[Help] 5'4 female calorie deficit

H275D
H275D Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Good day guys,

My gf is 5'4, 22 years old, she's trying to lose some weight, she's 143 lbs and her goal is 130 lbs, she has been eating 1560 calories, 130 protein 35 fat and the rest is carbs, she's exercising 4 days/week, resistance training, 45 mins. Other than that, she a sedentary lifestyle, doesn't move around a lot. Being strict day by day and she lost 2 lbs after 3 weeks. I know that that's good and a progress is a progress. She wants to speed up the process just a little bit, around 1.5 lb/week. The question is, how low can she go on calories?

Replies

  • jbanta07
    jbanta07 Posts: 15 Member
    edited July 2021
    I wouldn't change too much if she is already successfully losing weight and finds her meal and exercise routine maintainable. Maybe just start with 100 calories less, bringing it down to 1460 a day and go from there.

    She can go lower still, but it is about finding a lifestyle that she can stick with. She could technically drop down to 1200 and probably lose weight faster, but it would be a pretty restrictive diet, and she might have less energy for working out. And in the long run, might not be maintainable.

    My suggestion would be to make small changes first, see how it goes, and then adjust again depending on how she is feeling. I think the first goal should instead be to find ways to be more active throughout the day. I've learned the hard way that sitting/standing all day without moving is pretty bad.
  • H275D
    H275D Posts: 9 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    How 'bout she joins this site and asks her own questions? It sounds like she's doing fine, she doesn't have much to lose so 1/2 pound per week is the right rate.

    1.5 pounds per week is too aggressive at her current weight.

    I'd stick to the 1560 calories. No reason to eat that much protein. What's that about?

    It doesn't matter who asks the question, maybe she doesnt know about forums and MFP..

    0.9g/lb ..
  • H275D
    H275D Posts: 9 Member
    jbanta07 wrote: »
    I wouldn't change too much if she is already successfully losing weight and finds her meal and exercise routine maintainable. Maybe just start with 100 calories less, bringing it down to 1460 a day and go from there.

    She can go lower still, but it is about finding a lifestyle that she can stick with. She could certainly drop down to 1200 and probably lose weight faster, but it would be a pretty restrictive diet, and she might have less energy for working out.

    My suggestion would be to make small changes first, see how it goes, and then adjust again depending on how she is feeling. I think the next goal would be to find ways to be more active throughout the day.

    Thanks for your reply, what is it about ppl saying dont eat less than BMR and 1200 will stall your weight after couple weeks?
  • H275D
    H275D Posts: 9 Member
    glassyo wrote: »
    H275D wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    How 'bout she joins this site and asks her own questions? It sounds like she's doing fine, she doesn't have much to lose so 1/2 pound per week is the right rate.

    1.5 pounds per week is too aggressive at her current weight.

    I'd stick to the 1560 calories. No reason to eat that much protein. What's that about?

    It doesn't matter who asks the question, maybe she doesnt know about forums and MFP..

    0.9g/lb ..

    What 22 year old doesn't know about the internet and google? :)

    Let's leave the main subject aside and talk about why my gf is not into forums. Good idea.
  • H275D
    H275D Posts: 9 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Fair enough! :)

    I think she's doing great. It's slow going when there isn't much weight to lose. That's the healthiest, most sustainable way.

    With that said, I used to be able to lose 10 pounds in two weeks when I was 22. But, to be fair - I was living off beer, cigarettes, caffeine and bike rides. Not Recommended!!

    Here's a good graphic: weight loss should be slow with 6kg to lose.



    cfpqwo9vvrsi.png

    That's very informative, thank you! And yes, i keep on explaining to her that she needs to lose the last pounds slow and steady, im totally with that. But she keeps freaking out when weight loss doesn't go her way and the scale moves up a little bit which make me freak out because shes freaking out xD .. I'm just trying to support her and guide her through whatever goal she wants to reach but in the right way.
  • jbanta07
    jbanta07 Posts: 15 Member
    edited July 2021
    H275D wrote: »
    jbanta07 wrote: »
    I wouldn't change too much if she is already successfully losing weight and finds her meal and exercise routine maintainable. Maybe just start with 100 calories less, bringing it down to 1460 a day and go from there.

    She can go lower still, but it is about finding a lifestyle that she can stick with. She could certainly drop down to 1200 and probably lose weight faster, but it would be a pretty restrictive diet, and she might have less energy for working out.

