I'm 5'3 and weigh 129, I want to get down to 108

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leannan847
leannan847 Posts: 12 Member
in Motivation and Support
I've been using myfitnesspal for about 40ish days. I've been eating around 1200 calories for the past year, so I don't think I can go any lower without being unhealthy. At the beginning I skipped some days and didn't exercise a lot. I am surrounded by junk food in my home and I get tempted easily. So far I have cut down on how much junk I eat, but I can't lose weight anymore? I take super long walk/jogs, am I exercising too much? Am I not eating the right foods?
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  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
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    Are you using a food scale to count calories?
  • leannan847
    leannan847 Posts: 12 Member
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    No, I cannot afford one.
  • AnthonyX150X
    AnthonyX150X Posts: 293 Member
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    How long has it been since you haven't seen any weight loss? Your body may have hit a plateau and adjusted to eating 1200 calories for the past year, causing you not to lose any more weight.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    edited June 2016
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    leannan847 wrote: »
    No, I cannot afford one.

    Without one, there's no true way to know how much you are eating, unfortunately. So you are eating too much if you are no longer losing, assuming it's been more than a month. So no, you are not exercising too much. If you were, you would still be losing weight. Your choice in foods do not matter either. All that matters is a calorie deficit to lose weight.

    I suggest as soon as you can financially to pick up a cheap food scale. There are some 10-15 dollar ones on Amazon or Walmart.

  • leannan847
    leannan847 Posts: 12 Member
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    About a month.
  • leannan847
    leannan847 Posts: 12 Member
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    vespiquenn wrote: »
    leannan847 wrote: »
    No, I cannot afford one.

    Without one, there's no true way to know how much you are eating, unfortunately. So you are eating too much if you are no longer losing, assuming it's been more than a month. So no, you are not exercising too much. If you were, you would still be losing weight. Your choice in foods do not matter either. All that matters is a calorie deficit to lose weight.

    I suggest as soon as you can financially to pick up a cheap food scale. There are some 10-15 dollar ones on Amazon or Walmart.

    Thank you, I will. So I should be eating less calories or the same amount?
  • AnthonyX150X
    AnthonyX150X Posts: 293 Member
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    leannan847 wrote: »
    About a month.

    I'm was wondering, do you weigh yourself under the same circumstances each time you step on the scale?

    For example: First thing in the morning when you wake up before eating or drinking.
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,339 Member
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    leannan847 wrote: »
    vespiquenn wrote: »
    leannan847 wrote: »
    No, I cannot afford one.

    Without one, there's no true way to know how much you are eating, unfortunately. So you are eating too much if you are no longer losing, assuming it's been more than a month. So no, you are not exercising too much. If you were, you would still be losing weight. Your choice in foods do not matter either. All that matters is a calorie deficit to lose weight.

    I suggest as soon as you can financially to pick up a cheap food scale. There are some 10-15 dollar ones on Amazon or Walmart.

    Thank you, I will. So I should be eating less calories or the same amount?

    As soon as you start weighing/logging, you'll be able to follow your daily trends, and get a better idea of if you need to eat more/less. It will be EYE OPENING!
  • leannan847
    leannan847 Posts: 12 Member
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    JustMissTracy wrote: »
    I'm curious why you've chosen 108 as your goal weight? I am the same height as you, I'm at 120 lbs today after losing over 78. While my instinct is to keep losing, my rational brain knows more would be too much, even for someone as small as I am.

    I've chosen 108 as my goal weight because I used to be that weight, but I slowly gained weight over time from eating too much junk food, no exercise, and overeating.
  • leannan847
    leannan847 Posts: 12 Member
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    AnthonyX150X wrote: »
    leannan847 wrote: »
    About a month.

    I'm was wondering, do you weigh yourself under the same circumstances each time you step on the scale?

    For example: First thing in the morning when you wake up before eating or drinking.

    Yes I do
  • jeebieheebies
    jeebieheebies Posts: 68 Member
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    Instead of spending $10 on junk food, spend it on a food scale. Win-win! It is sooo important. Especially when you're eating 1200 calories, because being off by a tiny bit frequently can really add up.

    Try incorporating strength training into your routine to build muscle (check out fitnessblender or if you're a student, local gyms will have good deals on memberships). The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism is.

    You can also try incorporating HIIT into your routine, replacing your long walks. I've heard very good things about it in terms of losing weight, and it is more time efficient, and better for your heart! And fun too!

    I agree with you that you shouldn't go under 1200 calories. But you may unknowingly be eating 1500 or more because you aren't weighing your food. So once you get a food scale (seriously, I just bought a new one for $9.99 on Amazon, batteries included), then make your deficit larger by amping up the exercise in new ways. I think 108lbs is a perfectly reasonable goal and you can totally do it!! :)
  • alylynn10
    alylynn10 Posts: 44 Member
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    leannan847 wrote: »
    No, I cannot afford one.

