123.5 lbs/5'7 female, maintaining on 2300 calories

laura9503
laura9503 Posts: 43 Member
edited November 24 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hi, I'm a 5'7 22 year old girl and I currently weight 123.5 lbs. I work out about 3/4 times a week for about an hour (weight lifting + cardio, 50/50). About 2 years ago, I recovered from anorexia and I know this influences the amount of calories you need for a long period after you've recovered. However, I'm now barely maintaining at 2300 calories. I might even eat more, I sometimes don't log all my food. It just seems like a lot. Are there others with this sort of situation?

Replies

  • tmoneyag99
    tmoneyag99 Posts: 480 Member
    lauraandeweg wrote: »
    Hi, I'm a 5'7 22 year old girl and I currently weight 123.5 lbs. I work out about 3/4 times a week for about an hour (weight lifting + cardio, 50/50). About 2 years ago, I recovered from anorexia and I know this influences the amount of calories you need for a long period after you've recovered. However, I'm now barely maintaining at 2300 calories. I might even eat more, I sometimes don't log all my food. It just seems like a lot. Are there others with this sort of situation?

    Sounds like you are doing great to me! You've probably backed on some serious muscle with all that weight lifting. Muscle is metabolically expensive. The more muscle you have the more you burn. So build that muscle girl and support it with great eating.

    And pat yourself on the back. You've come a long way. Being able to eat 2300 and maintain your physique means you've worked hard. Way to go!
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    Congratulations on your recovery and weight maintenance.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    collectingblues wrote: »
    And, keep in mind that it is entirely your eating disorder telling you that 2300 calories is a lot of food. 2300 isn't a lot, and especially not when you're active.

    This.

    You might want to confirm it with your treatment team
  • laura9503
    laura9503 Posts: 43 Member
    Thanks for the replies! Really helpful to hear all your experiences! I'll just keep eating and working out as I'm doing now :) And indeed, it probably stems from my previous ED thoughts that I see 2300 as a lot
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    It's definitely not a lot. I am shorter than you and eat average of 2300/2400 ish a day. You workout for 2 hours a day 3/4 times a week so I would expect you to maintain on more. Don't worry or let your mind tell you you are eating too much.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Congrats on maintaining, 2300 isn't alot for your height, if you are still losing you'll need to bump up your calories a bit more.
  • laura9503
    laura9503 Posts: 43 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    I maintain somewhere around that level (gross calories eaten), maybe a little more, at 5'5", 120s, age 62, sedentary/retired daily life, around 1-1.5 hours daily vigorous intentional exercise 6 days a week (spin class, on-water rowing, rowing machine, weight training, mostly).

    Admittedly, I have an unusually high burn for my size and activity level, but I would hope it would still reassure you that 2300 is not off the map for someone taller, active, and 40 years younger! ;)

    Ahh thank you! If anything this is inspiring
  • LaurenFong
    LaurenFong Posts: 1 Member
    Glad to see your post. Having similar challenges. Am 39yo female 5'7" 121# was 147# a year or so ago. Lost weight from stress and not eating very much, not from diet plans. I don't workout but i work at a grocery store, standing, running around, stocking, etc. Am having a difficult time maintaining weight. Eating lots of sweets everyday, and it feels like I'm eating a lot, but still losing weight. So just started tracking calories today. Think nutrient absorption is altered after prolonged fasting like anorexia. I used to eat 1200 calories and walk a hour a day when I weighed 145 and couldn't lose weight. Metabolism changes. Thanks for your post, good luck.
  • goatg
    goatg Posts: 1,399 Member
    I’m 5’7 and I was about 120 for a long time.
    That number seems spot on, maybe a bit low depending on the intensity of your workouts.

    Keep up the great work.:)
  • laura9503
    laura9503 Posts: 43 Member
    My weight actually just dropped to 122 lbs which was quite shocking to me. I haven't worked out in 2 weeks now due to my health (going to see the doctor tomorrow) so maybe it's muscle? I do notice that today I'm verrrry hungry so I'm giving in to it and not paying too much attention to my calories. Apparently my body needs a bit more to sustain right now. But thanks for all the comments, it has changed my view on the amount of calories.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,225 Member
    lauraandeweg wrote: »
    My weight actually just dropped to 122 lbs which was quite shocking to me. I haven't worked out in 2 weeks now due to my health (going to see the doctor tomorrow) so maybe it's muscle? I do notice that today I'm verrrry hungry so I'm giving in to it and not paying too much attention to my calories. Apparently my body needs a bit more to sustain right now. But thanks for all the comments, it has changed my view on the amount of calories.

