Shorties eating more than 1200 calories-help

petstorekitty
petstorekitty Posts: 592 Member
edited November 24 in Motivation and Support
Hi everyone!

I'm looking for a bit of motivation /info/reinforcement, etc

I'm 5'1" and about 140.
A few years ago I was 170
I got to about 120 by eating around 1200 calories and working out A LOT.

Last yr i gained 20 lbs and I haven't been successful in losing it by eating so little, exercising or not.

I'm still pretty active but I work ft and go to college ft so I can't spend 7 hrs a week in the gym anymore.
I generally get about 4 hrs a week decent exercise.

I've been keeping my intake at about my BMR # and that has helped me maintain and not gain.

I tried the super low calories thing a lot for the past year without much success. As you can imagine, i get discouraged and sad.
It worked before, why not know??

ANYWAY, sorry for the preamble but I wanted to at least explain that I've successfully los weight before and can maintain long term.

Now my question/plea for help is advice on eating more and still losing weight.

Im trying to do about 1400 right now.
That seems reasonablefor the exercise time I get.
But I'm not sure :(

I'm in recovery from an eating disorder, so "just eat" or "just don't eat" isn't helpful.

I guess I'd like reassurance that eating a decent amout of calories does work for some shorties at least.

Thanks,
Kitty



Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    This is the standard question. Do you use a food scale? Because you should be losing weight eating only 1200 calories a day.
  • sscarmack
    sscarmack Posts: 210 Member
    Remember, take it day by day and look at the big picture. We're not trying to lose/gain 20 lbs a week. More like 1 or 2.

    1,200 is your mark to lose weight. Make sure you're eating the right foods and not just grabbing something bc it's convenient.

    1,200 isn't a lot, so make sure you plan your day out. You don't want to have a huge breakfast and then barely be able to eat dinner.

    Have something small in the mornings, and then chow for dinner.

    I've found that instead of breaking my meals up into 6-7 meals, but rather 1-2. It helps control the hunger.

    Why eat 100-200 calories, when I can eat 800-900.

    Of course, everything is trial and error. Just find what works for you and stick with it.

    Maybe also look into a Fitbit or something to make sure you're getting enough steps in your day.
  • ARC1603
    ARC1603 Posts: 113 Member
    I'd really recommend having a look at the eat more to weigh less group on here. It gives great advice for those who have been on super strict diets for a long time and how to go about increasing your calorie intake.

    I'm 5'1" or 2" on a good day! I'm heavier than you at 167lbs. I've never eaten less than 1600 cals and have lost 18lbs since June, with a big month of yo yo ing in August. I don't do much exercise, mainly walking with my kids and hit about 10k steps a day on my fitbit.
  • petstorekitty
    petstorekitty Posts: 592 Member
    ARC1603 wrote: »
    I'd really recommend having a look at the eat more to weigh less group on here. It gives great advice for those who have been on super strict diets for a long time and how to go about increasing your calorie intake.

    I'm 5'1" or 2" on a good day! I'm heavier than you at 167lbs. I've never eaten less than 1600 cals and have lost 18lbs since June, with a big month of yo yo ing in August. I don't do much exercise, mainly walking with my kids and hit about 10k steps a day on my fitbit.

    ARC, thank you for the group suggestion! It sounds like the info I need on eating more ;) x

  • petstorekitty
    petstorekitty Posts: 592 Member
    I do measure, weight and count my foods, but I also yo-yo on intake b/c starving myself for ages is really stressful.
    I did lose weight by eating 600-1100 calories a day, but that's some crazy s**t I don't want to do anymore.
    I want to stay active and the more active a person is the more fuel they need. Right?
    I've been brainwashed into thinking that starvation is my only option.
    But eating very little doesn't motivate me to stay active.

    Finding more peeps who do this and learning from them will be helpful.
  • WildePillar
    WildePillar Posts: 120 Member
    I'm 5'2" / 3" and I weigh 102 pounds. I eat over 2,000 calories a day. This is proof that you don't have to starve yourself!
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    edited September 2015
    I'm 5'1.5" and eat around 1200 or so; I'm also at your goal weight, 120 lbs. I set my "base" at 1000 and then add activity calculated from a fitbit, so my intake can be anywhere between 1100 and 1600, depending on activity. If you're young, don't eat below 1200; you'll only hurt yourself in the long run. I'm a lot older than you are (56), but probably similar activity level, as I teach full time at a large university, so lots of walking around, standing, dragging a roller bag full of books. I do have time for some other exercise, though, because I teach alternate days. You can look at my diary to see what my intake looks like. I was away for a bit last week, but have been pretty good about tracking this week. I don't prelog my meals, but I do eat breakfast every day and bring my own lunch and snacks to work, so I do some planning. I try to limit eating out to only once or twice a week -- I ate out last night -- sushi -- and didn't log.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    I'm 5'2, Female, 40, and am currently maintaining 123 +/- 2 lbs. I eat around 1900-2100 every day, and when I was losing consistently I was netting 1500-1600 cals (eating around 1800).
  • petstorekitty
    petstorekitty Posts: 592 Member
    Thanks everyone for the info!!
This discussion has been closed.

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