under 1200 does not apply to females under 5'0"?

alana_swiss
alana_swiss Posts: 31
edited January 7 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi I'm not trying to lose weight at the moment I was just curious...

I'm 4'10" and my TDEE is 1400... so If people are supposed to eat at TDEE minus 500 calories to lose a pound a week, would I then need to eat 900 calories per day to lose a pound a week?

I don't advocate under eating but I honestly don't believe that the 'never eat under 1200 calories' rule applies to everyone. For example, It would be extremely unhealthy for a 5'9" woman to be eating 1200 calories everyday but it may not be a bad idea for a 4'9" woman who is very overweight.

Can I get some opinions and reasoning behind those opinions? Please don't be rude. It's an honest question...

Replies

  • vanguardfitness
    vanguardfitness Posts: 720 Member
    you don't get enough nutrients (vitamins/minerals) from eating that low. Its better to increase activity to be able to eat at least 1200 cals a day w/o getting fatter
  • alana_swiss
    alana_swiss Posts: 31
    Thanks for the reply.

    but how does one measure how much of a certain nutrient they require?... for example... a woman who is 5'9" would need more protein than a woman who is 4'8"...
  • AntShanny
    AntShanny Posts: 359 Member
    1400 seem really low for your TDEE, are you sure that's not your BMR?
  • alana_swiss
    alana_swiss Posts: 31
    I'm 4'10" and 90lbs. According to the Scooby calculator, my BMR is around 1200 and my TDEE is 1400. It does seem very low in comparison to the others on MFP but I'm fine eating at that amount.
  • alana_swiss
    alana_swiss Posts: 31
    Any other opinions?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I agree, 1200 is not the magic number for everyone. However, it is much harder to get the proper nutrition when eating less, so you need to focus on eating a lot of nutrient dense foods.
    The other thing I would like to point out is that 500 is not a magic number either. Generally that is for a goal of 1lb a week weight loss. The closer you are to goal weight, the smaller the weight loss per week goal should be. If you have less than 20lbs to lose, it is suggested that you aim for .5lb per week, that would be 250 per week. Or you could go by percentages, which I have read a lot of people suggest, especially for those with lower TDEE. A 20% deficit would be 300 calories less as opposed to 500.
    For those who don't want to cut so low, adding in exercise will allow you to eat more and still maintain a deficit.

    Also, at 4'10 and 90lbs you are in the normal range for BMI. What is your goal?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    1400 seem really low for your TDEE, are you sure that's not your BMR?

    At 4'10, and 90 lbs, her BMR estimate is around 1235. If she is sedentary, 1482 is the figure I come up with for her for TDEE.
  • ubermensch13
    ubermensch13 Posts: 824 Member
    it isn't TDEE minus 500, it is tdee minus 20%. Because you are so small, your weight loss will be slower because you can't drop safely to a 3500 cal deficit a week.
  • millerll
    millerll Posts: 873 Member
    Thanks for the reply.

    but how does one measure how much of a certain nutrient they require?... for example... a woman who is 5'9" would need more protein than a woman who is 4'8"...

    Hi! Good question here! I highly recommend you check out this article. I answers your questions about what to eat, how much of each macronutrient, etc., based on body weight and activity level. I've used Steve's methods for about a year now with great success. It's simple and it works. Good luck!

    http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    At your age, moving more should be your approach, not eating less.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Protein suggestions I've gotten are per pound of LBM and fat is per pound of body weight, so yes, someone smaller and lighter wouldn't need as much.

    Still your TDEE is so low partly because you are so light. If you were to cut 500 calories that would be too steep a deficit for you.

    1200 isn't a magic number, but you also would want to be really careful lowering your intake below that. If I were you and wanting to lose some I'd keep my intake at 1200 and exercise more if you needed a deeper deficit, but I don't think you should need much more deficit than that.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Protein suggestions I've gotten are per pound of LBM and fat is per pound of body weight, so yes, someone smaller and lighter wouldn't need as much.


    Yes.
    Also, to clarify , when I was talking about nutrients, I meant micronutrients as opposed to macronutrients. Like she said, protein requirements are based on LBM, whereas things like vitamins and minerals aren't.
  • nancybuss
    nancybuss Posts: 1,461 Member
    Great question/answers. I'm the same height. Its stinks, us shorties like to eat too. I'm at 97/98 pounds though
  • alana_swiss
    alana_swiss Posts: 31
    Thank you for all the insightful comments :)
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    At your age, moving more should be your approach, not eating less.

    And personally, I didn't have much weight to lose, and I'm of the opinion you should have a smaller cut the closer you are to skinny...'cause thats a lot of cals to take off someone who's already close to under weight ie harder to get nutrients in.
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