Calorie Intake for SHORT GIRLS

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kaitlyn12osu
kaitlyn12osu Posts: 26
in Food and Nutrition
Okay, so I'm only 5'2 and weight roughly 118-120 right now. I was 106 last summer and usually can maintain 108-110 easily, however I gained back a few pounds and am trying to lose them. Last year, I steadily dropped my weight from 148-106 over about 9 months and towards the end I ate pretty low calorie each day and netted low calorie each day, but it wasn't very hard to do because I run a lot. Some nights I would be hungry, but it wasn't that bad.

Anyways, I'm ready to be 110 again and I've started counting calories again and I am eating around 800 calories a day plus doing exercise. I was wondering opinions on calorie intake? I know this website says 1200 calories, but I'm a pretty small person and am not hungry eating only 800 calories a day. Am I really putting my body in starvation mode since my body doesn't require as many calories as others since I weigh 120? Thoughts?

Replies

  • Jenna423
    Jenna423 Posts: 178 Member
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    I don't know the answer to this however as a fellow short girl, I'd like to know this myself! Unfortunately I haven't been as skinny as you since about jr high! Lol! I'm trying to lose so I'm curious as to what everyone has to say about this. Thanks for posting! :flowerforyou:
  • cem2168
    cem2168 Posts: 205 Member
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    I am also on the short side... 5' 3.5'' and I am trying to get down to a healthier weight for my size too... I net about 1000 cal a day and burn 1000 on average. I have heard its bad, but its really what works best for me, especially since im short! It would be interesting to see what other people say. To me it isn't the number of calories its the quality. As long as I am getting the right fuel at the right time and keep it low cal.
  • yanicka
    yanicka Posts: 1,004 Member
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    Please, read this

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing
  • emrogers
    emrogers Posts: 328 Member
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    Hi. I was just reading your post. I also run about 4x a week and my long runs on the weekends. MFP has me on 1200 cals a day and yesterday when I didn't even work out I was starving before dinner.. I would love to run and work out and not be hungry like you but when I work out 2x like today I have to up my cals some. I also eat 5x a day. Someone else mentioned quality and I believe I eat good quality food. You're fairly young and I believe that you can get results like this now but not forever. I don't know what your goals are but if you're just looking to be thin w/out much muscle tone then I believe you can get that. Also remember that if your body does go into starvationn mode your body will just start consuming the muscle you have; hence why I said w/out much muscle tone. I work for a company which is big in the bodybuilding industry and our bikini models eat close to 1600-1800 cals a day! Several are tiny 5ft to about your height. Google Lindsay Messina. She's tiny and you can see how toned she is and she's been on a few Oxygen covers and post her food diary. Hope his helps some. Good luck.
  • kaitlyn12osu
    kaitlyn12osu Posts: 26
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    Thanks for al the input! I think I'm going to keep focusing on eating quality foods (I eat a lot of fruits and veggies), but I'm going to aim to hit 1200 tomorrow! Keep posting opinions though because I love reading them!!! :)
  • emrogers
    emrogers Posts: 328 Member
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    oh and totally forgot to tell you this. You're a runner and just because you're short, doesn't mean that you eat less. Let me see if I can explain this. You know how alcohol affects certain people differently like weight, height, etc. Ok, food isn't the same way. Food is fuel. You're not a sedentary person because you are a runner and so you need to gas up in order to keep getting to your destination. :) So if on days you don't run you could probably eat a whole lot less in calories because you're not using hardly any energy. So hopefully this helps some too. It took me a long time to wrap my head around this concept.
  • jenespo98
    jenespo98 Posts: 2
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    i meant to reply to this post but i think i reported it by mistake... my bad.

    anyway, i'm 4'11" and i've been down that road before. after my 1st son was born i cut calories to 900 a day and walked 3 miles a day. yes, i lost weight, but to say i was unhealthy is an understatement. and yes, you are putting your body into starvation mode. i'm a group fitness instructor now (teaching spin and body sculpting) and i've learned from my mistakes. eat at least 1200 cal a day, more if you're working out. focus more on what you're eating, other then just calories. eat real food, not just "diet" junk that is low is calories. if you cut major calories, yes you'll lose weight at first, but you're setting your body up for failure.

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