Exercise Calories for petite women

circusmamasarah

With my FitBit adjustment, MFP typically wants me to add 850 or so calories to my existing 1200 calorie plan, however I am not losing weight eating at 1400-1800 total calories a day. I'm weighing my food and logging every bite consistently for four weeks. What gives? I'm hesitant to add another 400-800 calories to my day when I'm not losing as is, but would hate to be sabatoging myself by not eating enough. 5'0 135 lbs. Fem.

L1zardQueen

How accurate is your logging? Do you use a food scale to weigh everything?

circusmamasarah

I would say 90%. I don't weigh things like tortillas that are single serving our food I've gotten at restaurants (which is not terribly often)

mom23mangos

If you aren't losing, then you are eating at maintenance. Those calories are my maintenance level and I'm the same height and light to moderately active (weight train 4x/week, walk 10k steps daily, bike to work a couple times a week). Go by that data rather than what MFP is telling you. It's real life data. Of course it doesn't hurt to tighten up logging, but if you are consistent in your inconsistencies, you should be able to lose by reducing your intake another 250 calories or so. Try eating at 1600 for a couple of weeks, and if not losing, drop to 1400, then finally to 1200 if still not losing.

SusanMFindlay

circusmamasarah wrote: »

With my FitBit adjustment, MFP typically wants me to add 850 or so calories to my existing 1200 calorie plan, however I am not losing weight eating at 1400-1800 total calories a day. I'm weighing my food and logging every bite consistently for four weeks. What gives? I'm hesitant to add another 400-800 calories to my day when I'm not losing as is, but would hate to be sabatoging myself by not eating enough. 5'0 135 lbs. Fem.

You're logging drinks too? Including milk/cream/sugar in coffee or tea?

Check that you're using the right entries for your most common items. I was logging grilled salmon the other week, and the highest calorie option had three times the calories of the lowest calorie option. (The right one was somewhere between those two extremes.)

You log cooking oil?

I'd suggest spot-checking the weights of things like bread and tortillas. I got a nasty surprise with one type of bread where each slice weighed twice what the label said.

You said you didn't eat at restaurants much, so this may not be relevant - but their posted calorie counts are often quite inaccurate. And if you're eating at a local place and guesstimating calories, you may be seriously underestimating. Restaurant food has a *lot* of hidden calories by way of extra oil, butter, etc. I'm not recommending taking a scale because, frankly, I don't think it would make much difference. But sometimes it's worth logging 1-2 tbsp oil extra for a restaurant meal to cover that. (This isn't usually necessary for fast food since their food production is more regimented. They run smaller profit margins so adding extra anything is generally frowned upon.)

circusmamasarah

I typically only drink black coffee, water, or sparkling water so don't log those, but today added coconut milk to my coffee and tracked that.

Muana1005

I personally think you're eating too much. I'm eating 1500, very active, and just about getting a weight loss and I'm 7 inches taller than you.

Try not eating back exercise calories and staying at 1200 and see how it goes. They are only an average guess anyway - and inaccurate for most people below average height.

lemurcat12

mom23mangos wrote: »

If you aren't losing, then you are eating at maintenance. Those calories are my maintenance level and I'm the same height and light to moderately active (weight train 4x/week, walk 10k steps daily, bike to work a couple times a week). Go by that data rather than what MFP is telling you. It's real life data. Of course it doesn't hurt to tighten up logging, but if you are consistent in your inconsistencies, you should be able to lose by reducing your intake another 250 calories or so. Try eating at 1600 for a couple of weeks, and if not losing, drop to 1400, then finally to 1200 if still not losing.

This is good advice, IMO.

circusmamasarah

Thank you all

youdoyou2016

I agree w others abt lowering calories a bit. I'm also 5' and 1600 seems to be maintenance for me.

I rarely pay attention to exercise calories unless I'm hungrier than usual or feeling droopy. When I exercise, I'm not burning that much given my size -- abt 70 for a mile run and 20 mins on the elliptical. Over the course of a month, it adds up and helps. But if I think abt it daily, it's kind of a sad little amount -- like two extra peanuts or something.

kksmom1789

I am also 5ft tall and weight 152lbs MFP gives me 1200 to lose 1lbs per week I eat about 1200-1400 calories a day I also have a fitbit but don't pay attention to the extra calories unless I am super hungry for some crazy reason or we are going to a restaurant

trjjoy

I'm 5" 3.5 and my starting weight was 76kg and I lost 500g a week on 1200 calories so...depending on your starting weight may need to eat fewer calories for the same weekly weight loss.

newheavensearth

I'm 5ft 3 and 142. I tried eating back my exercise calories and found I maintain or gain if I go over 1700 (I need 1330 to lose .5 lb and average 1000 per day in exercise). I played around with my numbers in my goals and found my maintenance should be 1530 without activity. Not everyone can or should eat back the 50- 75% of exercise calories recommendation.

circusmamasarah

Thank you all for your responses. I'll repost after a bit of experimentation.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

newheavensearth wrote: »

I'm 5ft 3 and 142. I tried eating back my exercise calories and found I maintain or gain if I go over 1700 (I need 1330 to lose .5 lb and average 1000 per day in exercise). I played around with my numbers in my goals and found my maintenance should be 1530 without activity. Not everyone can or should eat back the 50- 75% of exercise calories recommendation.

if you eat 1330 calories then burn 1000 you eat the 1000 back(or less you can try eating back half) as long as you arent netting below 1200 you should be fine. you should not be gaining weight eating back your exercise calories unless you are over estimating calorie burns which is a good possibility.