All those who are 160lbs and under
naomisimpson247
Posts: 26
Hello
I wanted to hear from users who are 160lbs or say 170lbs. Basically those who don’t have loads to lose. (Sorry it seems mean to exclude others, but I’m trying to hear from people who are similar to me) The reason why I’m specifying this group of people, is I know it’s harder to lose the pounds once you’re within your BMI, The advice from forum members who have a lot more to lose is not always applicable to me.
I’m 153lbs and 5ft5. I run on average 12 miles a week and do fitness DVDs here and there. I’m not overweight, despite being slightly over my BMI, I have quite an athletic build, but still I’d like to go down to about 145lbs…so from a size 12/14 to a perfect 10
I’ve read so much advice on this site. Stick to your 1,200 calories a day and eat back exercise calories. Or, NEVER ever eat below your BMR –(Mine is 1,480 calories). I’ve read about starvation mode, I’ve read starvation mode is a myth. I’ve seen a group that states you must eat more to lose more…it goes on and on. :noway:
I did feel 1,200 was too low – even with eating exercise calories back. This just made me plateau. So I’ve upped by calories to 1,700 which is still a deficit of about 500 calories off my TDEE. When I exercise I always make sure I NET my BMR which is around 1,480 calories.
I haven’t given it time to see if this tactic works, I don’t think I’ve put on weight, but I wanted to hear from other people within my weight range and hear what works for them. I don’t want to keep confusing my body by constantly changing my routine, and also, I don’t want to eat more and gain more!!
Any feedback tips would be great, and confirmation that I’m doing things very wrong :sad: or very right!!! :laugh:
I wanted to hear from users who are 160lbs or say 170lbs. Basically those who don’t have loads to lose. (Sorry it seems mean to exclude others, but I’m trying to hear from people who are similar to me) The reason why I’m specifying this group of people, is I know it’s harder to lose the pounds once you’re within your BMI, The advice from forum members who have a lot more to lose is not always applicable to me.
I’m 153lbs and 5ft5. I run on average 12 miles a week and do fitness DVDs here and there. I’m not overweight, despite being slightly over my BMI, I have quite an athletic build, but still I’d like to go down to about 145lbs…so from a size 12/14 to a perfect 10
I’ve read so much advice on this site. Stick to your 1,200 calories a day and eat back exercise calories. Or, NEVER ever eat below your BMR –(Mine is 1,480 calories). I’ve read about starvation mode, I’ve read starvation mode is a myth. I’ve seen a group that states you must eat more to lose more…it goes on and on. :noway:
I did feel 1,200 was too low – even with eating exercise calories back. This just made me plateau. So I’ve upped by calories to 1,700 which is still a deficit of about 500 calories off my TDEE. When I exercise I always make sure I NET my BMR which is around 1,480 calories.
I haven’t given it time to see if this tactic works, I don’t think I’ve put on weight, but I wanted to hear from other people within my weight range and hear what works for them. I don’t want to keep confusing my body by constantly changing my routine, and also, I don’t want to eat more and gain more!!
Any feedback tips would be great, and confirmation that I’m doing things very wrong :sad: or very right!!! :laugh:
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Replies
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It's definitely all about what works for you! For some that means eating more calories and for some less. I'm 5'5 just under 140 lbs and I want to get to 135. I workout 5-6 days a week (try to get a run in, but I have also been doing some strength training and when I travel for work I don't have a lot of extra time for workouts).
I lost 10 pounds easily when I started but it is going much slower now. On weeks where I avoid alcohol and processed food (you can see in my diary that has not been this week or last! haha) I make much better progress. I have a half marathon in two weeks, after that is over I am going to concentrate on those last few pounds. Good luck!0 -
I am 5'8" and 161. I'm trying to lose my post baby weight. Admittedly, I don't exercise much, I'll go to the pool for a few hours a day and get laps in or walk with the stroller. My bmr is around 1800, and I've been keeping under 1550 a day. It's really working for me, I've list five pounds in two weeks. I too have read many things about starvation mode, but I think its all bs, personally. You've seen photos of starving people; their ribs are showing. And it certainly sounds like you exercise enough to keep up a good metabolism. As long as you follow the "calories in, calories out" mantra, you'll lose weight, and you'll be fine. I believe a pound is 1400 calories, so figure you do a 200 calorie deficit everyday from your bmr, and you'll lose a pound in a week. That's not including the exercise that you do, so make sure to log that and eat appropriately for the calories you burn, if you have burned a lot. I'm not a nutritionist or doctor but from what I gather, that's pretty much how it works. Good luck girl!0
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I am almost 5'6 and around 132 pounds. I want to get to between 115 and 120 (closer to 115 if I can). I'll be honest, I've never been able to "eat more to lose more" but my heaviest is 142 so I've never technically been anywhere close to overweight on the BMI scale. I lose the most weight when I calorie restrict. It isn't fun but that's what it takes. Exercise seems negligible in the equation. It makes it difficult to calorie restrict because you feel like crap during the exercise and then are hungry afterward. Steady calorie restriction works best for me (and it is really, really hard where I live now because where I used to live, everyone was always on some diet but here it is hard because everyone is fat).
