5'1 ladies: how many cals do you eat a day to lose weight?

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Replies

  • ralostaz2000
    ralostaz2000 Posts: 135 Member
    I am 5'1 lost from 130-105 eating 1200 PLUS 50-75% of my exercise calories.
    I worked out my average burn was 186 cal so ate 175 back until the last 10 lbs or so when I dropped it to 150.
    If you don't eat back you exercise calories on such a low calorie goal there is a good chance you will easily become fatigued and slow down your daily activity so you have the energy to fulfil your exercise regime. This can work into a cycle of weight loss stalls as you inadvertently conserve your energy.
    It is much better to log accurately and eat back your exercise calories so you have a little leeway as you get closer to goal.

    My maintenance for the past 6 years has also been 1200 cals sedentary, however because I keep active my average intake is 1450 most days. This is an approximation as I rarely count anymore.

    I should add I am 5'1, 100-105lbs, and 62yo so my BMR is probably 50-100 cals a day lower than yours due to age.

    Cheers, h.

    this is the most helpful reply I've seen so far...
  • wantoldme
    wantoldme Posts: 140 Member
    I am 5'1'' and weigh 126. I used to be 108 over a year ago. I try to eat 1200 calories and workout at least 4 times a week and sometimes I eat back my calories and sometimes I don't (I listen to my body some days I'm hungrier than others). I want to get down to 105 by September 21 (my birthday). I want to try and have a baby after that. I wanted to get in really good shape before I get pregnant.
  • TxTiffani
    TxTiffani Posts: 798 Member
    I'm 5'1 33y/o SW 148 CW 136 GW 112ish. I've been eating 1200-1300 and about 50-60% of MFP exercise cal counts. I'm really sedentary on days I don't work out so I stick to the lower 1200-1300 if I don't ride my bike. I've lost 11-12lbs in 2 mo this way:)
  • BellaNor
    BellaNor Posts: 13 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    These threads always make me sad to see young, very active women eating 1200 calories, exercising strenuously, and not eating back those calories. You are likely under fueling your bodies, sacrificing muscle mass, and could lose weight eating a lot more than you are!

    FWIW I'm 5'2 and 41 and I lost the majority of my 30 lbs eating between 1600-1900 cals and am maintaining at 120 with a TDEE of about 2200.

    Thanks for saying this. I was starting to wonder if I was eating too much at 1900 calories even though I have been averaging a loss of 1lb a week. How long did it take you to lose your 30 lbs?
  • leahgoldgirl
    leahgoldgirl Posts: 61 Member
    5 ft tall. I maintain at 2,300-2,400 (total number, not eating back calories. That number is my TDEE). I am sort of cutting now, at about 1,800 per day. 1,200 calories is largely BS, even for smaller women. It is especially BS for smaller women who workout regularly.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,455 Member
    BellaNor wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    These threads always make me sad to see young, very active women eating 1200 calories, exercising strenuously, and not eating back those calories. You are likely under fueling your bodies, sacrificing muscle mass, and could lose weight eating a lot more than you are!

    FWIW I'm 5'2 and 41 and I lost the majority of my 30 lbs eating between 1600-1900 cals and am maintaining at 120 with a TDEE of about 2200.

    Thanks for saying this. I was starting to wonder if I was eating too much at 1900 calories even though I have been averaging a loss of 1lb a week. How long did it take you to lose your 30 lbs?

    Hah - it's hard to say, I've been here for 3 years! Took me about a year - but I lost about 20 of it in the first 6 months, went pretty lax for a while with logging over vacations and holidays and plateaued/gained a bit back. Then I lost about 5-8 lbs in 2 months to get me down to my original goal weight right around one year from my start date on MFP. I moved myself to maintenance, but over the course of the last few months I've actually continued to lose very slowly, about 0.25 lb/week. In maintenance I'm trying for a 4 lb range to address expected fluctuations, but I have moved my midpoint of that range down once already and may do so again.

    Some wise person on MFP once said (and if I could remember who it was I would totally give them credit) - "The winner is the person who eats the most and still loses the weight". That's always been my approach, sure I could have lost faster if I was more strict or netted 1200 calories, or grossed 1200 calories. But that doesn't sound enjoyable or sustainable for me - I actually tried 1200 for a while and was miserable. A lot of people give up altogether when they can't sustain that deficit. I'd much rather take a year or so to lose 30 lbs, and never feel deprived of any foods that I enjoy. The funniest thing is, I actually probably eat more now after losing 30 lbs, than I did before - because I am far more active than I was before I started this. Yeah me!
  • TxTiffani
    TxTiffani Posts: 798 Member
    5 ft tall. I maintain at 2,300-2,400 (total number, not eating back calories. That number is my TDEE). I am sort of cutting now, at about 1,800 per day. 1,200 calories is largely BS, even for smaller women. It is especially BS for smaller women who workout regularly.

    Even if sedentary most of the day? I work at a desk most of my day. Ride my exercise bike for at least an hour 5-7 days a week. When I eat back my exercise cals it puts me around 1400cals ish...and on days I don't ride I eat lower (1200-1300)...do u think I should eat more? These are the cals MFP gives for .5 loss/week
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,455 Member
    5 ft tall. I maintain at 2,300-2,400 (total number, not eating back calories. That number is my TDEE). I am sort of cutting now, at about 1,800 per day. 1,200 calories is largely BS, even for smaller women. It is especially BS for smaller women who workout regularly.

    Even if sedentary most of the day? I work at a desk most of my day. Ride my exercise bike for at least an hour 5-7 days a week. When I eat back my exercise cals it puts me around 1400cals ish...and on days I don't ride I eat lower (1200-1300)...do u think I should eat more? These are the cals MFP gives for .5 loss/week

    I have a desk job too, but I still average 15K steps. The desk job is not a good indicator of the activity level, in my opinion.

    The question about whether you should change your goal depends on what results you are having now. Are you losing 0.5 lb/week doing what you are doing now? Then keep at it, if that is in line with your goals. If you are losing more than that, and want to slow it down, then maybe increase your goal a bit.
  • knittingbee928
    knittingbee928 Posts: 50 Member
    I lost about 10lb so far and I've been here for about 2 months. I lost the weight much quicker than I thought, but it was because I really took MFP's calculator as the be-all and end-all, which turned out to be too low. I tried to stick to 1200, but just can't. I've averaged 1281(net) calories per day since I started MFP.

    Scooby numbers, based on 1-3 hours/week of light exercise: Average TDEE is 1635, average BMR is 1189. Average daily calories based on my goal of 20% are 308. So, based on Scooby's numbers, I think 1200 and even 1300 is way too low, especially on the days I exercise, but on those days I make sure to eat back the calories.

    I must have averaged around 1800-2000 calories a day before I started MFP, because I consistently gained weight even with exercise and now I know I'm eating a LOT less and losing weight without really paying too much attention. Just eating (a lot) less and exercising more. And drinking more water.
    5 ft tall. I maintain at 2,300-2,400 (total number, not eating back calories. That number is my TDEE). I am sort of cutting now, at about 1,800 per day. 1,200 calories is largely BS, even for smaller women. It is especially BS for smaller women who workout regularly.

    Agreed that 1200 is pretty low.