I'm 5'0" and eat 1500 calories. My story of weight loss.

williamsge

Bump...I have to read this later. I'm 4'11 and I have 55 pounds to lose ...

Deekay8008

Great thread! I started this two weeks ago, weighed today, lost 2lb's in a week, have 56 to lose at least, 31yrs and 5 foot 2. I've started on the 1200 (2 pound loss) and yesterday changed it to 1.5 pound loss target, which gained me an extra 70 cals, so 1270 allowance. Just started going to the gym 2 - 3 times a week. After reading so much tonight it's clear to me that I should probably be taking in nearer to 1500 to ensure I don't lower my metabolism and reach a plateau. I think I will make sure I eat at least 1500 on gym days for a start. After I lose the first 14 pounds I think I will start upping my calories by about 100 a week, I need to lose the first 14 fast to keep me motivated towards my diet change, I may be eating less calories at the moment, but I am also eating a better range of foods and more fruit and veg so that can only be a good thing.

BuffytheTimTamSlayer

Thank you for this thread because I am 5.0 and a 187 pounds. I have a diet plan from my gym but I was using myfitness plan calorie counter of 1200 cal per day. I have been so hungry throughout the day as I have been going to the gym 5 days a week. I just realised my gym had me on 1500 calories a day so thank you because this made me revisit my goals and change it. I have been missing out on 400-500 calories a day!! No wonder I have had no energy!!

mareeee1234

Thanks for this !!

I'm 5'0.5, and was doing extreme cardio 6/7 days a week, eating 1200-1300 calories,

Its been a week now, since upping my calories and doing Stronglifts rather than cardio everyday!

Thanks for the inspo, I think this will work Just need to be patient with the initial gain before the loss!

AmyRhubarb

Brilliant post - thanks for sharing your success!

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

I'm 5'2 and just like everyone else, I started out at 1200 calories ignorantly following MFP's uber low recommendations which is mostly geared with US setting. I live in a 3rd world Asian country where the vast majority of people don't own a car and so definitely I have a very different lifestyle compared to my American brothers and sisters and while I have a deskjob that MFP classifies as sedentary but here since the majority commute daily so we walk a lot and I walk more than 2km everyday & soon I realized that 1200 calories is not practical at all and that I was always hungry and grumpy all the time.

While I think TDEE/BMR/etc. strategies are certainly valid, I think MFP unfairly gets a bad rap for the "low" calorie settings. If you are walking that much a day, I think MFP intends for you to either 1) not classify yourself as sedentary or 2) log that as exercise done for the day, for which you will "earn" more calories.

I understand about this. However for a newbie, this is definitely very confusing especially the way MFP classifies activity level based on your daily routine. I work desk job for 8 hours and according to MFP, I am sedentary. Even if I'm far from sedentary given that I walk a lot and commute from work to home everyday and also clean house the old fashioned way 3x a week but since I have this type of job so I followed MFP. But even if I did fit into the sedentary label, still 1200 calories is way too low and my BMR alone is 1330 calories. Yes I lost the weight at 1200 calories but a lot of it came from muscle and not fat which is why I ended up skinny-fat 52kg (115 lbs.) at 26% body fat when I first got into my goal weight late 2011, not to mention that I felt weaker and couldn't even do a single push-up and this considering that I have a naturally strong body and in fact when I was 11 years old, I was always lifting with my one hand a 20kg very heavy grocery bag that my mom couldn't lift. Perhaps 1200 calories work best for obese people who can afford to have a large calorie deficit but only for a short period of time. Also I think it works best to zigzag from 1200 low calorie days & 1600 high calorie days. But sustaining a 1200 calorie diet for long periods of time isn't right.

DizzyLinds

For years i ate at a huge deficit. As well as having a active job as a pe teacher, i was doing large amounts of cardio at least 4 times a week. My typical session would be 15 min run, 45 min spin then an hour of body pump. I'd often do back to back classes such as combat, aerobics and more running. I was probably burning 500+ cals per workout but was eating around 1200 cals max. I was weak, tired, suffered badly with Raynauds (poor circulation), moody. It affected my relationship i was in too as i was so obsessive. I'm about 4ft 11 and weighed around 120lbs/52kg. I was the complete definiton of skinny fat.

I got so fed up of this and after educating myself by reading on MFP and speaking to people on here i decided to gradually up my calories and try a different approach to training. I sorted out my macros so i was eating much more protein and good fats. I've tried very hard to change my negative thoughts about food and see it as a fuel for my workouts. I've done this since November 2011. I now aim for 1700. I worked this figure out using TDEE-15%. I'm still not sure if this is a correct amount.

