Ladies about 5'4" and 145lbs - calorie goal?

tyediri
tyediri Posts: 183 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi ladies!

So I have been on MFP for awhile, the first time about 2 years ago when I was given a calorie goal of 1250kcals (I was about 160lbs). I lost about 20 pounds, although I always went over the limit by a 100 or 200kcals and ate my exercise calories back (I used to go to gym about 3-4 times a week and walked to and from the gym). However, other than going to gym I didn't really do much during the day as I was unemployed after uni and spent my whole day online applying for jobs, etc and would nap during the day.

I stopped for over a year and gained most of my weight back. I started again about a month ago at 149lbs and was given a calorie target of 1240kcals. I work now from 8.30am to 5pm, walk to and from work, walk to and from gym and work out 3-4 days a week at the gym again. I now tend to stick to my calorie goal most of the time and when I exercise I don't eat all of my calories back, and leave 100-200kcals 'just in case'. I was feeling awesome and lost weight (3.5lbs in 3 weeks), but lately I have been feeling tired and sleepy all the time (even though I have plenty of sleep, over 8 hours a night) and have been feeling dizzy at the gym constantly. I am starting to think that maybe I need more than 1240kcals a day?

I changed my daily goal to 1400kcals manually today, but I was wondering how much your calorie goals are if you are roughly my size? I want to lose weight, but I also want to be fit and healthy, even at the expense of maybe slowing down the rate of weight loss. I'm not sure if 1400kcals is average for someone my size or if it is too much/too little?

Any help will be much appreciated. And also, I do log all my walking as exercise, and the initial 1240kcals were calculated based on a sedentary lifestyle.

Replies

  • tyediri
    tyediri Posts: 183 Member
    Anyone?
  • elsyoommen
    elsyoommen Posts: 155 Member
    I am 5'4" but I'm 20lbs heavier than you. I'm aiming to get back to about 135lbs.My trainer has me on 1600 cals per day (exercise at least 3x per week plus walking every day) but mostly sedentary otherwise), I tend to veer toward a higher protein ratio.

    I think you might want to calculate your TDEE etc - many here use the calculator on Scooby: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    However you might also want to check with your doctor - as you could have low iron or another issue?
  • Unknown
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  • QuincyChick
    QuincyChick Posts: 269 Member
    I am 5'4, 150ish.

    I have been doing TDEE-18% or so, which puts me at 1700.
  • sarahellenx
    sarahellenx Posts: 27
    5'4" and 137lbs - 1220 kcal a day, just because thats what MFP tells me to do and im getting by on it!

    some people swear by TDEE - 20% however; the links the others have provided in comments above mine are excellent :)
  • chubalina
    chubalina Posts: 30 Member
    Hey, 5'3 145 here. I, like you work out 3/4 times a week. My calories are set to 1200. I usually go over by a little when I work out but no more than 1400 calories if I want to lose weight. Feel free to add me if you'd like.
  • steph0924
    steph0924 Posts: 78 Member
    I am 5'3 and range between 150 and 160 mostly. I had gotten down to 145 and stayed there for about a year and a half. In order to lose weight, I mostly would eat about 1300-1400 calories per day with an occasional day at 1600. I did so good staying that weight without really trying for all that time and I have no idea what my calories were during that time because I didn't log. But with life changes and stress and overeating this year, I am now back up to 160. So, I will do the same routine I always do, cut the calories back to lose the weight. This time though once I get to a weight I am happy with, I am going to log my maintenance calories to see what that needs to be. Also to add, I workout a bunch, maybe 5 days a week. I run a bit, but mostly to programs like P90X and Chalean Extreme where I try to lift with some cardio.
  • Smilely3
    Smilely3 Posts: 21 Member
    Hello,
    You can check web MD Bimini calculator. You will get a more realistic goal that takes body figure into account like pear and apple bottom. body may get a different goal for healthy weight.
  • quaarific
    quaarific Posts: 2
    Around 1200 calories was rough for me. If I did it for more than 2 days in a row, I would get really dizzy. You could have low iron. I have low iron which could be the cause of dizziness. I'm at 1450 on MFP with exercising about 2-3 times a week plus regular walking. About a year and a half ago I lost 45 pounds (over the course of 2.5 years) with freedieting.com, then gained about 20 of that back, but am losing weight again trying to get down to 135, then push on to 125. I'm a little taller at about 5'7, and just under 150.

    Never heard of TDEE, I'll look into that...
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    How old are you? I'm 35, 5'5" (well, 5'4 3/4"), 148 lbs now and I've been losing great at 1600 calories. I walk one hour a day in average (some days 30 minutes, some days 90), with some strength training here and there, and that's about it (plus the random groceries trips etc).

    You look much younger than me so I'd say you can probably eat more than you do.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    25, 5'3", 143, 1750 calorie goal.
  • tyediri
    tyediri Posts: 183 Member
    Thank you all for your replies! It does look like I can eat more and lose, so yay! :)

    I am 26 years old.

    I have calculated my TDEE to be around 1700 kcals. Have taken 20% off and it came close to 1400 kcals, so I will use this number for a while and see what happens.

    Also, I am a regular blood donor, so my blood iron levels are checked every 4-5 months at least. I was anaemic as a teenager, but haven't been since, so hopefully that is not it. I do tend to sometimes get low blood sugar and low blood pressure, but I always have a snack before exercising because of this.

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