"Stay at your curent weight!"

skinny_baby

I was 174 then lost 46 pounds. My family especially my husband said I should gain more. Increased my calorie intake to 2000. So now I was 140 and everyone said "stay where you are." I kept eating and the vacations came. I gained more and now am sitting at 148 pounds on this new year's eve. I know I have to lose the pounds.

But I am confused about what to target. At height 5'3," I had come down to 128 pounds and was wanting to lose 4 more. Had not reached my goal. Everyone started saying I look weak. Maybe because I was eating just 1200 calories and burning about 600 daily. So I am needing to lose appropriately this time.

Please tell me how many calories I should be eating if burning 200 daily M-F. I am going to start slow because of the time I will have in January. Getting ready for a state exam. Also what is the normal weight range for me?

Please have a fabulous new year!!

MaryTee804

Congrats on losing the weight you did. You can do it again. You should eat 1500 calories to maintain your weight. And hitting 128 pounds again should be your target. Happy New year to you too!

Sarauk2sf

This may help:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

skinny_baby

Thanks for the link! Happy New Year to you.

skinny_baby

Thanks to you too MaryTee! Happy New Year!!

michelle4458

I also lost a lot of weight. I'm 5'4 and dropped 90 lbs to reach 137, size 6. I know this is right in the healthy weight range, but knowing what I looked like out of clothes I felt the ultimate goal would be a size 4 and around 127 lbs. Like you, I have had a lot of people comment that I'm too skinny now and definitely don't need to lose anymore. But 127 for a 5'4 person is still in the healthy range and a size 4 is certainly not overly skinny. My thought is that people are comparing me to what I used to look like and by comparison I look skinny. But i have friends and co-workers who are smaller than I am and no one says they look too thin. So, as long as you stay in the healthy range for your height, you know where you feel most comfortable. It is you that needs to feel happy about how you look!

billsica

I think you should listen to what your husband says.

christinezimmermanaguirre

I say go with what makes you comfortable and not weak. I do not understand why people have to be so cruel by telling you that you are too thin. Do what works for you!

KL145

Do what makes you happy and stop listening to people.When I was at my heaviest and very uncomfortable with my weight and image everyone told me I look great (yeah,right hypocrites). My husband told me I should lose weight and we went on the journey together by working out 5 dys a wk and changing our eating habit and we both reached our gold within 9 months. It is now our lifestyle. Go with what you feel is best. Good luck!

lisalsd1

So I'm more interested in the "you look weak" comment. Are you just dieting?

I'm 5'3 and 128 right now. I definitely don't think I look weak.

You can use the calcs to determine BMR, which (my understanding) is the basic amount of cals you need to live. Then TDEE is how many cals you expend during the day based on size, weight, activity level, etc. That would give you a better idea of how many cals you should be eating. I know my BMR is 1350ish...and TDEE is 1850 (the extra 500 cals is from daily activity and exercise).

The weight range is more personal it seems like. I really think it depends on your frame. I have a medium sized frame, and I can't imagine that I should weigh less than 127 lbs.

Saramelie

I see a big need of approbation in your message....
First by your family, and then by the MFP community (basically wanting US to tell you what you should weight)....
The question is : what do YOU want?? Where do YOU see yourself being the most comfortable? Focus on this, then focus on what you need to do to get there (diet, exercice). YOU are in charge of your body, you are the one living in it!

Guinivere

I think you should listen to what your husband says.

I'm intrigued.... Why?
Would he be an expert in her health and mental well being or does he just want some sexy curves?

wilsoje74

5'3" 128lb is not too skinny. People just say that either out of jealousy or because it's a change they aren't used to. I'm 5'5" and my goal is 120.

fittocycle

I'm 5'3" and bounce around between 126-128. When I was at 126 this summer, I did hear from some that I looked too thin. However, some of those people were a little overweight and I think their perception of "thin" was different from mine. Honestly, it seems that being a little overweight or fluffy is the new normal! Go with where you feel most comfortable and happy. As long as you're not below the low end of your weight range, you should be fine!:flowerforyou:

choaks

We are new friends so I may not know exactly how you want to look but if YOU feel you need to drop weight. Then drop the weight. If YOU feel you are at your goal weight then maintain. Are you willing to strength train and tone up with some muscles and definition? Hardly would think anyone would consider you "weak" then. I find people look weak if they feel and portray weakness. Be confident in your accomplishments. Be strong for the new you. There should be none of that word "weak" in your vocabulary.

