Calorie advice needed

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Mandy72M
Mandy72M Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 5ft 2 currently 8st 13lbs looking to get to 8st. I'm really struggling with calories as I've been trying to stick to 1300 calories per day in total including exercise. I would prefer to have a set amount of calories per day. I've done a search using TDEE and at light exercise I could consume 1574 calories. Can anyone help me set a realistic calorie goal as I keep restarting every couple of days after a blow out. Any advice would be welcome. Is 1574 more realistic for me? Thanks.

My exercise routine is currently the following per week:

3 to 4 Body Pump classes per week (1hr each class)
1 Body Combat (1hr)
1 Body Attack (1hr)
1 Metafit (20-25min)
Gym CV equipment medium intensity (1or 2hrs)

Replies

  • Jadub729
    Jadub729 Posts: 135 Member
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    I am 5'2 and eat about 1500-1700 calories per day
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    What makes you think 1574 isn't realistic? IMO, 1500-1600 is a great starting point.
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 1,974 Member
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    1300 including exercise is probably a bit low.

    Like you, I MUCH prefer a relatively set amount per day (I do allow/plan for one bigger meal on my weekends, usually a thin crust pizza is my go-to).

    What are your loss goals per week? It could be that you'd be better off eating a bit more each day and accepting a slower loss rate. If you goal is too aggressive, it's very easy to end up going through what you are experiencing, or just being overly fatigued the rest of the time.

    Try the higher limit for a few weeks. If, after a few weeks, your weigh trend isn't headed the right direction, then drop it down a bit and go again for a couple weeks until you find the balance where your body will lose but you're not going insane with the restrictions, too. The numbers on any of these sites are simply guidelines, we need to figure out the exact amount for ourselves, especially the closer to goal that we get.
  • PokeyBug
    PokeyBug Posts: 482 Member
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    Honestly, I'm 5'1", and I'd be thrilled to weigh what you do, lol. Are you sure that you want to lose weight on the scale, or would you be happier with a body recomposition (losing fat and gaining muscle)?

    If recomposition is what you really want to go for, this article gives advice on how to find calorie requirements for training and rest days. https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/the-basics-of-body-recomposition-how-to-lose-fat-gain-muscle-at-the-same-time/ Figure out your calorie needs for each training day, your calorie needs for rest days, add them together and divide by 7, and that should give you a daily calorie number to shoot for. (I totally agree that it's a total PITA when your calorie needs vary day by day.)
  • Semele0
    Semele0 Posts: 114 Member
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    I'm more or less the same as you, height, starting weight and goal weight. I'm on 1200-1300 cals a day plus exercise, but since I don't usually burn much there is not much to add. Yes 1300 with all that exercise sounds a bit low.
    Anyway I believe that everyone is different, even if you've the same stats as me it doesn't mean that you have the same needs. If you are struggling with 1300 try to up them and see if it goes better, and if the weight goes down. How did you get the 1300? How much do you burn on those exercises? If I were you I'd probably try with 1400 for example, and see if I can sustain that and lose. If it is still to low, up again, determine the cals by the weight loss you see over the weeks. If nothing happens in 4 weeks, then maybe they are too high.
  • izabelawong1980
    izabelawong1980 Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi. I’m new to all this. I’m 5”1 and 62kg.
    I’m on 1200 calories a day. Is that too much or should I eat more. Please help.
    My eating habits are changed.
    I don’t eat sugar fuzzy drinks, breads, fast foods, sweets or chocolate, cakes, crisps.
    I do eat salads a vegetable and fruits. Nuts chicken breast. Green tea water.
    I can’t loose any weight and the question is what I doing wrong.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    izabelawong1980 wrote: »
    Hi. I’m new to all this. I’m 5”1 and 62kg.
    I’m on 1200 calories a day. Is that too much or should I eat more. Please help.
    My eating habits are changed.
    I don’t eat sugar fuzzy drinks, breads, fast foods, sweets or chocolate, cakes, crisps.
    I do eat salads a vegetable and fruits. Nuts chicken breast. Green tea water.
    I can’t loose any weight and the question is what I doing wrong.

    You may want to start your own thread to ask this question rather than using someone else's.

  • change4char
    change4char Posts: 85 Member
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    5'2'' and I am losing steadily on 1500 calories. I started at 127 (9 st. 1lb), I'm now at 125 (8 st 13lb) and all I do is make sure I get 10k steps.
  • change4char
    change4char Posts: 85 Member
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    izabelawong1980 wrote: »
    Hi. I’m new to all this. I’m 5”1 and 62kg.
    I’m on 1200 calories a day. Is that too much or should I eat more. Please help.
    My eating habits are changed.
    I don’t eat sugar fuzzy drinks, breads, fast foods, sweets or chocolate, cakes, crisps.
    I do eat salads a vegetable and fruits. Nuts chicken breast. Green tea water.
    I can’t loose any weight and the question is what I doing wrong.

    are you measuring you food?

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