Calorie requirements of petite guys & gals
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smallpalehuman
Posts: 38 Member
Morning!
I'm a fun-sized height of 4ft11 and on average consume around 1300 calories a day (some times a little more, sometimes a little less) consisting of 60-70% fat, 20-30% protein & 10% carbs.
In the past I've got myself hooked on calorie restriction and the number on the scales combined with over-consuming 'bad' foods which made me MISERABLE! So I turned myself around and am focusing on my macros and consuming the BEST food for my body rather than sticking to a certain amount of calories. As a general rule, I eat as much meat and veg as I want/need and NEVER allow myself to go hungry. It's been amazing so far, I used to obsess about my next meal, now I can say I never have that 'starving' feeling. Which for me, is a revelation. I thought eating this way would mean I consumed more calories but I am shocked to realise I don't require nor want any more.
My main goals are to be the healthiest version of myself, lose excess fat and build muscle.
I'm really interested to hear your experiences being petite and eating primal/paleo.
Also, I welcome feedback from anyone (any shape or size) who would like to share their experiences or offer advice. I do understand that 1300 calories to the average sized woman would consider this as 'starving'. What are your thoughts on the calorie requirements of petite women/men? Should I be trying to eat more calories even though I'm more than satisfied?
I appreciate ALL views.
P.S I NEARLY posted this topic on the main forums... *gulp*....
EDIT: I should mention I'm fairly sedentary at the moment apart from the odd morning sprint for the bus to get to my desk job and my evening after dinner walk.
I'm a fun-sized height of 4ft11 and on average consume around 1300 calories a day (some times a little more, sometimes a little less) consisting of 60-70% fat, 20-30% protein & 10% carbs.
In the past I've got myself hooked on calorie restriction and the number on the scales combined with over-consuming 'bad' foods which made me MISERABLE! So I turned myself around and am focusing on my macros and consuming the BEST food for my body rather than sticking to a certain amount of calories. As a general rule, I eat as much meat and veg as I want/need and NEVER allow myself to go hungry. It's been amazing so far, I used to obsess about my next meal, now I can say I never have that 'starving' feeling. Which for me, is a revelation. I thought eating this way would mean I consumed more calories but I am shocked to realise I don't require nor want any more.
My main goals are to be the healthiest version of myself, lose excess fat and build muscle.
I'm really interested to hear your experiences being petite and eating primal/paleo.
Also, I welcome feedback from anyone (any shape or size) who would like to share their experiences or offer advice. I do understand that 1300 calories to the average sized woman would consider this as 'starving'. What are your thoughts on the calorie requirements of petite women/men? Should I be trying to eat more calories even though I'm more than satisfied?
I appreciate ALL views.
P.S I NEARLY posted this topic on the main forums... *gulp*....
EDIT: I should mention I'm fairly sedentary at the moment apart from the odd morning sprint for the bus to get to my desk job and my evening after dinner walk.
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Replies
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5'6, Male.
3000 calories. Thought think I maintain on around 2500-2650, hard to tell on the crap scale at my flat.
Carbs are usually 50-60%, with fat at 20-30% and protein roughly around 20% as a weekly average. I prefer tracking n grams, not percentages, though, so upwards of 400g carbs, 55g fat and 140g protein.
Lift 3-4x a week, so hardly sedentary, and walk a lot. Eat mostly 'paleo' foods with the odd GF pasta and pizza with the - funnily enough - GF.
IMHO you should increase your calories to a point where you lose, I don't know, a pound a week? Get yourself a nice balance between losing weight at a stable weight and eating as much food as you can to do so. If I was dropping weight, I'd want to get away with as many calories as I could for sanity... My two cents.0 -
I am 5'2 and eat anywhere from 1400-1600 and feel completely full and would have to force myself to eat more to go over. Lost about 1 lbs a week.0
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I am not petite. At all. However, my results on a long term calorie goal of 1500-1600 were initially great (as per the stupid scale) but has turned out to be the biggest FAIL (since the last 7 months). I am now left with less lean body mass and and an even slower metabolism. Not what I wanted, but is now what I have to deal with. So, I'm eating as many calories as I want (which still isn't all that high) but the FOOD matters more than ever. I'm in this for life and to achieve the best health possible and calorie restriction does NOT help me to achieve those goals.0
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Thanks all!