Since making changes i have gained weight and my body has changed. I quit doing endless amounts of cardio and now mainly lift heavy and do less cardio. The gym felt more of a chore before as i knew how long i'd be there. I'm still curvy but much stronger. I have a lot more energy and am less tired. I still fret about my weight as i know the extra pounds are more noticable on smaller women. I feel a bit more confident. Don't get me wrong i still stress about the scale but i know what i was doing before was probably unhealthy for my mind and body, especially long term. I'm still trying to find that happy calorie consumption balance too. I notice now as i'm nearing my 30's that losing weight is that bit more difficult.

lys1122

Thank you for posting this and sharing your experience! I have been trying to convince myself to up my calories for some time and I think I just need to do it! Reading this and all of the responses definitely helps my decision! 1200 calories is so low and very difficult to have a normal lifestyle on. I lost 30 pounds on another program, maintained it for about 4 years now and I just started gaining about 5-8 pounds of it back so I came to mfp. I tried 1200-1300 calories and I just end up getting hungry, going over my goals, feeling frustrated and VERY discouraged. Maybe if I'm a little nicer to myself and not setting myself up for failure - this will actually work! Let's give this a try!

TT_luvs_fitness

bookmarking so I can come back and read more later. I am 5'2"

laura6009

bumpx

Tdacks

Thanks for posting this. I have only been on MFP for a month or so, and have been changing my goal calories like every week trying to find the right balance. Last week, I did the calculations on fat2fit, and a few other places and took an average of my body fat %. They were all over the place, depending on what part it wanted measured. I guess I am not quite proportioned to standard (these hips, they are not lying...)

I'm set at 1400 for the last week, and eating all my exercise calories. I'm feeling pretty good, and losing a little, too

Coquette6

Thank you so much for posting this! It's great to hear from someone my size. I hear about people eating more, and I think, well that's great for you, you're eight inches taller than I am, and I don't have that much caloric room to spare. But if you can do it, then I'm sold.

hestia1986

I am 5'1'' and started my weightloss journey almost 3 months ago I netted at 1200 for 2 months, but ate anywhere from 1200 to 2000 kcal a day - depending on exercise. A few weeks ago I upped my calories to my BMR (according to one of the formulas) - 1340 kcal. I rarely feel hungry and haven't felt more tired than starting. If I want to eat more, I train more
Oh and I have been losing more than a pound every week

2essie

can someone tell me what/where BMR and TDEE are? I am 5'2" and would like to investigate those sites for a proper calories goal. Thanks.

You can Google Scooby calculator for your tdee and bmr

summergirl212

I really appreciate this post. I am 5'8 and only want to lose about 15 lbs but have been eating 1200 calories. I know that it isn't good for me but it's hard to rationalize eating more so I've been having a net closer to 900-1100 some days which I know isn't healthy or sustainable. Plus, this week I didn't even lose any weight! If anything was a sign, that was, and I'm going to make sure to eat back ALL of my exercise calories and probably raise my calorie goal.

Thanks for opening my eyes.

pineygirl

Thanks for posting that. I'm also 5' (well...151.5cm..so close enough)...and 118lbs. I've been under eating for a really long time, even when not actively trying to lose weight. I got married in September and was 112lbs on my wedding day (9/29/12). I had lost weight before my wedding because I had trouble eating due to anxiety from wedding planning and work.

I managed to gain 6 lbs since then I suppose since wedding planning anxiety ended and I was actually able to eat more since I didn't have a nervous stomach anymore.

I had this horrible habit of eating about 600 calories a day on weekdays because I didn't eat breakfast or lunch, worked 10-12 hours a day and came home and had an after work snack at 7:30-8pm and a "healthy" dinner around 9pm. Then on weekends I'd be a lazy sloth and eat probably 2500-3000 calories a day. It was just setting me up to gain weight.

I'm now trying to net around 1400-1500 calories a day. Haven't seen the scale move yet, but I didn't see it move at 1000-1200 so I'm guessing my body was just used to being under fed.

I feel a little better on a higher caloric intake, and I still haven't see the scale move upward either.

My goal is to get down to 105.

veggieluver2

Great post! Thank you!

I wish MFP would retire the "1200" cal a day!

I'm almost 49, 5' 0" and fluctuate between 108-110. At my age you would think my metabolism would slow down a lot. But, I'm netting at least 1500-2000 per day. Muscle burns calories all day!

I work out at least 6 days a week and do a mix of cardio and heavy weights. Women, do not be afraid of the heavy weights. GEEZ! I saw a girl today doing biceps curls with 7.5 dumb bells, really?!?! Waste of time. 5x5 stronglifts is the way to go.

KeepGoingRhonda

Love it!! I starting with EM2Wl in October...eating at my TDEE , now I am trying to find the "sweet spot" to begin losing! Thanks for sharing!

Pepper2185

Im glad you shared this!

I hope others read it. You've taken a realistic and sustainable approach to weight loss - high five!!!

rebecadlopez

Thanks for sharing is really interesting how the body works in so many different ways>>> you look really good also is good to have what u said in mind