The first time I got up to around 140 was when I quit ballet for a few years. I got back down to 115 through calorie restriction. This time, i gained that weight back because I basically ate nothing but junky comfort food all the time from August until April. So it's not like I yo-yo diet, necessarily. But my maintenance calories are still pretty low.
I say this because I feel like, for some people, being very thin is work. Hard work. Constant work. Is it fair? No. But it is what it is.0 -
I believe a pound is 1400 calories, so figure you do a 200 calorie deficit everyday from your bmr, and you'll lose a pound in a week. That's not including the exercise that you do, so make sure to log that and eat appropriately for the calories you burn, if you have burned a lot. I'm not a nutritionist or doctor but from what I gather, that's pretty much how it works. Good luck girl!
A pound is 3500 calories, so a deficit of 500 calories per day.
"Because 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound (0.45 kilogram) of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in to lose 1 pound. So if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'd lose about 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories)." - Mayo Clinic
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calories/WT000110 -
Have you tried IF (intermittent fasting)? I fast for 24 hours once or twice a week (so no food from 7pm the night before to 7pm the next night, then a meal of around 600-700 calories). On other days I pretty much try and net 1200 calories, with one cheat day a week where I net around 1800 calories.
So during an average week I'll average 1200 a day. I'm 5ft10 so 1200 is low for me and before I started IF I would plateau within a couple of weeks. Now I'm losing quite a lot, keeping my metabolism going strong, and feel great. :-)0 -
I'm 129 (started at 146) lbs (5'5") on my way to 121 lbs. BMI 21.5
You are exactly right: that when you are in your healthy range it is more difficult to lose because you have less wiggle room between eating at a reasonable cut and still eating enough to be healthy.
I know like you said there is alot of (good, and unfortunately alot of bad) information out there and it can be confusing, especially since most of the people on MFP aren't in the position of not having much to lose. But:
What is important to remember is your cut. This is what you need to maintain to lose weight. If you TDEE is 2300, then you are right in needing the 500 cal cut to lose 1 lb a week (which is healthy loss).
NOW: if you are using TDEE set to anything other than sedentary this technically should include your exercise, so you SHOULDN'T have to add in your exercise cals and eat them back.
HOWEVER, as far as I am concerned, when you are at the range we are there is VERY LITTLE margin for error. Which means if you are off by 250 cals, you blow your goal. And this is VERY easy to be off by when you are using averages of averages.
SO, what I always suggest is to set your TDEE to sedentary (BMR*1.2 multiplier) and then HARD POST all your exercise cals back (WITH a Heart rate monitor for accuracy).
Like I said the important thing to remember is your CUT. If your TDEE sedentary is say 1500 and you want to lose 1 lb a week, then your goal needs to be 1000 cals a day for a 500 cal cut. This number may scare you but look: If you are eating 1300 and burning off 300 cals a day working out you have a 500 cal cut (or 1 lb a week), with a NET intake of 1000. If you are eating 1500 and burning 500 a day, you have a NET intake of 1000. If you eat 1000 cals a day and don't get your butt of the couch to workout, you STILL have a NET intake of 1000 (although you aren't eating very much and you are going to have a VERY difficult time of getting all your nutrients in). You can eat as much as you want (which is why you hear all the "eat more lose more" nazis), you just HAVE to maintain your cut if you want to lose, and using exercise makes it easier to eat a reasonable amount.
The NET and the CUT is what is important. Which is why I reccomend the sedentary TDEE, otherwise there are just SO MANY ways for your cut to be off and where you are where we are you NEED TO BE PRECISE. And using a HRM. A MFP buddy of mine thought she was burning 200 cals more than she was a day until she got one. :grumble:
Either way, if you would like me to run your numbers for you, please feel free to message me.
