Appropriate deficit as I approach goal weight

koalathebear

I'm 150 cm tall / 5 feet tall. I started at 86 kg (189.5 pounds) - obese by BMI standards. Since starting my fitness journey, I've lost 26 kg (57.3 pounds) and am now 60 kg (132.2 pounds).

I am 10 kg (22 pounds) away from goal weight. I'm active - at least 50 minutes on the elliptical every morning followed by 30 minutes of strength training and then in the evenings I take the dogs for a walk (minimum 30 minutes).

MFP has me set at 1200 calories a day but recently I have been eating more than that because of the additional exercise calories. As I've approached goal weight, I have been lowering my deficit but wanted to sound people out for what they think might be a suitable deficit for me going forward based on the above. I'm assuming it's between 250 - 500 calories a day? Thanks in advance.

Lillymoo01

Slow and steady wins the race. I'd aim closer to a 250 calorie a day deficit but definitely no more than 500. Being short does not allow much leeway for a large deficit, especially when you get close to goal weight. If you find you are losing more than 1/2 kg a week then you really need to eat a little more. Ideally 1/4 kg a week is healthier and more sustainable. It is just discouraging because it is such a slow process. However, I believe that the longer it takes to lose, the more likely it is that you will keep it off because you are more likely to be making changes that are sustainable long term.

Psst, I wish I'd made it to the 150cm tall mark. Almost but not quite.

koalathebear

Lillymoo01 wrote: »

Slow and steady wins the race. I'd aim closer to a 250 calorie a day deficit but definitely no more than 500. Being short does not allow much leeway for a large deficit, especially when you get close to goal weight. If you find you are losing more than 1/2 kg a week then you really need to eat a little more. Ideally 1/4 kg a week is healthier and more sustainable. It is just discouraging because it is such a slow process. However, I believe that the longer it takes to lose, the more likely it is that you will keep it off because you are more likely to be making changes that are sustainable long term.

Psst, I wish I'd made it to the 150cm tall mark. Almost but not quite.

Thanks for that! It's in line with what I was thinking/have been doing over the last few weeks i.e. eating more each day to try to test what's the lowest deficit I can maintain while still losing weight. I've also just re-adjusted my MFP settings. Losing 1kg a week (or so) was fine but in the earlier stages but I've set it to 0.5kg a week now to slow down the loss a little for the remaining weight. Like I said, I've been eating a little more anyway. I am doing a lot of exercise these days so am keen to make sure am strong enough to continue to maintain fitness. When I started out, I only cared/thought about weight loss, but over time, the focus has also extended to endurance/fitness/strength etc.

It's tough being this short! Buying clothes can be such a nightmare - length, chest size ... argh.