Can someone explain why it's so much harder when you're smaller?

porscheMD
porscheMD Posts: 26 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a few concerns that some of the MFP community has brought up to me:
1) At my current height weight 5'6/128lbs, I should not be eating 1200 calories, that's too little. However, that's what MFP suggests that I do?
2) Wanting to lose 2lbs a week isn't possible with my weight. I'm not sure if I understand why or how it's not?

If my BMR is lower because I'm smaller that means I would need to eat less, and that 1200 calories should be okay for me to eat on a daily basis (if I'm very strict about it) to create the calorie deficit? And if 3500 calories is 1 pound, as long as I create a 7k deficit a week I'd still be able to lose the weight no?

I'm just trying to lose the stubborn last 8 lbs. Thank you guys.

Replies

  • safri77
    safri77 Posts: 10 Member
    How much is your body fat percentage now?
  • porscheMD
    porscheMD Posts: 26 Member
    edited November 2014
    22%
  • Falcon
    Falcon Posts: 853 Member
    when you get closer to your weight goal, it gets more difficult to drop those last few pounds. It doesn't matter what height you are. It's your body's way of putting on the brakes...

    What do you have your goals set to? I would set it to half a pound a week if you haven't done so already.
  • JenniDaisy
    JenniDaisy Posts: 526 Member
    Why do you want to lose weight? You're already a healthy weight and losing those last 8 lbs would put you towards underweight.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    you have a BMI of 20.6

    if you want to lose weight you will need to reduce your projected weight loss to 0.5lb per week - you will still be losing fat and muscle but possibly less muscle

    are you sure you don't just need to put on a bit of muscle to recomp your body? in which case heavy weights and eat more

    but no you shouldn't be consuming 1200 calories and you shouldn't be losing weight fast and yes it is harder when you're already at the low end of BMI

    and yes people will be concerned at you wanting to lose more because you don't have much scope before you will be risking your health
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    How much exercise are you doing and is any of it resistance training? What they said about dropping to.5lb a week.
  • simply_myself
    simply_myself Posts: 32 Member
    edited November 2014
    I think I'm doing this right:

    A guide to get you started on your path to Sexypants.

    edit: yay! I linked it correctly! :smiley:
  • galprincess
    galprincess Posts: 683 Member
    When you are bigger just carrying extra weight burns up calories as you get smaller you have to work harder. Im 5ft 5 and 140lbs but would like to lose another 10lbs at most I set mine to 0.5lbs a week I lose around 1lb a month on average sometimes less sometimes more. I would suggest you do a lifting programme if you aren't already as I think you are mistaking weight loss with looking more defined? at your weight you are towards the lower end of ideal weight congrats on your loss.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    In your case, it's going to be hard because the body strives towards health. The BMI you're aiming for is getting close to too low. You are a healthy weight and body fat percent now. At your goal weight, it's very possible you would stop menstruating because your body would consider you too underfed to support reproduction.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    edited November 2014
    To answer your question, without passing judgement about your goals:

    A smaller body burns less. Less to keep it alive (BMR: energy spent for your lungs/heart/other organs to work, to digest food, maintain body temp, etc.) and to move it around. If you are carrying a 100 pound pack on your back, are you doing more work/spending more energy? Yes. Its the same with a 128 pound person vs 228 pound person. Your body uses less energy (calorie is a unit of measure for energy expenditure) because you're female, and at a relatively low weight. Height is a factor but 5'0" and 128 pounds would not be significantly different in terms of burn rate than 5'6" and 128.

    To burn enough calories to target a loss rate of 2 pounds per week I would need to eat 1000 less than I burn. For the most part I burn 2000-2100 per day according to my Fitbit, and based on my weight loss results I'd say that the Fitbit gives me a # 5-10% high. So in reality, I burn 1950-2000 per day. That includes walking at lunch time (desk job) for 30-45 minutes a day, working out at night for 40-50 minutes each day, in addition to normal running-around-for-errands. To sum it up: I have to make a major effort to burn 1950-2000/day.

    So to burn MORE I'd need to do even more. And then eat at a minimal level of 1200-1300. I know ME enough to know that I'm not satisfied/content with that little so I'd need to burn even more to be able to eat 1400-1600. And if I'm doing enough work to burn 2400-2600 in a day, I don't know that I'd be satisfied at 1400-1600! It kind of becomes a spiral.

    For reference I am 5' 5.5", 127-129 depending on the day, 40 years old, female. Keep in mind strength training does not burn a significant level of calories, not really more than your normal activity of moving thru your day. Intense cardio burns the most, but at best I'm able to get ~7 calories per minute when running. I just don't burn much at this weight. My BMR is only about 1330/day.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I don't think you need to lose weight...you need to get into the weight room and start working on body composition. You're already at a fine weight...at the most, you should have a 1/2 Lb per week deficit, not a 2 Lb per week deficit...you have to be really overweight and have a lot of fat to do 2 Lbs per week...all you're going to do is burn up a bunch of lean mass restricting your calories like that without the fat stores...that's not how you achieve that "toned" look.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    edited November 2014
    PS-you're younger so your BMR is slightly higher than mine. If all else were the same, you'd burn about 6-10% more calories than I do, doing the same activities. Of course life is not really that simple, you may work out more intensely or less intensely than I do... You may have a job that has you on your feet & moving all day, in addition to exercise.

