Women, 5'6 @142 lbs

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Losewtforlife4him
Losewtforlife4him Posts: 422 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Women who are 44yrs old, 5'6, around 142 lbs, how many calories are you eating a day? Are you wanting to lose or maintain? Do you eat back all of your calories and what are your goal settings set to? Just curious what others are doing on this journey.
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  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
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    1,380 or below. Maintain every 20 lbs lost (maintaining now). I do not eat back any exercise calories. Many people here state not to eat more than 40% or 50% of those work out calories. 60%,20%, 20%, but I don't follow that. I just try to get at least 46 grams of protein a day.
    Opinion: Exercise does very little for weight loss. Eating right is the biggest hurdle.
    Open diary. Weight lost slowly is weight you can lose for life !
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    well Im 41 5'6 1/2 and 163lbs(trying to get down to the 140s but maintaining for a short time) and Im eating about 2000 calories. still lost this week.I eat back most of my calories, some days I go over, some days Im under.my settings are set to lightly active as I get in more than 10,000 steps most day.
  • Enjcg5
    Enjcg5 Posts: 389 Member
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    JanetYellen wrote: »
    1,380 or below. Maintain every 20 lbs lost (maintaining now). I do not eat back any exercise calories. Many people here state not to eat more than 40% or 50% of those work out calories. 60%,20%, 20%, but I don't follow that. I just try to get at least 46 grams of protein a day.
    Opinion: Exercise does very little for weight loss. Eating right is the biggest hurdle.
    Open diary. Weight lost slowly is weight you can lose for life !

    This is exactly what I do! I am currently 5'5 154lb and I want to get to 135. I do approximatly 1300calories and I don't eat back any. I make sure every meal has protein. I consider exercise as a "bonus" for overall health. I'm not winning any fitness competitions here.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    5'5.5" 148 lbs maintaining on 2300ish

    Goals: 120 g protein, 60 g fat, 25 g fiber. All minimums.

    I'll be 40 in 2 weeks.
  • StarryJD
    StarryJD Posts: 19 Member
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    I wanted to add my 2 cents since some of these calorie goals seem very low. 5'6", 130ish, set to lose 0.5 lb/week (goal 126 - small framed; this weight was reasonable to maintain pre-kids). Activity set to lightly active. This adds up to 1580 cal/day. I DO eat back my exercise calories. I think I am likely underestimating my activity level for a lot of days but I'm sure I also underestimate calories I've eaten like most people so it all works out in the end. I've tried more restrictive goals and it just hasn't worked for me. I ended up hungry and irritable and it's just not sustainable. Oh, and I'm in my mid-thirties. I still end up a bit hungry some days but it's when I haven't eaten enough protein and fiber or had too many simple carbs (meals with a high glycemic load) early in the day.
  • Losewtforlife4him
    Losewtforlife4him Posts: 422 Member
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    StarryJD wrote: »
    I wanted to add my 2 cents since some of these calorie goals seem very low. 5'6", 130ish, set to lose 0.5 lb/week (goal 126 - small framed; this weight was reasonable to maintain pre-kids). Activity set to lightly active. This adds up to 1580 cal/day. I DO eat back my exercise calories. I think I am likely underestimating my activity level for a lot of days but I'm sure I also underestimate calories I've eaten like most people so it all works out in the end. I've tried more restrictive goals and it just hasn't worked for me. I ended up hungry and irritable and it's just not sustainable. Oh, and I'm in my mid-thirties. I still end up a bit hungry some days but it's when I haven't eaten enough protein and fiber or had too many simple carbs (meals with a high glycemic load) early in the day.

    I agree. I have lost 26 lbs and I've actually noticed that by eating back all of my calories now that I'm closer to maintenance (prior to being this close to goal I would eat back only 1/2 my exercise calories), and also setting my goal to lose 0.5 lb/ week, I lose a bit easier than restricting myself. I'm the same. I would end up feeling defeated, angry, and irritable lol

