5'4 and 146lbs

SaketoKim

So this is gonna sound really bad... but Ive only been eatting between 600 and 700 calories a day... and always trying to make sure I have at least a 200 or higher in the negative after ive exercised by the time I go to bed. Water wise.. I drink at least 10-12 8 oz glasses a day. Dont drink anything else but water anymore. So I would eat like 600 calories... and burn 800 calories just working out so i would have that negative. My goal weight is 135. I was there before I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, and want to be there again. But Im a pear shape body so I hold all my weight in my hips, butt and thighs.

your not eating enought to keep your metabolism constantly running... and you should have a 750 calorie deficit not 200 daily. Up your calorie intake to 1800 and put in your burn for activity of 800 and you should be fine steadily dropping and not malnourishiing your body.

sweetteacher123

First off, two pounds a week isn't a realistic goal. One-half or one pound is much more realistic. You're body wants to hold on to that, especially if you are cutting calories like that. Weight loss is slow and steady wins the race. Take off pounds slowly by lifestyle changes that are indeed things you can do for a lifetime. Then watch your weight stay off in the long run.

wonderwomanwannaB

Under the "Tools" tab MFP will give you your BMR. THAT is the number you don't want to go below each day. That's your survival calories. Multiply it by 1.5 for an activity factor (sedentary/lightly active) Then subtract 500 kcals from that. This theoretically should give you a 1 lb wt loss per week. You may just subtract 250 kcals, then earn 250 from exercise instead of just cutting the 500.

Of course this should be tailored to an individual, but that's the basic "kcals in - kcals out" formula.

**MFP used the Mifflin St. Jeor formula for BMR, but they don't seem to use it for default calories. If you are more active you will need more kcals before subtracting the 500 kcals. I'd recommend googling those numbers.

chauncyrenayCHANGED

So this is gonna sound really bad... but Ive only been eatting between 600 and 700 calories a day... and always trying to make sure I have at least a 200 or higher in the negative after ive exercised by the time I go to bed. Water wise.. I drink at least 10-12 8 oz glasses a day. Dont drink anything else but water anymore. So I would eat like 600 calories... and burn 800 calories just working out so i would have that negative. My goal weight is 135. I was there before I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, and want to be there again. But Im a pear shape body so I hold all my weight in my hips, butt and thighs.

Hi OP.

You will lose more weight if you eat more. You should eat at least 1200 calories a day. Your net should be as close to 1200 as you can. And if you are scared to go that high, at least aim to have a net of 1000. You really really really should try to net towards 1200, though. I know it's scary, but it's going to help you lose weight.

BAMFMeredith

So this is gonna sound really bad... but Ive only been eatting between 600 and 700 calories a day... and always trying to make sure I have at least a 200 or higher in the negative after ive exercised by the time I go to bed. Water wise.. I drink at least 10-12 8 oz glasses a day. Dont drink anything else but water anymore. So I would eat like 600 calories... and burn 800 calories just working out so i would have that negative. My goal weight is 135. I was there before I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, and want to be there again. But Im a pear shape body so I hold all my weight in my hips, butt and thighs.

Yup defintly not eating enough, working out is great but you have to net 1200 calories a day or your not gonna get anywhere and eventually get frustrated and quit

Exactly. I have long struggled with the yo-yo dieting, and thought for so long if I just ate like 800 cals a day and worked out a lot I'd see results. Nope.

Now I eat about 1400-1500 cals a day (sometimes more when I get in a really hard workout) and I've lost a steady pound a week pretty much. I've got 9 lbs on you and I'm an inch shorter, so I can definitely say that your weight loss will likely NOT be 2 lbs a week. Trust the process. It feels so wrong, and you mind have initial gains, but I promise, eat more, balance your macros about 40% protein, 30% carbs, 30% fat, and incorporate a good balance of cardio and strength training and you WILL see results. Even if the scale doesn't move much, I'm willing to bet you'll see a difference in the way your clothes fit/body comp etc.

Lorrie_73

You eat 600 calories and burn 800 calories for a net of -200 calories for the day? I am surprised you can function enough to type? Our bodies need a minimum amount of calories for basic functions (walking, talking, thinking, etc) and you are in a calorie deficit of 200 calories. Wow. You need to find out what your BMR is, Basal Metabolic Rate. That is the minimum you need to consume to function. Your body is starving right now and will hold on to EVERYTHING you give it because it does not know when it will get food again. It could care less about losing weight. If you increase your calories, you may even see a weight gain momentarily. But you need to get to, at a minimum, 1200 net calories for the day. So if you are burning 800 calories a day, you should be consuming at least 2000 calories a day.

jennifeffer

You need to eat more. I was set at 1350 and i hit a plateau that lasted several weeks. I changed my goal to lose 1 pound a week and my calories are now up in the 1500's (as of last week). I'm down three pounds in less than a week just by eating more. I exercise almost every day whether it's a dvd or biking or walking. I also stopped eating processed foods as much as possible. No bread, pasta, crackers, cereal etc. Feed yourself lean proteins, veggies and fruit. Remember, you are small. Two pounds a weeks is too much for you to lose! Good luck:)

DixiedoesMFP

I am 5'4", current weight 143 (starting weight 151). It has taken me a year to lose those eight pounds. Yes, a year. Why? Because I eat very close to my TDEE daily and I work out very hard. I have a very small deficit daily. I lift heavy weights and only do cardio twice a week.
When you are already small, it's hard to lose two pounds a week. You would have to have a deficit of 1000 calories daily, but without cutting into your BMR. Your BMR is probably around 1400 or 1500 daily. To have a 1000 calorie deficit: Eat 1500 calories but exercise and move enough that your TDEE is around 2500.

psuLemon

So lets break this out because you aren't eating enough.


Your estimate BMR (metabolic rate is 1459). This is the amount of calories to properly run your body and maintain function. Eating below it will slow your metabolism and cause your body to stall.

So you have a child and are a little active, so that puts you around moderately active. So your TDEE is

1459 * 1.55 = 2261 (amount of calories you burn on average)

You want to cut fat (not just weight) so we form a deficit

Caloric needs = 2261 * .8 = 1809

So you should be eating 1800 calories, with probably 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fats. Also, add some strength training as your body needs muscle and ST is the only way to preserve and maintain. In fact, you want to lift heavy where you fail at 8-12 reps. None of that 15+ reps as it's only endurance and won't give you the results If you do that, here can be the result:

"I just wanted to thank you for your help. You helped me a few months back and I just wanted to give you an update on my progress. 12 weeks ago I started at 154 and 28% bf. I got my bf remeasured last Friday and it was 24%. But I only lost 1 pound. It is crazy to me but I have learned to ignore the scale. You were right that keeping consistent and not giving up my body would finally adjust.

Thanks again for your help!

Stephanie"

Enigmatica

I'm 5'4" and weigh 133, down from 215 a few years ago, and working my way back down to range of 120-125, which is where I was last spring before I had some health problems that messed with my weight.

What works for me is to focus on good nutrition as much as calorie count. I try to go over the protein goal and stay under the carb goal here as well as keep calories under most of the time, and other than that it's just a lot of patience and determination. I got frustrated a few weeks ago because I suspected I wasn't burning as many calories as MFPs estimators predicted, so I bought a BodyMedia FIT Link monitor and put an end to the guessing. Once I could see what my real calorie usage is I started losing weight again. If you continue to have trouble you might consider something like that.

My food diary is public if you want to compare what I'm doing to what you're doing. Every body is different, but maybe it'll give you some ideas.

Good luck.

ErinS3

I find that using my measurements (rather than what the scale says) is a better way seeing results. According to the scale I haven't lost anything lately, but I'm still loosing inches! I recently dropped another pant size, but according to the scale I'm still at the same weight. I used to also put all my emphesis on the number on the scale, but not anymore. 600 calories a day is not enough. You need to eat more to keep your metabolism up so that your body can burn some of those calories...if that makes sense?

skylark94

I'm 5'4" and started at 170 pounds and netted 1,200 per day (ate my exercise calories). When I hit 145 I plateaued for several weeks. I increased my net to 1,700 and almost immediately started losing again. My goal was 140. I currently weigh 138 and am still losing an average of .5 pound per week.

When you're this close to goal, 2 pounds per week is absolutely not realistic. Slow down, be patient, eat more. You'll get there.

DixiedoesMFP

To add to my previous post: I eat 1700 - 1800 calories a day.

rthompson81

I am 5'4'' and my start weight was 148. I am now at my goal weight, 130 (ish). I do cardio and weights, and I always eat 1200 plus my exercise calories. Now that I'm at my goal weight I've been trying to up my calories to 1360, then hopefully even higher. It took me a year and a half to lose the 18 pounds, so it will go slow, but like the others have said, eat more! And feel free to friend me if you would like!

wonderwomanwannaB

So you have a child and are a little active, so that puts you around moderately active. So your TDEE is

1459 * 1.55 = 2261 (amount of calories you burn on average)

You want to cut fat (not just weight) so we form a deficit

Caloric needs = 2261 * .8 = 1809

Just curious where you got the 0.8 from. I've never seen that before.

HealthyHappyVegan

Did any of you guys experience initial weight gain after bumping up your calories?! I've recently gone from 1200-1400-1600 because people have advised me to eat my BMR which I've calculated to be roughly 1600ish. I've also gained a lot of weight these past two weeks but I exercise almost every single day burning TONs of calories!!
It's also my tOM but I cant believe I'd gain 7lbs from TOM.....

psuLemon

So you have a child and are a little active, so that puts you around moderately active. So your TDEE is

1459 * 1.55 = 2261 (amount of calories you burn on average)

You want to cut fat (not just weight) so we form a deficit

Caloric needs = 2261 * .8 = 1809

Just curious where you got the 0.8 from. I've never seen that before.

It's generally a better rule to follow the 20% rule (lower if your body fat is lower than 20%) as the simple 250/500/750/1000 calorie deficit's don't always apply. It just provides a safer calorie deficit. This is the approach I have used with over 100 people on this board with great success. Generally though, if you are obese, I will start with a 30% deficit until they approach their goal.


But if you look at someone with a TDEE of 1700 vs a person with 3000 why would you run the standard 500 calorie deficit? The person with a TDEE would have a 30% deficit which might be too aggressive and could increase the chances of weight loss from muscle where a person with a 3000 TDEE would have a 17% deficit.

Also, the larger the deficit, the more likely your body will fight to maintain your body fat. Remember, that a calorie deficit is stress on your body. And reducing the deficit can help a person lose weight.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html