put in their mouths without developing unhealthy attitudes or behaviors. Generalizations about that being anorexic behavior is out of line.

When I don't exercise, I don't lose. I'm 5'2, started out at 170, now at 137. There were times I didn't lose a pound and it was always when I stopped exercising for a couple of weeks. Exercising seems to get my metabolism rolling and besides, it makes me feel soooooo much better!!

Optimistical1

billieljaime wrote: »

welcome to short girl problems

you HAVE to move

you cant not. I only burn 1300 a day with just work so if i want to eat I have to go for a walk

So I invested in a treadmill

sorry girl, you got the "short end" of the stick

dont want to move extra? then you NEED a food scale and you NEED to log every single morsel FOREVER

I'm 5'0", tradegy of my life