5'1 Ladies- what are your maintenance calories?
Replies
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4'10", 115-120 lbs, desk job. Maintenance estimate is 1400 net calories. From charts of moving average of net calories and weight, I would guess that my true maintenance is close - probably ~1400-1500 net. + average of ~400 exercise calories (usually run or cycling or weight training + dancing).1
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I'm 5'1" and ~125 lbs. My TDEE varies between 1700-2000 depending on the time of year (I tend to be more active in the fall and winter). Right now since it's summer, I'm right around 1800. I currently have a part time desk job, but I fidget so I'm constantly moving around. I'm generally lightly to moderately active outside of purposeful exercise. Per week, I run 3x for a minimum of 30 minutes, vinyasa yoga 1x, other cardio 1-2x (walk, hike, step, hula hoop, etc.), and strength training 1x.
I usually eat 1400-1600 to lose, albeit slowly. If I eat anything less than that, my runs suffer.3 -
Hi Iam 5 ft my goal calories no more 1500 ... Denise1
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MySweetLavinia wrote: »Thank you to everyone who answered in this thread. I am 5'3" and still working on the weight loss (down 70, halfway to goal!) and seeing the range of maintenance calories is really helpful/interesting.
. . . and a little depressing, honestly. I mean it's okay -- I think I knew all of this for a long time -- It also helps me see why I put on 10 pounds so easily just last summer while our house was being built and we didn't have a kitchen.
And it gives me solid arguments for my husband when he begins to complain (as he has done in the past) that I am "working out too much." Unless he wants a fat wife or a wife who can't eat more than about 1100 calories a day, I must walk, hike, run, bike, or dance at least an hour a day just to get to a reasonable number of calories for maintaining! Never mind losing.
/vent7 -
brianneangell08 wrote: »This thread has been really helpful. I've been super discouraged because my tall husband, who is on a bulk, gets to eat 3,000 cal a day and then complains that he's too full.
I could have typed this!! Yes. Yes. Yes. My husband is six feet tall and feels uncomfortable under 200 pounds. I am right there with you, girl!4 -
CoachJen71 wrote: »brianneangell08 wrote: »This thread has been really helpful. I've been super discouraged because my tall husband, who is on a bulk, gets to eat 3,000 cal a day and then complains that he's too full.
I hear ya! Hubby and I can go on the same hike, and while he needs thousands of cals to refeed and can't eat them all, I am pouting over my sad salad or telling myself that my Halo Top will eventually ease my hunger. Being short and cute has its drawbacks!
I won't say any more about it because I ended my vent in a previous post. 
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I'm 5'3, when I'm maintaining it's about 1500 - 1900 calories. My exercise routine is intense though, I did not change that from what I was doing to lose the weight, I just started eating more.3
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great thread. I have to say I cringe whenever I see folks act like it is a LAW that you cannot eat under 1200. I am 58 almost 59. 5'2 but lately I think I have shrunk a little bit. I am a math major so I am always keeping track of a zillion things. The most important thing IMHO we have to remember is that there are way too many variables to be able to mimic anyone else's success or failure. I started at 131 and have been strict about 1050 total cal or less per day. I added CT5K from the start to get more exercise but I do NOT eat any of them back. My loss rate for the first 15 lbs has been 1.5 lbs per week but I can see it slowing for the balance to get to 105 down to about 1-1.2 lbs per week even with significant exercise.
Variety is also important because I just don't trust all those "calorie counts". So if you have a favorite treat you are eating a lot, what happens if instead of 100 it's really 150? You are hosed when you are short and don't even know it!
I downloaded from another thread on here a excel spreadsheet which keeps track of your TDEE. The more data you put in it the more info you get. Right now it is calculating my TDEE (which is BMR + exercise etc) at 1900. The more weeks of data it gets the closer it will be. I plan on using it when I hit maintenance to continue to see what my calorie intake goals needs to be.
I have starved myself before and 1050 is definitely NOT starving myself. I have energy to work out and I only find myself hungry occasionally. However, what is a diet if you are never hungry? LOL.
My plan once I do hit my weight goal is to gradually add calories and not just try to jump up to 1900 or whatever the file says my TDEE should be all at once, but being a shorty, adding 100 cals at a time and watching for a few weeks should provide some data.
