Is 1200 too much for me (a short person!)

I'm right at the 1200 calorie limit and my scale reckons I need 1348 to maintain my current weight. If I want to lose 0.5kg per week officially I ah be looking at a total of 800ish, which sounds hard (easier with exercise but still not much fun at all). It explains why I'm not losing weight at a rate of 0.5kg per week I think! Anyone else short who has managed to lose weight at 1200? Did you need to cut it down or ignore exercise calories? Or should I just be patient and accept it will take me longer? I lost a significant amount of weight before and it took 18 months and I remember someone asking why it took me so long (rude!) and I'm sure this was why. I have less to lose this time thank goodness!

Replies

  • ceastabrook
    ceastabrook Posts: 13 Member
    I should have said I'm 154cm haha
  • Hannahwalksfar
    Hannahwalksfar Posts: 572 Member
    Have you put your stats into mfp? 1200 is the lowest mfp will go and it’s set for a very sedentary short woman
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    You’re not old, and it sounds like you have everything right. Patience is key.
  • ceastabrook
    ceastabrook Posts: 13 Member
    . [quote if you don't have 4-6 weeks of experience, then I'd suggest picking a conservative strategy and sticking to it for that kind of time period, then do the math and adjust if necessary.

    Agree with above, have you just started on your current weight loss? I know we are all different but I’m twenty years older and 7cm shorter than you, fairly active in daily life but sounds like you do a lot more exercise, and Im still losing weight on 1500 cals per day after 7 months. Very slowly now Im at BMI 27 but Im okay with that. [/quote]

    I've been going for about five weeks now and actually, I have lost 2.5kg overall. But previously I've struggled to maintain this especially as the BMI comes down and I was looking into the maths on it especially given my height. Seems I have a lot more to learn and I'm really grateful for all these comments.

    Practically speaking I don't think I can completely ignore exercise calories and stick with 1200 per day. Yesterday I was feeling hungry anyway (no clear reason as to why just one of those days), was in the office so sitting more but still walked 12000+ steps. I then did a half hour interval session in the pool and a 45 minute synchronised swimming class. I was really hungry after that and ended up eating a total of 1500ish calories yesterday. Given that amount of activity I think that's ok.

    Last time I tracked calories like this I lost 5kg and got quite disheartened around the 64kg mark and somehow fell off the wagon so I want to avoid that. I found the first time that the last 3kg were really, really hard to lose. This is why I'm not aiming for a BMI of 22.5. I did get down to that before but it was due to being unwell and it was temporary. I have quite a bit of muscle and tend to put on muscle easily so I imagine that's keeping me at the top end.

    And yes 20kg in 18 months is an achievement and I am proud of that. Plus that was well over a decade ago and I have not put it all back on, yes I have made some bad choices in the past year or so but it's been a stressful time. I realise now that has been the root of the issue. Which is information in itself that will hopefully help me going forward.
  • MichelleMcKeeRN
    MichelleMcKeeRN Posts: 450 Member
    I am 5’2/145lbs and am losing weight eating 1400 calories a day. I have my calorie limit set at 1495 and have been eating less than that. I work out (10 minutes cardio plus weight lifting) but don’t add those calories. Hope that helps!
  • ceastabrook
    ceastabrook Posts: 13 Member
    mmapags wrote: »
    Happy new year just wanted to revive this as I've now had a few more months of data. I use a Garmin fenix which monitors my heart rate constantly and I also use this to track workouts. By Christmas I had lost 10kg (of fat, muscle mass has remained the same and, in fact, I'm now building muscle!) so am on track to lose 4 more kg by Feb and be within a healthy BMI range again. As it turns out it has been quite accurate as I've had weeks of staying within my range and the weight has averaged out perfectly. So if you are questioning or second guessing be patient and trust the system. If you are losing fat it is working!

    How are you determining that your loss was purely fat and your muscle mass has increased?

    I have scales which weigh lean muscle and fat as well as total mass. Only the fat has gone down!
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    mmapags wrote: »
    Happy new year just wanted to revive this as I've now had a few more months of data. I use a Garmin fenix which monitors my heart rate constantly and I also use this to track workouts. By Christmas I had lost 10kg (of fat, muscle mass has remained the same and, in fact, I'm now building muscle!) so am on track to lose 4 more kg by Feb and be within a healthy BMI range again. As it turns out it has been quite accurate as I've had weeks of staying within my range and the weight has averaged out perfectly. So if you are questioning or second guessing be patient and trust the system. If you are losing fat it is working!

    How are you determining that your loss was purely fat and your muscle mass has increased?

    I have scales which weigh lean muscle and fat as well as total mass. Only the fat has gone down!

    Home body fat scales are not very accurate.
  • ceastabrook
    ceastabrook Posts: 13 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    Happy new year just wanted to revive this as I've now had a few more months of data. I use a Garmin fenix which monitors my heart rate constantly and I also use this to track workouts. By Christmas I had lost 10kg (of fat, muscle mass has remained the same and, in fact, I'm now building muscle!) so am on track to lose 4 more kg by Feb and be within a healthy BMI range again. As it turns out it has been quite accurate as I've had weeks of staying within my range and the weight has averaged out perfectly. So if you are questioning or second guessing be patient and trust the system. If you are losing fat it is working!

    How are you determining that your loss was purely fat and your muscle mass has increased?

    I have scales which weigh lean muscle and fat as well as total mass. Only the fat has gone down!

    Home body fat scales are not very accurate.

    Sure. I also use one with hand and feet sensors at the gym. The one at the gym seems to think I have lost more fat than the ones at home.

