Isn't 1200 calories too much for a 5ft tall woman?

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goalaska
goalaska Posts: 19
in Food and Nutrition
I'm 5ft and 132 pounds (down from 158) my weight loss has been super slow but steady up until mid last year, since then it suddenly stalled at 121 and I could never lose anymore after that. I didn't really count cals until my weight loss stalled, but I was always slightly hungry and used hunger as my guide. When I began counting I stuck to the reccomended 1200 and didn't see any change. I then went to 800-1000 and lost weight back to the 121 cap, then regained back to my current weight at 132. I have tried to follow the advice here and increase to 1300-1500 but I steadily gain weight and feel overstuffed with food, I only stay on that level for 2 weeks before the kilos creeping up freak me out enough to eat 1000-1200.

All the calorie counters out there tell me to consume 1200-1300 for weight loss I don't see any results at that level and I weigh and measure everything I eat and drink. I think I'm pretty good with food choices ( no alcohol ever, about 80-100 grams of carbs, boiled eggs, lean lamb and chicken mainly for protein, a 170g portion of organic full cream yogurt per day, otherwise everything I eat is low or moderate in fat, don't eat bread, but have brown rice or oats in its place. I take a daily multi vitamin and vitamin d -which I'm severely deficient in despite living in Australia, I power walk for 40 mins at least 5 days a week).

I read that some women here can eat 1500-1700 at my height and weight and still lose weight, I would gain so much at that level and can't even fathom eating that much everyday. I have read that too low an intake over time can slow the metabolism etc but I pack on the weight and feel so overindulgent and unhealthy eating anymore. And my hunger turns off and I gain weight, so this is why I think increasing cals is not the answer. There's nothing wrong with me medically that would interfere with weightloss, I'm 24 and don't have kids. Any advice would be awesome. I really don't know what to do anymore :(
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Replies

  • StacyReneO
    StacyReneO Posts: 317 Member
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    Just posting so I Can come back to this. I am anxious to hear other people's answers.
  • MyouTakaraTriesAgain
    MyouTakaraTriesAgain Posts: 68
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    According to BMI charts, a five-foot tall woman is considered UNDERWEIGHT at 125 pounds. That's why your body is fighting you. Stop punishing it. If you don't like the way you look, focus on toning up, not losing weight.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    According to BMI charts, a five-foot tall woman is considered UNDERWEIGHT at 125 pounds.

    no it's not
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    OP - I'm 5'2", and I eat around 1700 most days, and I'm still losing. (I'm 135 lb right now) I'm also 41 years old, so I need less than someone in their 20's.
  • HRLaurie614
    HRLaurie614 Posts: 260 Member
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    I'm just under 5'1". I'm 45 years old. My BMR is 1150. I weigh 99 lbs. While I know that I'm the thin side, I've never seen a chart that says 120s is underweight for my height range.

    The number of calories you should eat, depends on your exercise. 1150 is what I would need to eat to maintain my weight if I were lying in bed all day. Extra moving (whether working out or just going about my day) adds calories back in that should be eaten to maintain. Take a cut from there if trying to lose.
  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
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    According to BMI charts, a five-foot tall woman is considered UNDERWEIGHT at 125 pounds. That's why your body is fighting you. Stop punishing it. If you don't like the way you look, focus on toning up, not losing weight.
    Under 95 lbs would be underweight. At 121 she's at the top end of normal.
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
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    According to BMI charts, a five-foot tall woman is considered UNDERWEIGHT at 125 pounds.

    no it's not

    :laugh: :drinker:



    5'2" 120 and normal range, but I'm a little fat. Eta: depends on goals & tdee OP. For me, hell naw.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    According to BMI charts, a five-foot tall woman is considered UNDERWEIGHT at 125 pounds.

    no it's not

    I agree. I am 5'2 and healthy weight (BMI) is 104-136 pounds, which I am shooting for 110.

    ETA: I eat between 1600-1900 calories.
  • Asterie
    Asterie Posts: 159 Member
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    According to BMI charts, a five-foot tall woman is considered UNDERWEIGHT at 125 pounds.

    Lol. I'm three inches taller and not considered underweight until I'm below 105 lbs. Try recalculating?

    Anyway, I'm here to watch the show (sorry I don't have anything productive to offer you because I lose at around 1400-2000 depending on how much I exercise that day).
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
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    According to BMI charts, a five-foot tall woman is considered UNDERWEIGHT at 125 pounds. That's why your body is fighting you. Stop punishing it. If you don't like the way you look, focus on toning up, not losing weight.

