calories - women

Peanutbutterx

So, women are supposed to have 1200 calories a day but if i eat 1200 i gain weight- even if its healthy stuff that i'm eating. I'm 5'1 and normally eat 700-900 calories a day and am able to maintain my weight. I have a friend who is 5'7 and if she eats 1200 a day, she looses weight.. so my question is should calories be different for shorter and taller women?

pplf2001

yes - you need to calculate your BMR and TDEE to figure out what you need. There is no magic 1200 number. Search for "in place of a road map" on the message boards. There's a pretty lengthy, but good, explanation.

Peanutbutterx

thanks much, ill do that

cutie_patootie

It could be that even though you are eating healthy, it doesn't suit you well and hence the weight gain? I lose weight on limiting my carbs even those from vegetables. But if i eat salads even without any dressing, i may be eating healthy but food that is wrong for me..

Emtabo01

I'm 5'7, 32yo and am losing weight, slowly but steadily, eating 2200-2400 calories a day.

greyoutside

You should do a thorough overview of macro and micronutrient consumption. It may be that you are not getting everything that your body needs, and so it is holding onto fat unnecessarily. It's probably better to tweak your macronutrients a bit than to continue to eat very little - because eating so little has the potential to absolutely destroy your metabolism and body down the road if your body is not actually getting what it needs. It's also not necessarily the amount of calories that you are taking in, but it is very difficult to get enough essential nutrients at so few calories.