Too many calories?

willsreb
willsreb Posts: 48 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I’m 31 female, 5’4, 55kg.
Goal is to lose around 5 pounds.

Most days I walk 22k steps (about 10 miles). 12k of those steps are my long morning walk, and the rest are walking to/from work. Weekends are usually 10-15k steps.

I have been eating between 1400-1500 calories a day.

It’s only been 2/3 weeks but the scales haven’t moved at all. I’m not too worried as I know it can take several weeks to see the difference on the scales. I’d just like some reassurance that I’m not over eating? My waist still measures the same (I haven’t measured anywhere else though).

My goal is small so I know I’ll need to be patient.

I’m not sure what activity level I should use on the calorie calculator (https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html) so if anyone could advise I’d be grateful!

Replies

  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,309 Member
    give it 2 more weeks if no loss drop weekly calorie amount
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,081 Member
    According to https://exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs walking 10 miles with your weight will account for about 440 calories. If you only eat 1400 calories per day then this would be similar to only eating 1000 calories and not moving at all. That is very, very low. Keeping this up for too long will mean you'll lose a lot of muscle if you don't eat enough. That aside, can I ask you two questions?

    For how long are you walking so much?

    And what do you expect from losing 5lbs?
  • willsreb
    willsreb Posts: 48 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    According to https://exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs walking 10 miles with your weight will account for about 440 calories. If you only eat 1400 calories per day then this would be similar to only eating 1000 calories and not moving at all. That is very, very low. Keeping this up for too long will mean you'll lose a lot of muscle if you don't eat enough. That aside, can I ask you two questions?

    For how long are you walking so much?

    And what do you expect from losing 5lbs?


    Thanks for your reply. When using the calorie calculator I selected ‘daily exercise’ which suggested my maintenance calories were ~1900. So 1400-1500 calories a day didn’t seem like too much of a deficit.

    My morning walk is a little under 2 hours. Work takes me 20 minutes each way but I also take a walk during my lunch break which is 30 minutes.

    The reason for 5lb goal is that my regular jeans are fitting too tight. I was around 52/53kg previously so I’m hoping those few pounds will make the difference.
  • bluesheeponahill
    bluesheeponahill Posts: 169 Member
    Have a look at what you're eating, rather than the calories. You may have some bloating issues rather than a weight issue. Some meals may meet calorie goal, so if you're having a soft drink or alcohol, that can contribute to bloating, and if you're using processed meals, yet keeping within calorie limit, the sugar and salt from this may be adding to bloating.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,122 Member
    How are you calculating calories consumed? Are you using a food scale?
  • Moondancer77
    Moondancer77 Posts: 17 Member
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    How are you calculating calories consumed? Are you using a food scale?

    I second this. With such a small amount to lose, you may have to get really specific in weighing and tracking food. As another thought, your body may not be willing to lose that 5 lbs. You're already fairly small and if you're trying to shrink your waist, you may be better off doing some lifting and making those muscles stronger to pull the belly in.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,467 Member
    Are you using the highest activity setting on the external estimators?
    To me it sounds that you've picked 1.55 or 1.6
    MFP tops out at 1.8 for very active. This would be in the 15/16K step range
    At an eye ball (22K), you would be a 1.9 to 2.0 activity factor.

    That said. I also don't know if counting calories is the best way for someone to lose 5lbs, or a bit of fluff or to fit better in their jeans.

    Some small eating modifications? Some strength training in addition to all the walking?

    You are BELOW BMI 21. Even for people ethnically defined as Asian this is smack dab in the green zone!

    Last but not least: ARE YOU ENJOYING the activity you are engaging in, or are you compulsively engaging in activity to control your weight.

    There is a difference.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,055 Member
    If all that walking is new, you are likely retaining water, which is masking fat loss on the scale. And if your food logging is 100% accurate, you are undereating.

    That said, there are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public. In the app, go to Settings > Diary Setting > Diary Sharing > and check Public. Desktop: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

Categories