Short girls - around 5'2 - how many net calories?

cconnolly03

Hey ladies. I'm 5'2" and currently 121. Was at 131 a few years ago when I started college (freshman 15). Anyway, used myfitnesspal and eventually got down to 108!! I maintained at 111 which seemed to be where my body looked great without me having to really struggle to maintain. Now that I have graduated and am stressed, gained 10 ibs and am at 121.

Although I did successfully lose in the past, I'm so sad and stessed to see that I have gained weight. Knowing how great I used to feel, I just keep getting tempting to net low calories (700-800) but end up binging. It's tough to see on MFP that a 1200 net is not going to get me back to 111 as quickly as I wish. Whenever I net so low, I end up ravenous and binging. And I binge eat terribly!! In the past I never really used my scale (actually left it at home when I was away at school). Coming back home since graduation has been especially rough. When I lost those 23 pounds initially people from high school were amazed at how great I looked. So I feel so much pressure to get back there.

Given that I am under a lot of stress, I want to lose these 10 pounds but I want to do it right! Although I am capable of losing it fast by not eating enough, I want to be able to maintain it and not end up back in this position (make a lifestyle change that will help to feel good from now on-not just a temporary quick fix).

Being a short and very petite girl, 121 does make me look pudgy. I was curious what other short girls are netting for their weight. I need some motivation to know it's okay to net 1200 calories or more!!

The past week I have been working out for about 60 minutes daily (400-500 calorie burn guesstimate) and trying to eat about 1500-1700 calories. That amount of calories scares me ????. What are some other short ladies stats/goals/net calories? Do you feel my efforts are will lead to success (more or less calories)??


Any motivation is appreciated!!!

BombshellPhoenix

You'll have to wait it out a few weeks and see where the weight trends. It will depend on your activity. There's many factors. Logging accuracy, possibility of overestimating burns from exercise. I use the TDEE method, personally, just because I was tired of guessing burns from exercise. I ate one stagnant amount, typically around 1900. I'm maintaining around 2350. Ideally, with so little to lose you want to create as small of a deficit as possible to lose slowly.

Eating a good amount of protein, typically 1g per pound of lean body mass is recommended for muscle retention. Some form of resistance training would be helpful as well. Ideally, heavy lifting like with a barbell routine but if you don't have access to that, bodyweight exercises can help,.too. I'm 5'3.5 " and started out at 170 lbs. I'm 120 lbs now.

Liftng4Lis

5'3.5 1500 calories

fitfabforties

I'm 5'3" and I need to lose about 15lb....I got down to my goal weight before with eating 1200 and eating back about half of my exercise calories.....then I started lifting and the weight has piled back on so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong....I've tried a few things...TDEE method, MFP method....upping the calories to around 1600 and not eating any back, lowering them to 1500 then 1400 then 1300 and eating some back....sighhh....scale just stays the same or goes up and down within 5lb (water weight)....I don't think I've lost any actual fat in months!!....right now I'm back doing the 1200 calories and eating back about half of the calories.....

duscsm

I'm 5'2", also. I aim to keep my net calories under 1500.

sofaking6

I'm just under 5'3" and have always struggled with the same issue. I'm netting 1250 now (just re-starting out) and am pretty much in line with MFP dropping .5 lb/week. It's really a slog and hard to think about how long it will take to meet my goal, BUT the alternative is like you said, be hungry and sad and then go nuts on carbs and sugar when I can't hold off any longer and feel guilty and ashamed and not really lose at all. It's a challenge to accept facts that we really don't want to accept I ALWAYS eat my exercise cals

:flowerforyou:

gemmamummy

4'11 and am about to up my intake to 1600 after a summer cut (1400). Previously I was on 2000 and maintained at that. I work out just over 3 hours a week. (25 mins cardio, 40 mins weights). All you can do is up it and monitor it after a month and take it from there. Some people can cope fine on 1200 kcals. If I didn't lift weights, I probably could too......but I wouldn't want to live on 1200!

IHateThinkingOfAUsername

5"2, 145lbs (was 173), want to get to 125lbs....
I have a net of 1340.

alska

I'm 5 2 n my calorie intake is 1330 ... n that's for 4 - 60 minute workouts a week. Set to lose a pound a week.

arabianhorselover

I use the TDEE method, so do not eat back exercise calories. I eat 2000 calories/day, and do weight training for about 2 1/2 hrs per week and walking for about 4 hrs per week. I am 5'2". Still trying to lose the last 3 pounds, but I don't want to eat less.

jayladeyman

5"2, 145lbs (was 173), want to get to 125lbs....
I have a net of 1340.

thats hardly any cals eek

rides4sanity

I'm 5'1.5", lightly active and it tells me to lose 1 pound a week I'm at 1310... I try to eat back ha;f of my exercise calories or more... It works pretty well for me. I'm at 112 right now... On event weeks I lower loss to 0.5 lb/week and get 1590 cals... With so little to lose theses are reasonable. Oh, and I lift as well as do cardio.

I tried it the low calorie, MFP at sedentary and it said 1200 I would lose 0.7 lb/week... Ughhhh, so I like you said ate less than that. I got down to 125 and was stuck there for 1.5 years. I work out a lot, but I wasn't losing and I wasn't tightening up. I looked okay in clothes, I was very soft.