    That is incorrect. According to WHO and the Red Cross as well as UNICEF the statistically " normal " weight of a five foot woman is anywhere from 100/103 to 137/139 pounds depending on her skeletal make-up. I am five foot and have a medium bone structure and my ideal weight is 123 pounds. There is a 1 to 1.5 kilo variance depending on the age of a woman, which is the reason for the two low and high numbers.
    I try to hit 1200 calories as closely as I can and so far am losing. If I eat more, I don't........
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    Yep. 5' woman here and my goal weight is 120#. Just to put it into perspective, at 21, I weighed 102#...became pregnant with my first child and delivered at 124# :huh: a full term 6# 8oz baby girl. :sick:

    I think I pissed myself off just writing that :huh:
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    How sure are you about your calorie numbers? I know I couldn't lose weight until I start logging everything. Even though I've lost weight before without it, I found that this time around the weight wasn't coming off. So I started logging, and it helps me stick to a calorie number that actually causes healthy weight loss.

    If MFP calculated 1200 for you, and you entered everything in correctly, try logging. You might be shocked at how little 1200 calories actually is.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
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    According to BMI charts, a five-foot tall woman is considered UNDERWEIGHT at 125 pounds. That's why your body is fighting you. Stop punishing it. If you don't like the way you look, focus on toning up, not losing weight.
    Under 95 lbs would be underweight. At 121 she's at the top end of normal.

    95 pounds in not underweight for a 5' 1" woman. It depends on her build. I'm 5' 2", was 90 pounds in my 20s, and while I was thin I was not underweight.
  • mab33
    mab33 Posts: 242 Member
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    Yep. 5' woman here and my goal weight is 120#. Just to put it into perspective, at 21, I weighed 102#...became pregnant with my first child and delivered at 124# :huh: a full term 6# 8oz baby girl. :sick:

    I think I pissed myself off just writing that :huh:
    Ahahaha, that's awesome. The things our bodies do when we're young.

    OP: I'm 5' tall. I had your same problem when I was in my twenties, so I ate ultra low cals (600-800) and successfully lost weight. All of it, all the way down to 109. And then my body rebelled and has been steadily gaining weight ever since.

    I now know my BMR is 1400. Typically I eat around 1200 and I don't lose anything, so I'm upping it to 1400-1500, plus continuing to work out. I'm hoping for success eating more calories, because the ultra low calorie diet doesn't cut it anymore.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Yep. 5' woman here and my goal weight is 120#. Just to put it into perspective, at 21, I weighed 102#...became pregnant with my first child and delivered at 124# :huh: a full term 6# 8oz baby girl. :sick:

    I think I pissed myself off just writing that :huh:

    It pissed me off reading it! :grumble:
  • Asterie
    Asterie Posts: 159 Member
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    According to BMI charts, a five-foot tall woman is considered UNDERWEIGHT at 125 pounds. That's why your body is fighting you. Stop punishing it. If you don't like the way you look, focus on toning up, not losing weight.
    Under 95 lbs would be underweight. At 121 she's at the top end of normal.

    95 pounds in not underweight for a 5' 1" woman. It depends on her build. I'm 5' 2", was 90 pounds in my 20s, and while I was thin I was not underweight.

    If you're going by BMI, then yes both of the examples you gave are considered underweight.
  • judilockwood
    judilockwood Posts: 134 Member
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    125lb is at the top end of normal on the BMI scale and 95 is towards the bottom for a 5 foot woman. There's a good Australian website called Health-calc Health and Fitness calculators at http://www.health-calc.com/ that has a lot of health calculators including BMI and waist / height index and should tell you what you need to know. Good luck x
  • MyouTakaraTriesAgain
    MyouTakaraTriesAgain Posts: 68
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    .... I just looked again.

    I can't read charts, apparently, sorry. >> Derp me.
  • AmayaJo1
    AmayaJo1 Posts: 34
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    I'm 5"0 and I eat 1780 cals a day.....so..
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    Yep. 5' woman here and my goal weight is 120#. Just to put it into perspective, at 21, I weighed 102#...became pregnant with my first child and delivered at 124# :huh: a full term 6# 8oz baby girl. :sick:

    I think I pissed myself off just writing that :huh:

    It pissed me off reading it! :grumble:

    :laugh:

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