I do know that the exercise calories which my fitbit sends over to MFP are a little inflated and I would not lose weight at all if I ate them all back but I watch and keep track and hopefully over time I can figure out exactly what is correct for me!
Here is a snap of the spreadsheet. Good luck everyone and keep up the conversation. It makes me feel better to know I am not the only one....
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4'11, sigh. 106 pounds, maintain on 1450. Lifting heavy 3x week with daily walks and 2 1/2 hours stationary bike per week.4
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5'0" here and 70 years old. 135.0 and maintaining for almost 3 years now. I work out 5x/week, an hour each time, cardio, weights, Pilates, etc. I have a muscular build from the waist on down, and have never been the weight all the charts say my height should be. As I age, I know that my 110 in youth is not where I can be now. I am a size 6 - 8 Petite and feel and look good. And yes, those of us on the small side just plain can't consume what taller people do unless there is a ton of calorie burn through workouts, etc. I maintain at 1500 if there is no exercise except maybe walking, and around 1600-1800 if there is. If I need to lose, it's 1200. I think other people have said that your maintenance calories are very individual and that is what I believe. It took a while for me to find what works for me and I have to readjust that as each year passes, so just find what works for you. I, too, have a tall husband who has never had a weight problem and always been able to eat whatever he wants. Luckily, he is a fairly healthy eater, but even as he ages, he finds he needs fewer calories. The other thing I would suggest for all of you shorties out there ... there is a wonderful group called Petites in Maintenance. If you are one of those and are in Maintenance, you should join. There are issues and positives only those of us 5'4" and under relate to!
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5'3" / 52 yo / female - currently maintaining around 122-125lbs (since Jan 2017).
Maintenance without exercise ~ 1300 calories (though the calculators say I can be at ~1375).
Maintenance with exercise ~ 1600 calories (though the calculators say I can be at ~1776).
My exercise: At least 2 days of stand up paddleboarding (at least an hour at touring speeds), 2 days of weight lifting, and one day of random activity (gardening, housecleaning/projects, etc)...for at least a 2100 calorie/week burn.
Yes, it really is a bummer to be short and cute!!
You know what irks me the most is all the RDA listings on food that talk about a 2000 calorie/day diet as being the 'average'...what a crock (and no wonder so many people are obese in the US, if they think that is the 'average')!! It might be average for guys, but I know very few women (except for extremely active, extremely young (20's and under), or tall ladies) that get even close to 2000 calories / day. The only time I can get even close to 2000 calories is on my race days, and even then, I think I only get about 1800-1900 calories.5 -
@summerskier can you post a link to the thread with that spreadsheet? I am totally geeking out!
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CoachJen71 wrote: »brianneangell08 wrote: »This thread has been really helpful. I've been super discouraged because my tall husband, who is on a bulk, gets to eat 3,000 cal a day and then complains that he's too full.
I hear ya! Hubby and I can go on the same hike, and while he needs thousands of cals to refeed and can't eat them all, I am pouting over my sad salad or telling myself that my Halo Top will eventually ease my hunger. Being short and cute has its drawbacks!
YES! We went on a longer walk than we intended last night ... I checked my fitbit and was so happy that I had burned enough calories to "afford" a drink at the bar. Meanwhile husband is pouting because he burned too many calories!0 -
5'3" / 52 yo / female - currently maintaining around 122-125lbs (since Jan 2017).
Maintenance without exercise ~ 1300 calories (though the calculators say I can be at ~1375).
Maintenance with exercise ~ 1600 calories (though the calculators say I can be at ~1776).
My exercise: At least 2 days of stand up paddleboarding (at least an hour at touring speeds), 2 days of weight lifting, and one day of random activity (gardening, housecleaning/projects, etc)...for at least a 2100 calorie/week burn.
Oh, paddleboarding! That is something that I really want to do. Is it as great of a core workout as I think it would be? Balance and all that?You know what irks me the most is all the RDA listings on food that talk about a 2000 calorie/day diet as being the 'average'...what a crock (and no wonder so many people are obese in the US, if they think that is the 'average')!! It might be average for guys, but I know very few women (except for extremely active, extremely young (20's and under), or tall ladies) that get even close to 2000 calories / day. The only time I can get even close to 2000 calories is on my race days, and even then, I think I only get about 1800-1900 calories.
