5'3" girls at healthy weight who eat over 1700 Help!

stephaniethomas80
stephaniethomas80 Posts: 190 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
About a week ago I wisened up about how much I should be eating. Throughout most of my journey I ate between 1200-1400 cals daily. I was hungry and cranky and had no motivation to workout. I realized if I am to maintain this lifestyle I need to make some big changes. I've read IPOARM several times but was too afraid to be a follower. I decided to up my cals to 1700 and I eat back exercise calories (generally 200 a day via HRM). I'm aware I will gain some weight and it will be awhile before I start to lose again. I am 5'3" 128.5 lbs. I do 3 to 5 days of strength training (CLX) and about 3 days if cardio ( jogging or HIIT). I would like to hear some experiences other girls similar in size have had with upping calories. How long before weight started coming back off and how many calories a day you all consume. My goal weight is 120 lbs. thank you :)
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Replies

  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 2,951 Member
    well mine never did :( i upped mine and i also am doing clx and i still haven't reached my goal weight. I don't mind as long as clx is getting the body fat off, but i haven't seen much improvement with that either yet :( i too was doing around 1400 and now i am doing min 1400 on no exercise days and i try 1600 on exercise days, i have gone up to 1800 if i am super super hungry.
  • stephaniethomas80
    stephaniethomas80 Posts: 190 Member
    I've read it can take weeks sometimes months for the body to adjust to eating more. I'm close enough to goal where I'm not too concerned with putting on a few lbs for awhile but I do eventually want it to come off along with the rest of my goal pounds
  • bnorris2013
    bnorris2013 Posts: 256 Member
    I am 5'2 and while i still have a ways to go but here is my experience
    Keep in mind everyone is different so everyone has to do figure out what works for them

    Its rare that there is a day that I don't exercise as I exercise 7 days a week - For light days I might just do 20 minutes of cardio

    But now if I were not to exercise for the day or only do 20 minutes or less of exercise then I eat just what ever or at least within 100 calories under what ever MFP gives me so I will try and eat between 1270-1370 calories

    On days that I do 30 or more minutes of exercise then I like to have a surplus of about 500 calories - So if I burn say 1100 calories in cardio I will eat my 1370 that MFP gives me and then I will eat back about 600 of the calories I earned

    THIS Is what works for my body
    You will need to figure out what works for yours

    Yesterday not only did I eat my 1370 calories but I ate an additional 1917 calories and woke up this morning and lost .2 lbs
    Because I busted my hump and worked out to where I burned 2444 calories for the day (I am way heavier then you so my cardio burns alot more then yours would)

    Don't starve yourself to where you are cranky figure out what calorie intake makes you feel good and then figure out how much exercise you need to compensate for eating more this way you can still lose weight but eat more
  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 2,951 Member
    I've read it can take weeks sometimes months for the body to adjust to eating more. I'm close enough to goal where I'm not too concerned with putting on a few lbs for awhile but I do eventually want it to come off along with the rest of my goal pounds

    i have been doing this for a good 6 months now ( eating more). i just go up and down the same few lbs. I did gain 1.5 lbs that has never come back off no matter how hard i tried. I was close enough to goal too but really need to lower my body fat!
  • stephaniethomas80
    stephaniethomas80 Posts: 190 Member
    Bump
  • stephaniethomas80
    stephaniethomas80 Posts: 190 Member
    Anyone?
  • carchie94
    carchie94 Posts: 45
    I'm 5'4-ish. Around your weight. My calorie intake varies. A lot. Sometimes, like today, I have to force myself to eat. Othertimes, I will go over my calorie intake drastically. But, before last week, I ate around 2000-ish calories a day. Maintained around 127 since October last year. I've only put on more muscle, according to calipers, so I guess I've lost fat.

    From what I've read, you're supposed to slowly up your calories in 100 intervals. Do that for a few weeks, check gain, add 100 more until you're at maintenance. I've never done it, though. Perhaps I should.
  • Asterie
    Asterie Posts: 159 Member
    Hey! I consume around 1800 calories a day and exercise 6 days a week (Beachbody Insanity). It took about two weeks for the weight to start coming off again, but I don't know if that's because of the increase in calories or because of my muscles retaining water from Insanity. Either way, I've stopped depending on the scale as much and I measure myself every week--I've lost inches every week. So if the scale isn't budging, I recommend measuring yourself; it might be that your muscles are just retaining water but you actually are getting thinner! Hope this helps. (:

    ETA: I'm 5'3", too!
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    I'm 5'1" I'm at a healthy body fat percentage (22ish) and I eat a lot of calories in a day. I'm maintaining my weight and working out with the intention of getting strong. i was eating 1850 cals/day and losing weight very slowly at this number, I'm currently eating more than this, probably around 1900-2000 a day. I'm doing heavy lifting and I'm trying to gain a little weight, although I'm not tracking my food, I'm just eating lots of protein when i'm hungry. I'm doing weights 3x a week (stronglifts 5x5) and no cardio presently.
  • SarahSmilesCA
    SarahSmilesCA Posts: 261 Member
    There are people on the board who have been successful at your weight with a similar protcol, the reason I know is I am at your height, and I look for people like you who have "made it" like you that are in my height category doing the MFP program and it seems to work, though it is really scary to up the calories and everyone remarks about it until it starts to work. Every time I approach more than 1800 calories I get nervous, even if I have been working out hard and earned extra calories (my work out schedule is like yours)

    I really think you are on the right track. Cranky is NEVER a good thing, well except maybe during fasted training (do you do Intermittent Fasting?), so adding calories was probably the RIGHT thing for you. Only time will tell.