Good luck on your journey!0 -
I changed up my work-out routine - WAY more strength-training (heavy lifting - NROL4W) and hardly any cardio. After 25+ years as a cardio gym-rat, I finally realized that my body didn't have the SHAPE that I wanted.
I wasn't overweight. My BMI is fine. (I started mfp at 5'9" and 160 lbs.) But, I was "skinny fat", for sure.
So, I don't agree with the whole 1,200 calorie thing + the "tons of cardio" thing because I think that just leads to MORE 'skinny fat'.
If you want to change your SHAPE, go lift VERY heavy things - and make sure you ARE fueling your body (properly) because your body is gonna need it in order to lift iron.0 -
I changed up my work-out routine - WAY more strength-training (heavy lifting - NROL4W) and hardly any cardio. After 25+ years as a cardio gym-rat, I finally realized that my body didn't have the SHAPE that I wanted.
I wasn't overweight. My BMI is fine. (I started mfp at 5'9" and 160 lbs.) But, I was "skinny fat", for sure.
So, I don't agree with the whole 1,200 calorie thing + the "tons of cardio" thing because I think that just leads to MORE 'skinny fat'.
If you want to change your SHAPE, go lift VERY heavy things - and make sure you ARE fueling your body (properly) because your body is gonna need it in order to lift iron.
Good point, you need to include strength training in your routine and not just be greedy about calorie burns through cardio for an over all good look. But they don't necessarily need to be "VERY heavy things," thing like lunges and pushups/pullups are great too!0 -
I definitely belong in this disscussion!! Thanks for starting it! (Anyone in here - or not - feel free to add me! I'm looking for supporters!)
I'm 5'7 and I weigh around 150lbs, which seems like a lot, but I don't look heavy/overweight at all, and never have! Either I hold weight really evenly, or I just carry more muscle than fat.
My bodyfat is probably around 19%-21%. I dont really have a goal "weight", but I would love to try to bring my BF% down to about 17-18% to really show off my muscle underneath! I'm assuming that is probably about 10-15lbs away for me (around 135-140lbs).
I'm trying to keep my diet as clean as possible with lots of protein! I used to eat almost NO carbs and realized I was lacking energy and stamina at home - and in the gym of course. I recently began adding a little more carbs into my diet (ex. 2-3 rice cakes with natural peanut butter, and plain old oatmeal!) I'm noticing a huge difference in my body after about a week! Maybe because the carbs fill me up and are more satisfying, so they help me not to binge out on bad carbs like before! Also, I can push myself harder in the gym.
I was focusing so much on calories in order to get rid of the stubborn leg and tummy fat, but now I realize that it might be more beneficial to focus on the macros! (Proteins, Fats, Carbs).
I shoot for
148g of protein,
93g of carbs and
58g of fat per day.
The protein keeps me nice and full and the rest gives me engery to keep up with my 4 year old at home, and my boyfriend at the gym!
I shoot for five to six small meals per day, and cardio as often as I can (usally ends up being 3-4 times per week at 15-25 minutes per session <--- wanting to increase that!) and strength training 4-5 times per week as well!
Nice to meet you all! :happy: Cheers!0 -
I changed up my work-out routine - WAY more strength-training (heavy lifting - NROL4W) and hardly any cardio. After 25+ years as a cardio gym-rat, I finally realized that my body didn't have the SHAPE that I wanted.
I wasn't overweight. My BMI is fine. (I started mfp at 5'9" and 160 lbs.) But, I was "skinny fat", for sure.
So, I don't agree with the whole 1,200 calorie thing + the "tons of cardio" thing because I think that just leads to MORE 'skinny fat'.
If you want to change your SHAPE, go lift VERY heavy things - and make sure you ARE fueling your body (properly) because your body is gonna need it in order to lift iron.
I agree huge!0 -
I'm 129 (started at 146) lbs (5'5") on my way to 121 lbs. BMI 21.5
You are exactly right: that when you are in your healthy range it is more difficult to lose because you have less wiggle room between eating at a reasonable cut and still eating enough to be healthy.
I know like you said there is alot of (good, and unfortunately alot of bad) information out there and it can be confusing, especially since most of the people on MFP aren't in the position of not having much to lose. But:
What is important to remember is your cut. This is what you need to maintain to lose weight. If you TDEE is 2300, then you are right in needing the 500 cal cut to lose 1 lb a week (which is healthy loss).
