Should I just be happy with my current stats? More...........
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misskitty0816
Posts: 49 Member
I asked this same question as part of another thread but was afraid it would get buried 
)). I had my body fat measured again and it was 26% (actually, measured by bio-impedance at 27% and through a scale with body fat monitor at 25%, so I took the average of the two) and my BMI was calculated at 21. Those measures for someone 50 years old, 5' 6" 130 pounds, aren't really THAT out of line. What I am not happy about is only being able to eat 1200-1250 calories per day to maintain. Should I just be happy with what I have? I'm not overweight, in the 'normal' range for BMI and body fat............am I just trying to fix something that doesn't need to be fixed??? Just HATE that I can't eat much food at all without gaining weight. Thoughts?
PS - up until this week, have done very little strength training, but tons of cardio over the last 20 years......which is probably what has kept my weight down.
)). I had my body fat measured again and it was 26% (actually, measured by bio-impedance at 27% and through a scale with body fat monitor at 25%, so I took the average of the two) and my BMI was calculated at 21. Those measures for someone 50 years old, 5' 6" 130 pounds, aren't really THAT out of line. What I am not happy about is only being able to eat 1200-1250 calories per day to maintain. Should I just be happy with what I have? I'm not overweight, in the 'normal' range for BMI and body fat............am I just trying to fix something that doesn't need to be fixed??? Just HATE that I can't eat much food at all without gaining weight. Thoughts?PS - up until this week, have done very little strength training, but tons of cardio over the last 20 years......which is probably what has kept my weight down.
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Honestly? Yes. At least for now. Living on 1200 calories is miserable. I think you can change that but its going to take time. Increase slowly. Find something else to put energy into instead of obsessing over it.0
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I don't think there is anything wrong with your stats but I DO think there's something wrong with maintaining on so few calories!
Good news is, you can change it!
4 years ago I was maintaining in fact I was gaining on 900 calories a day. Now I eat 3000 calories a day to LOSE fat! Now my numbers are pretty high and most people won't be able to eat that much, but most people sure should be eating more than 1200!
With your years of cardio (and dieting?) it is most likely that you have suppressed your metabolism and the best thing for you to do right now would be to try to repair that.
You can find the info here;
http://eatmore2weighless.com/the-metabolism-reset-guide/
Any questions, please ask.
Ichel
EM2WL ambassador and moderator1 -
1200 cals is pretty miserable. Even though your maintaining and your stats are within normal range, the boost to your intake will only help you in the long term. I would definitely work on increasing the calories up. There may be some small gains as you increase but know its temporary. As Ichel said, now is the time to repair it. We all want to eat more!!:)
Kelly
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator0 -
empressichel wrote: »I don't think there is anything wrong with your stats but I DO think there's something wrong with maintaining on so few calories!
Good news is, you can change it!
4 years ago I was maintaining in fact I was gaining on 900 calories a day. Now I eat 3000 calories a day to LOSE fat! Now my numbers are pretty high and most people won't be able to eat that much, but most people sure should be eating more than 1200!
With your years of cardio (and dieting?) it is most likely that you have suppressed your metabolism and the best thing for you to do right now would be to try to repair that.
You can find the info here;
http://eatmore2weighless.com/the-metabolism-reset-guide/
Any questions, please ask.
Ichel
EM2WL ambassador and moderator
OMG! I clicked on the link and have been reading through it.....................there was this statement..."This explains why suddenly you may find yourself gaining weight while doing hours of cardio and eating 1,200 calories or less a day … your body has adapted! "...............ME to a "t"!!! I absolutely feel like 1200 is nothing. I am happy with my BMI and my body fat, but NOT the 1200 calories. I am going to work on this as well as following something similar to a case study (also me to a "t") that @haybales shared. I have GOT to do something. 1200 goes too quickly. You are correct............not only did I restrict calories for years, I was a cardio-maniac. Had I only known
(((( Already making positive changes NOW, including eating 1450 now for 2 whole weeks! ) 2 -
jerilynconn wrote: »Honestly? Yes. At least for now. Living on 1200 calories is miserable. I think you can change that but its going to take time. Increase slowly. Find something else to put energy into instead of obsessing over it.
YES(( It is miserable. I have managed to eat 1450 for the last 2 weeks (some days even 1500!) and going to try to continue that for a full two months. Definitely going to try not to let it get to obsessive level, but do want to be able to eat normally - for sure.
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1200 cals is pretty miserable. Even though your maintaining and your stats are within normal range, the boost to your intake will only help you in the long term. I would definitely work on increasing the calories up. There may be some small gains as you increase but know its temporary. As Ichel said, now is the time to repair it. We all want to eat more!!:)
Kelly
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator
So glad it isn't just me. Just feels like 1200 is NOTHING. It's scary, but I've been eating 1450-1500 for a few weeks now, and added a new weight training routine with a coach (which is HARD stuff! but I need it so bad - have neglected strength training for years). I would be over the moon if I could eat somewhere in the 1800-2000 calorie range 0 -
misskitty0816 wrote: »empressichel wrote: »I
4 years ago I was maintaining in fact I was gaining on 900 calories a day. Now I eat 3000 calories a day to LOSE fat! Now my numbers are pretty high and most people won't be able to eat that much, but most people sure should be eating more than 1200!
Ichel
EM2WL ambassador and moderator
OMG! I clicked on the link and have been reading through it.....................there was this statement..."This explains why suddenly you may find yourself gaining weight while doing hours of cardio and eating 1,200 calories or less a day … your body has adapted! "...............ME to a "t"!!! I absolutely feel like 1200 is nothing. I am happy with my BMI and my body fat, but NOT the 1200 calories. I am going to work on this as well as following something similar to a case study (also me to a "t") that @haybales shared. I have GOT to do something. 1200 goes too quickly. You are correct............not only did I restrict calories for years, I was a cardio-maniac. Had I only known(((( Already making positive changes NOW, including eating 1450 now for 2 whole weeks! )
Meant to say, 900 calories and gaining?!?!? That gives me hope.................if YOU can get it up from that low, than surely I can get it up from 1200. I felt so hopeless. Honestly. If you were that low and are now at 3,000 - that is a HUGE inspiration to me. Wow.2 -
Keep up the good work on increasing calorie amounts. It's hard to get them in some days. It was suggested to me to start finding healthy calorie dense foods. That seemed to help some. I could get the calories in and not be stuffing myself.1
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Yes, you may be surprised how far you can push your calories up.
I thought for sure I would maintain when I hit 2200-2400 but found I had underestimated my activity level and it was in fact much higher. Just takes a bit of trail and error and a LOT of patience!
You can do this! We are cheering you on!
Ichel
EM2WL Ambassador and moderator1