    Maybe more people will respond in the morning.
  • SarahSmilesCA
    SarahSmilesCA Posts: 261 Member
    BTW you look great and your results are very inspiring.. :)
  • stephaniethomas80
    stephaniethomas80 Posts: 190 Member
    There are people on the board who have been successful at your weight with a similar protcol, the reason I know is I am at your height, and I look for people like you who have "made it" like you that are in my height category doing the MFP program and it seems to work, though it is really scary to up the calories and everyone remarks about it until it starts to work. Every time I approach more than 1800 calories I get nervous, even if I have been working out hard and earned extra calories (my work out schedule is like yours)

    I really think you are on the right track. Cranky is NEVER a good thing, well except maybe during fasted training (do you do Intermittent Fasting?), so adding calories was probably the RIGHT thing for you. Only time will tell.

    Maybe more people will respond in the morning.

    Thank you :) I used to do intermittent fasting but I'm finding I feel better if I spread my meals out
  • stephaniethomas80
    stephaniethomas80 Posts: 190 Member
    Hey! I consume around 1800 calories a day and exercise 6 days a week (Beachbody Insanity). It took about two weeks for the weight to start coming off again, but I don't know if that's because of the increase in calories or because of my muscles retaining water from Insanity. Either way, I've stopped depending on the scale as much and I measure myself every week--I've lost inches every week. So if the scale isn't budging, I recommend measuring yourself; it might be that your muscles are just retaining water but you actually are getting thinner! Hope this helps. (:

    ETA: I'm 5'3", too!
    I measure once a month in several places
  • estelle74uk
    estelle74uk Posts: 465 Member
    Hi im 5'2 and eating around 2000, and am maintaining at the mo at 111lbs and have done for a few months now. Im heavy lifting and doing 3 x spin per week. :)
  • stephaniethomas80
    stephaniethomas80 Posts: 190 Member
    Hi im 5'2 and eating around 2000, and am maintaining at the mo at 111lbs and have done for a few months now. Im heavy lifting and doing 3 x spin per week. :)

    Amazing! I want to be able to eventfully maintain at a calorie intake like this
  • estelle74uk
    estelle74uk Posts: 465 Member
    Its lovely because i get to eat loads!! I was always on and off with 1000/1200 cal diet and it was rubbish! Always ended up going over all the time. Its not sustainable at all. You will get there :) Im just finding that as long as I do the cardio, which is very intense, i can not put on. Sometimes I even go over the 2000 mark, but at least now I know that im not going to be starving when i go back onto eating properly.

    Eating more fats as well :)
  • xampx
    xampx Posts: 323 Member
    I am 5ft 3 but not at a healthy weight.
    I eat about 1650 plus 80-100% of my exercise calories (my main exercise is weight training) and I lose fairly consistantly.
    1650 is my BMR
  • JustMQ
    JustMQ Posts: 63 Member
    I am 5'3", currently around 130 llbs, and eat about 1700cals/day. Like you, I ate around 1200 cals/day (I was previously on Weight Watchers). Although the weight did initially come off, I hit a giant plateau and was craaaaaankyyyyy! I got fed up, found MFP and quit WW. I started on their recommended 1200 cals/day but still didn't lose weight no matter how much I exercised. Then I started reading about my BMR and TDEE, thought why not, and started eating more. Guess what? The weight started coming off again!! Oh, I guess I should also mention that I exercise 3-5 days and week, doing cardio and weight everyday, alternating my weights from upper to lower body.
    I don't eat back my exercise calories because I have already factored them into my TDEE. Saying that, if I have an extra intense workout, I will eat if I am hungry. No more starving myself!
  • Kst76
    Kst76 Posts: 935 Member
    I've read it can take weeks sometimes months for the body to adjust to eating more. I'm close enough to goal where I'm not too concerned with putting on a few lbs for awhile but I do eventually want it to come off along with the rest of my goal pounds

    Hmmm, it should not take months for your body to adjust to a couple of hundred more calories. If you gain weight you are eating too much.
  • stephaniethomas80
    stephaniethomas80 Posts: 190 Member
    I've read it can take weeks sometimes months for the body to adjust to eating more. I'm close enough to goal where I'm not too concerned with putting on a few lbs for awhile but I do eventually want it to come off along with the rest of my goal pounds

    Hmmm, it should not take months for your body to adjust to a couple of hundred more calories. If you gain weight you are eating too much.

