Calorie problems

VelvetMorning

Hey,

To start, my stats are:

5'3 1/2
107-110 pounds
21 y/o

I haven't filled my diary consistently because I generally don't have time, so I instead write it on a piece of paper or a dry erase board. I've noticed when I eat 1,200 (or less; usually on exceptionally busy days where I don't get done work/home until midnight-1 and have to throw something together real fast) I maintain my weight. When I eat 1,200 I go to 108ish pounds. When I eat ~1,500, I start gaining weight, get scared, and cut back to 1,200. I do little exercise (~20 squats, 100 varying leg exercises I don't know the name for, 20-50 crunches). Because I don't know how much I'm burning on these days (approx. 4 days a week) I do NOT eat back exercise calories. Am I stuck eating 1,200 a day forever? It seems so unmanageable and, honestly, miserable. Am I doing something wrong? Does anyone have a suggested calorie range I should shoot for and observe for a week or two? Ideally, I'd like to be 107 consistently. I don't understand macros but I'm vegan and take in very little, if any sodium. Except for my International Delights creamer. that is where I draw the vegan line. I use scales and measuring cups to weigh out my portions.

trudijoy

at 110 pounds your BMR is 1327, so if you're not eating over that then you're not eating enough.

That's based on zero calorie burning exercise, too....

VelvetMorning

at 110 pounds your BMR is 1327, so if you're not eating over that then you're not eating enough.

That's based on zero calorie burning exercise, too....

If my BMR is 1327, how much should I be eating?

Ok, I did it on some calculator and it says I should eat ~1575 a day. When I eat 1,500 calories I gain weight QUICK. What do I do?

trudijoy

at 110 pounds your BMR is 1327, so if you're not eating over that then you're not eating enough.

That's based on zero calorie burning exercise, too....

If my BMR is 1327, how much should I be eating?

1327 absolute minimum. You're burning more than 1500 without trying so if you'e trying to lose i'd look at 1400 for a start. If you're trying to maintain, 1500. our weight might go up and down though you're very little so there isn't much wiggleroom and this is all just guesswork because everybody is different.

Francl27

If you gain weight at 1500, it's probably because your muscles replenish their water reserves... it's not fat. Have you tried eating 1500 for a month to see if the weight gain continues or stops?

michellekicks

Glycogen and water. It's why you're gaining when you increase to a normal maintenance calorie level:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/993576-why-you-gain-weight-if-you-eat-more-than-your-cut

The lean/ripped/depleted feeling we all love at a new low on the scale is unsustainable. It is generally achieved while living in a caloric deficit and is most often achieved after a workout or first thing in the morning when you wake up. It is a depleted state for the body.

You can try going maybe 2-3 lbs below your goal weight (don't worry about 5 lbs as I said in the above post - you're not big enough to warrant that) so that when you start eating at maintenance you can rest comfortably at your actual goal weight. You can't live in a caloric deficit for the rest of your life to maintain what you've accomplished.

VelvetMorning

I haven't tried eating at 1500 for a month because I'm so scared that I'll bloat up

TigerBite

Those "extra pounds" might be glycogen stores ... I am 5'2 and 104 (w/ hypothyroid, medicated) and I eat about 1600 kcals on non-exercise days and have been maintaining ... You aren't going to weigh the SAME EXACT thing every single day ...Eat about 1500 for anout a week or two and see if you stay stable after the scale goes up a wee bit ...

TigerBite

I haven't tried eating at 1500 for a month because I'm so scared that I'll bloat up

I understand that fear, but honestly, you'll just end up binging (most likely) if you stay at a calorie level (1200) that you say you can't handle doing forever ...

ETA: Go by how you look and how your clothes feel, not by what the scale says ... as women, the scale will say different things at different times of the month, and the fluctuations have nothing to do with fat gain ...

VelvetMorning

Okay, okay, I'm going to be brave and try it out. I'll report back here (if I can find the thread still) with what happened in ~2 weeks incase any other ladies in my boat are having the same problem.