  • StarryJD
    StarryJD Posts: 19 Member
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    Congrats on the 26#s! I set my goal based on being small framed and not very muscular. It's been working - I am losing 1/2 lb per week on average. Only had about 10 lbs to lose since restarting MFP but I had already lost approx 50 lbs of pregnancy weight. Like so many people, the last 10 require being the most careful so this is when I need MFP.
  • ckelly5634
    ckelly5634 Posts: 6 Member
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    I am also 5'6 and 142 pounds. In about five months I have lost 20 pounds on a 1200 calorie diet. I want to reach 130 but things have slowed down the last couple weeks. I try to get on or right above my calorie goal (so my metabolism doesn't bottom out). Good luck!
  • ladipoet
    ladipoet Posts: 4,180 Member
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    H: 5' 6.5;" W: 135.6 pounds; A: 41 y/o. I typically eat between 1380 -1425 calories on any given day. Less on less active days; more on more active days. I do exercise daily, usually 60-90 minutes (my activity level is set to lightly active), and try to leave about 250 calories uneaten; however, I do sometimes eat back 50-100 exercise calories especially on days when I'm extra hungry and I've done more exercise than usual. I'm still in the weight-loss phase but I'm very close to goal (have successfully eliminated 164.4 pounds in 22.5 months) and will be transitioning to maintenance soon. I follow a LCHF WOE for medical and health reasons so my macro settings won't be for everyone: Carbs: 10% (I'm usually closer to 7-8%); Protein: 10% (I'm usually closer to 12-13%), Fat: 80%.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    ckelly5634 wrote: »
    I am also 5'6 and 142 pounds. In about five months I have lost 20 pounds on a 1200 calorie diet. I want to reach 130 but things have slowed down the last couple weeks. I try to get on or right above my calorie goal (so my metabolism doesn't bottom out). Good luck!

    the closer you are to goal the slower weight loss will be. also your metabolism wont bottom out,if it does you would be dead
  • heleftthe99
    heleftthe99 Posts: 3 Member
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    I am almost 5'7". As a healthy, active, athletic teenager I weighed 135-138 lbs. I am surprised some of you that are my height (and in your late 30's to early 40's are really trying to weigh that. The 140 lb range seems way more realistic and a very healthy weight. Just wanted to encourage some of you not to make your goals too low. I am sure you will be healthy, beautiful, and look very nice in your clothes at that weight, if you are 5'6" or 5'7".
  • geneticsteacher
    geneticsteacher Posts: 623 Member
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    5'6", 139 lbs., age 59. Eating at maintenance now (after 33 lb loss) approx. 1600-1750 cal. My macros are the mfp default.

    My gw was 130, but my doctor recommends being heavier if post-menopausal and concentrating on building muscle. She is worried about bone loss and said there is a separate bmi chart for older people (just wanted to smack her for that one!) and she was right. I googled it and apparently I am only in the 11th percentile for height/weight/age.
  • Brithicks
    Brithicks Posts: 148 Member
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    I am 5'5" and 134, 33 years old. My goal is 125 but I will be happy getting to 20-22% body fat (currently around 25). I lift heavy 4 days per week and run about 15-20 miles a week. I eat around 1800 cals to lose sllloooowwwwllly. I maintain on 2000 per day.
  • Losewtforlife4him
    Losewtforlife4him Posts: 422 Member
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    So here I am 3 months later and I'm up to 145.8 as of today :( I know it could be worse but it's so frustrating to me. I've eaten way too many yummy fall goodies lately and need to up my game!! I've still been exercising but I've gone over my maintenance calories...it's so difficult to not do that somedays and especially this time of year but I am scared and don't want my weight to trend upwards. Any tips from any of you besides keeping my face out of the carbs that call my name this time of year?
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,931 Member
    edited October 2016
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    I'm 5' 6", and about 141 lbs, but am 26. I eat 1910 a day and maintain nicely, and I eat back 1/2 of my purposeful exercise calories (not walks or weights, but yes to Zumba and Kickboxing). I bet your intake would be within 100 calories of mine, depending on muscle mass and such. I find on exercise days I have lots of room for snacks, but non exercise days are a little more just 3 meals and some lower cal snacks like apples and oranges and veggies.
  • lightenup2016
    lightenup2016 Posts: 1,055 Member
    edited October 2016
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    I'm 43, 5'6", currently weigh 137, still in the losing phase and eating 1430 calories per day plus half my exercise calories (so usually eating about 1550). I'm losing about 1lb per week. My mom has been visiting for the past week, so I've been eating at what I thought would be maintenance (about 1800), but I've still lost a little under a lb this past week!
  • Losewtforlife4him
    Losewtforlife4him Posts: 422 Member
    edited October 2016
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    Here's my nutrition for today. Is this going to hinder my weight loss or do you think I can still lose weight like this if i change my settings to "maintain"? And I did eat back most of my exercise calories except for the 94.
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
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    Yet another Thread Proving all People regardless of age, size, weight, burn, eat, and move differently..lol..
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Losewtforlife4him wrote: »
    Here's my nutrition for today. Is this going to hinder my weight loss or do you think I can still lose weight like this if i change my settings to "maintain"? And I did eat back most of my exercise calories except for the 94.

    It doesn't matter what you put your settings at. What matter is not eating too much. You said above that you have been eating above maintenance and you referenced "this time of year" which makes me think you could be eating more treats due to Halloween or possibly getting into winter-type heavier comfort foods. Your effort should be put toward eating less in general but if you know that those items in particular are problems, you could focus more on them.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    I'm older and a little heavier - 53 yo, 5'6" weight 146 lbs. I can maintain on roughly 2000 calories per day.

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