Zelinna

I don't think your goal is unrealistic but I think that there is a way to do it without looking or feeling week.

Set your goal to a pound loss a week and eat back your exercise calories. It may take you longer to get to goal but you will feel much better in the long run and be able to keep it off.

wild_autumn_wind

People might just have been saying that because they hadn't been used to you being so much smaller. It's not an unrealistic goal, but if you had been eating 1200 and burning 600, I'd suggest you eat back your exercise calories to get your net up. Maybe that's why you had been looking "weak" because you hadn't been eating adequately enough for your workouts.
Cheers!

Howdoyoufeeltoday

I'm 5'4'' and 124...err 125 probably after the holiday meals and such but my goal is 120-118. I have a rather small frame and I carry most of my weight in my stomach and muffin top. So get to the weight you want and tell everyone else that they're awesome for caring but focus on themselves and not you. Cheers to the New Year :drinker:

ShorelyReady

In my opinion, and I am not a professional, but you can not compare yourself to what others may weigh or what people think you should weigh. Simply put, we are all made differently. People come in different shapes and sizes. A certain weight on one person, may not look at all good (or even be that healthy) on someone else. You have to take this into consideration. For your height, being between 115-145 is considered healthy. But where you actually should aim for should be based on a) Your body type/bone structure and b) Where you feel your healthiest and most comfortable. If you have serious concerns about what weight you should be, it would be best to ask a doctor. Listen to your body.

SLLRunner

Congrats on losing the weight you did. You can do it again. You should eat 1500 calories to maintain your weight. And hitting 128 pounds again should be your target. Happy New year to you too!

Just curious-where did you come up with 1,500 for maintenance? Based on the OP's stats, I'm pretty sure that's not correct.

SLLRunner

Skinny baby, I plugged in your current age, weight, height, into http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and came up with these numbers, assuming moderating exercise 3 to 5 times a week:

Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR) if you are truly sedentary and don't move at all: 1457
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) to maintain weight: 2259
Calories to eat to lose .5 pounds a week: 2146
Calorie to eat to lose 1 pound a week: 2033

As to how much you should weight, that's really your decision. You know you body, what you look like, etc. and none of us can tell you the weight that is right for you.

florentinovillaro

Seeing someone as looking weak is an opinion and may necessarily not be true. A fat person may look at a skinny person and think he is weak without all that weight to throw around. Bottom line is, do you feel week? If so, then yes, you would need to address the reason why. It could be something as simple as dehydration. Do it for YOU and not anyone else.

QuietBloom

What stood out to me was that you were only netting 600 calories when you lost weight before. That will result in a lot of lost lean body mass, leading you to perhaps appear 'skinny fat' and 'weak'. This time, make sure you get plenty of protein and do resistance exercise to retain as much lbm as possible.

horsiegall

I am thesame height as you when I made it down to 129 I was really loose because I had been heavy for 15 years as I was starting to skate I did gain weight it was because of muscle and then I had an ACL tear. The thing on facing now is I haven't been able to do nothing since April and I have put on about 15 town. I think if you look better at 140 then you should stay there but it all depends on your body type. It's best to do your resistance training and building your muscles.and I do have a question are you eating back your exercise calories do you burn?

skinny_baby

My biggest problem is eating snacks at midnight. So I guess I end up eating back my exercise calories this way. When I had lost all the weight I did it by restricting my sugar intake. But the last three months I have pigged out so much; eating sweets, cookies, sugary cereal at midnight. I just got back exercising yesterday. Hope to improve myself by limiting junk food and working out at least five days a week. So I am not sure if I answered your question horsiegall.

