Caloric intake for a 4ft11in, 20 year old woman?

melissalibertino
melissalibertino Posts: 1 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm very petite, I weigh 100 pounds exactly however it seems like most of my weight accumulates in my stomach so I would like to lose about 5 pounds. I have tried to do this a few years ago but ended up always feeling dizzy and light headed because myfitnesspal told me to eat 900 calories per day to lose 1lb per week. 900 calories did help me lose weight at a normal rate but I felt terrible and weak while doing so. (I also went to the gym 4-5 days per week).

I feel like I can't lose weight because my maintenance calories are about 1500 per day and I regularly work out but I still have a hard time eating less than 1700. I'm scared if I cut too much I'll feel weak again.

What do other petite women do to lose weight? How many calories per day should I eat if I work out 4-5 days a week?

Replies

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,055 Member
    At your height and weight, losing a pound a week creates too aggressive a deficit for you, hence the dizziness.

    What exactly do you mean by "work out"? To me, that means lifting weights, but this term means different things to different people.
  • megs_1985
    megs_1985 Posts: 199 Member
    You should lift weights and focus on gaining muscle and in doing so the belly would lessen. Your weight might actually go up since muscle weighs more but you'll look more fit.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    Set your goal to lose 0.5 lbs per week, log your exercise and eat back at least some of those calories, and focus on strength training to help change your body composition. And be patient, once you are at a healthy weight, changes happen slowly.

    You may not even actually need to lose weight at all, it's possible just building some muscle will get you closer to what you are looking for.
  • Myxalplyx
    Myxalplyx Posts: 129 Member
    edited December 2017
    Seems to me that perhaps you weren't eating enough. If you ate the 900 calories that MFP suggested and then exercised on top of that, you may have been in too much of a calorie deficit. Eat more to offset the exercises.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    collectingblues wrote: »
    The basement for women and calories on MFP is 1200 calories. The app/website did not tell you to eat 900 calories a day -- if it did, that's a bug.

    There was a bug at one time where it did give lower calorie amounts like that.

    OP, at your size I would probably look into a recomp instead. Eat at maintenance and lift heavy.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    collectingblues wrote: »
    The basement for women and calories on MFP is 1200 calories. The app/website did not tell you to eat 900 calories a day -- if it did, that's a bug.

    There was a bug at one time where it did give lower calorie amounts like that.

    OP, at your size I would probably look into a recomp instead. Eat at maintenance and lift heavy.

    +1
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