a question for my mum

may_marie

hello all

so i kinda initiated my mom to mfp, i've been calculating her calorie comsumption for a week now and its been averaging around 1000 to 1200 calories a day. you and i both know that its not enough and i've been telling her over and over but she doesnt want to believe me.
she says that because she is older and she is menopaused that she doesnt need any more calories then that even though her bmr is 1200 calories. but she is quite sedentary.
her stats are 5'2'' 55 yo 148 pounds

is 1000 calories really all that little for a menopaused women, does menopaused changes anything ?
i dunno what to tell her anymore

may

may_marie

hello all

so i kinda initiated my mom to mfp, i've been calculating her calorie comsumption for a week now and its been averaging around 1000 to 1200 calories a day. you and i both know that its not enough and i've been telling her over and over but she doesnt want to believe me.
she says that because she is older and she is menopaused that she doesnt need any more calories then that even though her bmr is 1200 calories. but she is quite sedentary.
her stats are 5'2'' 55 yo 148 pounds

is 1000 calories really all that little for a menopaused women, does menopaused changes anything ?
i dunno what to tell her anymore

may

yellow_pepper

Your mother needs to be careful to consume plenty of calcium-rich foods and do some weight-bearing exercise to preserve her bone mass.

Going under 1200 calories per day makes it more likely that her metabolism will leech calcium from her bones to support itself. This is more likely if she does not get calcium from other sources, and if she is sedentary. Drinking beverages containing phosphoric acid (e.g. Coke, Pepsi, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, flavored Aquafini, Dr. Pepper, Diet. Dr Pepper, Diet Lipton Iced Tea) accelerates this process.

So those are the risk factors she faces. In summary, your mother would be better off trying to lose weight via exercise than through cutting calories now that she is menopausal. She doesn't want to look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame ...