Suggestions for Short People!

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lar4290
lar4290 Posts: 55 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does the 1200 minimum really apply equally to someone who's 5'7" with a goal weight of 130 for a BMI of 20.4 and someone who's 5'0" with a goal weight of 105 for a BMI of 20.5? It seems that the 1200 minimum makes it hard for someone who is really short to lose at the same rate as someone who's taller, even if they have similar body fat percentages?

I'm curious to see what other short women have done to lose a few lbs. when they have less than 15 or 20 lbs. to lose!

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  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
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    I eat about 1200 on days where the only exercise I get is a two mile walk. I eat up to 1500 on the days where I do more exercise. I try to alternate those two days. I'm 5'0 and 116 lbs and shooting for between 97-103 lbs. I do steadily lose on this--you don't need to eat less than 1200 even being short and light.

    PS: I got curious about how well I actually stick to this gameplan and went back through my diary. I discovered a lot of days where I went over my calories, and I think that's where the value of the 1200 days come in. Gives me some wiggle room.
  • lar4290
    lar4290 Posts: 55 Member
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    Thanks! From this I assume that you "eat back" your calories (i.e. net 1200-1500 vs. consumption1200-1500)?
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
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    Oh no sorry. I eat 1200-1500 and don't worry about net. I'm usually under a net of 1200 because on non-exercise days I still do a two mile walk. On exercise days, I usually burn more than 300 calories. I've lost 11-12 lbs since I joined this way and am building muscle--I'm lifting heavier dumbbells, so I assume I am building muscle anyway :) I'm currently at 114.9 lbs.
  • jaimeb99
    jaimeb99 Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi there. Congratulations on your progress so far!
    I am 5'0 and weigh 136, goal is 115 (or to fit into a size 4). I've recently met with a dietitican and had my metabolism tested, which showed slower than normal by 35% and restulted in stating I need to eat 1000 - 1158 calories per day to loose weight. Before I took the test I told my dietitian that I set my calorie goal at 1300 and she thought that was too few calories, until the metabolism test finished. So if you can, I'd recommend trying to get your metabolism tested so you know for sure. My test was $50 and I felt was worth every bit of that to know.
    Hope this helps!
  • beccadaniixox
    beccadaniixox Posts: 542 Member
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    I try my best to eat 1300+ cals a day, with a net of at least 1200.
    My goal is 1500 because I enjoy food. A lot. You don't get to take away my ice cream and cake! :)

    1200 isn't exactly a minimum. It's more of a number so that people who think "Oh, if I eat very little I'll loss really fast" don't do stupid things like eat 500 cals a day. :)

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