5'2" or 5'3" ladies! what calorie targets worked for you?

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  • Erykah3584
    Erykah3584 Posts: 324 Member
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    I'm 5'2.5 and started out at 170lbs. I'm now 118lbs.

    The calorie target that has worked best for me has been NO LESS than 1600 calories. Right now I'm set for 2000 and aim to eat 10-15% if I want to lose.

    I lost ZERO pounds eating 1200 calories. It was insanely counterproductive for me.

    What types of exercise do you do if you dont mind me asking.
  • Grognit
    Grognit Posts: 50
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    I am 5'3", 42 and started at 157.6 lbs. Started on 1200 and was starving ALL the time. I hardly exercise right now, mostly walking - Determined my BMR and TDEE, made some adjustments and am now eating 1450. I weigh once a week and after not losing anything, I dropped 4 lbs this week. Sitting now at 153.6 and my goal is 130-135 lbs.
  • Erykah3584
    Erykah3584 Posts: 324 Member
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    I am 5'2", and I weigh 203. I have lost 15 pounds in one month. .. I started at 219 and my goal is 130 -135. I just want to be strong and healthy... I have been eating about 1000 calories per day, and exercising about 4 times a week... After reading everyones thread, I am thinking I should add anouther meal... and make it 1150. Or does anyone have suggestions for me too??? The 1000 seems to be working for me... Angelica ....

    How do you do that?! I would be so starving all day and would be the biggest you know what! lol I turn into the hulk when Im starving.
  • Casshileman
    Casshileman Posts: 12
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    How do you do that?! I would be so starving all day and would be the biggest you know what! lol I turn into the hulk when Im starving.

    I am the same way! :laugh:

    I'm 5'-2. I started 2 weeks ago and have been doing around 1500 calories. I do C25K three times a week and at least 30 minutes of walking twice a week. As of this morning I have lost 5 pounds! Even the 1500 is a little rough some times. The munchies are the worst!!
  • tressatnt
    tressatnt Posts: 77
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    Are you all eating your exercise calories back?
  • tressatnt
    tressatnt Posts: 77
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    I'm 5'2.5 and started out at 170lbs. I'm now 118lbs.

    The calorie target that has worked best for me has been NO LESS than 1600 calories. Right now I'm set for 2000 and aim to eat 10-15% if I want to lose.

    I lost ZERO pounds eating 1200 calories. It was insanely counterproductive for me.

    Congratulations, that is very awesome. I'm the exact height as you and want to get to 115 or just where you're at now. Do you eat back exercise calories and netting 1600 calories? I am struggling to find the right number for me. Right now I am trying to net 1500 and eat back my calories.
  • Prettylittlelotus
    Prettylittlelotus Posts: 239 Member
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    I'm 5'3 and I work out at least 5 times a week for 30 minutes.

    Daily Calories: 1650
    ~I eat back almost all of my exercise calories, so I average around 1900-2000 a day

    My Macros are 65% carbs, 20% Fat and 15% protein.
    On work out days, I do occasionally go over on protein depending on what I did, and how hard I worked it.

    Good Luck!
  • RedHeadDevotchka
    RedHeadDevotchka Posts: 1,394 Member
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    You gotta figure that out by yourself. I am 5'3.5 and eat 2400 calories a day. My first suggestion is to get a schedule or get your working out in order because if you can't be consistent it's going to be all that more challenging. You can start by eating your BMR, and you can see how that works for you. Google BMR and there are tons of sites with BMR calculators available.
    I wouldn't go really low right away because that's a hard thing to stay commited to if you are already eratic with your schedule.
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
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    I'm 5' 3" I started out at 172 pounds. I've lost 18 pounds in three months. Most days I eat around 1,800.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
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    When I'm losing fat and slimming down, I eat around 1700-1800 cals per day. I lift weights and jog about 40 mins per day. :-) I'm able to lose about 5 pounds of fat in 4 weeks on that plan.

    I follow a similar plan--lose slower but I'm 4'11.
  • roachhaley
    roachhaley Posts: 978 Member
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    5'3. 1500-1600 is what I eat for maintenance (although I dont have a scale ATM, but I dont think I'm gaining weight on 1500-1600)

    Honestly anything below 1500 works for weight loss for me. Obviously, the lower the faster I lose. When I'm really focused I'll eat anywhere between 900 - 1400 a day. I'm pretty sedentary and sleep a lot during the day (when I'm not at school).
  • TBoom915
    TBoom915 Posts: 115 Member
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    Bump for later read
  • MissKim
    MissKim Posts: 2,853 Member
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    You really just have to find what works best for you. It will be different for everyone just because everyone's body is different. Someone that has less body fat and more muscle will need more calories, while someone with a high body fat and not a lot of muscle would need less. I would just play around with the numbers and see what results you get.
  • a1schwei
    a1schwei Posts: 617 Member
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    i am 5'3.5 (132.5ish lbs) and i am set at 1510 per day (0.5/week) at this point...my ultimate goal is to get to 129 and more toned, but i am close enough at this point that it can be a slower scale movement and keep me happy :) i am still breastfeeding though so i add another 300 calories for that and i almost always eat the majority of my exercise calories back :)
    i am of the mindset that i would rather lose more slowly but have maintenance be an easier transition than to drop weight quickly, but need to eat very little to maintain :)
  • jehuster
    jehuster Posts: 168
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    Not sure this will help you as I am in my 50's and the body is even trickier on short older people. I started in July of this year and was set at 1200 lost 9 lbs and stalled for a couple weeks then I upped my intake to 1550-1700 for a week and a half and gained weight and just 2 days ago dropped it back to 1200 and lost 2.8 lbs over the weekend. I normally don't eat exercise calories back and if I do I try to only do about 1/2 (except tonight is a birthday party and I will probably eat all back that I burned off) unless I am really hungry. I am currently in a challenge group that requires daily challenges in addition to the normal exercise routine so I hope this keeps giving me the added umpf I need to keep my weight going down. I have lost an overall of 14 inches even though i have not lost that much weight and my clothes are beginning to get baggy on me which is a good sign. Take measurments...its recommended better than watching the scale go up and down because it will.

