Dr. Recommendations

BinaryPulsar

Yeah, you might want to get a new doctor. I absolutely LOVE my doctor. She is such an awesome person. And I have had a lot of doctors I have not liked, but I always switch until I find one that I like a lot. A doctor that I can really talk with and make sure that I understand everything about my health and continue to go in a good direction. And in my past experience, a lot of doctors don't even know much about nutrition.

Gizziemoto

I agree. What a quack! That is way too few calories to consume per day. I lose weight when I eat 1600-1700 anything under, which I have been guilty of, nothing.

Your body needs fuel. I went to a nutritionist instead. Insightful and highly recommend.

Illona88

See a dietitian, not a nutritionist.

The term nutritionist isn't regulated, so they don't even have to have a degree.
Dietitians are trained health and nutrition experts.


I personally think that with 1000 cals, 3 jobs and exercise you wouldn't last very long (as in you could pass out from exhaustion).
Better to take it slower and stay with it longer.

sarahrbraun

I am 5'2" weighing around 165 now I believe. I just completed my annual physical and my Dr. says that I need to take my nutrition and weight loss serious because I am almost calculating into the obese zone of 30 BMI which triples your risk factor for many issues of concern.

I was doing a good job for a few weeks logging my food (staying within my 1,200 calories) and working out Tuesday and Thursday evenings. I slacked a lot on MFP and even in my workouts when I wasn't having the results I was looking for. My Dr. recommended that I reduce my calories to 1,000 and work out at least 5 times a week if I really want to get serious about my weight loss because the regime I was on would only maintain my weight.

I am working 3 jobs trying to get school loans paid off to purchase a home and expand my family and wanted some helpful suggestions on how to get my workouts in and if eating 1,000 calories would put me into the starvation mode and not be as successful for me as 1,200?

Thanks!

I think you need to eat the MFP suggested calories and work out as much as you can. If you really want to change things, try going lower carb for a while. My weight loss jump started when I cut down to 100-120g per day.

I am 5'2" tall and 195lbs. I AM obese, and I cannot imagine trying to workout more on fewer calories. I am getting 1,400 calories or more a day. My weight loss is slow right now, but I am lifting, so that could be contributing.

You could also ask for a referral to a nutritionist...

Katla49

You've received some excellent advice here. I want to urge you to avoid starving yourself and deprivation as strategies to attain a lower weight. I did so, myself, many years ago. I lost the weight during the diet, but when I returned to eating with my family it gradually came back and then some, and some more and... You get the picture. I encourage you to avoid this diet/weight gain merry go round. If you want a medical adviser, I'd suggest consulting with a nutritionist or sports doctor rather than a general practitioner.

My best advice is to eat the same foods you serve your family but use portion control to manage your own calories within sensible limits. Measured dishers and a digital food scale would be good investments and they can be had at moderate prices. Both can be bought online. We ended up with only 3 dishers, 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, and 1/2 cup. The dishers look like ice-cream scoops. They're teaching me how to manage my portions better than anything I've ever tried in the past. You can use ordinary measuring cups, but they aren't as handy.

Good luck. Stick with this bunch. They're the real weight loss experts, everyday people who are successfully losing weight and keeping it off.

dorianaldyn

I'm 5'2" too - I've been eating 1200 calories (technically 1200 net, but I never eat back all of my exercise calories). I also workout every day. This has worked well for me so far (I've lost over 20 lbs since mid-October) - during that time I completed a full round of INSANITY and I also did distance runs on the insanity rest days because I had a previously scheduled half marathon in November that I had to keep training for.

I think 1000 is too low, I also think you should exercise more. Yes, you're busy, but as someone that works more than full time plus has two toddlers plus has to care for my mother who can't totally do it on her own - if I can find time, anyone can! And, for the record, the time that I "find" starts at 4:20 am when my alarm goes off.

Azdak

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Azdak

If you were consistently eating 1200 calories a day, at your weight you should be losing weight. I am not sure what you mean by not seeing "the results I was looking for".

Sometimes it takes longer for some people to get started than others, esp if you aren't doing a lot of exercise. I think that sometimes being overly stressed and overly busy can actually interfere with weight loss--you'd think the extra activity would help, but I think the stress and fatigue tends to work against you--and usually leads to an increased calorie intake.

In this case, I would take the spirit of the recommendations (i.e. you are still in an energy balance) and go from there. I don't think reducing your calorie intake would be productive--I think your problem is not the daily goal, it's consistency. I also think that you need to figure out a way to increase your exercise volume -- and pay particular attention to the quality of the exercise as well. Maybe not to 5 days/week, but more than what you are doing now.

Weebs628

I'm 5'2" and started at 169 pounds. I've lost my weight eating 1,600 calories a day with eating back exercise calories. Don't starve yourself! 1,000 calories sounds awful. I would kill something if I was eating that little.

MommaKit79

See a nutritionist. You are not tall and BMI has been shown not to be as accurate on shorter populations (from a public health perspective).

Make sure your nutritionist measures your waist circumference, which will be a better gauge of your actual health risks. And body fat % is also much more accurate than your weight.

Once you have those numbers, you can figure out what your next steps are.

^^^^THIS!!!! And get a new Doctor! :-) 1000 Cal a day is WAY too low!!

wmagoo27

I am 5'2" weighing around 165 now I believe. I just completed my annual physical and my Dr. says that I need to take my nutrition and weight loss serious because I am almost calculating into the obese zone of 30 BMI which triples your risk factor for many issues of concern.

I was doing a good job for a few weeks logging my food (staying within my 1,200 calories) and working out Tuesday and Thursday evenings. I slacked a lot on MFP and even in my workouts when I wasn't having the results I was looking for. My Dr. recommended that I reduce my calories to 1,000 and work out at least 5 times a week if I really want to get serious about my weight loss because the regime I was on would only maintain my weight.

I am working 3 jobs trying to get school loans paid off to purchase a home and expand my family and wanted some helpful suggestions on how to get my workouts in and if eating 1,000 calories would put me into the starvation mode and not be as successful for me as 1,200?

Thanks!

To begin with, slow down. You don't need to lose weight fast. You're working 3 jobs and already under a lot of stress. The added exercise will add a dimension of physical stress to that and cause more problems. Just be consistent with your logging and feel your way through the weight loss. Give it a few weeks, and if you are not losing weight, then cut 100 or 200 more calories. If you feel really hungry after a few weeks, then up your intake by 100 or 200 calories.

Noone can determine your daily calorie needs for you. You'll have to figure that out, and it'll change a little bit every day. Once you get to a point that you're comfortable with the weight loss and you aren't hungry all of the time, stay there and ride it out until you have lost the weight. Exercising twice a week will do if that is what you can fit into your schedule. As a rule of thumb, when I am under stress and trying to work out, I prioritize work and sleep ahead of any exercise, and then eating after. If I'm running late, I'll go to bed instead of staying up late to get in a workout. Before you know it, the stress in your life will be eased off, then you can really go after the workouts.

edited for spelling