Eating too little ?

vegajessica2017 · July 2019

So MFP set my calorie intake to 1,200 calories a day. I'm thinking it's too little considering I'm 5'2 and weigh 113 lbs. At the beginning of this month I weighed 116 lbs. I just recently lost 3 pounds in a week though my goal was to only lose 1 pound in a week. I am skinny fat so I'm really just trying to lose my belly fat and get abs.My goal is to be 108. I exercise 5x a day . I watch youtube videos for ab workouts and full body workouts that range from 10-35 minutes. I was just concerned because I lost 3lbs in such a short amount of time. Also I started eating more healthy and restricted junk food. Help.

sefajane1 · July 2019

Set your goal to 0.5lb/week, 1lb is too much if you only have a few lbs to lose.
Lost weight doesn't necessarily mean the fat will come off from where you want it to though, it'll come from where your body decides to get it from.
Also, that first 3lb could be water weight. Adjust your goal, keep on track with weighing, and logging EVERYTHING that passes your lips.
Are you tracking and logging your exercise? Are you eating back the calories that MFP gives you for that exercise?

Panini911 · July 2019

yes you are correct, that is too little. MFP gave you that based on the information you gave it.

you are already towards the bottom of the healthy weight BMI range for your height so at most you should be at 0.5lb/week. And EAT BACK EXERCISE CALORIES (a reasonable estimate). MFP gives you how much to lose at the selected rate (at selected activity level) assuming NO purposeful exercise. none. you add those back in.

also ensure you selected the correct activity level. sedentary is SUPER sedentary.\

ETA: three pounds week one could be a lot of water weight - i'd adjust MFP stats as i mention above and then eat that plus exercise then see how things go over 3-4 weeks.

sardelsa · July 2019

I would definitely slow your loss as mentioned above, even 1lb a week is a bit much. Otherwise you risk losing even more muscle and believe me that will have the opposite effect you want.

Since you are at a healthy weight and consider yourself higher bodyfat you might want to consider recomp (eating at maintenance and lifting) to build muscle to improve your body composition.

kimondo666 · July 2019

exercising 5times a day is a problem here. Too much calorie burning. NOt enough food intake. Ya dont wanna burn muscles.

kimny72 · July 2019

Just to agree with others, you should be set to lose no more than 0.5lbs per week, if you even need to lose more weight at all. Plus log your exercise and eat back at least some of those calories too. But that loss could easily have just been a water weight fluctuation.

If you are at all interested in recomp as mentioned above, this thread covers that:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

vegajessica2017 · July 2019

Thank you guys! So I increased my calorie intake to 1700. I hope that fine without making me lose muscle or slow my metabolism.

apullum · July 2019

You're well within the optimal BMI range for your height. Your goal weight is only six pounds from the very lowest end of your healthy BMI range. Weight loss would be extremely slow at this point and would require meticulous logging.

Losing more weight may not give you the appearance you want. I agree with those who recommend recomp rather than weight loss, since recomp makes most people happier with their appearance.

LyndaBSS · July 2019

The 3 lbs is your body releasing the water when you ate less junk food. ☺

Eating too little ?

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