TigerBite

You should be able to find it again in "My Topics" ... Good Luck, and remember, if the scale says 5 LBs heavier, but your clothes aren't any tighter (short girls 5 LBs of fat will make a difference) .. don't worry about it ...

Plus, upping your calories by 300 for 2 weeks, will not make you gain 5 LBs of fat ... 3,500 extra calories than you need = 1 LB ...

bingefreeaubree

Okay, okay, I'm going to be brave and try it out. I'll report back here (if I can find the thread still) with what happened in ~2 weeks incase any other ladies in my boat are having the same problem.

Just wanted to confirm the glycogen stores thing. For a while, I used to weigh myself daily. As soon as I ate 1600 calories instead of the 1200 I'd been eating, the next morning the scale shifted a pound. I worried that if I continued eating 1600 calories every day, the scale would continue to shift a pound every single day. Psh such craziness. I finally got over myself and began eating 1600 calories a day and the following day the scale said I gained a pound, but after I continued on it for a couple of days I weighed myself again and was back to where I was. I wasn't really gaining weight. Then after another day, I lost a half pound, and started losing weight on 1600 calories. I was amazed; for so long I'd thought that I'd gain on 1600 yet there I was, losing! So yeah, just thought I'd let you know my experience with all this for re-assurance! :drinker:

TavistockToad

you say you dont have time to log on here, but you write everything you eat down? do you then look up the cals for everything? how do you know how many cals you are eating? do you weigh and measure everything?

VelvetMorning

Okay, okay, I'm going to be brave and try it out. I'll report back here (if I can find the thread still) with what happened in ~2 weeks incase any other ladies in my boat are having the same problem.

Just wanted to confirm the glycogen stores thing. For a while, I used to weigh myself daily. As soon as I ate 1600 calories instead of the 1200 I'd been eating, the next morning the scale shifted a pound. I worried that if I continued eating 1600 calories every day, the scale would continue to shift a pound every single day. Psh such craziness. I finally got over myself and began eating 1600 calories a day and the following day the scale said I gained a pound, but after I continued on it for a couple of days I weighed myself again and was back to where I was. I wasn't really gaining weight. Then after another day, I lost a half pound, and started losing weight on 1600 calories. I was amazed; for so long I'd thought that I'd gain on 1600 yet there I was, losing! So yeah, just thought I'd let you know my experience with all this for re-assurance! :drinker:

Thank you!!!!! <33 you're my favorite person.

you say you dont have time to log on here, but you write everything you eat down? do you then look up the cals for everything? how do you know how many cals you are eating? do you weigh and measure everything?

I generally don't wake up until noon (yay, exception), and I don't eat until about 4-5-6, and sometimes not until 11pm-midnight. Yes. I am busy all of the way through; this is a large difference between dashing to get something, glancing at the calories on the back of the bag and going on a piece of paper to jot down "80 calories - apple" than stop everything, turn computer on, type passwords, wait, wait, wait, load internet browser, come on MFP, get ADD and browse the internet for 20 minutes, come back to MFP, tell Bree I love her, and put in the apple. :-) I don't have to "look" calories up when they're clearly written on the bag of everything I eat and I have a scale as stated in post #1. So literacy combined with the ability to do simple math = knowing where my calories stand. Thanks anyway!

TavistockToad

I generally don't wake up until noon (yay, exception), and I don't eat until about 4-5-6, and sometimes not until 11pm-midnight. Yes. I am busy all of the way through; this is a large difference between dashing to get something, glancing at the calories on the back of the bag and going on a piece of paper to jot down "80 calories - apple" than stop everything, turn computer on, type passwords, wait, wait, wait, load internet browser, come on MFP, get ADD and browse the internet for 20 minutes, come back to MFP, tell Bree I love her, and put in the apple. :-) I don't have to "look" calories up when they're clearly written on the bag of everything I eat and I have a scale as stated in post #1. So literacy combined with the ability to do simple math = knowing where my calories stand. Thanks anyway!

you know the calories in EVERY food EVER.... thats amazing....