Akima - I certainly don't want to slow down my metabolism! Perhaps I will increase my daily in take with a few tablespoons of Coconut Manna, that will bump up the calories.
I have been losing on average of 1lb a week (although it doesn't show on here because I started on MFP at a lower weight than I am now)0 -
Smallpale (which P.S. is probably the best damn name ever) I have been a calorie counter for a really long time - with really pisspoor results.
Since transitioning (sometimes slowly and sometimes backsliding) into Paleo, my weight is steadily dropping off - finally. But, I still track every single thing I eat. I would like to get away from that, and just eat good whole foods when I am hungry and not eat when I am not. However, I think until I get a better grip on being fully Paleo that I need to track. (read: isn't ready to give up her coffee that contains sugar)
I'm 5 foot 2 - and before paleo was trying to restrict down to 1300 - 1500 a day and I was starving and pissy. Now on paleo, I have been averaging about the same numbers but some nights I am so full I barely break 1200. (0 -
Thanks all!
Akima - I certainly don't want to slow down my metabolism! Perhaps I will increase my daily in take with a few tablespoons of Coconut Manna, that will bump up the calories.
I have been losing on average of 1lb a week (although it doesn't show on here because I started on MFP at a lower weight than I am now)
Averaging one pound per week with little too lose is NOT GOOD. I've mentioned your low calorie intake before.... I think you need to move towards intuitive eating. If you stick to the healthiest foods you will NOT store fat. Obviously if you are losing that fast your metabolism is either still doing well OR you are losing lots of muscle!0 -
Smallpale sounds like you are doing great and are being very aware!! Great job losing and eating paleo!! What about focusing on eating only paleo foods until you are satisfied and tracking what you eat and how much but not restricting your intake by calorie count and just pay attention to your body for a couple weeks? Then you can look back at your food tracking and where your calorie range is naturally falling while eating well and still losing. If you are still losing and gaining the great healthy benefits then use that calorie range.0
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Thanks all!
Akima - I certainly don't want to slow down my metabolism! Perhaps I will increase my daily in take with a few tablespoons of Coconut Manna, that will bump up the calories.
I have been losing on average of 1lb a week (although it doesn't show on here because I started on MFP at a lower weight than I am now)
Averaging one pound per week with little too lose is NOT GOOD. I've mentioned your low calorie intake before.... I think you need to move towards intuitive eating. If you stick to the healthiest foods you will NOT store fat. Obviously if you are losing that fast your metabolism is either still doing well OR you are losing lots of muscle!
You're right, I haven't got a considerable amount of weight to lose and I want to lose fat NOT muscle. I'll give intuitive eating a try and log my food after all my meals.0 -
5'3" 140-145# size 4/6 very active female maintain at 2350-2700. 20-40-400
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Hi All, I'm also new. I am not worried so much about calorie restriction as I am about ratios of fat to protein to carbs. Is there a certain percentage I should be trying to keep in mind? I'm going for weight loss - then once it's all gone, maintenance, so I know the percentages might be different. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks! Please feel free to add me as a friend also!0
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I'm 5'4" and maintain or slowly gain on 1500...everyone is different
Just try eating to hunger. If you weight goes up, decrease it by 200-400 cals/day and see what happens. 0 -
Hi All, I'm also new. I am not worried so much about calorie restriction as I am about ratios of fat to protein to carbs. Is there a certain percentage I should be trying to keep in mind? I'm going for weight loss - then once it's all gone, maintenance, so I know the percentages might be different. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks! Please feel free to add me as a friend also!
Following Mark Sisson's advice, I set my MFP macros to give me a goal of 75g of carbs (to hit right in the middle of his steady weight loss range of 50-100 daily g of carbs). I followed his or somebody's calculation for protein, something like .8 times lean body mass. The rest I filled in as fat. It took a little juggling of the macro tool but I got it to work. It looks something like 65/25/15 fat/protein/carb if I'm remembering right. I haven't updated them in a long time. I had to increase calories from 1200 to 1500 even though MFP wanted me to cut back -- I stopped losing at 1200 but after I upped my calories to 1500 I started losing again.
MFP's assumptions don't quite fit the way my body works.0 -
Thank you so much!0