    Then again, you may be able to invest 6 hours a day into working out. But if so I'd wager a guess that your body would need more fuel than 1200 calories a day for proper nutrition and energy. Otherwise your weight loss efforts could do more harm than good.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    If you have a deficit of 3500, you can expect to lose a pound, if all you lost is fat. However, that same deficit would result in 6lbs lost if all you lost was muscle. I don't buy the idea that 2lbs a week isn't possible as near ideal weight because I've seen it happen. But I was emotionally distraught at the time and I didn't feel like eating for several days when it happened. I dropped from 195 to 190 in about a week and stayed there for several weeks. But that doesn't mean it is safe to do that.

    What I think happens is that people are eating according to the MFP calorie goal, so as they near their goal their calorie deficit shrinks due to the loss of muscle mass, and/or less effort required for exercise and daily activities.
  • porscheMD
    porscheMD Posts: 26 Member
    Thank you so much for all your replies! Especially StaciMarie and KittyNinja! It makes more sense now. My exercise regime is weight training/cardio (barre classes) 60 minutes a day. Most of my "fat" is stored in my thigh, and I'd really like to lean them out, so yes, I am weight training. 120lbs is not an underweight BMI (19.4), but BMI isn't a very good indicator of being underweight either.
  • terar21
    terar21 Posts: 523 Member
    Hmmm I understand the feeling of "I need to lose these last 8 pounds" but you have to kick yourself into reality and realize that what you are really trying to achieve is not actual pounds being lost, but the way you are holding weight. If you're unhappy at this size, 8 pounds isn't going to solve anything really. It's about changing the look of your body.

    Unfortunately, smaller people just don't burn as much calories. However, you're definitely not in the lower range of BMR that would justify 1200 a day. So if you only consume 1200 calories, you'd really cutting off the calories that your body needs to function if you're a decently active person and don't just sit in the house all day. Your BMR is around 1400. I would focus on making your body more efficient, strength train and eat around maintenance.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    edited November 2014
    Your body will push for what it needs. It needs some fat. It wants to be healthy. If you want less flab, lift some weights.

    You should not set your goal as Underweight. It's unhealthy, just like being overweight.

    Also, people who start going toward underweight because they're too fat...it never ends. They're always going to be too fat for themselves. Others will be sickened at how they're starving and they're still, "No. That fat on my thighs needs to go!" They NEVER get skinny enough for themselves. The hospital people are shoving tubes up their nose to feed them so they don't die and they're trying to yank the tubes out because they're worried about the calories.

    It's a mess. Don't go there. Get off the path your on and get onto a healthier one.

    If you're looking at yourself and grossing out about your fat, please see your doctor to discuss a healthy weight.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    misskittyninja wrote: »
    5'6 is small? o.o then I must but super tiny =(

    As you lose weight your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) lowers as it takes less energy for your body to function. Your BMR is how much your body would need to consume to function if you were bed ridden. So yours would be 1418.6 calories.

    Think about it, someone who's 100lbs over weight has to carry 100lbs everywhere they go. It's hard work for the body. Of course there's more to it but I could go on forever.

    Now lets add the exercise, you're fairly active as you want to lose weight from burning calories. Make sure you're not over/under estimating how much you burn or how much you eat. Lets say you're moderately active using the harris benedict Equation.

    If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : This is the Calorie-Calculation, Your BMR x 1.55 which = 2197.9.

    So you'd could eat 2197.9 to maintain.. Now to lose 1 lbs you need to create a calorie deficit. Remembering 3500calories = roughly 1lbs.

    To lose 1lbs per week you'd have to eat around 1545 calories.
    To lose 2.bs per week you'd have to eat around 1000 calories which is too low!

    Here's something every MFP should read:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242

    Yes it's the "A guide to get you started on your path to Sexypants." ;D

    Since you're already basically at goal (You're a healthy weight) it's going to be a lot harder for you so you'll probably lose 0.5- 1 lbs per week. Though I think you should really look into BF%, gaining muscle and losing fat more so than the scale.

    I think you really need to do some research to better understand this so you're more likely to maintain an diet healthy. That being said i'll link you a bunch of fun stuff.

    Here are some tools you can play around with:

    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

    And some more info:

    https://www.12wbt.com/nutrition/how-many-calories/women

    http://www.shape.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-strategies/ask-diet-doctor-how-many-calories-should-i-eat-lose-weight

    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/calorie-intake-to-lose-weight.php


    This does everything for you when it comes to working out how much you need to eat to lose X amount. It also explains everything in detail.

    http://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html?ctype=standard&cage=22&csex=f&cheightfeet=5&cheightinch=6&cpound=128&cheightmeter=180&ckg=60&cactivity=1.375&printit=0&x=74&y=7

    Anywho! Hope that helps.

    ^^ this says it all ☺

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