Joanne_Moniz

I was 174 then lost 46 pounds. My family especially my husband said I should gain more. Increased my calorie intake to 2000. So now I was 140 and everyone said "stay where you are." I kept eating and the vacations came. I gained more and now am sitting at 148 pounds on this new year's eve. I know I have to lose the pounds.

But I am confused about what to target. At height 5'3," I had come down to 128 pounds and was wanting to lose 4 more. Had not reached my goal. Everyone started saying I look weak. Maybe because I was eating just 1200 calories and burning about 600 daily. So I am needing to lose appropriately this time.

Please tell me how many calories I should be eating if burning 200 daily M-F. I am going to start slow because of the time I will have in January. Getting ready for a state exam. Also what is the normal weight range for me?

Please have a fabulous new year!!

I will try to answer your questions.
128 for a 5’3” is a healthy weight.
In order to lose weight, your calorie intake must be less than what it is to maintain your current weight. A healthy weekly goal is to lose a half a pound to two pounds per week. Keep in mind that 3,500 calories is equal to one pound or 500 calories per day.
How do we know, how does MFP know how many calories we must consume in order to lose weight? There are two things we need to know, our BMR and the number of calories we are expending based on our daily activity.
We use a formula called the Harris-Benedict principle to determine our BMR. This will tell us how many calories we will need to perform daily functions, breathing, keeping our heart beating, etc., just staying alive. To get the BMR, we need our gender, age, weight and height. MFP asks us for this information and arrives at the calories.
Once we have the BMR we add anywhere from 20 to 50 percent of that depending on our activity level. This is called our TDEE, total daily energy expenditure. MFP asks us for our activity level and arrives with the final number of calories.
The number arrived at is the amount of calories to maintain our weight; we need to decrease that number in order to lose weight. Decreasing 500 calories per day would create a loss of one pound a week. (It is not recommended to go less than 1200 calories)
So, how do we decrease the 500 calories? We could exercise off 500 calories or we could eat 500 calories less or a combination. If we exercise it off, Myfitnesspal will increase the calories to stabilize the weight loss at the rate of one pound per week; and in order to keep that rate of one pound per week, we need to eat those calories.
*MFP asks for your goal weight so that they can report your progress to you

There is more too weight loss than this, however; and it is not rocket science. It has to do with calories. The food we once ate, is no longer. We must pay attention to the quality of the calories. Our government tells us we can have upwards of 150 grams of carbohydrates per day!! A 16 oz can of coke is 52 carbs, 190 calories and 52 grams of sugar!!!!!!!!!!!!

horsiegall

Its hard when you start eating sweets to stop! I don't like stuff to sweet like chocolate or pecan pie,but I like the simple cookies and wine(pino, merlot)I have dabbled a bit too much in December! Just got to commit ! For me I can't cheat cause god is always watching, its sounds silly however he keeps me accountable! if I get snacky at night I ask myself if I'm hungry enough to eat an apple ,if I'm not than I don't eat !its one of the tricks I use on my kids when they start snacking it really works!

walleymama

I don't know how old you are but I'm in my mid-40s and my skin is not as taut as it once was. I have lost 15 lbs and LOVE how I'm looking these days (138 - 140 lbs), but when I was in my early twenties I was around 128 - 130 lbs (I'm 5' 5"). Honestly, I think if I were to weigh that now I would not look good because my skin is a bit more saggy, my butt is flatter now that I'm older, etc. I think I would just look unhealthy at that weight.

My point is that whether or not you look "weak", aka: "skinny", can depend on your age.

Also, I'm probably going to start weight/strength training when I reach my goal. I've seen the difference it makes in appearance from pics posted here on MFP and I bet tightening up that way would also help turn "weak and skinny" into "lean and fit", even without any change in actual weight.