5 feet or other short women- please help! calorie confusion

maura5880
maura5880 Posts: 346 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So- I've been on my weightloss journey since October and I've lost 35lbs (yay!) but it's going a lot slower than I'd like.

I've just calculated my TDEE on the scooby workshop- seems to be the one most people here are using. It's saying my TDEE is 1745, then I reduce by 25% and get 1309. (My BMR is 1454).

I just want to be sure I'm eating enough that I don't go into "starvation mode". Also, I'm training for my first 5k in late May so I run almost daily. Most days I will at least run/walk and a few times a week I lift as well. However, I put "sedentary" for my lifestyle because outside of the gym I do no activity. I do not have a job where I'm on my feet or anything like that.

I also want to make sure I am not eating too many calories so that I sabotage myself.

Any help or guidance would be MUCH appreciated! Thanks!

Replies

  • FitnessLover001
    FitnessLover001 Posts: 188 Member
    How close are you to your weight goal? 10 more pounds to go? If your TDEE was calculated as 1745, and you are eating below 1745, then you are not going to gain weight. You only eat 1745 if you want to maintain. You don't however, so eating below that is what will make you see weight loss. On Scooby's workshop, I think they recommend reducing fat by 20%, so try that and see if the calorie intake increases a little higher than 1309.

    However you need to be sure you're marking your correct activity level on both accounts. You may be sedentary for MFP (I work out 6 days a week but people told me if that's all the physical activity I do, put sedentary), but make sure on Scooby's workshop you put how much exercise you do, because they account for how active you are with exercise. And you say you run almost daily, so you should not mark sedentary, you'd probably be active.

    When I add exercise into MFP, I log it as 1 calorie burned, so that I know I'm eating the exact amount of calories that Scooby's workshop accounted me for. Also, weigh everything. I weigh fruits, vegetables, meats, the exact amount of peanut butter and so forth. It may be time consuming, but that's the only way you will know how many calories you're eating! So if you don't have a weight scale, invest in one. I have a little diet scale, it was 4.94 at Wal-Mart and it works just fine.

    Good luck on your 5k by the way! :)
  • maura5880
    maura5880 Posts: 346 Member
    Hi:

    Thanks for your comment. I'm about 35-40lbs from my goal. I just went back onto the scooby and entered 1-3 hours a week of exercise. In actuality, I probably do more like 5-6 hours a week but some weeks I suppose it would only be 3. So I wanted to put the minimum of what I do.

    In this case, TDEE minus 20% gives me 1600. Now, I'm only 5'0" so I don't feel that comfortable eating that many calories. Anyone my height had success with that number of calories? Maybe I should aim for 1400?
  • ChristinWrites
    ChristinWrites Posts: 119 Member
    I eat 1450 daily and I am losing. I am 5'1 with a small frame. I also exercise 5-6 days a week. I go between walking/running and strength training. So far I am losing slowly on the scale - 9 pounds since January 24th, but I've lost several inches - so I think that number is working for me most days. I started with the recommended 1200 here and wanted to chew off my arm at the end of the day - once I increased I felt better. I hover between 1450 and 1500 most days. Of course I am also 40 years old and I work a desk job. I am only really active when I am exercising for the most part - so I think 1600 sounds reasonable for you. I'm also about 30 pounds from my goal
  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
    i find this calculator: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
    to be much more accurate than scooby's.

    i'm 5'1", only looking to shed about 10 more pounds, but i think scooby overestimates for me, and i've heard others make the same complaint. just another option, if you're not seeing results using the numbers scooby's spitting out.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. Your ticker says you have 40 lbs.to go, so set your goal to 1 lb. per week.

    TDEE has your exercise built in, so if you decide to do TDEE minus 15% (20% is too aggressive at your size), do not eat back any of your exercise calories. That would be double dipping.

    Whichever route you choose, give it a few weeks, then reevaluate.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • maura5880
    maura5880 Posts: 346 Member
    i find this calculator: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
    to be much more accurate than scooby's.

    i'm 5'1", only looking to shed about 10 more pounds, but i think scooby overestimates for me, and i've heard others make the same complaint. just another option, if you're not seeing results using the numbers scooby's spitting out.

    I tried that calculator too- I put in 3x a week for exercise, which again is an understatement but I'd rather go with that than overestimate it. I get 1469 with a 20% reduction in TDEE. So I'm thinking maybe I will try 1400 for now. That seems to be a good happy medium!

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