Ladies at 5' 2", some help please!

AshwinA7
AshwinA7 Posts: 102 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all,

I'm trying to help my sister with her weight loss journey and I'm having a little bit of trouble calculating her daily caloric goal.

At 5' 2" and 150 lbs her BMR is 1395 and her TDEE (BMR x 1.2 for sedentary) is around 1674 calories.

However, if she were to subtract 20% from this amount it would be around 1339 which is actually below or at her BMR.

Subtracting 500 calories a day from her TDEE of 1674 would actually put her UNDER her BMR. Something tells me that isn't healthy.

Are there any ladies here at a similar height/weight who can shed some light on what your daily caloric limits you've used that you've had success with?

Replies

  • casebooks
    casebooks Posts: 2 Member
    I'm 5'2 and when not working out at all I lost 4 lbs in two weeks eating 1400 calories. I started out at 143 lbs. Working out for 40-60 minutes a day, I eat around 1700 and lose about 1, but I don't feel cranky or tired like I did when eating 1400.

    Are you absolutely sure she's sedentary? Many people choose the wrong activity level. If so, and she can't work out or get any more activity, you might want to calculate with a lower number than 20%. She'd still lose at a 15% or 10% calorie deficit, it would just take a little longer. I think it's best to start out at something more sustainable.

    Hope that helps a bit.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    I would say choose a smaller deficit. Probably like 15%.

    And I agree, is she truly sedentary? If she's going to exercise at all, you need to account for that.

    I *personally* eat 1700 and lose about 1 lbs/week, sometimes more, but I also exercise.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    I am 5'2 and eat between 1800-2000 calories, have my TDEE activity level set at moderate.
  • Emmie112
    Emmie112 Posts: 121 Member
    I'm 5'3, my highest weight was 150. I started loosing weight at a 20% calorie deficit (1200 calories) and by keeping my protein intake between 60-90g. I increased my calories now that I'm working out more often.
  • english_geek007
    english_geek007 Posts: 10 Member
    A little off topic, but tell her to do the 30 day shred and give up carbs (like rice) for dinner and if she must eat bread, make it Sara Lee's 45 cal brown bread. This should speed up her weight loss like crazy. I'm 5'2, on day 10 and have already dropped 4 lbs and my abs are already looking good.

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