Is 1500 Calories Really Too Much?

May33338

I recently went to dinner with a friend who's been on the weight loss wagon for the past two months and we began talking about how we were doing and the progress we were making.

She asked me how much I was eating, and I told her I was averaging about 1500 calories, which caused her to give me a look and told me I was eating way too much since I'm very short being only 5'0.

I work out 3 hours a day with a variety of exercises and have in the past month lost less then 4 pounds which I'm quite satisfied with, but after hearing what she said, I'm starting to have doubts about my calorie intake and whether or not I'm really eating too much for my height.

What do you think? I've always gotten great advice from people here, so any advice you can provide now would be very appreciated

queenliz99

You are losing, awesome!!

VintageFeline

If you're happy with your rate of loss then I don't see where the issue is?

soapsandropes

You are happy with your progress. Your friend is not an authority about you.

tiptoethruthetulips

3 hours of exercise is a lot per day, what exercise do you do? Any reason for the 3 hours? Training for a comp?

Given we do not know your specific circumstances (eg age, current weight, goal weight) we really can't comment on whether 1500cals is too much, but it maybe that it is only due to exercise that you are creating a deficit.

Do you weight and measure all you foods and drinks or do you rely on generic measures such as 1 cup or 1/2 cup measures?

sijomial

May33338 wrote: »

in the past month lost less then 4 pounds which I'm quite satisfied with,

You are not your friend - your friend is not you.
Your goal is your goal and it's working so what's the issue?

macgurlnet

If you want some numbers for reference - I'm 5 feet tall, 115 pounds, and 1470 calories is maintenance for me. It's more like a flat 1400 before I get my steps in.

Depending on your weight and activity level, 1500 could be perfectly fine. If I can get in 10k steps, 1500 cals is just shy of a 250 cal deficit.

You're losing. That's all that matters.



~Lyssa

pfking42

I am 5' started Jan 1 with 1000-1200 calories per day. My exercise routine was walking 3-5 miles 4-5 days a week. Lost 50# in 10 months, which is 5# mo. If you are losing with 1500 calories that is great.

CalPolyBronco

I'm currently eating 1500 calories a day and honestly when I was eating 1200 calories a day yeah I lost weight faster but I ended up gaining it all back. I had an off day and then let it affect me from there on out. I realized that I had been depriving myself and went overboard after that. Everything in moderation. 1500 is a very acceptable and appropriate amount to be eating daily for weight loss. In the end, it's better to be at an amount YOU are comfortable with and keep it up then to force yourself to do something you aren't and end up giving up in the end. Good luck!

marykersten19

You are losing ! That is a positive in my book! Slow and steady wins! You are doing perfect in my opinion.

Liftng4Lis

Since you're losing weight, no, it's not too much. WTG!

nutmegoreo

Sounds like you are doing just fine. If you are happy with your loss, you feel like you are eating enough, and have the energy to do the workouts, there is nothing wrong with what you are doing. I'm only a couple inches taller than you, work out less, and lose on 1600/day. I wouldn't drop lower just because someone else thinks so. It's working, with a safe and healthy rate of loss. That's awesome!

wizzybeth

Ditto and tritto to everyone's comments. If you're satisfied with your loss, then it works for you.

FitGamerSmoak

Agreed with everyone. If you are losing and you are happy with the results than you are fine! Your friend is unreasonable if they think you are wrong when it's obviously working for you. Keep it ip

WinoGelato

I agree with others that you shouldn't let the comments of your friend make you doubt the results you're seeing so far...

For what it's worth, I'm 5'2 and lost my weight netting 1500 cals and then 1700 cals. I'm currently maintaining b/w 121-125 at about 1900 net cals, I eat b/w 2100-2300.

Asher_Ethan

You're losing yay! 1500 is perfect for you.

blankiefinder

You're doing 3 hours of exercise per day? Just curious if you're going to continue to do this much exercise in maintenance?

Lounmoun

If you are losing weight at the rate you want and are happy with that amount then keep doing what you are doing. Your friend may not be the best source of weight loss advice. She may be misinformed as to what is healthy weight loss or she might be insecure about her efforts or just stupid.
1500 calories does not sound like too much for a very active person your size.

tomatoey

blankiefinder wrote: »

You're doing 3 hours of exercise per day? Just curious if you're going to continue to do this much exercise in maintenance?

+1… that's setting yourself up for overuse injuries, unless you're training under a coach and know how to prep for it. Even then, probably.

1500 is not too high, no, and it's probably not enough for your workouts.

I'm 5'7 and can lose on 1900 with no exercise.

Whitezombiegirl

Im 5ft0 also. My maintenece is 1300 without exercise. I wouldn't lose on that much but i dont exercise as much as you do.

