I need help with calories and exercise!!

darlamiller

Hi , I am 53 and 5 foot ! I exercise everyday over an hour , I try to rest on sundays , I've been really sticking to my calorie goal of 1200 sometimes only getting 1000 calories this week , I just recently up my exercise time from 30 to 40 min. Anyway about wed I started struggling just really tired no energy tough getting through my workouts , but at night I can't sleep !! What do you think is wrong am I not getting enough calories ?? I'm not dropping much weight , oh by the way I weigh 122 !! Help what do I need to do???

jemhh

You should be very happy if you are losing a pound a month at your size. You should also not be eating only 1000 calories per day. Your maintenance level is probably 1700-1800, which makes eating 1000 a 40% deficit. I'd suggest eating the full 1200 plus half your exercise calories.

TavistockToad

darlamiller wrote: »

Hi , I am 53 and 5 foot ! I exercise everyday over an hour , I try to rest on sundays , I've been really sticking to my calorie goal of 1200 sometimes only getting 1000 calories this week , I just recently up my exercise time from 30 to 40 min. Anyway about wed I started struggling just really tired no energy tough getting through my workouts , but at night I can't sleep !! What do you think is wrong am I not getting enough calories ?? I'm not dropping much weight , oh by the way I weigh 122 !! Help what do I need to do???

Eat more. How much is 'not much weight'?

sijomial

darlamiller wrote: »

Hi , I am 53 and 5 foot ! I exercise everyday over an hour , I try to rest on sundays , I've been really sticking to my calorie goal of 1200 sometimes only getting 1000 calories this week , I just recently up my exercise time from 30 to 40 min. Anyway about wed I started struggling just really tired no energy tough getting through my workouts , but at night I can't sleep !! What do you think is wrong am I not getting enough calories ?? I'm not dropping much weight , oh by the way I weigh 122 !! Help what do I need to do???

Yes it sounds like you are under-eating.

You know 1200 (net) is the recommended minimum and I assume you also know your calorie goal assumes you eat more when you exercise?

Eat an appropriate amount for your size and exercise, aim for a very small deficit and slow weight loss.

TimothyFish

1200 is what you would expect to eat without exercise. With exercise you should be eating more so your performance doesn't suffer.

CMNVA

At your height/weight you don't have a lot to lose so it's going to be slow going. Believe me, I know. At 5'7" (age 53) and 148 lbs it is a VERY slow process. The reason you are struggling and tired, but then can't sleep, is that you are eating way too little and it is stressing your body. I felt very much that way at 1240 calories and I *wasn't* exercising.

I suggest you up your calories to probably around 1300 and see how it goes. When I upped mine to 1450, I was able to add in some walking and not eat back the calories AND lose and feel okay. 1200 was awful.

TonyB0588

darlamiller wrote: »

Hi , I am 53 and 5 foot ! I exercise everyday over an hour , I try to rest on sundays , I've been really sticking to my calorie goal of 1200 sometimes only getting 1000 calories this week , I just recently up my exercise time from 30 to 40 min. Anyway about wed I started struggling just really tired no energy tough getting through my workouts , but at night I can't sleep !! What do you think is wrong am I not getting enough calories ?? I'm not dropping much weight , oh by the way I weigh 122 !! Help what do I need to do???

What was the MFP recommendation when you filled your info in the profile? Maybe you were inaccurate with the details. You're not eating enough to fuel your body and the additional exercise. 1500 calories may be more realistic, but you can fill this chart http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ yourself and see what comes up.

darlamiller

Thanks everyone !!! Mfp said 1240 calories for 1 pound a week in the very beginning I lost 10 pounds the first (eating 1000 -1100 )month then I upped my exercise from 40 min to over an hour and started having trouble getting up in the middle of night and eating cookies ! Of course not loosing anymore , then when I got tough and stopped that I lost a pound but so very tired and can't sleep (1000- 1100 ) also I usually get 20,000 steps a day !! I like staying around 110- 115 pounds . Stupid for letting it creep up!!!

CaffeineAngel

Just my two cents but honestly I wouldn't exercise to create a deficit.