VelvetMorning

I generally don't wake up until noon (yay, exception), and I don't eat until about 4-5-6, and sometimes not until 11pm-midnight. Yes. I am busy all of the way through; this is a large difference between dashing to get something, glancing at the calories on the back of the bag and going on a piece of paper to jot down "80 calories - apple" than stop everything, turn computer on, type passwords, wait, wait, wait, load internet browser, come on MFP, get ADD and browse the internet for 20 minutes, come back to MFP, tell Bree I love her, and put in the apple. :-) I don't have to "look" calories up when they're clearly written on the bag of everything I eat and I have a scale as stated in post #1. So literacy combined with the ability to do simple math = knowing where my calories stand. Thanks anyway!

you know the calories in EVERY food EVER.... thats amazing....

It's called a nutritional label - all of my foods have them. Were I to stumble onto one that didn't, I'd use my cellphone to specifically look up the calories from multiple sources. I've heard MFP's is lax at best (and for me, totally time consuming. I love this website. I can't even get off of it now and I NEED to :P).

Edit: My finger didn't want to type the "e" in have!

Edit again: For my ladies who actually had gumption to read the original post, yesterday I did just a tad over 1600 calories (I really needed creamer, lol). Yesterday morning I was 111.something, today I am 110. I am gonna monitor it everyday and TRY not to take it to heart just to see what happens because I am super curious!

tyediri

Wait, am I missing something? Your stats say your BMI is 18.7 (using 107 lbs). That is 0.2 over the limit for being underweight.
You shouldn't really worry too much about gaining a few pounds and trying to eat more.

When did you start eating 1200kcals?

VelvetMorning

Wait, am I missing something? Your stats say your BMI is 18.7 (using 107 lbs). That is 0.2 over the limit for being underweight.
You shouldn't really worry too much about gaining a few pounds and trying to eat more.

When did you start eating 1200kcals?

Ahh, that's true! I don't want to come off like an ED case, because seriously, I'm totally not! I just prefer how my body looks at 107 as oppossed to 110 - but I'm okay with both I guess. My genetics put weight DIRECTLY to my thighs LOL, so even though I'm 110 right now, my body looks exactly the same as 107 which I'm totally good with. Then you look at my thigh and maybe I'm psychotic (I'm a woman, after all), but I swear it looks bigger :P

The way I've been doing it for a few months now (maybe six?) is 1,200 calories as a base. I'll eat 1,500-1,700 on certain days (primarily around TOM + extra stressful days) and immediately put pounds on, then I reduce back to 1,200, and pretty much repeat this whole process. I'd love to find my calorie point where I don't have to keep doing this balancing act. So! This is day 5 of consistently going over 1,200 calories. I started at 107, day 3 109, day 4 111, day 5 110. Please calorie lords let it keep going down! I LOVE FOOD.

westendcurls

Im a shorty too i know how just a few lbs can really feel like it makes a big difference.
Are you tracking your measurements as well? also you might want to try to not just track your weight but track your average weight. its a much more accurate way of looking at your true weight. there are some apps that can help you. Ive made this same recommendation 3x this morning someones going to think i work for this devloper lol. I use Libra but there are tons to choose from.

VelvetMorning

Im a shorty too i know how just a few lbs can really feel like it makes a big difference.
Are you tracking your measurements as well? also you might want to try to not just track your weight but track your average weight. its a much more accurate way of looking at your true weight. there are some apps that can help you. Ive made this same recommendation 3x this morning someones going to think i work for this devloper lol. I use Libra but there are tons to choose from.

Ohhh, thank you so much! Would you believe I *never* thought about taking measurements?!?! I really should, especially now that I've taken to exercise. I would be so grouchy if I found out my weight is slight muscle gain! LOL! I'll check out Libra, thanks again!!

ThriceBlessed

If you gain weight at 1500, it's probably because your muscles replenish their water reserves... it's not fat. Have you tried eating 1500 for a month to see if the weight gain continues or stops?

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Also, perhaps you don't have much lean body mass, try to add in some strength training if you aren't doing it already. Muscles burn a lot of calories compared to other body tissue.