    My suggestion would be to make small changes first, see how it goes, and then adjust again depending on how she is feeling. I think the next goal would be to find ways to be more active throughout the day.

    Thanks for your reply, what is it about ppl saying dont eat less than BMR and 1200 will stall your weight after couple weeks?

    I don't know about that personally, I'm just talking about keeping a routine. I'm not a physician so I can't give advice on what is physically unhealthy or what might stress the body. I just think that if she eats too few calories, she wont be able to keep going. She might be able to lose weight quickly on the short-term, but I almost guarantee she'll gain it all back.

    She's only been going for 3 weeks which is a very short amount of time to already feel frustrated. She has lost weight, and that is an awesome victory! I understand wanting to go faster, but healthy and maintainable weight loss takes time. 3 weeks is too short of a time to build new habits and keep them. The key to losing weight and keeping it off is finding something she can keep doing long-term, and preferably do it in a way that doesn't make her feel miserable while doing it. On the contrary, she can still lose weight and be happy, especially if she accepts that .5 lbs a week is a great achievement! So that also means accepting that there will be weeks when she doesn't lose weight either.

  • H275D
    H275D Posts: 9 Member
    jbanta07 wrote: »
    H275D wrote: »
    jbanta07 wrote: »
    I wouldn't change too much if she is already successfully losing weight and finds her meal and exercise routine maintainable. Maybe just start with 100 calories less, bringing it down to 1460 a day and go from there.

    She can go lower still, but it is about finding a lifestyle that she can stick with. She could certainly drop down to 1200 and probably lose weight faster, but it would be a pretty restrictive diet, and she might have less energy for working out.

    My suggestion would be to make small changes first, see how it goes, and then adjust again depending on how she is feeling. I think the next goal would be to find ways to be more active throughout the day.

    Thanks for your reply, what is it about ppl saying dont eat less than BMR and 1200 will stall your weight after couple weeks?

    I don't know about that personally, I'm just talking about keeping a routine. I'm not a nutritionist so I can't give advice on what is physically unhealthy or what might stress the body. I just think that if she eats too few calories, she wont be able to keep going. She might be able to lose weight quickly on the short-term, but I almost guarantee she'll gain it all back.

    She's only been going for 3 weeks which is a very short amount of time to already feel frustrated. She has lost weight, and that is an awesome victory! I understand wanting to go faster, but healthy and maintainable weight loss takes time. 3 weeks is too short of a time to build new habits and keep them. The key to losing weight and keeping it off is finding something she can keep doing long-term, and preferably do it in a way that doesn't make her feel miserable while doing it. On the contrary, she can still lose weight and be happy, especially if she accepts that .5 lbs a week is a great achievement! So that also means accepting that there will be weeks when she doesn't lose weight either.

    Thanks for your reply, I agree with you 100%!
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    send her here. we will help.

    we dont bite.

    well. usually we dont.
  • Luluetduet8
    Luluetduet8 Posts: 49 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Fair enough! :)

    I think she's doing great. It's slow going when there isn't much weight to lose. That's the healthiest, most sustainable way.

    With that said, I used to be able to lose 10 pounds in two weeks when I was 22. But, to be fair - I was living off beer, cigarettes, caffeine and bike rides. Not Recommended!!

    Here's a good graphic: weight loss should be slow with 6kg to lose.



    cfpqwo9vvrsi.png
    Huh. Got advice to lose 1 pound a week when I only had five to go.

    Makes me wonder if you have very few to lose if it makes sense to do a quick cut instead of prolong it so your body doesn’t get super used to the new low calorie range. What do you guys think? I get confused over whether lowering my calories will *kitten* me up in the long run if I’m eating lower than I burn for a longer period. Rather doing a quick and dirty cut and then returning to maintanence.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,600 Member
    H275D wrote: »
    jbanta07 wrote: »
    I wouldn't change too much if she is already successfully losing weight and finds her meal and exercise routine maintainable. Maybe just start with 100 calories less, bringing it down to 1460 a day and go from there.

    She can go lower still, but it is about finding a lifestyle that she can stick with. She could certainly drop down to 1200 and probably lose weight faster, but it would be a pretty restrictive diet, and she might have less energy for working out.

    My suggestion would be to make small changes first, see how it goes, and then adjust again depending on how she is feeling. I think the next goal would be to find ways to be more active throughout the day.

    Thanks for your reply, what is it about ppl saying dont eat less than BMR and 1200 will stall your weight after couple weeks?

