1200 calorie limit- too high for short people???

andrejjorje

+1 to this.Fantastic answer.

At the end of the day, it's what works for you. 1200 is a pretty arbritrary number (coming from a Biologist here) and yeah it's too low for some people and too high for others. I think a good guideline is to never try and lose more than 1lb a week (unless you're very heavy, then more is OK), so create a deficit of 3500 a week. In your case, that's around 1000 calories per day.

If you start feeling ill or lethargic, by all means up it. It's not going to cause long term damage going under for a little while!

Fit_Canuck

Totally agree, your bmr is not constant, for example if you have a muscle to fat ratio of roughly 3:1 right now and then increase that thru exercise to 5:1 your going to need a lot more bmr to sustain the increase. Athletes certain do not keep themselves at 1200 calories or less. Your body is a machine and you need to fuel it with good nutrient and energy and as I have always said consult with professionals in the field to know what is right for you, don't take what we say or what this site tells you as gospel only as a guide to help you along the journey.

As for the starvation mode comment, while it is true you won't go into starvation mode the instant you drop below your bmr, your body will react by lowering organ functions if necessary and converting muscle tissue into energy and store fat for dear life. It's a biological protection mechanism as your body has no way of knowing when the next intake of calories is coming.

aurie024

My Dr. told me that anything under 1100 calories a day is considered anorexic. So if every day you are eating under that, it's not good. Your body can't function properly.

Helloitsdan

Have your numbers run.
1200 I believe was around 4'5"....
So if you are a hobbit than yes!

BabsPerl

I'm a 4'9" 85 lbs woman who wants to maintain her weight. This discussion is very interesting to me as my BMR is 949 BUT I am not sure if it takes into account my muscle disorder (does it matter?). I have fatty fibrous tissue in place of some muscle. My legs are very thin. I have just enough muscle strength to walk (not stairs). I have been using this tool but it too wants me to eat 1200 calories too. When I do, I my strictures from scarring in my small testiness tend to make all that food get blocked up (aka partial blockage!!!). Lately I have been eating like a gastric bypass patient and VOILA no pain!!!!!!! BUT I have been on average eating 800 calories a day and I KNOW it is low. At my next meeting with my nutritionist I will discuss with her if my BMR of 949 is right for my muscle composition.

marycmeadows

1200 is the bare minimum any woman should eat. otherwise things do not function properly - including your brain.

Anyaaaa11

I eat 2000cals and I'm 5'2
Your metabolism is not solely dependent on height, but weight and exercise as well.

karisma81

1200 calories is a guideline for the average person. I don't see why the same number would apply to me (110 pounds) and my husband (200 pounds). I also don't see why we would have the same nutrition requirements even for vitamins and minerals.

That being said, I also think that weight loss for a small person should probably be 0.5 pounds a week. Think % body weight lost.

lschuttem

you should read one of the books by Jim Karas. Hes a personal trainer with a bunch of credentials who's helped a lot of petite women lose weight. According to his advice/research petite women may only need 800-1200 calories per day. This makes perfect sense to me. Like others have said, calorie needs vary depending on muscle mass and daily exercise, but for many petites, under 1200 is okay.

Helloitsdan

Depends on the height.
Imo women 5'1-5'3 sit about 1400-1700
5'3"-5'5" 1700-2200

SheilaSisco

I am 4'11" and I have lost almost 50 pounds in a year eating 1300+ calories a day. I'm doing it the healthy way... slow and steady to KEEP it off for GOOD... I personally feel like if you're doing it on your own dropping below 1200 just isn't a good idea... if you're doing it at the advice and under the supervision of a doctor, then do what the dr says... it's what they went to school for, right?

born2bskinny

A co-worker is doing the short person diet (1100 calories per day and every fourth day it's 1600 calories) and has done well. She has to eat certain foods and does no weight lifting, just cardio and stretching. Good luck!

valpreston

it doesnt matter what size or age you are we all have the same amount of calories to eat. the only difference is gender related. if you exercise you should eat the aount of calories to compensate for it, so you dont starve your body. the less you eat the slower your metabolism will be and the less weight you wil lose. in fact you are more likely to gain.

Age definitely makes a difference! If you decide to calculate your own Base Metabolic Rate (you can find various formulas on line) and all of them factor in a person's age. As well the weight you start out out makes a difference as well. Both my daughter and I are 5'2". Her BMR is 1700-1800 (if she doesn't want to lose any weight), whereas mine is 1900-2000 (again, if I don't want to lose any weight). The heavier you are, the more calories in takes to run the machine. Kind of like comparing a '67 Chev Belair to a '12 Toyota Corolla - they both run on gasoline, but you'll go farther on a gallon of gas in the Corolla.

Sherbog

I am pleased with my weight loss and I have rarely eaten below 1200 and most often around 1500. I am 5'7" started at 212 and currently have a 49 pound loss today.

More importantly for me is having the correct amount protein, fat, calcium and fiber. Loosing weight would mean nothing to me if I ate 1200 calories of junk food. That is why I like the food diary. Keeps my protein on tract.

saltorian

I guess it really depends on how active you are. A small person does need fewer calories than a larger person in general, but individuals can vary a lot. I'm 5'1", but on a busy day while I'm walking around, I can have a total burn of 2300 for the day without deliberately "exercising," at least according to the numbers I get from my GoWear armband. On a day like that, eating 1200 because I didn't "really work out" would be a huge deficit.

The one thing I've noticed since getting the armband is how significant your daily activity really is. It doesn't sound like much to say that you burn 0.5 or 1 extra calorie a minute that you're strolling around the house instead of lounging on the couch, but add that 1 calorie up for several hours and you have a nice little boost going on!

Sorry if I got off-topic. What I really mean to say is that 1200 might be too high for a very small person, but he/she would also have to be fairly inactive, I'd guess. In that case, I think it would be better to look at ways to burn more rather than eat less.

RonSwanson66

Context matters, people.

There's nothing magical about 1200 calories. It's just an arbitrary guideline.

A small person may very well need to consume less than that to lose weight, especially if they're sedentary.

bethelcheryl

I'm 5'2 and 135 lbs. Want to be 120. 1200 calories is way too little for me. I would get very cranky if I tried it. I eat between 1700-2000 calories per day. I'm losing weight. Slowly, but still losing.

grrrlface

I eat 1200 calories and I gain... I've had problems with disorders and food in the past though for a number of years so my metabolism isn't what it used to be before all that. That probably has more to do with it than my height. (5'2")

I would aim for what you can but my advice would be to try and eat your 1200 calorie goal. Find higher calorie healthy foods like nuts and peanut butter and olive oils in cooking to add extra calories to your day.

From experience, you don't want to end up like I am now with a terrible metabolism that makes you gain weight if you eat more than 1000 calories a day!

windmillhealth

I agree with you. I am a short woman and if I did the sugessted calories I get no where also.

margueta562

You do not want to do anything less than 1200 calories. Otherwise your body thinks its starving and it will try to hold on to the fat to survive. Nada Bueno!