    However, I think it's worth tracking it on the same set of scales, as even if it's not totally accurate, if the numbers are moving in the right direction, it's showing progress.

    Thanks for weighing in! (Sorry for that dad joke!)

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Thanks all. It's NEAT at sedentary. I'm 34 (you tell me if that's older) and am aiming to get back into my BMI. Unfortunately I am 11kg off that currently. I exercise quite a bit - I'm a long distance swimmer and train for events each year so have to swim quite a bit and I also train in the gym a couple of times a week. I cycle to work and walk around 10k steps a day too. I'm not aiming for mid BMI or anything as I've never been able to maintain that. It sounds like I just should be patient. I did it before with around 20kg, I can do it again.

    If you're doing all of that, 1200 is likely not enough. You aren't sedentary. If you're doing all of that consistently I would just use a TDEE calculator. I would assume the the 1348 NEAT calories are with a sedentary activity level setting...your actual maintenance TDEE would be quite a bit higher with your actual level of activity.
  • NicbPNW
    NicbPNW Posts: 47 Member
    Have you put your stats into mfp? 1200 is the lowest mfp will go and it’s set for a very sedentary short woman

    I'm 5'9" and looking to lose around 20lbs and MFP put me at 1,200 a day. I put down that I was "sedentary" but that's because I have a desk job and sit a lot. I workout like 5 days a week though so maybe I did that wrong??
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    NicbPNW wrote: »
    Have you put your stats into mfp? 1200 is the lowest mfp will go and it’s set for a very sedentary short woman

    I'm 5'9" and looking to lose around 20lbs and MFP put me at 1,200 a day. I put down that I was "sedentary" but that's because I have a desk job and sit a lot. I workout like 5 days a week though so maybe I did that wrong??

    It put you at 1200 because you chose a 2 pound a week loss which is quite rapid. Change that to 1 1/2 or even 1 pound a week. This is a more sustainable (= greater chance of success) and healthier way to do it. Slower loss results in less muscle loss.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,254 Member
    edited January 2020
    Lillymoo01 wrote: »
    NicbPNW wrote: »
    Have you put your stats into mfp? 1200 is the lowest mfp will go and it’s set for a very sedentary short woman

    I'm 5'9" and looking to lose around 20lbs and MFP put me at 1,200 a day. I put down that I was "sedentary" but that's because I have a desk job and sit a lot. I workout like 5 days a week though so maybe I did that wrong??

    It put you at 1200 because you chose a 2 pound a week loss which is quite rapid. Change that to 1 1/2 or even 1 pound a week. This is a more sustainable (= greater chance of success) and healthier way to do it. Slower loss results in less muscle loss.

    Plus actual exercise calories are supposed to be eaten back in addition to the base daily goal as part of the total goal calories.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,231 Member
    NicbPNW wrote: »
    Have you put your stats into mfp? 1200 is the lowest mfp will go and it’s set for a very sedentary short woman

    I'm 5'9" and looking to lose around 20lbs and MFP put me at 1,200 a day. I put down that I was "sedentary" but that's because I have a desk job and sit a lot. I workout like 5 days a week though so maybe I did that wrong??

    If you chose 2 pounds a week loss rate with only 20 total pounds to lose, I'd suggest that that's taking more of a health risk than is really ideal. One pound a week would be about the maximum sensible for most people with 20 total pounds to lose, and at 10 pounds to go, it'd probably be better to dial it back to half a pound a week.

    I know we all want to lose all the weight really quickly, but that's a very questionable plan. There's only so much body fat a body can burn in a day, and the less fat we have, the lower the amount that is. Going further can potentially create health risks (fatigue, weakness, hair thinning, gall bladder issues and worse). It also is much more difficult to stick with. Losing slowly for 20 weeks or so, and getting to goal, is more effective than losing 4 pounds, giving in to temptation due to over-restriction, regaining, relosing, etc., etc.

    You may be sedentary (typically < 5000 steps a day), but 2 pounds a week is probably not an ideal target. I'm 4' shorter, older**, and sedentary (outside of exercise), and 1200 was too low for me when I had that much or more to lose.

    You should be eating back a reasonable estimate of your exercise calories on top of whatever your base goal is.

    ** Yes, you didn't give your age. I'm 64. Seemed like a good bet I'm older, but I could be wrong. ;)

    Best wishes!
  • ceastabrook
    ceastabrook Posts: 13 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    NicbPNW wrote: »

    I know we all want to lose all the weight really quickly, but that's a very questionable plan. There's only so much body fat a body can burn in a day, and the less fat we have, the lower the amount that is. Going further can potentially create health risks (fatigue, weakness, hair thinning, gall bladder issues and worse). It also is much more difficult to stick with. Losing slowly for 20 weeks or so, and getting to goal, is more effective than losing 4 pounds, giving in to temptation due to over-restriction, regaining, relosing, etc., etc.
    Best wishes!

    This is such a good point. When I lost 20+kg a decade ago, I didn't track too well, I basically tried to get fit by working out at the gym and eat as little as I could get away with,eat a bit more protein etc. I did do a bit of calorie tracking but I really had no idea about nutrition and probably didn't eat a very varied or healthy diet. I did lose the weight, it took 18 months as I said, and I found the last 5kg really really hard. I am sure this is why. And in my attempts to get that last 5kg off I started losing hair, and as it was so thick before it took ages to notice. I'd rather not go there again! Now again trying to lose the last 5kg and I think I will take my loss down to 1/2kg per week and do it more slowly. Thanks!