short ladies - 1200 cal/day?

amusenteacher

Thanks so much for posting because I'm roughly the same height and wanting to lose a pound a week, too. So I'm appreciating all the response.

I'm netting under 1200 a day, but I'm generally taking in around 1300+ a day. So, in other words, I'm working out and eating back some, but not all of my calories. I'm not very well-versed in what this means to my body in the long-run (i.e. if I am messing with my metabolism in a negative way or not), but since sticking to this and upping my workouts, I've been losing more than a pound a week...5 pounds in less than a month.

If I do feel hungry, I try to eat foods that are high in lean proteins and good fats (almonds, quinoa chips with guac, etc.) to stave off hunger.

Separately, I think our own descriptions of "Activity Level" in the Goals section help determine the Calorie goal...I put sedentary, since I work from home and generally spend some of the day sitting in one place, not moving for hours. For those of us who put "Lightly Active" or "Active", our calorie intake may be designated higher.

crys_aintgivingup

Thanks so much for all the great responses!

I've discovered that if I manage to get around 300 extra cals a day (from exercise) to eat, I won't starve by the time I get to bed. So I guess I'm still going to aim at netting 1200, but if there are days when I can't exercise, I might just go over without feeling too guilty about it. Being full is of first priority!

How many cals per day do you ladies burn through exercise on average? Just wondering.

crys_aintgivingup

I'm netting under 1200 a day, but I'm generally taking in around 1300+ a day. So, in other words, I'm working out and eating back some, but not all of my calories. I'm not very well-versed in what this means to my body in the long-run (i.e. if I am messing with my metabolism in a negative way or not), but since sticking to this and upping my workouts, I've been losing more than a pound a week...5 pounds in less than a month.

This sounds like me! I eat back my exercise calories (it gives me motivation to exercise lol) but not always all of it. Losing more than a pound a week? I'm so envious! :flowerforyou: How many cals do you burn through exercise on a daily basis?

amylg05

Im 5.00" and 182lbs, ive been eating 1200 a day for the last 2 months and have lost 18lbs. I find it ok most days to be honest and some days I find I am under. Other days I might be over by 100 to even 300 but I dont sweat it ;D Sometimes I eat back around half my exercise cals sometimes none. To be honest I think it just depends what im eating on the day, not that im eating bad on the days im over just what I am eating has more cals! Though I think I will be upping this soon as I have just started trying to lift and the trainer said she eats 4000 cals a day o_o

rachylouise87

i discovered today after my last midwife lied to me that i am 5ft bang on. i was following 1200 for 5 months and have since had to up to 1400. my weight loss has stalled twice in the last 2 months and i have felt sick and tired due to the fact 1200 is probably not enough anymore. today i feel good but need to see how the next 3 weeks pan out

Phoenix_Down

I'm 5'3" and started at 170 lbs. I lost all my weight at 1650 before exercise, so days I did exercise I was closer to 1900. I maintain 120 lbs at around 1900 before exercise. Took me 9 months to lose 53 lbs.

skinnygirldc

5'3" and 122lbs, in my 40s with a sedentary office job. I lose slowly but steadily when I net 1200 calories. (I'm nearly at my GW of 118.) Above 1200 calories, I need a lot of exercise in order to lose.

At 1200 calories, I'm borderline hungry and not very energetic. On days when I exercise, I need to eat a little more (1300-1400). Otherwise everyone around me is miserable, LOL.

At my age and sedentary status, my maintain calories are only about 1550 without exercise. I'm trying to build muscle through weight lifting to try to improve this sad old metabolism!

anmajon24

I am 5'3" and my calorie goal is 1400 after speaking to a nutritionist. At this point I am just getting back into eating right and exercising regularly. I have started Leslie Sansone walking videos and do them at least 5 days a week.

glutenfreechic

I am 5 ft 3 inches. I'm 38 years old and weigh 145, but want to get to 130. MFP wanted me to follow 1200 ca/day. I was doing it for like 40 days now, but I got really sick and I think it is because my immune system was low because I needed more "fuel". I went on the community forum here and everyone said that 1200 was way to low. Someone suggested 1400 a day which is what I changed it too, so I will let you know how it goes it you would like. Everyone said they were loosing weight with even more calories than that so I should loose the weight.[/quote]

Snap. Same height, same weight (1kg less than you), almost same age (37) same exact problem. I am trying the exact same thing, and waiting to see if it works for me.

glutenfreechic

crys_aintgivingup wrote: »

Thanks so much for all the encouraging and super helpful replies here. After reading your posts, I think I will give 1300-1400 a try instead. It might mean slower weight loss but at least it would feel more doable and I wouldn't be as obsessed with food as I currently am.

This has been really helpful. Thanks so much once again :flowerforyou:

SUCH a good idea! Wishing you success

LessthanKris

5'1 and have been set at 1200 for almost a year and a half now. Down over 40 lbs and working on the last 10. I do eat back exercise calories. I work out six days a week. There are times I go over, especially on my rest days and on vacations. When I stick to netting 1200, it does work. I have accepted my loss may be slower due to vacations and everything but I decided a long time ago as long as the trend is down I am going to enjoy myself when it is time to and work my butt of the rest of time.