    Even the IPOARM guy says that with strength training weight will increase a bit
  • Kst76
    Kst76 Posts: 935 Member
    I've read it can take weeks sometimes months for the body to adjust to eating more. I'm close enough to goal where I'm not too concerned with putting on a few lbs for awhile but I do eventually want it to come off along with the rest of my goal pounds

    Hmmm, it should not take months for your body to adjust to a couple of hundred more calories. If you gain weight you are eating too much.

    Even the IPOARM guy says that with strength training weight will increase a bit

    OK. When I was weight training I lost weight from burning fat. But you might have less to loose than I had at the time.
  • RepsnSets
    RepsnSets Posts: 805 Member
    Hi, Im 5 3" and since I increased my calories to 2149 (not eating back exercise cals) My weight is dropping.

    I workout 6 days a week 4 days are heavy lifting. Have only discvoered that I wasnt eating enough for the amount of burn I was doing DOH! lol
  • Diamond05
    Diamond05 Posts: 475 Member
    Bump
  • stephaniethomas80
    stephaniethomas80 Posts: 190 Member
    Hi, Im 5 3" and since I increased my calories to 2149 (not eating back exercise cals) My weight is dropping.

    I workout 6 days a week 4 days are heavy lifting. Have only discvoered that I wasnt eating enough for the amount of burn I was doing DOH! lol
    That's awesome! I hope to get my calorie intake higher than 1700 eventually. I seem to keep gaining and losing the same couple of pounds. I'm trying to be patient
  • talisamb
    talisamb Posts: 65 Member
    I am 5 4" I range from 130-135 pounds and I maintain in the 1800-2000 range. I was eating the stupid 1200 while heavy lifting 4-5 days per week with cardio. Way too low! I ruined my metabolism and had to repair it by eating at TDEE for over a month. I gained during that time but the weight came off instantly once I started slowly reducing calories again.
  • teeya1984
    teeya1984 Posts: 33 Member
    i lost weight like crazy eating 1200 calories a day but like everyone has said - it makes you cranky and fatigued all day. it's not realistic. last fall i decided to up my calories to about 1700-1900 and i still kept losing weight. since that time i have gotten really lazy (stopped working out and started eating 2500 calories) and my weight has plateaued....go figure (just started back here a couple weeks ago).

    my point is this - i'm 5'3 and yes, i did lose weight working out and eating 1200 calories per day. HOWEVER, i also lost weight eating 1700-1900 calories a day and working out. and lets face it - its way easier to make a lifestyle change if you can actually stick to the lifestyle.

    good luck :)
  • alibab36
    alibab36 Posts: 51 Member
    I am 5ft 3ins and 123 lbs . I strength train 3 days a week and do very little cardio i do walk briskly another 2 days a week . I am the same weight now give or take a few pounds down the way for the last 3 years so my aim is maintainance . I am trying to cut about 2 per cent body fat to reach my ultimate goal but not lose weight .

    I don't log on here for cals but i eat around 2,000 calories a day most days sometime over and sometimes under but this is my norm . I would not survive on under this my body needs fuel .
  • stephaniethomas80
    stephaniethomas80 Posts: 190 Member
    It's definitely important to find an amount of calories you can stick with for life. Thanks for all the replies ladies ;)
  • karenmi
    karenmi Posts: 242 Member
    I seem to be one of the few who has not found eating more successful.

    After losing 50 lbs at 1200/day (& eating back exercise calories), keeping it off for 18 months, I gained 10 lbs over a few months (bad eating habits crept in again). I tried going back to 1200/day, eating exercise calories but didn't lose anything. I too was a bit cranky and hungry.

    The begining of May I started the TDEE method, eating 1800 calories/day and not eating back exercise calories. I started a bootcamp April 1st so am working out less (only 4 times a week) but working out harder. My previous workouts consisted of 30 minutes of cardio (treadmill) and 30 minutes of lifting, buring about 400 calories/workout 5-6 times a week. The bootcamps are much harder and I burn approx 600 calories/workout.

    I am sad to report that I have gained almost 5 lbs since May 3rd. I am now 15 lbs over where I was one year ago and very frustrated. And don't tell me it's 5 lbs of muscle, that would be impossible for a woman and even hard for a man to gain 5 lbs of pure muscle in one month.
  • karenmi
    karenmi Posts: 242 Member
    I am 5 4" I range from 130-135 pounds and I maintain in the 1800-2000 range. I was eating the stupid 1200 while heavy lifting 4-5 days per week with cardio. Way too low! I ruined my metabolism and had to repair it by eating at TDEE for over a month. I gained during that time but the weight came off instantly once I started slowly reducing calories again.

    I sure hope that ^^ is my experience, but as you will see from my previous post I've done nothing but gain since starting TDEE 3 weeks ago.

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