    I too have a bad knee but I where a support knee brace always when I exercise or even go walking. I revamped Jillian Michael's 30 day shred to fit my bad knee (can't do alot of that jumping). If you want take a look at my blog I have the revamped version of level 2 of the shred on my September blog. It's still a calorie burning workout even being revamped.

    I wish you luck and much success on your journey. :drinker:
  • yowza101
    yowza101 Posts: 196 Member
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    At first I was at 1800 because the norm is 1800-2000, but a few weeks ago I went 1400 and so far so good. It took a while to get use to those calories and I try not to over due when I'm given more calories from working out. I'm 5'4. I have osteoarthritis in my knees so I break down my workout. I can't do a full hour on my knees. So I do 15-30 minutes in the morning and then 15-45 in the evening. But now I have bunion that will be operated on in a few weeks, so sometimes its hard even getting to the 30 minutes, so I try to keep to my calories more so these past few days. At least I'm doing some kind of working out... I think I may look into getting a Sit and Fit video for those days that my feet hurt more.
  • trophywife24
    trophywife24 Posts: 1,472 Member
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    Between 1200-1500 calories. 1200 did the trick at first and then I had to up it a little bit when I got closer to my goal. I'm 5'2, started at 170 and am 130-ish now and maintaining.
    Well done! How long did that take and how active are you? I have two little ones too
    , 5 & 3 and they keep me busy, but obviously not busy enough!

    it took me over a year BUT... I "dieted" for 4 months, took 9 months off (maintained my weight) and then decided to loose 15 more which I did in about 3 months. So 7 months total. I'm fairly active, I work out for 45-ish minutes 3-4x/week right now.

    ETA it really is what works for you. It was a lot of trial/error for me. Any time I changed my calories I'd give it at least 10 days to see if the scale moved or not. Anytime I stalled out, I had to eat a little more, that was my pattern. :)
  • birdieaz
    birdieaz Posts: 448 Member
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    I'm 5'2.5 and started out at 170lbs. I'm now 118lbs.

    The calorie target that has worked best for me has been NO LESS than 1600 calories. Right now I'm set for 2000 and aim to eat 10-15% if I want to lose.

    I lost ZERO pounds eating 1200 calories. It was insanely counterproductive for me.

    What types of exercise do you do if you dont mind me asking.

    I run an hour 3x a week and do yoga mostly to stay limber. That's it. Will be adding weight training soon. Even when I did Insanity, could never adhere to the 6x a week work out schedule. I find my body responds better with more rest days.
  • birdieaz
    birdieaz Posts: 448 Member
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    I'm 5'2.5 and started out at 170lbs. I'm now 118lbs.

    The calorie target that has worked best for me has been NO LESS than 1600 calories. Right now I'm set for 2000 and aim to eat 10-15% if I want to lose.

    I lost ZERO pounds eating 1200 calories. It was insanely counterproductive for me.

    Congratulations, that is very awesome. I'm the exact height as you and want to get to 115 or just where you're at now. Do you eat back exercise calories and netting 1600 calories? I am struggling to find the right number for me. Right now I am trying to net 1500 and eat back my calories.

    I only work out 3x a week right now. On work out days I aim to net no less than my RMR of 1400, that means eating 1800-1900. The remaining 4 days I eat 1700 and that is my net as well.

    I found it confusing the whole eating back exercise calories that is why I switched my calorie goal to reflect my full TDEE and aim for a 10-15% weekly deficit from that. This also takes the stress out of worrying if I have a low or high calorie day, since I'm focusing on a weekly goal.
  • amberaz
    amberaz Posts: 328 Member
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    Hi! I am 5'3" and currently 119 lbs. I am not looking to lose a lot of weight, just to get rid of some fat and add some muscle. I am currently eating 1730 calories per day and not eating back exercise calories. I work out 5 times per week for 30 minutes to an hour. If your goal is just to be thin, I had good results eating 1300-1400 NET calories per day and doing loads of cardio. I got as low as 107 lbs doing that, but my body fat percentage was probably the same as it is now and I am almost 15 lbs heavier. I starved on that diet. If you want to lower your body fat percentage, lose fat, and maintain your lean body mass, check out the Eat More to Weigh Less group here on MFP. You start by calculating what your daily intake should be based on your activity level, your weight, and age. You may not lose tons of weight super fast, but your body will change, and you will feel much better than you would eating a very low calorie diet.

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