I am 5'1, need to lose 20 pounds ,cant stick to 1200 calories a day

noopurjb · May 2018

I am just not able to stick to 1200 calories a day. Anyone feeling the same ? Any ideas on what I may be doing wrong ?

LivingtheLeanDream · May 2018

You could choose a slower rate of loss and earn more calories to eat..

If not then you need to choose filling but low calorie options.

You can eat back some exercise calories too, that'll help with the hunger.

kimny72 · May 2018

Yep, with 20 lbs to go you should be set to lose 1 lb per week at most, and there's nothing wrong with 0.5lbs per week if need be. Also remember you are supposed to log your exercise and eat back at least some of those calories.

If you are willing to temporarily make your diary public, we might be able to see what you've been eating and suggest options.

rj0150684 · May 2018

If you want (need) more calories in, you can always make more calories out (exercise). You can’t outrun a fork, but you can easily get yourself a few hundred calories a day more, just make sure you aren’t overestimating calories burned or picking an activity that makes you a lot hungrier.

88olds · May 2018

Plan your meals around volume. Eat 2 apples everyday. Add broccoli to everything that isn’t dessert. Eat egg whites. Skip the baked goods. Don’t drink alcohol. Find a few calories to set aside for some sort of treat everyday.

Agree that 1200 calories is not a good idea unless you absolutely have to be there to lose. If you are set at 1200 because you are in a rush- speed kills weight loss.

jbrooks3645 · May 2018

I'm also 5'1" I had mine set for 1200 to lose 2 lbs per week for a while but I kept goin over so I set it at 1 lb per week which gave me 1370. Being short sucks unless we exercise to earn some extra calories we starve lol

aquagurl12 · May 2018

When i originally lost weight for first time in 2007, I didn't have that low of a goal, but since its only 20lbs its not as much as i was wanting to lose at that time. I started with the max, including with exercise and gradually lowered it to average around 1300-1350. Lots of low calories foods and I loved my fruits. Cucumbers were my snack option, since its mainly water and can be used a lot of ways. Salads, just by itself, with vinegar. 20lbs shouldn't take long. Maybe try that and 30 mins to hour exercise. I hated it at first, but now its pretty much my routine. Normal exercise since my feet are my main transportation. I've done when working at least 1 1/2 hours of exercise. Start slow and work up to it. Strength training helps too. Build muscle and feel like your burning. That should help more. Crunches, squats, arm exercises.

momto3tolose10 · May 2018

I have the same issue. I am 5'1 and 120 lbs early 40s. I want to lose the last 6-7 lbs . Even when I set the weekly weightloss goal to 0.5 MFP still gives me 1200 (without exercise- I choose the sedentary mode so I can add the exercise cals later) . What is the setting u all use to get it to 1300-1350.

kimny72 · May 2018

jaytolose10 wrote: »

I have the same issue. I am 5'1 and 120 lbs early 40s. I want to lose the last 6-7 lbs . Even when I set the weekly weightloss goal to 0.5 MFP still gives me 1200 (without exercise- I choose the sedentary mode so I can add the exercise cals later) . What is the setting u all use to get it to 1300-1350.

The amount of calories your body needs is also affected by how much you currently weigh. Someone who is 5'1 and 140 is going to get a slightly higher calorie goal for half a lb than someone 5'1 120.

You are already a healthy weight for your height and chose sedentary, so yeah you are stuck with the bottom of the calorie range. You are going to need to get your exercise calories in, even if it's just by taking a brisk walk on some days, so you can eat a little more and ensure you still have a deficit.

If you aren't currently, you may want to consider recomping with a structured lifting program. Sometimes building muscle can help reshape your figure without actually losing weight. Either way, you will probably have to accept that progress will be hard to measure on the scale and slow going, sorry. I'm 5'4 and it took me a year to lose the last 10 lbs - they were vanity lbs and I just couldn't realistically hit the lower cal goals I needed to, so I spent that year building more activity into my day, committing to strength training, and getting okay with the fact that I would see a lb drop off the scale maybe once a month or so. If it's any comfort, it did work, eventually!

momto3tolose10 · May 2018

Thank you @kimny72 . That helps.

ltoatley · June 2018

Thank you! These comments are actually very helpful. I was getting a little discouraged at the numbers not going down on the scale. mfp has me at 1200 cal too, I've been thinking I need to add weight lifting in. I'm 5'0" around 131 lbs, 52 years old. Started a year ago after a pre-diabetes diagnosis and lost 17 lbs. I'm back off the metformin for 3 months now and my a1c lab still looking normal. Been doing zumba or walking, watching what I eat and having a hard time with losing another 10-15 lbs, weight ranging between 129-132. Now I need to figure out how to work in some lifting and what exercises to include.

sharunza · June 2018

I found that eating low carb helped me stay fuller at lower calories. Also, it helps me to eat two meals a day, or 2 meals and one smaller meal. Snacking is pretty much out. Also, once I gutted through the first 3-4 days, it got a lot easier.

emmamcgarity · June 2018

I do find that adding lots of veggies and fruit and plenty of protein help me feel more satisfied. If you are hungry, eat more. Log everything even if you go over your calorie goal. It makes it easier to have the data to make changes the following week if necessary.

