Hi everyone!

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absinthia70
absinthia70 Posts: 56 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I'm new here again, just started last week. I'm 42, mom of 3, and trying to be happier and happier when I look in the mirror again. I'm 5'1", and right now 171 lbs. (started at 180). I'm on b-12/phentermine and seem to be stalled already :( The first week I lost 9 lbs! This week so far is only 1 lb., but I think I was not eating enough (was eating 700-900 calories a day). My doctor had said to eat 1000 -1200 in little meals throughout the day, so I am trying to get back up to that now. Looking for friends and any advice!

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  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
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    Eating in small portions is the way to go, your doctor knows what he's talking about. If you cut your calories too drastically and keep regular meal intervals of 5-6 hours (like between breakfast, lunch, and dinner), your body will think it's starving and go into starvation mode where it consumes less calories and preserves body fat. Eating small portions every 2-3 hours will convince your body that food is not scarce, so it doesn't freak out.
  • nczuczu
    nczuczu Posts: 611 Member
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    Welcome to MFP! I think you are stalling because you are not eating enough calories. I am not a doctor or a dietician, but from everything I've read, a woman should never go below 1200 calories. Remember, food is fuel. Your body needs it to sustain your life! I use a calorie deficit calculator to help me figure out how many calories I should be eating. I have had success and lost 21 lbs in nearly 3 months.

    According to the information you provided, a woman at your age, height, weight and exercise level, needs to eat 1777 calories to sustain life. Here are the deficit amounts:

    15% deficit - 1511
    20% deficit - 1422
    25% deficit - 1333
    30% deficit - 1244

    I think your bare minimum you should eat is 1244. Also, if you are exercising, you would want to eat back those calories.

    this is just my opinion.
  • bzmommy34
    bzmommy34 Posts: 229 Member
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    Hi there! This is a great place to be if you use it to it's full potential. It's a perfect tool for learning how to be healthy and fit, not just skinny.

    I too am just over 5'1 and I started this journey on my own at 186.6 lbs two years ago, came to MFP at 175.5 in early Dec, 2012 and am now at 152 with nearly 30 inches gone. This site works wonders if you are willing to put the work in.

    I eat, at a minimum, my BMR which currently is 1342. There are days when I eat back 60% of my exercise cals, days when I eat them all and there are days when I don't eat any of them. I do strive to NEVER go under my BMR though for actual food consumption.

    I workout 6 days a week, generally burning 300-600 cals per day.

    I drink TONS of water.

    I take a few supplements and a multi-vitamin.

    I have spent HOURS and HOURS researching nutrition and have applied many aspects of clean eating to my food choices however I still allow myself some favorites.

    This is what works for ME. It's been a lot of trial and error, changing things up here and there and giving it time to see what really works and what doesn't. It'll take time, but you'll find your way. Be patient - you CAN do this!

    My best advice is to really educate yourself. There is TONS of awesome people on the forums that really know there stuff. And then there are TONS of crazy people that - well, you'll be able to pick them out. ;)

    Good luck - work hard - it'll happen!

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