5'2"

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Heliconia
Heliconia Posts: 166 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I never seem to know how many calories I should be eating. I am a sedentary 5'2" 61 yr old female. Medium boned. Can all the ladies that are same height and activity level and are losing weight please tell me your daily calorie intake? Thanks so much.

Replies

  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    Depends...what's your current weight and what are your goals?
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
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    I am 62 and 5'2" and eat less than 1200 calories a day. I exercise fairly regularly, about 500 calories a day on average. I'm losing about two pounds a week.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
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    ceoverturf wrote: »
    Depends...what's your current weight and what are your goals?

    This wasn't helpful :)
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    When you put your stats into MFP, along with your goals, it should give you a number. Use that.
  • Heliconia
    Heliconia Posts: 166 Member
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    I am 133 lbs at the moment. I want to get down to below 120. I would also like to look more muscled and for that I know I will have to start strength training.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,484 Member
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    Hello, 61, 5'1 100-105lb.
    Small/medium boned.
    Started 2008 at 130lb
    Maintained since 2009
    Maintenance is 1200 if sedentary,
    1400 when exercise 60x5 a week ( aqua fit, Zumba toning, swimming etc),
    1450 when I add progressive heavy for me lifting.
    Just done my first set of dead lifts at 45lb.
    Hate exercise, but realize I need it to maintain my body, and have it function the way I want it to as I age.

    Cheers, h.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    Knowing what other women eat as their calorie goal isn't all that useful, 'cause we're all different.

    Use a calculator to get a first value. Then try it for a while. If you lose weight too quickly or you're hungry all the time, go up from there. If you're not losing weight, go down from there.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    atypicalsmith wrote: »
    ceoverturf wrote: »
    Depends...what's your current weight and what are your goals?

    This wasn't helpful :)

    Ummm...that's because it's impossible to answer OP's question without knowing it. Some of us are genuinely interested in helping.

    Unless, of course, you're believe that

    1. a 5'2, 325 lb person trying to lose 2+ lbs a week
    2. a 5'2, 150 lb person trying to lose 0.5 lb a week
    3. a 5'2, 120 lb person trying to maintain and
    4. a 5'2, 98 lb person trying to put on a few pounds

    all should be eating the same number of calories.



  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,484 Member
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    Ceoverturf, what you and segacs said is quite correct, but I do think sometimes, if you are just starting, or are frustrated by the calories MFP has allotted one, it can be beneficial or reassuring seeing what others are doing, especially when one is short and within the normal range BMI.

    Heliconia, when I was 130 and losing it was a very slow progress of about .5 lb every 2 weeks. My calories for losing and maintainance were the same 1200 so I lost by only eating back 50% of my exercise expenditure.

    You are going to have to spend time tweaking your calories until they suit you. Always eat at least 1200 minimum, and accept that it will be a slow loss.

    I will encourage you to do what I didn't; include some type of resistance training while you lose. This won't make the lbs drop off like cardio will; but it will help you hold onto your LBM, including bone density, which is so important as we are getting older.

    You can do body weight exercises to start. Look at nerdfitness.com.
    Fitness blender offers a good selection of exercises that use hand weights.
    Then, if you get ambitious, you can do a heavy lifting programme like strong lifts, a 5x5 programme, or All Pro.

    I am just starting a 5x5, but learning the form of the exercises 1 at a time, as that is what is comfortable for me. I just did my first set of dead lifts at 45kb, and although that is light for most people it was heavy for me. And that is what one should do; lift what is heavy for you, progressively.

    Sorry, that went on a bit too long, I hope you find some of it useful.

    Cheers, h.

  • jvt63
    jvt63 Posts: 89 Member
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    I'm also 5'2" and 133 pounds, trying to get to 125. I'll be 52 in March. I eat 1200 calories a day and do cardio 5 times a week.

    Monday, I start bodyweight training, and am anticipating that I'll need more calories. Not a huge amount, but some--have to figure it out. Like middlehaitch, I am losing (mostly) .5 pounds every two weeks, and sometimes up to 1 pound, but never more.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    atypicalsmith wrote: »
    ceoverturf wrote: »
    Depends...what's your current weight and what are your goals?

    This wasn't helpful :)

    How are you suppose to help someone with calorie goals if you don't know their stats?
  • LindaMc6262
    LindaMc6262 Posts: 23 Member
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    I'm 52 years old, 5'2", small frame, 116 lbs going for 115 and plan on staying in the 110-120lb range. I currently average 1300 calories a day, eating less during the week and more on the weekends. I am still losing, but VERY slowly, fractions of a pound each week, and sometimes not at all. I use a fitbit and average 11,000 steps a day.

    I would start with what MFP gives you, probably 1200 calories a day. Adjust based on your results.
  • EmmaFitzwilliam
    EmmaFitzwilliam Posts: 482 Member
    edited February 2015
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    I'm 5'2", 48, small frame, 162 pounds, down from 220. I probably average about 1275 calories a day, and I walk an average of 5000 steps a day, though I'm trying to up that average. I'm currently losing about 1.2 pounds a week.
  • shabaity
    shabaity Posts: 791 Member
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    I'm losing at 2000 ish a day but I'm at active between my job waitressing and my between classes pacing. when sedentary I lose at 1500
  • Heliconia
    Heliconia Posts: 166 Member
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    Thanks everybody for your input. It was all very helpful and informative. It is hard sometimes to eat so little and envy the taller girls who can lose at eg. 1700.

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