Anyone 5ft eat fewer than 1200 a day

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Replies

  • wwkwag
    wwkwag Posts: 60 Member
    edited October 2016
    To the OP, my normal caloric intake is between 1300 and 1900. I would suggest increasing your calories for at least three weeks and see what happens.

    @ Aaron, I am just shy of 5' (4'11-3/4") and while I usually always eat more than 1200 calories, I have done 1200 calories and a little less on some days. Unfortunately for those of us who are short, we have to make a lot different choices, I would imagine, than someone who is taller and has a higher TDEE. For me, granola and higher-calorie foods are not something I would choose. I guess you could say I choose quantity over quality. However, here is a day where I ate a little less than 1200 calories. I choose to eat lighter for breakfast and lunch so I can eat more at dinner. The foods I eat hold me over. In my opinion, I wouldn't say this is toddler food.

    With this being said, this day here is not a typical day for me but I just wanted to show that 1200 calories can be a good amount of food (in my opinion).

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  • firef1y72
    firef1y72 Posts: 1,579 Member
    mari5466 wrote: »
    I am 5ft tall and I usually eat around 1,000 calories a day because I'm worried because of me height I won't lose weight eating 1200. I excercise 5 days a week and I have been trying to add more muscle to my body and I'm now getting toned. I have 5-8 more pounds to lose but im not sure if I should start eating 1200 or stick to what I've been doing and I want to know what other people my height do.

    I'm 5'1" and couldn't imagine eating just 1000-1200 Calories, that's literally half of what I'm eating now (although I am heavier and pretty active). If I were you I'd try eating a little more, maybe at around 1500+, and then seeing where I am in a month, maybe adding in a little extra activity so I could eat even more.
  • jlynnm70
    jlynnm70 Posts: 460 Member
    Ok - I am just getting back on the wagon...but I have done 1200 calories (I'm 5'1") and done it without starving, especially once I get used to it again. It usually involves a lot of veggies, cutting out a ton of carbs.... Here is an approx. menu...

    Breakfast. I slice of Pepperidge farm toast, I slice cheese, egg whites with Spinach, onion and mushroom, Coffee w/cream - abt 300-350 cals.
    Lunch. 3 slices of chicken or turkey. 1/c cottage cheese, One small tomato sliced. (abt 200 cals)
    Dinner I majorly reduce portion of whatever the rest of the family is eating - and add a LARGE salad to it. (For 450-500 cals or so, I get meat, rice/potato, veggies, and salad)
    That leaves me about 200 for a snack/glass of wine/something in the evening.

    It's not a ton of food by any means...but it's more than my toddler granddaughter eats! Besides she is growing...I'm trying to shrink! She should eat more...and higher fat and carbs and such for her growing body. You cannot compare an adults needs to a toddlers....
  • SwatiNigam1
    SwatiNigam1 Posts: 2 Member
    I usually eat between 800-1200 calories a day. I exercise 5 days a week. This is the range I found that helps me lose weight and get toned. Discovered only 2-3 weeks back. And started losing weight much more easily. Before that I tried all kinds of things, and it did not work. I used to be afraid of eating fewer calories, but then read Dr. Michael Mosley's work - the 2 different plans - 5:2, and 800 calories for 2 months, and I mixed everything and invented my own plan that works for me. I also tend to get in the pre-diabetic range if I am not careful, so his work was important to me. I think you will be able to figure out what works best for you.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    @Aaron_K123, second @hornsby.
    I thank you for your apology. <3

    The world of a petite person can be, at times, difficult to navigate and understand.
    As you can see in the posts above not only can our diet be smaller than average, our clothing sizes can be too. Why can't I find a nice pair of evening shoes for a size 4 foot?

    Again, thank you for your apology.

    Cheers, h.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    SwatiNigam1 wrote: »
    I usually eat between 800-1200 calories a day. I exercise 5 days a week. This is the range I found that helps me lose weight and get toned. Discovered only 2-3 weeks back. And started losing weight much more easily. Before that I tried all kinds of things, and it did not work. I used to be afraid of eating fewer calories, but then read Dr. Michael Mosley's work - the 2 different plans - 5:2, and 800 calories for 2 months, and I mixed everything and invented my own plan that works for me. I also tend to get in the pre-diabetic range if I am not careful, so his work was important to me. I think you will be able to figure out what works best for you.