I agree that the 2000 calorie average is crazy. Just for kicks, I figured out how many calories my 6 foot husband and 6 foot teenager need per day to maintain their current weights. My husband's calculation (because he works from home and only irregularly exercises) was about 1800. My teenager's was higher, but this summer the only exercise he's been getting is walking down the stairs from his room to the kitchen to grab a snack every two hours.
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http://eatmore2weighless.com/weight-loss-calculator/ Try a calculator like this one that you can put your activity level into.
There are tons of them out there just type in TDEE calculator.0 -
I'm 'barely' 5' 1", 61 times around the sun, and maintain 132-133 lbs. with 1500 calories. I'm between sizes 4 - 6, but because of a good workout program (My Peak Challenge) I'm pretty solid. It consists of weights, interval training, circuit training, and is focused on moving, especially outdoors on the non training days, so I am always encouraged to stay active. My day job is sedentary so I set my Fitbit to buzz and make me move every hour. Love seeing all the younger people here working at staying healthy. You will be so happy you did when you get around my age.11
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Here is the one from a thread on this maintenance forum. I can't find the subject again but it was on here with some other info.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7gGXXQIy4R4ejRRNkZHZHFDOW8/view1 -
I'm 5' 1.5" 47 years old and maintain a very low weight around 1500-1600 calories doing walk away the pounds 4-5 days a week.1
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I'm 5'3", 49 (so close to 50...) and quite active. I run daily and olympic weight lift. Because of that I maintain around 145-150 lbs and consume 1600- 2200 real food calories daily. I feel I could lose another 5 lbs of fat maximum. Please remember that muscle is far more dense than fat (they weigh the same don't forget. A lb is a lb. Be it fat/ muscle or feathers/brick. It's all about density), and is much more compact in how we 'wear it'. Don't starve yourself and don't worry about a few lbs. Eat clean, whole foods, cut out the junk and move a little more. Indulge and pat yourself on the back when you have those small wins.5
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Yes it does suck to be short then add in age and being female and we really get the *kitten* end of the stick. I am barely 4'11", 52 yrs old and currently weigh 122. I was 113.8 Easter weekend and then due to numerous bad situations I promptly gained 10 bloody pounds. I can put in on in a heartbeat but takes forever to get it back off.
For me to lose I have to stick to 1000 calories, I can maintain at about 1200 if I am exercising daily. I hate it, I get hungry and cranky because it doesn't take much to use up 1200 calories.
I am getting back on track again and hope to get to 110-113 for maintenance. I would like to be back to 105-108 but I can't maintain it. It requires far too few calories and far too much exercise time.
Us little folk all share this dilemma.3 -
5'1", 120 pounds, GW 110 pounds. 55 years old. My TDEE is 2000-2200. I eat around 1700-1800 to lose slowly. I'm very active. I run/do run walk interval for 5.5 miles every morning and get more steps in throughout the day (get at least 20K steps a day) and strength train 3 times a week.6
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I am very happy to find this thread! I have been trying to find some friends on MFP that are like minded and consistent with workouts and would've never thought of height!
I am 5'0", 46 yo. Met my goal weight of 105 about 6 months ago, but gained some of it back after a medication change and trying to re-lose those lbs. I currently weigh 111 lbs.
This is very helpful. Thank you4 -
BadBitchIncorporated wrote: »Thank goodness I am not alone. I am 5'3 and struggling to lose 25-30 pounds. In order to lose weight, I have to eat a ridiculously low amount of calories - usually no more than 1200. This is with or without exercise, and I have to deal with a great deal of hunger. I can maintain if I stay below 1500, but losing weight has been extremely difficult. I constantly get advice to eat more calories because I am not eating enough, but I can't seem to make people understand that I cannot do that. Advice???
