1360 calories and short :(

DanniB423

I am currently 227 down from 272. My calories are now set to 1360 per day and I find it to be quite the challenge. My loss per week is set to 1.5 because I have such a long way to go with a goal of 160 lbs. I am only 5'0. I have been told by many that I shouldn't eat back exercise calories and I really don't trust what the machines at the gym estimate for my burns all the time anyways. It just seems low to me at my weight. Any input? Thank you.

Aaron_K123

I was just about to say if you exercise you can eat more than that. Although I don't like the idea of exercising just to be able to eat more it does work that way. Of course you can eat exercise calories back, you are trying to maintain a steady deficit...if you exercise you'll need more calories to do that. You are right it can be hard to get a good accurate read on how many calories you are burning and gym machines aren't very accurate but all that takes is time and accurate measurement. Track your loss, track your calories, track your estimated burns and eat those back then see what affect that has on your loss and adjust.

Just as an example my "goal" right now if I was completely sedentary is to eat 1500 calories a day. Most days due to exercise I eat more like 2400 a day.

jemhh

Change your goal to 1 lb per week. Your goal will be 1610. It will keep you in a deficit and feel more comfortable and you can continue not eating exercise calories if doing so makes you nervous.

Great job so far!

DanniB423

Thank you! I know it sounds weird but lately I have more hair in my brush and my skin has been dry. I also feel more tired. Could just be weather but the closer I get to 1200 those things make me nervous! I recently had a blood panel so it isn't medical. I want to lose weight but I also want to get all of the nutrition I need. Thanks for your input! I think I will change to 1 lb per week and keep myself around 1400-1500 eating more or less as needed.

Aaron_K123

jemhh wrote: »

Change your goal to 1 lb per week. Your goal will be 1610. It will keep you in a deficit and feel more comfortable and you can continue not eating exercise calories if doing so makes you nervous.

Great job so far!

Or that yeah. As you lose weight you are going to have to adjust your deficit to be less and less pounds lost per week as you get closer to your goal.

kshama2001

DanniB423 wrote: »

Thank you! I know it sounds weird but lately I have more hair in my brush and my skin has been dry. I also feel more tired. Could just be weather but the closer I get to 1200 those things make me nervous! I recently had a blood panel so it isn't medical. I want to lose weight but I also want to get all of the nutrition I need. Thanks for your input! I think I will change to 1 lb per week and keep myself around 1400-1500 eating more or less as needed.

Did your blood panel include iron/ferritin level tests? Despite being anemic for decades, I have to request these tests with standard bloodwork. When my anemia is untreated I lose a scary amount of hair.

I also got the hair loss issue when I stopped eating foods with iodine. Regular table salt has this; many boutique salts do not. I've eaten unfortified salt for decades but used to regularly cook/eat Asian foods with iodine. Now I supplement with kelp tablets.

Aaron_K123

DanniB423 wrote: »

Thank you! I know it sounds weird but lately I have more hair in my brush and my skin has been dry. I also feel more tired. Could just be weather but the closer I get to 1200 those things make me nervous! I recently had a blood panel so it isn't medical. I want to lose weight but I also want to get all of the nutrition I need. Thanks for your input! I think I will change to 1 lb per week and keep myself around 1400-1500 eating more or less as needed.

Eating 1200 calories a day while weighing 227 pounds is very extreme, its quite possible you are malnourishing yourself doing that and probably should be eating more than you are. I understand that you are only 5' tall but its your weight not your height that has the most influence on your BMR and how much you should be eating.

DanniB423

@kshama2001 I am actually unsure if that was included. I wouldn't call my hair difference a scary amount at this point. Just an observation and I will keep an eye on it. Thank you!

@Aaron_K123 that was kind of my thinking as well. I just have friends who are taller and weigh less than me eating much more set to sedentary. I just have to develop the mindset that I need to do what will make this life style the most sustainable. It is not a race. 1.5 pounds per week is nice to see though! Lol

Edited: typo

DanniB423

I am just going to eat 1500 and keep up with my
exercise and see what happens

MsRuffBuffNStuff

I'd set my calories at maintenance for a few weeks and just use exercise to create a deficit. (dont even log the exercise). You can heal your metabolism and eat more. 1300 calories doesn't seem like much at all. I'm 5'4" and I'm aiming for 1800-2000 calories per day (and I'm eating back my exercise calories, so 1800 would be my net calories...)

jemhh

Aaron_K123 wrote: »

DanniB423 wrote: »

Thank you! I know it sounds weird but lately I have more hair in my brush and my skin has been dry. I also feel more tired. Could just be weather but the closer I get to 1200 those things make me nervous! I recently had a blood panel so it isn't medical. I want to lose weight but I also want to get all of the nutrition I need. Thanks for your input! I think I will change to 1 lb per week and keep myself around 1400-1500 eating more or less as needed.

Eating 1200 calories a day while weighing 227 pounds is very extreme, its quite possible you are malnourishing yourself doing that and probably should be eating more than you are. I understand that you are only 5' tall but its your weight not your height that has the most influence on your BMR and how much you should be eating.

Agreed. Overall, I would not eat less than 80% of TDEE. You are probably at about 60%, in other words a 40% deficit.