    Yikes! I would consider a little more research...the reason you're losing so easily now or quickly is likely because you're losing way more muscle than you'd like. Losing muscle will make it more difficult to maintain without a permanently tiny calorie allowance. This is why crash diets always end in more gained in the long run than lost in the short term.
  • nickkreitzer
    nickkreitzer Posts: 45 Member
    That's my issue as well. I am 5'8 and only eat on average 1100 per day sometimes even less. I am looking to cut but maintain lean muscle mass and not bulk up however like you. I have also added a 3rd cardio day in for a 5x per week gym session but it is working for me. I know I need to eat more productive food but why try and fix what isn't broken right?
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    SwatiNigam1 wrote: »
    I usually eat between 800-1200 calories a day. I exercise 5 days a week. This is the range I found that helps me lose weight and get toned. Discovered only 2-3 weeks back. And started losing weight much more easily. Before that I tried all kinds of things, and it did not work. I used to be afraid of eating fewer calories, but then read Dr. Michael Mosley's work - the 2 different plans - 5:2, and 800 calories for 2 months, and I mixed everything and invented my own plan that works for me. I also tend to get in the pre-diabetic range if I am not careful, so his work was important to me. I think you will be able to figure out what works best for you.

    You're exercising and eating 800 calories a day??

    That is not a good plan to do anything but lose muscle and possibly lead to binging. Talk to your doctor.

    OP, if you're exercising at the level you posted, you really should at least raise your calories to 1200.

    Shift your priorities as middlehaitch said. This isn't just about weight loss. Hopefully, you've developed an appreciation for your fitness goals along the way to losing weight. Part of achieving overall health (and a healthy body) involves adequately fueling activity. This might mean a slower rate of weight loss, but the ultimate goal is not to just get to goal weight.

    The ultimate goal is to form a balance between eating and activity and the healthy behaviors around them. Right now, you're too focused on weight loss instead of the relationship those two things have to each other and the idea of habit forming.

    Just some food for thought.
  • mari5466
    mari5466 Posts: 137 Member
    I want to gain muscle as I lose weight and eventually just maintain and gain muscle.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    edited October 2016
    nickkreitzer wrote: »
    That's my issue as well. I am 5'8 and only eat on average 1100 per day sometimes even less. I am looking to cut but maintain lean muscle mass and not bulk up however like you. I have also added a 3rd cardio day in for a 5x per week gym session but it is working for me. I know I need to eat more productive food but why try and fix what isn't broken right?

    As a male your minimum calorie intake should be 1500...at 1100 you are lower than my minimum and I'm a 5'2 woman. Are you under a doctor's supervision?
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,282 Member
    Just to clarify one point - I dont think anybody is recomending any active petite women eat only 1200 calories in total

    They are recommending some sedentary petite women do (ie with no excercise calories to add on) - or such active women eat 1200 net - ie PLUS whatever exercise calories they burn.

    So to the previous poster who said she was 5ft 1 and eating double that - yes, that could well be appropriate in total, if you are also very active and/or also have more to lose - but probably not for someone sedentary and with only a small amount to lose.
  • rugratz2015
    rugratz2015 Posts: 593 Member
    I'm under 5ft and have eaten more than 1200 cals a day for years, and that is why I need to lose weight. I've cut back to 1200 and the weight isn't shifting. I've now reduced to 1100 to see it that works. I can eat, very healthy, at 1100, my problems are that I tend to overeat at weekends, not necessarily because I'm hungry, but because I'm more likely to be less organised and therefore more easily influenced by higher calorie foods.
  • terrinicolefit
    terrinicolefit Posts: 99 Member
    I'm 4'11 and this is what I'm currently eating at (and my diary is public) for those of you who think 1,200 calories is "eating like a toddler". I am losing at this caloric deficit and normally I wouldn't eat this low with my TDEE factored in, however, I am doing a mock version of a bikini prep competition and trying to get my BF between 8-11%. Once I'm finished with this diet, I'll begin reverse dieting and eating back in my normal range (1,600ish) or possibly bulking (around 2,000). Just waiting to see what my goals will be after this diet.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    mari5466 wrote: »
    I want to gain muscle as I lose weight and eventually just maintain and gain muscle.

    You cannot be in a calorie deficit to lose weight *and* gain muscle simultaneously. It just doesn't work like that, I'm afraid.

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