I have lost 23 pounds eating 1000 calories a day.. CW is 121 (121.4 actually, haha) I do the keto diet and I'm not hungry for more than 1000/1050 calories.. if you don't want to do something as extreme as keto, just make sure you eat fat with every meal. it will keep you full for 5 hours.3 -
SummerSkier wrote: »great thread. I have to say I cringe whenever I see folks act like it is a LAW that you cannot eat under 1200. I am 58 almost 59. 5'2 but lately I think I have shrunk a little bit. I am a math major so I am always keeping track of a zillion things. The most important thing IMHO we have to remember is that there are way too many variables to be able to mimic anyone else's success or failure. I started at 131 and have been strict about 1050 total cal or less per day. I added CT5K from the start to get more exercise but I do NOT eat any of them back. My loss rate for the first 15 lbs has been 1.5 lbs per week but I can see it slowing for the balance to get to 105 down to about 1-1.2 lbs per week even with significant exercise.
Variety is also important because I just don't trust all those "calorie counts". So if you have a favorite treat you are eating a lot, what happens if instead of 100 it's really 150? You are hosed when you are short and don't even know it!
I downloaded from another thread on here a excel spreadsheet which keeps track of your TDEE. The more data you put in it the more info you get. Right now it is calculating my TDEE (which is BMR + exercise etc) at 1900. The more weeks of data it gets the closer it will be. I plan on using it when I hit maintenance to continue to see what my calorie intake goals needs to be.
I have starved myself before and 1050 is definitely NOT starving myself. I have energy to work out and I only find myself hungry occasionally. However, what is a diet if you are never hungry? LOL.
My plan once I do hit my weight goal is to gradually add calories and not just try to jump up to 1900 or whatever the file says my TDEE should be all at once, but being a shorty, adding 100 cals at a time and watching for a few weeks should provide some data.
I do know that the exercise calories which my fitbit sends over to MFP are a little inflated and I would not lose weight at all if I ate them all back but I watch and keep track and hopefully over time I can figure out exactly what is correct for me!
Here is a snap of the spreadsheet. Good luck everyone and keep up the conversation. It makes me feel better to know I am not the only one....
I hate it when i push the MFP button "complete this entry" at the end of the day when i'm done eating, only to get a lecture from MFP that it's unhealthy to eat under 1000 calories. Sometimes I go back and adjust my serving size -haha.. i'll change 1.2 ounces of cheese to 1.5 so it pushes me over 1000 calories.. just to avoid the lecture and also so that MFP will tell me how much i'll weigh in 5 weeks.3 -
tlanger251 wrote: »I hate it when i push the MFP button "complete this entry" at the end of the day when i'm done eating, only to get a lecture from MFP that it's unhealthy to eat under 1000 calories. Sometimes I go back and adjust my serving size -haha.. i'll change 1.2 ounces of cheese to 1.5 so it pushes me over 1000 calories.. just to avoid the lecture and also so that MFP will tell me how much i'll weigh in 5 weeks.
Yeah - they should have special dispensation for folks over a certain age or under a certain height. And I like the in 5 weeks thing also. Of course I had to document the #s to see how close it would be. Sad to say that even with eating no exercise calories back the algarythm is running about 1-4 pounds off and has only been too heavy twice. I honestly do not think the BMR of 15 cal per pound to maintain is accurate for us smallies. My losses each week so far not counting any activity and just doing a delta to see if I have a 3500 debit are close. So that means I am probably running a BMR a lot less than 15 cal per pound.
I tried unlinking the exercise to see if the in 5 weeks would be more accurate but then it was way off the other way.
What I really want to research is ways to increase our metabolism so that as we age we do not slow down but get more energy. It's not really about being able to eat more (altho that would be nice) but about feeling stronger.2 -
I'm 5'2. 40. My range is 95-98lbs. I maintain at 1400 calories. Sometimes I see a thread like this and freak out because people who weigh more than I do are eating the same amount but then I have to calm myself down. I've been maintaining for 18 years. I weigh myself daily. If something changes, I can make adjustments. Until then, I'll stick with my 1400. I guess it just proves every"body" is different.6
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A Petite Maintainers group like this would be awesome0
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BlessedBeyondMsr wrote: »A Petite Maintainers group like this would be awesome
Here is the group.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/109137-petites-in-maintenance
It is a friendly group of women of all ages sharing their 'petiteness'
Cheers, h.6 -
Awesome, thank you!0
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I did try to join..said my reason for requesting to join was 8 characters too long...tried to shorten it and not sure if it went through.1
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