Short Ladies

VickiMitkins

Copied below is a post on topic by an endocrinologist. He posted in the one that goes around about starvation mode. I think this will help you. As for antedotal information; I'm just under 5'1" and eat about 1450 calories a day. I try to stay active and do 20 minutes yoga every morning and walk a mile most mornings with my dog. I work out at the gym about twice a week. My weight loss is slow, but I'm 47 and have underactive thyroid. Even given that, I am losing about 1 lb a week. The real question is how active you are. If you are moving all the time 1200 might not be enough-even though you are small. If you have a desk job and hate exercise you can probably get by with 1200 or a little under.

"Sat 03/19/11 05:16 AMI am an endocrinologist, trained in metabolism, and familiar with many rigorously conducted studies in the physiology of starvation and caloric restriction in lean and obese humans. What I say below does NOT constitute medical advice.

First of all, a very low calorie diet in an obese person should not be compared to a very low calorie diet in a thin person (as more than one comment has done). The former is the standard of care for weight loss-surgery patients (under careful medical supervision), and the latter is known to be harmful. One important distinction is that endogenous protein (muscle) is conserved to a greater extent (relative to fat) in an obese person during prolonged starvation or hypocaloric dieting as compared to a lean person.

Second, the key to this woman's story is that either her nighttime and weekend binges were much more significant than she was letting on, or more likely she was underestimating her caloric intake on all days. There is no way she was doing 700 kcal/d and having a few small cookies 1-2 nights/week and gaining weight. While the body undergoes a metabolic adaptation to starvation and weight loss, it is not to the extent implied in the OP. This woman's brain alone is using ~480 kcal/d; it is impossible for an obese person to use less than 700 kcal/d. Therefore, we know she must be losing weight on the 5-6 days she is supposedly eating that level of calories. No rigorously conducted scientific study has ever shown anything other than continual weight loss at such a level of caloric deprivation.

Even with a sedentary lifestyle, zero exercise, and a marked metabolic adaptation to starvation (which will not exceed a 40% decrease in resting energy expenditure even in a completely starved person of normal weight, much less in a starved obese person, and even less in an obese person on a very low calorie diet), it is fair to assume (conservatively) that she is losing at least 1 lb of fat per week when considering only the 5-6 700 kcal/d days. The question is whether she is binging enough on the remaining days to counter the weight loss happening on the 700 kcal/d days. 1 lb of fat is ~3500 kcal, so her weekly binges would have to exceed that amount for her to maintain her fat weight.

The widespread concept on these boards that a person can fail to lose weight or even gain weight because of too few calories is pure misconception. Somewhere along the way, someone took the scientifically proven concept of metabolic adaptation to starvation and ran with it. In reality, the woman mentioned in the OP is likely underestimating her caloric intake on all days (including the 700 kcal days) and binging considerably.

There are several medical reasons why severe caloric restriction is wrong for most obese individuals (not to mention all lean individuals). One reason is that almost no one maintains this kind of dieting. In the very beginning of such a diet, there is muscle loss (metabolic adaptation subsequently occurs to preserve muscle relative to fat although some muscle loss will continue to occur at a lower level). Over time, resting energy expenditure may decrease by up to 30%, so if that individual subsequently resumes eating a high calorie diet without much exercise, the weight regain can be profound. There are other issues with such diets including increased gallstone risk, lack of adequate micronutrients, etc. Hence the need for close medical monitoring of patients on very low calorie diets after weight loss surgery.
Edited by fstarling on Sat 03/19/11 05:18 AM

Perfectlycrooked

Bloating could also be from too much sodium!

kelika71

I'm almost 5'3" and my cals are set at 1330. When I workout, I eat more than that. I think it was Tues. I ate over 1700 calories! I know last Saturday was probably 3000 cals! (Cheat day)

Tonight, I'm turning in 2 lbs. loss.

I just posted this earlier...don't be afraid to eat and eat exercise calories. Cheat days/free days help keep the body guessing, too. Also aid in keeping ya out of starvation.

Eat ladies!!

rebecca916

I am 5'1. I weighed 132 at my most. Now, I weigh 122 (: It feels good. I was at 1260 cal/day, but now I am at 1390 cal/day. You should eat AT LEAST 1200cal/day or else you will put your body at starvation mode and it will use undesirable sources of energy. As long as you exercise often and don't go over 1400 calories/day, you should lose weight. Good luck!

Newfiedan

well from everything I have learned about the diet side of it is that its more about the deficit that you are allotted. When you join mfp and put in your info they give you a 500 cal deficit right off the bat for a 1 lb a week weight loss. This next part has applied to 99% of those I have helped so far so it may work here it may not I am not judging. If you workout you can increase that to whatever you like but for those with a lot of weight to lose 1000 cal/day deficit is the max before the body reacts and slows metabolic rate down. For those who have say 30 pounds of less to drop its a different ball game as it gets tricky here, 500-600 a day would be the max before the body reacts in that way, and the more you lose the lower the deficit can safely be. (the same reason why that last 10 pounds is usually so hard to shed). Now for a small girl such as yourselves I would think that the deficit is what you really need to look at here as to high of one will actually be counterproductive and to low will not get you slow weight loss.

Becky1971

I'm 5'2 129 and at 1200 calories. This is pretty tough for me, but working out makes it easier as I can get a couple extra hundred or more. But I worry about rest days, so I have been wondering if I can workout one day, not eat all those workout calories, and save them for my rest day. lol. I don't know if I can, I would like to though. I especially don't like to workout the day before I weigh in, and since the day before is Sunday, It's family day, so hard to get my personal workouts in anyways.

