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

goalaska

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

StacyReneO

Just posting so I Can come back to this. I am anxious to hear other people's answers.

MyouTakaraTriesAgain

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

According to BMI charts, a five-foot tall woman is considered UNDERWEIGHT at 125 pounds.

no it's not

AllonsYtotheTardis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

.... I just looked again.

I can't read charts, apparently, sorry. >> Derp me.

AmayaJo1

I'm 5"0 and I eat 1780 cals a day.....so..

hookilau

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:

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

How long are you giving 1200 calories to work before you get frustrated and cut your calories?

Hclark2010

I'm 5'1, I eat 1200 calories a day. My diet is very high in fats, protein, and veggies, so i never feel hungry. I weigh 106 right now, and am trying to get down to 98 before I start lifting weights and trying to gain more muscle. Every person is different, eat the amount of calories you need to to feel good and lose weight. Don't worry about what other people tell you.

goalaska

Wow I was not expecting so many replies, thanks to everyone for contributing I really appreciate you taking the time

I've just opened up my diary for anyone who would like to take a look, you'll notice I've only officially logged for the last several days, but that's really how I eat everyday but with slightly different ingredients for variation. I found that I was getting a bit obsessed with logging and it detracted from the healthy and balanced body and mind I was working towards, so now i periodically log in a few days just to make sure my cals are on track. I have not attempted an increase over 1250 in about 6 months, I always feel silly afterwards because I gain about 2 kg (about 4 pounds) If I go up to 1500. I do eat a bit more fruits and veggies, but I seriously dont see the point of logging lettuce or cucumbers, I'm tired of counting altogether actually bc i eat roughly tthe same ingredients in different variations and styles, So logging over and over is boring and really takes away from 'eating for life' I hope that makes sense. I've been logging on/off for over a year now.

I've rotated different diets which excluded common 'offenders' such as no carb, low carb, dairy free and wheat free. I have cut out my 120 cal soy capp no sugar in the last 2 weeks hoping to reduce empty cals in my diet: I don't add sugar to anything, I also don't have periodic 'binges' like some other low cal ppl which might cause your body to grab everything as fat. I've recently added a teaspoon of polybac 8 probiotics, with 8 strains and 45 billion organisms per serve in case I had some sort of gut imbalance preventing weight loss. I do feel less bloated but otherwise I feel the same so far.

Thank you for suggesting the health-calc website, it said my bmr is 1380 and tdee (at completely sedentary) at 2000 cals which is a mind boggling amount for me to eat every day lol.

I dont believe my current weight is the healthiest I can be, im not saying that out of vanity I really want to carry less fat and be leaner. I've done stints at the gym for several months at a time, HIIT, weight training etc but without seeing any results beside being a bit leaner and heaps fitter, I seriously get over it as my measurements stay the same. I don't think I'm so special as to defy the laws of physics! But this is truly what I do for weight loss and nothing is working anymore and I still have 10kg (22pounds) to go! How can a body with so much to lose refuse to let go of weight at 1200 cals?

AllonsYtotheTardis

- If you aren't logging every day, and logging everything that goes in your mouth, and weighing those things with a food scale, you really can't be sure that you're actually eating only 1200

- if you are genuinely eating only 1200, you aren't eating enough. You are too young to need to eat that low.

- if you are to increase your calories, it's best to do it slowly. Add 100 extra. Eat at that rate for at least a week, then increase again, and repeat. Realize that you will likely gain a little, but it will also likely disappear once your body gets used to the extra food.

- if you've been eating that low for a long time, it's worth reading up on doing a metabolic reset (basically, how to best get your body used to eating more calories)

ETA - I just took a look at your diary, and see days where you eat under 900. You do realize, my very skinny 8 year old eats more than that, right? If your diary is accurate, and that's how you normally eat, your body isn't going to be in any hurry to let you lose - it doesn't know when it will get more food.

sweetchildomine

Just posting so I Can come back to this. I am anxious to hear other people's answers.

svesemenja

so i am approximately same as you. I am also around 5 feet, 159 cm and my starting weight is 62 kg and goal is 50 kg, which is in the range of healthy BMI.
I started with 1200 cal, and at first i couldnt reach it. few weeks after i lost very little around 0.5 kg =1 pound. then i changed to TDEE-20%. now i eat 1500 cal, feeling so much happier and on top of that i am still losing. i measured myself last week and i lost around 10 cm in total for week and half of upping of my cal. i am managing to get to my goal cal mainly because of the snacks. i snack something usually after every meal. i go over my carbs and sugar almost everyday because i eat lot of fruits and veggies but on total i am in minus cal.
and dont eat bellow your bmr!

QuietBloom

My goodness, I just looked at your diary. You are not eating much at all. Have you ever been diagnosed with an ED?

Mslmesq

This health calculator puts it at 1336: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

I'm 5'2" and 103lbs. I only have one pound left to lose, but am fine if I lose more down to 98. I'm most comfortable at 100 exactly, but 98-102 is my comfort zone. I've been eating between 1200-1400 calories regularly most days. Some days, with higher exercise or when I was on vacation, it was as much as 2,000 or more....mostly cause of alcohol though on vacation.

At maintenance I plan to eat at around 1500 except on heavy exercise days when I will eat more.

If you want to friend me to see my diary, feel free. I've logged very accurately for the last 2.5 months. But I do tend to eat a vegetarian diet a lot of days.

raggle89

You are not eating enough, therefore your body will not lose weight as its holding on to everything your giving it! Please eat more! You need to eat enough in order to lose weight.

lauren3101

So, you don't regularly log. When you do log, you don't count vegetables (which still have calories, btw), and you continually starve yourself, up your calories and freak out when you gain 4lb, the go back to starving yourself. A 4lb weight gain is nothing and perfectly normal if you have been under-eating for a while. You need to give it more time.

Put it this way; why would your body burn fat when you continually underfeed and confuse it? It's sole objective is to live. Give it what it needs and it will do what you want it to do.