    Seriously underfueling can cause fatigue, lower activity levels (including spontaneous movement - fidgeting and other like stuff - and other subtle things), impair exercise intensity/performance, maybe lower body temperature a little bit, maybe slow hair/nails growth (leading in a few weeks to breakage/thinning), and in rare cases maybe worse.

    Eating below BMR is not really a bright line, in evaluating that, though it can be one indicator of concern, along with losing more than 0.5-1% of body weight weekly (lower end for sure if fewer pounds to lose), cutting more than 20%ish of TDEE, inability to fit adequate protein/fats/veggies & fruits into calorie goal so undernutrition, and that sort of thing.

    Besides the ways underfueling can decrease calorie expenditure (so slow weight loss below expected), it's also a physical stressor that - especially in the presence of other physical/psychological stressors - can trigger creeping water retention, making the scale look like fat loss has stopped, when it hasn't. (Cutting further, in that scenario, is utterly dysfunctional, for obvious reasons.) That's without mentioning health risks of underfueling/undereating.

    So, it's not so much "eating under BMR" or "eating under 1200" that's the problem, it's adopting unsuitable, dysfunctional strategies for one's particular situation. How to recognize that that's happening is situational, individual, a little squishy.
  • yweight2020
    yweight2020 Posts: 591 Member
    H275D wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    H275D wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    How 'bout she joins this site and asks her own questions? It sounds like she's doing fine, she doesn't have much to lose so 1/2 pound per week is the right rate.

    1.5 pounds per week is too aggressive at her current weight.

    I'd stick to the 1560 calories. No reason to eat that much protein. What's that about?

    It doesn't matter who asks the question, maybe she doesnt know about forums and MFP..

    0.9g/lb ..

    You said she's your GF. How about you tell her about forums and MFP? It actually is kinda odd (to me) that you're here asking this when it's her life/weight/choices.



    Why is she eating so much protein?

    Why does she need to lose faster?

    Because she doesnt speak english and there arent many useful forums in our native language that I know of where people can discuss nutrition. She wanted to go and pay to see a "nutritionist" but i told her i could post whatever questions you have on a forum that i know which is really good for these kind of things. Little did I know that I would come across people who care about her more than I do. And about the protein after reading and watching videos on how to create macros for a calorie deficit, protein should be between 0.7g/lb - 1g/lb so she went with 0.9g/lb which is in the middle. And why does she want to lose faster, we are not talking about much here, just around 0.7kg / week.

    Geee I'm a independent woman, but nothing wrong with helping each other in relationships why does he have to explain xyz just to get a decent , respectful answer here. Get out people relationships already unless they ask you.


    Alot of people old and young alike are just like his girlfriend. Sick of seeing responses that have nothing to do with the subject.

    🙃🤫🤪🤐👎


  • yweight2020
    yweight2020 Posts: 591 Member
    If you care to know this site can be converted to multiple languages, just search the site 😉
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,881 Member
    yweight2020 wrote: »
    If you care to know this site can be converted to multiple languages, just search the site 😉

    And that includes forums in other languages too.
    But with other people and sometimes very different kinds of advice. I tried the forums in Dutch and every poster seemed to get the advice to calculate their TDEE via an external website and to certainly NOT trust the MFP numbers, for example! I think the English boards are the most visited too (certainly compared to Dutch and French, I seem to remember).
  • H275D
    H275D Posts: 9 Member
    yweight2020 wrote: »
    H275D wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    H275D wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    How 'bout she joins this site and asks her own questions? It sounds like she's doing fine, she doesn't have much to lose so 1/2 pound per week is the right rate.

    1.5 pounds per week is too aggressive at her current weight.

    I'd stick to the 1560 calories. No reason to eat that much protein. What's that about?

    It doesn't matter who asks the question, maybe she doesnt know about forums and MFP..

    0.9g/lb ..

    You said she's your GF. How about you tell her about forums and MFP? It actually is kinda odd (to me) that you're here asking this when it's her life/weight/choices.



    Why is she eating so much protein?

    Why does she need to lose faster?

    Because she doesnt speak english and there arent many useful forums in our native language that I know of where people can discuss nutrition. She wanted to go and pay to see a "nutritionist" but i told her i could post whatever questions you have on a forum that i know which is really good for these kind of things. Little did I know that I would come across people who care about her more than I do. And about the protein after reading and watching videos on how to create macros for a calorie deficit, protein should be between 0.7g/lb - 1g/lb so she went with 0.9g/lb which is in the middle. And why does she want to lose faster, we are not talking about much here, just around 0.7kg / week.