Newfiedan

yes so long as you look at that as a weekly total, just make sure that you do get them in on the rest days, also post workout drink 1-2 cups of chocolate milk, the sugar goes straight to the muscles and the protein does as well making recovery much quicker.

Becky1971

yes so long as you look at that as a weekly total, just make sure that you do get them in on the rest days, also post workout drink 1-2 cups of chocolate milk, the sugar goes straight to the muscles and the protein does as well making recovery much quicker.

Thanks! I don't have a problem with eating my burned calories! And I don't have a problem with losing slowly. I will have to try the chocolate milk after working out, I do need to get more dairy in anyhow. My body definitely says it's time to rest, but I don't want to rest tomorrow and Sunday both. It's too hard getting back at it if I skip two days.

mandyb84

I am 5' 2, 132 lb, at 1400 calories a day. It took me a couple weeks to adjust to getting good nutrition on that amount of calories because before I was probably at more like 1800 plus. It's a matter of choosing low calorie nutrient packed foods... like a salad with fruit and nuts..... egg with a little cheese and whole grain in the morning, stuff like that is what i have found. Some days I am not eating the most nutrient rich food and I feel like i have no energy! Make every calorie count. You are right though you don't want to eat too little and not get what you need, or end up with your body hanging onto fat because it thinks its starving. Maybe start with like 1300 calories and see if you are losing weight after a couple weeks. If not, lower it?

shorty702

I'm 4'11" and I give myself 1500- calorie allowance. But I usually go under my calorie goal. I'm doing low-carb diet and have lost 5 lbs. so far along with exercise. Good luck!

Cathy92

I'm 5'2" and upped my calories from 1100 to 1200. Sometimes, I eat more than that. I also exercise 6 days a week if I can. I've lost 12 lbs. in 5 weeks doing this. I think though , it has more to do with your current weight. I have a lot to lose and the bad news is that my BMR has gone down to 1485 cal from 1500 cal. where it was at when I started on MFP.

seckler

I am 5'2" and myfitnesspal has me eat 1200 net calories a day to lose 1 pound a week. I always eat my exercise calories back and have lost .5 to 1 pound a week with a few weeks that I didn' t lose pounds, but had lost inches. I have sometimes wondered if 1200 Net was too low even though I am short. These are basic calculations, and do not take into consideration muscle mass. The more muscle you have the more calories you can eat and need to eat to fuel your body and muscles so that you don't lose your muscle. My husband is 6'2" and 225, which makes him overweight in theory...but he has a ton of muscle and is not in the least overweight. You have to figure out what is best for your body and go from there.

5grn9

After reading everyone's posting's I've decided that b/c I only have 14 more pounds to lose to get to my goal weight I'm going to change my goal to .5 pounds/week wt loss instead of 1 pound/week and it upped my calories. So I'm going to give it a whirl and see what happens!!

qoe100

I'm exactly 5' but if I were about 5'9" I'd be at the perfect weight!!! ;-) Seriously, I'm allowed 1200 calories and I need them all to not feel hungry. I do exercise and burn a couple hundred calories a day by doing so. What I want is chocolate chip cookies. What I get is carrots!!!!

cdemumbran32310

@qoe100- I feel you about the chocolate chip cookies. I have some in my kitchen and they are calling my name.

I am 5'1.5 and am on 1200. I am watching the carbs more than calories, but I tend to go over calories and havent really lost anything as of yet (3rd day so there wouldn't be a big change anyways). With that being said my trainer is working more on gaining muscle than cardio. Should I be worried about all the muscle gain and no cardio?

Newfiedan

After reading everyone's posting's I've decided that b/c I only have 14 more pounds to lose to get to my goal weight I'm going to change my goal to .5 pounds/week wt loss instead of 1 pound/week and it upped my calories. So I'm going to give it a whirl and see what happens!!

smart girl do not be surprised if you drop more the first week or 2.

Newfiedan

@qoe100- I feel you about the chocolate chip cookies. I have some in my kitchen and they are calling my name.

I am 5'1.5 and am on 1200. I am watching the carbs more than calories, but I tend to go over calories and havent really lost anything as of yet (3rd day so there wouldn't be a big change anyways). With that being said my trainer is working more on gaining muscle than cardio. Should I be worried about all the muscle gain and no cardio?

women do not gain muscle like men, they do not have that much testosterone in their bodies so you will not bulk up like a man does, you will build lean muscle though which is going to up your overall metabolic rate, so from a fat loss standpoint weights are better than cardio.

allroundthesun

I'm 5'2" and 1400 cals. is working for me. My body loses weight easily until it hits 125 lb. though.

fancyladyJeri

I'm only 4 ft 11 in and I'm finding that the calorie intake for someone my size is like nil compared to what other's get per day to either maintain or lose weight. My boyfriend is 5 ft 8 in and I'm jealous of his daily calorie allotment, LoL!

Me too. I'm 4' 11" as well. We sure can't each much, can we. :laugh: For me the answer add extra calories is exercise. As well, I've come to the conclusion that for me weight loss is slow. If I lose 2 lbs. a month I am pleased and actually it can be less than that. Slow but sure.

How about you?

Jeri in Calgary, Canada

my3kidos

@qoe100- I feel you about the chocolate chip cookies. I have some in my kitchen and they are calling my name.

I am 5'1.5 and am on 1200. I am watching the carbs more than calories, but I tend to go over calories and havent really lost anything as of yet (3rd day so there wouldn't be a big change anyways). With that being said my trainer is working more on gaining muscle than cardio. Should I be worried about all the muscle gain and no cardio?

I would be worried about NO cardio at all. Just my opinion but a fitness plan should be well balanced just like your nutrient plan. I think that would include cardio, strength training, and balance/flexibility practice.