Then I started working with a trainer... EAT MORE... Moderate the exercise. Let your body recover. You aren't sedentary, set it at active or lightly active and use the numbers it gives you... I was terrified.


Good luck.

98bikinisuitedlbs

I am 42yo and maintaining CW 103-105 overall 2-3 weight fluctuations. I exercise 5 times a week ballet beautiful, physique57, pop Pilates and Pilates DVDs with resistance bands and hand weights. My intake can vary from 1200-1800 as I tend to eat more Monday-Wednesday as I am simply hungrier these days.

I tend to do stay more @ 100llbs 5'1 when I exercise less.

Good luck as I am still trying to lose the last 4lbs before the holidays and it is certainly a daily struggle.

gothchiq

I'm 5 3 and hypothyroid and 46 years old. maintenance for me would be only 1450 calories. So to lose I eat between 1000 and 1200. It's slow at this point but as I only have 10 more pounds to go I'm not in a hurry because I don't look gross any more. I just keep at it day after day. The sad part is that when I finally get to maintenance I will barely be permitted to eat more than I do now. I have resigned myself to the "perma diet" because I don't want to be fat again.

Lindyandcheryl

I'm 5'2", lost from 163.5 to 140.8 so far, in about 6months, would like to be low to mid 130's. Because I'm older, my metabolism is very slow. The way weight loss works for me is 1200 calories with about 90 grams of protein. I get the a lot protein via vanilla Greek yogurt...make a sundae, reporting all calories, of a drizzle of honey, about a teaspoon of crushed nuts, dried low sugar cranberries, and a few mini chocolate chips, spread light /fat free Cool Whip on top. That's my "reward" for my reduced calorie intake, health, and a lifestyle change, it really takes commitment but I like living!

Good luck on your journey, there's always rocks in the road!

rides4sanity

I'm 5 3 and hypothyroid and 46 years old. maintenance for me would be only 1450 calories. So to lose I eat between 1000 and 1200. It's slow at this point but as I only have 10 more pounds to go I'm not in a hurry because I don't look gross any more. I just keep at it day after day. The sad part is that when I finally get to maintenance I will barely be permitted to eat more than I do now. I have resigned myself to the "perma diet" because I don't want to be fat again.

I really believed this to be true for me as well... 40 with thyroid issues, I'm just destined to the "perma diet" as you put it. But really the last 10 pounds took me changing my mind set and stepping out of my comfort zone. I truly eat more than that and am losing weight while retaining muscle mass...

IHateThinkingOfAUsername

5"2, 145lbs (was 173), want to get to 125lbs....
I have a net of 1340.

thats hardly any cals eek

Remember that is net though - I eat all my exercise calories back (as judged by my HRM). Today I will have eaten 1650 cals.

eganita

5'3", 130 lbs, and 29 years old here. I have a high activity level, so that does factor into my calories. I'd like to get down to maybe 120 or so, I think (not 100% sure - will be more based on how I look and feel rather than the actual number).

Rather than the MFP/"explicitly eat back calories" system I use the TDEE system (which already factors in the "extra" exercise calories): http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

I have my calories set to 1900 per day, but I do generally eat a bit more on the weekends. I am losing, as long as I stick to the 1900 on weekdays and only go moderately over on the weekends. I am trying to lose 0.5-1 lbs per week ideally.

jdhcm2006

Whatever you do make sure you net 1200 calories.

I'm 5'1 and I eat about 1600-1900 calories and make sure I net between 1200-1400 calories. I exercise 6 days a week, and on 3-4 of those days I get in 2 workouts, so I can afford to eat 1800-1900 calories. I try to keep it to 1800 a day though, but this past Saturday, I burned about 600 calories working out, so I ended up eating about 2300 calories, which made my net about 1700. And I still lost 1.5 pounds that week.

Just make sure you are eating enough to sustain whatever exercising you are doing, but still having a deficit, and you will lose weight. Look up the TDEE method.

ETA: I weight about 132-133 now, and I'd like to get to about 125-128. Once I get to 128, I'll reevaluate my goal, and I might decide it's time to do body recomp.

flumi_f

45yrs, 5' 1'' 1/2, 125lb. I maintain on around 1600cals net. And I lose slowly with at around 1300cals. I cycle my daily cals a bit, so that is an average intake. My actual intake is around 500 two days a week and anywhere between 1500-2500 on the others, depending on the day and the exercise I get in.

Don't be scared to eat. If you limit your cals at too low a level for too long, you will do your body and your goal of weightloss more harm than good.

palmerme

I'm 5'3", 118 lbs (down from 124 lbs less than 3 weeks ago) and I aim for 1150-1300 calories/day (depending on my activity level). Paying attention to WHAT you are eating, not just HOW MUCH will help you avoid the ravenous feelings. Aim for higher amounts of protein and complex carbs (whole grains, starches, etc), which will leave you feeling fuller longer without a ton of calories.

My diet is a focus for me at the moment because I'm doing a strength training program, but I shoot for 110 grams of protein/day (4 calories / gram = 440 calories from protein), and make up the balance with fats (almonds, nut butters, dairy) and complex carbohydrates (brown rice, sweet potatoes, quinoa, and protein-enriched pasta) and veggies (lots and lots of broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, cucumber, spinach, kale, etc).

Like I said, I've been following this eating plan for 3 weeks, and I've lost more than 6 lbs. Much of it is likely water weight, but I've also lost an inch from my waist, so something is working!