Sued0nim

blankiefinder wrote: »

You're doing 3 hours of exercise per day? Just curious if you're going to continue to do this much exercise in maintenance?

Yes OP. ..can you speak to this? What are you doing? Where's your rest days?

amusedmonkey

If you are active, which you are, and are losing weight, which you are, it doesn't really matter what others think. You may have to reduce your intake if you happened to become less active since you are short, but as it stands you are in a good position and shouldn't worry about what others think.

Livgetfit

Everyone is an expert....sigh....

You're losing. You're happy. You're you, not her.

Keep it up, you are doing great!

rankinsect

Here's my mini flowchart:

Is it healthy?
-> If no, change it!
Is it working?
-> If no, change it!
Is it sustainable?
-> If no, change it!

-> If yes to all of the above: Awesome! keep on keeping on!

NaniCorday

Oh, come on. You know people of MFP are going to tell you you're doing fine. You just want the validation.
Let me break it down for you. You're 5'0. You're eating 1500 calories and you're exercising - What are your net calories, though?? What are you burning off from your exercises by the end of the day? Less than 4 pounds in one month? That's pretty low, to be honest. And, your body usually fluctuates between 2 or 3 pounds from morning vs night. So, maybe you didn't even really lose anything.
Someone of your height should be eating 1200 calories or 1300 calories. That's how much I've been eating for 2 months - mixed in with running for 30 to 40 minutes everyday and I've lost a total of 15 pounds - in 2 months. And, no, I don't cut out carbs or sugar or anything. Just pure calorie counting.

Do what you want, but that's just my opinion and advice.

rankinsect

NaniCorday wrote: »

Less than 4 pounds in one month? That's pretty low, to be honest.

Depends entirely on what her current weight is. If she's close to ideal weight, even her current one pound per week might be too aggressive. When you're close to goal you need to go slowly to preserve lean mass, since your body's ability to mobilize fat for calories is proportional to how much fat you actually possess to be mobilized - any calorie deficit beyond what your body can supply from fat reserves comes from lean mass catabolism.

If she's morbidly obese, she could probably be more aggressive, but 1500/day for1 lb/week doesn't scream "obese" to me, particularly with the high amount of self-reported exercise.

NaniCorday

Depends entirely on what her current weight is

Then that's what she needs to specify here. It makes a huge difference.

macgurlnet

NaniCorday wrote: »

Oh, come on. You know people of MFP are going to tell you you're doing fine. You just want the validation.
Let me break it down for you. You're 5'0. You're eating 1500 calories and you're exercising - What are your net calories, though?? What are you burning off from your exercises by the end of the day? Less than 4 pounds in one month? That's pretty low, to be honest. And, your body usually fluctuates between 2 or 3 pounds from morning vs night. So, maybe you didn't even really lose anything.
Someone of your height should be eating 1200 calories or 1300 calories. That's how much I've been eating for 2 months - mixed in with running for 30 to 40 minutes everyday and I've lost a total of 15 pounds - in 2 months. And, no, I don't cut out carbs or sugar or anything. Just pure calorie counting.

Do what you want, but that's just my opinion and advice.

It's good you found something that's worked for you, but insisting someone else should be eating how you are is silly.

If you're comfortable with a ~2 lb/week loss, that's your choice. If someone else prefers to eat more and still lose, so be it. There's really no right or wrong here.

~Lyssa

NaniCorday

If someone else prefers to eat more and still lose, so be it. There's really no right or wrong here.

Yes, of course. But she came here for advice and opinions, so I'm giving her mine.

I'm actually a little confused why she's losing so little if she's working out for 3 hours a day and eating 1500 calories. Her net calories should be very low, which would cause her to lose fast. Of course, if she is already near her goal weight, it would make sense why she wouldn't be losing much... but, if she is very overweight (even 20 pounds overweight) this doesn't add up.

Either she has an extremely low metabolism, or she is actually eating more than she thinks.

If she has a low metabolism, she should adjust her calorie intake and lower it. I have an underactive thyroid, so I need to eat very low just to lose 2 to 3 pounds per week.

Ready2Rock206

I wouldn't fix what isn't broke. If you're losing and you're happy with it then keep doing what you're doing.

mlinci

NaniCorday wrote: »

I have an underactive thyroid, so I need to eat very low just to lose 2 to 3 pounds per week.

Thyroid issues or not, everyone would have to eat very low to lose 2 to 3 lbs per week, that's a very aggressive rate for vast majority of people (unless they are very tall or very obese)

OP, please don't listen to advice to eat less - what you are doing seems good, i.e. you are losing slow and steady. That way you are most likely to sustain what you are doing and succeed,