    You can get a good ditigal scale for $10! It makes all the difference!
  • leannan847
    leannan847 Posts: 12 Member
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    Thank you all for your answers :) I never really bought stuff online and I hardly looked into food scales in stores, so I will definitely buy a food scale!
  • bhurley100
    bhurley100 Posts: 201 Member
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    JustMissTracy wrote: »
    I'm curious why you've chosen 108 as your goal weight? I am the same height as you, I'm at 120 lbs today after losing over 78. While my instinct is to keep losing, my rational brain knows more would be too much, even for someone as small as I am.

    Same here.
  • leahkathleen13
    leahkathleen13 Posts: 272 Member
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    Not sure if this has been mentioned, but for me I learned that my weekly deficit was very important. I would stay under goal for days, but then eat most of my deficit back over one "cheat day." My progress was very slow. Once I became consistent I saw better results.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    First, tighten up your logging to make sure you are being as accurate as possible, ideally with a food scale. If you aren't losing over a prolonged period you are likely eating at your maintenance cals which is most likely more than 1200 cals.

    Second, make sure your goals are appropriate. You said you wanted to be 108 because you used to weigh that, how long ago? Striving for the lowest weight you've been in your adult life isn't always the best thing to aim for. Maybe instead of focusing on a scale weight, adding some resistance training would be good. Many people find they like the body composition they achieve at a higher weight with strength training than with a lower scale weight and no focus on strength training to preserve lean muscle mass.

    Lastly, are you sure 1200 is the right calorie target for you? You should be aiming for 0.5 lb/week loss based on your stated goal, if you focus on recomp then you would also not want a high deficit. For what it's worth I'm 5'2 and lost 30 lbs eating between 1600-1900 cals and am maintaining now with a TDEE of 2200 cals.
  • leannan847
    leannan847 Posts: 12 Member
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    First, tighten up your logging to make sure you are being as accurate as possible, ideally with a food scale. If you aren't losing over a prolonged period you are likely eating at your maintenance cals which is most likely more than 1200 cals.

    Second, make sure your goals are appropriate. You said you wanted to be 108 because you used to weigh that, how long ago? Striving for the lowest weight you've been in your adult life isn't always the best thing to aim for. Maybe instead of focusing on a scale weight, adding some resistance training would be good. Many people find they like the body composition they achieve at a higher weight with strength training than with a lower scale weight and no focus on strength training to preserve lean muscle mass.

    Lastly, are you sure 1200 is the right calorie target for you? You should be aiming for 0.5 lb/week loss based on your stated goal, if you focus on recomp then you would also not want a high deficit. For what it's worth I'm 5'2 and lost 30 lbs eating between 1600-1900 cals and am maintaining now with a TDEE of 2200 cals.

    Thank you for the tips! :) I used to weigh 108 about six month ago, it was my usual weight until I gained 21 pounds. I have tried to consume more calories(they aren't "bad" calories) but I end up feeling really sick/tired. I will definitely add in some resistance training!
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    leannan847 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    First, tighten up your logging to make sure you are being as accurate as possible, ideally with a food scale. If you aren't losing over a prolonged period you are likely eating at your maintenance cals which is most likely more than 1200 cals.

    Second, make sure your goals are appropriate. You said you wanted to be 108 because you used to weigh that, how long ago? Striving for the lowest weight you've been in your adult life isn't always the best thing to aim for. Maybe instead of focusing on a scale weight, adding some resistance training would be good. Many people find they like the body composition they achieve at a higher weight with strength training than with a lower scale weight and no focus on strength training to preserve lean muscle mass.

    Lastly, are you sure 1200 is the right calorie target for you? You should be aiming for 0.5 lb/week loss based on your stated goal, if you focus on recomp then you would also not want a high deficit. For what it's worth I'm 5'2 and lost 30 lbs eating between 1600-1900 cals and am maintaining now with a TDEE of 2200 cals.

    Thank you for the tips! :) I used to weigh 108 about six month ago, it was my usual weight until I gained 21 pounds. I have tried to consume more calories(they aren't "bad" calories) but I end up feeling really sick/tired. I will definitely add in some resistance training!

    You gained 20 lbs in 6 months? That's pretty fast, did something change in your life (suddenly became unable to exercise, new medication, major life event causing depression, etc)? It's certainly possible, I'm just curious if there was something that precipitated such a big change?
  • BoomstickChik
    BoomstickChik Posts: 149 Member
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    leannan847 wrote: »
    No, I cannot afford one.

    I lived by this excuse for so long. I paid $8 on Amazon for one well over a year ago and still works perfectly. Haven't even needed to replace the batteries.


    Also, you should be eating more than 1200 with so little to lose, right? I find the more I lose, the more I need to eat to continue to lose.

    Best bet, food scale and heart rate monitor to get the BEST estimates possible, or it's a vicious cycle.

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