DomesticKat · June 2018

I'm 5'1" and 133lbs and with my account set to active, I can lose a half pound a week at 1790 calories based on MFP's estimate.

Look at ways to increase your non-exercise activity. Find ways to spend less of your day sitting. Park further away. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. That kind of thing makes a big difference when you're short. Don't commit to being sedentary if you don't have to be for some medical reason.

I get at least 10,000 steps a day with my Fitbit and that allows me to set my account to active. Exercise can help a little more by eating back the calories you burn. I don't do any intentional cardio, just a progressive weight lifting program, so I don't earn calories that way. It all comes down to not being a couch potato.

Secondly, with 20 pounds to lose, choose a smaller weekly goal. A pound or half pound is perfectly acceptable, and probably a lot more realistic to sick to. Above all, accuracy when logging is important, so make sure you're choosing proper entries and measuring your food correctly (like with a food scale) so you aren't under-eating.

There are lots of ways to increase volume with lower calorie foods, and ways to adjust your macros for satiety, but I would suggest the above things first.

rebbylicious · June 2018

I found that if I was to plan an outing with my husband and knew I would eat 700+ calories in the meal, I would do a 400+ calorie burn workout and enjoy guilt free. Remember, eating at a weight loss number every day is great, but if you eat at maintenance once in a while it should not cause you to gain weigh.

Ardael · June 2018

I'm 5'1 and 129lbs

I eat around 1700 cals a day and lose about 1/2lbs /week.

My calorie allowance is 1310.

- I replaced most of my grains by veggies.
- I drink more
- I used to walk a lot but have now switched to cycling and I do an hour 6times a week. But at first I just walked up and down my street.
- I allow a small treat, because I need to. Mine at the moment is a Jaffa cake ( 45cal ) with my coffee.

I used to be a serial starter and to me starvation Is just not an option. I get moody, hangry, then depressed and I binge. The few switches in my diet made the difference and then I exercise to " buy dinner ".
My hour of cycling now gives me around 600cal. That's dinner.

Motor_Election · June 2018

@Ardael that's the way to do it! When you feel like you're starving yourself, it's just not going to work in the long run. Eat (just a bit) more, find some foods to replace with better ones and exercise

Allow yourself to lose the weight at a slower pace, and treat yourself while you're actually changing your lifestyle to a healthier one!

funchords · June 2018

Hi @ltoatley, congrats on getting the normal A1C scores!

The site at https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/wiki/programs#wiki_resistance_training has a long list of programs, and I've picked a few choices

* Starting Strength
* Strong Lifts 5x5
* Ice Cream Fitness 5x5
* PPL Program for Beginners

Read up on these four. Either do one of those or mix-and-match pieces of them to your liking based on the equipment that they have at your gym.

Do know that you will gain weight due to muscle inflammation when you start. This is normal, it's not fat, and it doesn't hurt your fat burning; but it does add to the scale for the 3-5 weeks. After that, the muscles have settled down and your fat-burning rate is outstripping the water retaining weight.

beachbody4l · June 2018

I'm 5'0 and 109lbs. My maintenance level is extremely low. For me it's all about really deciding if a meal is going to keep me full for the 'price' of the calories. Is there something else I can eat that will keep me fueled without eating half of my day's worth in one sitting? I think we get so use to just eating whatever the hell we want that it really takes a bit of willpower training to look down at yourself and say "No, you really don't need that. Here's a healthier, less dense food option."

strongerbytheday · June 2018

I sent you a friend request. I eat 1200 calories/day and my diary is open. If you are just starting out, as time goes on you will find what fills you more.

SabAteNine · June 2018

If it feels too little, it is

You can try taking it slower, and set MFP to a less steep weight loss rate.

If you don't want to do that, there is a thread around called Volume Eaters Thread. There's a lot of inspiration on foods and combinations which are low-cal, yet filling. When I was eating at a large deficit, my go-to was 7 oz of each chicken breast diced, red peppers, tomatoes, greens (spinach, rocket, salad, parsley), cucumber, plus low-fat greek yoghurt on top. The whole monster was 2 lbs and 550 - 600 cals.

arbuckle57 · June 2018

if your counting calories, a pound loss or gain is 3,500 calories. so at 1,200 calories and a small lady would possibly use 1,500-2000. a deficit each day will accumulate until 3,500 is reached and then a loss. Hope that makes sense. No goodies no alcahol.

ltoatley · June 2018

@noopurjb great discussion you started here. @funchords thanks I'll look at those.

I am 5'1, need to lose 20 pounds ,cant stick to 1200 calories a day

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