    More likely water weight drop from dropping exercise for a couple of weeks (reduced muscle repair happening). The amount is well within the scope of normal day to day fluctuation.

    If you're having health issues, eating at least maintenance is a really good plan. Healing is priority one.

    Hope your health turns around soon!
  • CJ_Holmes
    CJ_Holmes Posts: 759 Member
    Hi Laura, I see a weight drop when I take a few rest days as well. Stick with your doctor checkups! I just want to echo what others have said- 2300 is not a lot of food for an active female your age and height. We get really warped not just from our own issues, but from all the 1200 and 1500 calorie diet crap. Keep getting support and sanity checks from a healthy community- it sounds like you are doing great.
  • fitblonde88
    fitblonde88 Posts: 19 Member
    Hi and congrats on your recovery! I also have an ED past (many moons ago), so I understand that it's surprising that you can eat that much. I'm also 5'7" and used to weigh 118 lbs until I got a desk job a few years ago. I burned about 2200 calories a day then when I was in my mid-20s, so 2300 cals a day for 123 lbs doesn't seem that far-fetched. You're right that anorexia will slow your metabolism in recovery, but after 2 years it should be back to normal. If you need any more love and support, feel free to add me!
  • saragd012
    saragd012 Posts: 693 Member
    My stats are very similar to yours (5'8" 125 lbs), and I maintain around 2300 calories as well, sometimes more if I've been particularly active. I understand the struggle, I suffered from an eating disorder when I was younger as well so sometimes I suddenly become stressed out that I'm eating too much. It's a strange journey to go from extreme calorie restricting to realizing you have too many leftover calories for the day and telling yourself you should pick out a treat before bed to get more calories in.
  • VictoriaTuel
    VictoriaTuel Posts: 1,604 Member
    Late to the party, but I'm 5' 7.5", 128lb (172cm, 58kg) and I also feel like my calories are a lot when I know logically they're not. I started logging in mfp when I started running and lost a lot of weight and was concerned I wasn't eating enough my activity level. It turns out I was sometimes only eating 1200 calories on average for a week, and I was running 15-20 miles a week with other exercise too.

    Now I'm aiming for 1600 before eating back exercise calories, and even that looks like a lot to me. I exercise ~2+ hours, 5+ times a week (including stretching and such) and often get to 1800/1900 and have a mental block about eating over 2000, even though I know I've burned my than that in the day. 2300 is really not a lot (neither is 2000), and is probably a good range for you if your body is happy with it!
  • steph2strong
    steph2strong Posts: 426 Member
    I am 5'6, 120 lbs and eat 3000 calories to Maintain my weight. Don't be afraid to eat ladies, your bodies will thank you and your athletic pursuits will benefit tremendously.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    VictoriaTuel wrote: »
    @TavistockToad I know you're joking, but I want to answer seriously because no one was even close to noticing how few calories I was eating (not even me), and I was eating ~1200 calories for months. First, I tend to overbook myself, so sometimes I was just doing too many things to pay attention to whether I was hungry or not. Exercise also suppresses my appetite, so I'm never hungry after my workouts (though now I make myself eat a protein filled snack).

    One of the main reasons though is that I'm vegetarian and love cooking with fresh veggies, but even if you put an entire onion, zucchini, package of mushrooms, bell pepper, and half a block of tofu in a dish, that's still only ~310-400 calories depending on the tofu. I think that's part of why no one was worried about how much food I was eating and I wasn't getting noticeably weaker/sicker: quantity-wise I was eating plenty of food, it was all just very low calorie and nutrient dense (so at least I was eating healthy foods!). High volume of food does not always equal high calorie count though. Everyone actually thought I had a super healthy lifestyle, and it wasn't until my clothes were all too big I noticed I had lost a significant amount of inches/weight.

    TL;DR
    Eating food is good!!     Also, actually keeping track of what you're eating is a great way to recognize unhealthy behaviors whether you're overeating or undereating or just not getting proper nutrition (whatever that is for your body).

    (As a side note, I've already eaten over 2000 calories today, so I've gotten much better at this, even though I did get some minor trepidation when I was at 1920 and went to eat more)

    I wasn't joking at all. The runger is real for me, so it was a legitimate question. :flowerforyou:
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