NOW: if you are using TDEE set to anything other than sedentary this technically should include your exercise, so you SHOULDN'T have to add in your exercise cals and eat them back.
HOWEVER, as far as I am concerned, when you are at the range we are there is VERY LITTLE margin for error. Which means if you are off by 250 cals, you blow your goal. And this is VERY easy to be off by when you are using averages of averages.
SO, what I always suggest is to set your TDEE to sedentary (BMR*1.2 multiplier) and then HARD POST all your exercise cals back (WITH a Heart rate monitor for accuracy).
Like I said the important thing to remember is your CUT. If your TDEE sedentary is say 1500 and you want to lose 1 lb a week, then your goal needs to be 1000 cals a day for a 500 cal cut. This number may scare you but look: If you are eating 1300 and burning off 300 cals a day working out you have a 500 cal cut (or 1 lb a week), with a NET intake of 1000. If you are eating 1500 and burning 500 a day, you have a NET intake of 1000. If you eat 1000 cals a day and don't get your butt of the couch to workout, you STILL have a NET intake of 1000 (although you aren't eating very much and you are going to have a VERY difficult time of getting all your nutrients in). You can eat as much as you want (which is why you hear all the "eat more lose more" nazis), you just HAVE to maintain your cut if you want to lose, and using exercise makes it easier to eat a reasonable amount.
The NET and the CUT is what is important. Which is why I reccomend the sedentary TDEE, otherwise there are just SO MANY ways for your cut to be off and where you are where we are you NEED TO BE PRECISE. And using a HRM. A MFP buddy of mine thought she was burning 200 cals more than she was a day until she got one. :grumble:
Either way, if you would like me to run your numbers for you, please feel free to message me.
Good luck on your journey!
I Just so totally agree with this I needed to repost it :drinker:
I am 5'5" and 147 lbs. I have lost 50+ lbs previously, but this last 10-15lbs is nasty!
regarding the macros - If I eat more than 40% carbs I can forget about any weight loss. I always make sure my protein is higher than my carbs. I recently switched from 1400 to 1200 a day, and burn 500/day from walking and 30 minute Jillian butt-kicks, and building serious muscle has changed my life. Having been skinny-fat all through my 20s and not understanding why I had such a low metabolism, I can tell you protein and muscle are my saviors!
So glad to have found this group!0 -
I really need this discussion. I just found this site about a week and a half ago, so I'm looking for friends if anyone wants to add me!
I'm 5'6" and 142 lbs. I would like to get down to somewhere between 125 lb and 130 lbs. I mainly just need to get in shape, get healthier, and tone up, since my BMI is in the normal range.
MFP told me to eat 1200 calories a day to lose a pound a week. I've been working out 6/7 days a week -- couch to 5k, Jillian Michaels DVDs, Wii, etc. So, I've been burning quite a few calories and have been eating some, but not all, of those calories back. Throughout the past 10 days or so on 1200 calories, I haven't felt like I was starving myself, and have been able to eat throughout the day. Several times I even forced myself to eat more at the end of the day. (I'm not paying too much attention to my macros specifically yet, although I am attempting to eat healthy foods.) Initially, I felt great and was bouncing out of bed in the morning. Over the past few days, that changed, and I've felt tired and have had a slight headache. I went back and looked more closely at my numbers, and due to the 1200 calories + exercise, I've had a number of days netting less than 1000, although I've been eating approximately 1400 calories. That seems way low to me, and given how I'm feeling, I've decided to up my calories to 1400 to see how that goes and try to increase my net to at least 1200. It doesn't do me any good to not have the energy I need to tone up.
I've been looking at the TDEE "eat more, weigh less" type numbers. My BMR is 1401, my TDEE (sedentary) is 1682, and daily calories based on that is 1345. I've run the numbers based on various active levels to compare also. I think I'm just going to have to experiment not only with the numbers, but with what I'm eating, to try to figure out what will work for me so that I can both lose weight, get healthy, and feel good all at the same time. (I've honestly never had to do any of this before. In the past, I've just continued to eat what I wanted but pushed harder on exercising and lost the weight. I suppose I could try to do that again, but I want to try to eat healthier, and at 37, my metabolism isn't what it used to be.)
Anyway, I'm glad I found this group!0