    Geee I'm a independent woman, but nothing wrong with helping each other in relationships why does he have to explain xyz just to get a decent , respectful answer here. Get out people relationships already unless they ask you.


    Alot of people old and young alike are just like his girlfriend. Sick of seeing responses that have nothing to do with the subject.

    🙃🤫🤪🤐👎


    Thanks for that!
  • H275D
    H275D Posts: 9 Member
    Lietchi wrote: »
    yweight2020 wrote: »
    If you care to know this site can be converted to multiple languages, just search the site 😉

    And that includes forums in other languages too.
    But with other people and sometimes very different kinds of advice. I tried the forums in Dutch and every poster seemed to get the advice to calculate their TDEE via an external website and to certainly NOT trust the MFP numbers, for example! I think the English boards are the most visited too (certainly compared to Dutch and French, I seem to remember).

    Thanks for passing by!
  • Luluetduet8
    Luluetduet8 Posts: 49 Member
    edited July 2021
    For sure. For some background that other post was not done for my personal goals. It was actually more of a thought I was having while on a walk. I just had a little fun with the way I wrote it which probably came off as someone super impatient for change.

    That said I am a little mad about the advice I was given to do a cut the way I have done. I wouldn’t have done it this way if a fitness professional didn’t make that plan fit me, but now I’m questioning their professionalism since in hindsight, it seems a little unnecessary for someone aiming at general fitness. Hopefully four weeks of a pound a week cutting didn’t mess up something lol.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,302 Member
    I wouldn't worry too much about one month causing permanent harm at one lb a week. We're pretty resilient as a species! :lol: Sure, you COULD cause harm in one month under the above scenario--but not likely for someone starting from a non edge normal weight position.

    female, small deficit, weight fluctuations... weight trend web site and/or phone app and patience :smile:

    You pay money for results, right? So if you don't see immediate "results" you may not continue paying--right?
    Now what happens when the best result would not include an immediate result?! :open_mouth:
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,206 Member
    Is she eating more on days she lifts, eating back the exercise calories? I find that can often put me into maintenance if I mis-estimate. Also, at 5’5 with a desk job, my maintenance is close to 1600, so it would be easy for me to accidentally eat at maintenance. However I agree with others about patience and female weight fluctuations with monthly cycles, etc.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    H275D wrote: »
    jbanta07 wrote: »
    I wouldn't change too much if she is already successfully losing weight and finds her meal and exercise routine maintainable. Maybe just start with 100 calories less, bringing it down to 1460 a day and go from there.

    She can go lower still, but it is about finding a lifestyle that she can stick with. She could certainly drop down to 1200 and probably lose weight faster, but it would be a pretty restrictive diet, and she might have less energy for working out.

    My suggestion would be to make small changes first, see how it goes, and then adjust again depending on how she is feeling. I think the next goal would be to find ways to be more active throughout the day.

    Thanks for your reply, what is it about ppl saying dont eat less than BMR and 1200 will stall your weight after couple weeks?
    1. Undereating is stressful to the body
    2. Stress can raise cortisol
    3. Cortisol can cause water retention
    4. Water retention can mask fat loss on the scale
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    H275D wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Fair enough! :)

    I think she's doing great. It's slow going when there isn't much weight to lose. That's the healthiest, most sustainable way.

    With that said, I used to be able to lose 10 pounds in two weeks when I was 22. But, to be fair - I was living off beer, cigarettes, caffeine and bike rides. Not Recommended!!

    Here's a good graphic: weight loss should be slow with 6kg to lose.



    cfpqwo9vvrsi.png

    That's very informative, thank you! And yes, i keep on explaining to her that she needs to lose the last pounds slow and steady, im totally with that. But she keeps freaking out when weight loss doesn't go her way and the scale moves up a little bit which make me freak out because shes freaking out xD .. I'm just trying to support her and guide her through whatever goal she wants to reach but in the right way.

    My scale moves up when I retain water twice a month, at ovulation and premenstrually. Because of this, I compare my weight to the same point in my cycle as last MONTH, not last WEEK.

    I can "gain" as much as 5 pounds of water weight when I ovulate.

    I also weight daily and log this into the Happy Scale app, and look at my weight loss TREND rather than the daily number.

Categories