Reason being I've been there; last year I was able to create a 1000+ calorie deficit a day by overexercising and under-eating. The result? Burning muscle mass, higher than average fat % due to lack of muscle, mood swings and not having the energy and enthusiasm to do normal day-to-day things. To be blunt its no way to live; it's just my perspective sure, but man is subjective and I can't claim anything else.

My advice, for whatever it's worth - exercise so it's enjoyable, sustainable and something which won't run you into the ground. If that creates a deficit so be it, if not there's eating less. From my own experience exercising can assist weight loss, but for me I do it more to improve my mental health and get fit. Used to walk 20,000 steps a day too for over a year, I love walking but with work and weight lifting it ran my *kitten* into the ground mentally and physically so I cut back.

I wouldn't dream of telling you to do, or anything else. As someone who has been there (and adores long walks) I at least feel willing to impart my own experiences, whatever that's worth. I found more results by walking less and eating less - no temptation to binge and ruin all your hard work that way. I took up weight lifting, cut back to 12k odd steps a day and feel way better for it. Still weigh around 120 ibs as well.

isacarvleitao

ugh, i'm 4'11'' and been struggling with the same thing!

lorrpb

You are tired and stressed because you aren't eating enough. You have less than 10 lbs to lose, so set MFP to .5 per week. Eat all of that, plus half your exercise calories.

CatinSydney

Hi Darla, you sound very similar to me. I am the same age, 5'1.5" and 119 lbs - I would like to be 110 lbs (started at 124.5 - this time). It doesn't sound like much but at this height and weight very difficult. I have lost 5.5lbs in the last 5 weeks, but I know from previous experience that this is only how it is in the beginning and then the loss is hardly perceptible. Also, people who say 1200 is not enough do not realise that at this height and weight this is all we get!! Yes, we can increase this with exercise - I am doing 1-2 hours exercise a day so maybe I get 200-400 extra calories a day (I am just letting my Fitbit calculate this for me).

Some days I am really hungry, but trying to stick with it most of the time. At the moment I let myself have a bit more Friday and Saturday night (wine and other things which don't really fit in my calories), this is the only thing that gets me through sometimes. I know when I stop losing (maybe this week or next) I will have to become more mindful of this.

btw - the not sleeping could be menopause - a friend has mentioned this to me - not from personal experience

So, no real help from me here, but if you would like a friend, as our situations are really similar, you can request if you like.

Cheers, Cat

CatinSydney

Hi Darla, I just replied to your post, but seems I lost it. I was just replying to say I'm in a really similar situation. Same age, 5'1.5", 117 lbs ( I would ideally like to be 110 lbs). I've been back on MFP for 5 weeks now and have lost 5 lbs, but I know after this initial period that I will probably drop to hardly any loss. I'm also on 1200 cal (plus exercise which I try to only partially eat back) - for those who think 1200 cals is too little the reality is for those of us at this weight and height - this is all we get!! (according to many calculators - I've tried a few thinking "is this all I can really have").

I exercise 1-2 hours per day (over 10000 steps usually) and I just let my Fitbit add the exercise calories, which may not reflect my real input because some exercise does not relate to steps at all. I don't really have any advice as I do get very hungry sometimes- the only thing that keeps me going is wine and some treats Friday and Saturday night (which I don't really log - I just add 1000 quick calories as it's too depressing to actually add it all up

btw - the not sleeping could be menopause - a friend mentioned this can be symptom (not from personal experience - yet!!)

If you would like another friend, as we are in quite a similar situation, feel free to request,

Cheers, Cat

darlamiller

Thanks so much , I had a total hysterectomy at age 35 so I went through menopause all at once so that's not it and I had labs done and they are all perfect so goons eat 100 more calories and see what happens!!!

ttippie2000

Hi Darla, I am the same age and have had a similar problem but am a guy 6'0" twice your weight, so I really don't know if my experience sheds any light or not. But I can certainly identify with the struggle.