ETA: I do try to save calories from cardio days to eat back on rest days or strength training days. I burn estimate I burn 125 on my three strength training days and up to 400 on my three cardio days.

trina1049

5'2.5" and have lost 43 out of 50lbs over the last year and a half with MFP set at sedentary for 1200 - 1275 (current setting) calories. I'm 65 years old and went from 179lbs to currently 134lbs; US size 16 to 6/8 Petite, and now, finally, a normal BMI.

I eat back most of my exercise calories burning sometimes as little as 100 to as much as 600 exercise calories taking Body Pump (resistance training) 3 to 4xs per week plus 30 minutes of cardio (elliptical machine) after two or three of the classes.

Total exercise time is about 4 to 5 1/2 hours plus 8 to 12 miles of slow walking over each week. I use a heart rate monitor at the gym and a pedometer for walking to guesstimate my calorie burn. On gym days I eat all but 150 to 200 calories; on rest days I eat as close to 1275 as I can get, but never under 1200.

I've set my macros at 35% protein, 35% fat, and 30% carbs eating every 3 to 4 hours which keeps me from feeling hungry. I also limit my sodium intake to 1500mg per day for health reasons (doctor's orders) so hardly ever eat restaurant food. I weigh and measure as accurately as possible.

MFP has worked really well for me with these settings and exercise levels; I've always had a downward trend even though there's been weight fluctuations.

So MFP forever!

DeadsAndDoritos

I'm 5'2" and my goal is 1460 to lose 0.5 lbs per week. I eat back all of my exercise calories, measured by HRM. I aim to meet my goal averaged out over the week, so I can go over on Friday/Saturday as long as I was under on Tues/Wed for example. This works well for me as long as I stick to it.

PeachyPocket

Im 5ft 5 and weigh around 10 stone (140 pounds). My calorie intake is 1200 a day but sometimes I struggle to stick with that. Not because I eat over, but I eat under. Bran flakes or apple for breakfast, Caesar salad or porridge oats for lunch and then a normal meal in the evening. If you find you're usually hungry, try eating slower. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it takes some time for the signals in your stomach to tell your brain that you're full and you're usually left with that "Holy Cow, I have a food baby" feeling. Take a bite of your food, put your cutlery down and wait until your mouth is empty before you take grab your knife and fork again. Look at Paul McKenna - I can make you thin

It does work, I used to be 14 stone and a size 14 and now I'm a size 10 (UK)

charliehefferon

5'1" & 114lb.
Was eating 1900 - 2100 calories and maintaining weight.
I train 4 times a week for 45 mins - 1 hour (only weights, no cardio as such).

Currently on around 1700 to lose 0.5lb a week.

1200 is too few calories for anybody in my opinion...! I'd up your calories for a couple of weeks and see what difference it made (you'd probably find that you had more energy, so actually burned more cals anyways...)

bunbunzee44

stick to 1200, definitely don't go under it. It is slow on us shorties, especially if there isn't much to lose. I'm 5'3'' and 1470 cals seems to work for me the best. I eat some exercise calories back but usually not all.

blktngldhrt

I'm 26, 5'3", 155lbs and eat about 1280 calories a day, on average, when I don't exercise. When I do exercise, I eat at least 1200 plus half of my exercise calories. I have MFP set to 1480 but usually don't end up eating that much.

dutchandkiwi

We all are different but I do reconize the guilt if you are slightly over your goal. And the problem for me is that guilt is one of the stress factors that can make me grab lots of junk food, so needs to be avoided. So I ened up using MFP calories a little differently. But it works for me

I am 1.58m which is about 5 2 or 3
What I have done is set my target on maintenance at my goal weight (net 1750) and then eat less than that. As you loose weight your maintenance level slowly decreases as wel hence I know that this target is lower than my current maintenance leve. My own (not in MFP) goal is between 1000-1500 (net) per day That way I have a range in which I feel OK and which I know I will loose weight on.
It is not the fast method and based on losing xkg per week but to keep myself sane.
Most days my net will be around the 1200 mark with this.
Also I am in it for a long period (been logging over 400 days now) and hope that this way I can get into a soft landing when I do reach my maintenace goal. The best part is that I do not feel guilty on the days that I go over 1200 as long as the 1750 is not exceeded.

sarahrbraun

Serah87 wrote: »

44 years old and 5'2, I eat between 1800-2000 calories.


Just cause your short doesn't mean you need to do 1200 calories!! :grumble:

40 years old, 5'1"...I am currently losing on 2000 calories a day. I was maintaining on about 2400 a day. I am at the gym 60-90 minutes, 5x a week.

hh07

I'm 5 foot 1 inch and on a 1200 cal plan since Jan. I am exercising 5-6 times a week with a minimum burn of around 350 cal per session (sometimes more). I don't aim to eat back my exercise cals necessarily, but I don't stress if I am around 100 cals over my 1200 goal.

Going pretty well so far, lost 23.5lbs since 5 January this year.

My diary is open to friends, so feel free to add me if you want ideas of what 1200 looks like. One warning, I live in the UK and a fair bit of the pre-prepared food might not be available elsewhere.

dbmata

1200 calories, I just read that the government says that is an appropriate level of intake for a bed ridden 4-8 year old.

I found it to be surprising.