I started logging my food back in the '90s with just pen and paper. I started logging my food, cut my calorie intake and lost 50 lbs. Then I ran into a couple of sticking points at which point I asked for help from coaches and nutritionists. My powerlifting coach told me to eat more calories and more protein. At the lower level I was constantly wiped, hungry and sometimes shaky. He said I needed enough energy to sustain the workouts. So, I tried it and started losing again. It sounds funny, but at the higher calorie intake I could really attack my workouts and increase intensity, duration and frequency.

Anyway, I hit another sticking points about 20 pounds later and checked in with a nutritionist that teaches at a nearby university. She looked at my food journal and my medical records, especially my blood lipid panels, and told me to eat a bit more whole grains (fiber) and that I was overdoing it with protein shakes. Once I made those adjustments I started losing again and my cholesterol numbers also returned to normal.

I got very close to my maintenance weight and spent the next five years yoyoing up and down. In an attempt at breaking that cycle, but also because of the medical data on the subject, I recently became a vegetarian. It's too early to tell how that will work, but it is now very easy to lose weight and a challenge to eat enough calories to support the demands of sports.

ryenday

Darla, I'm wishing you the best here! And yes, for us short women 1200 is the reality, and for many of us older women SLOW is all we get.

I did the 1200 ish cals for 6 months, exercised cardio 5 to 10+ hours and lost only about 1/3 pound a week. (My big month I lost only 2.5 pounds). By that last month, I was feeling much as you describe.

What I have done ( this is not advice so much as a personal anecdote from someone having similar difficulty of similar height and age but with much more to lose than you) is change my calories to my goal weight maintenance (at least what the calculators suggest for my height and goal weight) for a time. I'm keeping up the exercise. So this month or two I will probably won't lose anything at all, but I seem to be recharging and by keeping up the exercise I shouldn't be losing ground. My plan is to back down to 1200 ish again in November. I do feel better these past couple of weeks. It's a bummer, but if I want to lose this weight I have to look at the long term picture (years to lose 30 pounds or so).

You have much less to lose, but are shorter than I am. I hope your experience is easier than mine, but you might try a 'goal weight maintenance break' for a week or so and then adjust from there.

Good Luck!

darlamiller

Thank you so much that sounds doable!!!

kimny72

You only have what, 10 lbs to lose? You should expect to be losing slowly. What you are doing is not healthy, you're tired because you are underfueling your exercise. Set your goal to lose half a lb per week. Use a food scale. Log your exercise and eat back at least some of your calories. And please be patient and take care of yourself. It's not worth it to risk damaging your body, including losing muscle mass, creating hormonal imbalance, and screwing up circadian rhythm, to lose a little weight quickly.

cwolfman13

darlamiller wrote: »

Hi , I am 53 and 5 foot ! I exercise everyday over an hour , I try to rest on sundays , I've been really sticking to my calorie goal of 1200 sometimes only getting 1000 calories this week , I just recently up my exercise time from 30 to 40 min. Anyway about wed I started struggling just really tired no energy tough getting through my workouts , but at night I can't sleep !! What do you think is wrong am I not getting enough calories ?? I'm not dropping much weight , oh by the way I weigh 122 !! Help what do I need to do???

1200 calorie target is an aggressive weight loss target and assumes a sedentary lifestyle, not exercising daily. If you're exercising daily, you need more calories...the more you move, the higher your calorie requirements are...kinda like a car that has to commute 60 miles per day is going to need more gas than a car that leaves the driveway to go to the grocery store around the corner.

Only wanting to lose about 10 Lbs sounds like vanity weight more than anything...it's going to be slow going...you don't have the fat stores available for fast weight loss.

darlamiller

Thank you that makes a lot of sense!! Maybe vanity , I started at 132 and lost 10 . I have adhesions in my gut that grow around my intestines and shut them off so I've had several surgeries, soo in order not to have a tummy (because the muscles have been cut so don't tighten as well ) my weight needs to be 110-115 !!!

darlamiller

Oh and yes I alternate between jogging and the elliptical for an hour and then the total gym for 10-15 min. Everyday !! Sometimes I rest on Sunday but not always!!