To all those under 5 foot 2''....

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MaggieFit622
MaggieFit622 Posts: 64
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi shorties! I wanted to know if anyone knew where I should set my caloric intake if I want to begin to weight lift in order to gain muscle? I am 5 foot 1'' and 100 Ibls. I do cardio 6X a week and I wanted to integrate weight lifting in at least two of those days. Right now I aim for 1,300 calories a day...mostly b/c I am scared to go any higher. My food diary is open if anyone wants to take a peak :)

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  • busterbluth
    busterbluth Posts: 115 Member
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    Also 5'1-ish here.

    Why are you afraid to go higher than 1300? Are you trying to lose weight?

    What calorie count did MFP suggest for you?
  • MaggieFit622
    MaggieFit622 Posts: 64
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    Well, when I put in matienance for my weight and activity level it says 1,700. But, it just seems way too high, don't you think? Or is it just the whole, lower calorie is better for short women mentality that I am stuck with? I have always been told not to eat too much b/c of my height so I just stuck with it....but now I am starting to weight lift so I figured it would be best if I consulted the forums to see how much they eat vs how tall they are.
  • busterbluth
    busterbluth Posts: 115 Member
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    I don't think 1700 sounds high at ALL unless you're trying to lose a lot of weight; mine's at just over 1200 to lose a pound a week (and I'm going to raise it when I "feel" like I've lost enough--I don't weigh myself other than when I go to the dr). Particularly when you're doing so much cardio. . .when I used to run 5 days a week I ate with wild abandon and couldn't keep any weight on (but I was running pretty long distances and biking for 100% of my transportation).
  • ashnm88
    ashnm88 Posts: 748
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    1700 isn't too much.
  • cameralinds
    cameralinds Posts: 239
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    I'm between 5' and 5'1", though height has nothing to do with weight training....well, not TOO much to do with it. Are you talking about bulking up or toning?

    If you're wanting to build muscle, you don't want to have a deficit in your calories, otherwise you will be aiming to LOSE weight, which could be losing muscle as well. Don't be freaked out about eating your calories. You should be close to your maintenance range so you can pack on some more muscle weight. What bodyfat percent are you? This will let you know how much lean muscle mass you already have. Note: Women should AT LEAST be 10%-12% for the womanly things our body does to survive.

    From, not much help.
  • MaggieFit622
    MaggieFit622 Posts: 64
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    According to several different calculators online, I have a body fat percentage of 20%. I really want to tone the jiggle in my belly and I want to gain some muscles in my arms. I am sooo weak it isn't even funny. I struggle to pick up my school bag when its too full.
  • FaithHopeBELIEVE
    FaithHopeBELIEVE Posts: 626
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    According to several different calculators online, I have a body fat percentage of 20%. I really want to tone the jiggle in my belly and I want to gain some muscles in my arms. I am sooo weak it isn't even funny. I struggle to pick up my school bag when its too full.

    This sounds like me. I am 5'2" and currently 112. I've lost 8 lbs since starting on MFP in mid September. I still have the jiggle in my abs I want gone but no matter what I do it hasnt gone away yet. I've been told I need to lose fat in my upper body first before it comes from my abs. Who knows. I do weightliftng and cardio and have my goal set at maintenance of 1550. This way my deficit is in green and i can see how much I will lose.
  • Silverkittycat
    Silverkittycat Posts: 1,997 Member
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    I'm very close in size, just shy of 5'2 and about 96 pounds. I've never needed to lose weight so I might be able to eat a slightly higher amount, but I average almost 2000 calories daily. I don't do much in the way of cardio, just loads of yoga. I think I'm at about 19% bodyfat but haven't checked lately. Anyway, I'm trying to gain a few pounds of muscle and a bit more strength, but eating at this amount hasn't increased my weight and it's been quite a while. I think you'll be safe at 1700. Try it for a month or so and see? :smile:
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
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    I'm 5'2" and 1700 calories sounds delicious.

    I am trying to eat 1400 to lose weight. If I were maintaining, I'd eat AT LEAST 1700 and more than that if I were going to try to build muscle.

    Ok, so maybe I am already trying to build a little muscle, but I am currently 155lbs, so my top priority is to lose weight. I just don't want to lose muscle mass while I'm doing it.

    No one wants to be weak. Pick up your book bag and grab a snack.
  • stylistchik
    stylistchik Posts: 1,436 Member
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    I'm between 5'1 and 5'2, about 107 (20% body fat) and my maintenance calories are set at 1600. With exercise it usually brings me up to 1800 or higher and I have a hard time eating that much. I eat a clean, mostly vegan diet and all those veggies are very filling but not very caloric.
  • significance
    significance Posts: 436 Member
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    I'm 5'1.5", 115 lbs and have my net calorie goal set to 1200 to lose weight. With daily exercise, though (and eating back exercise calories), I've been eating around 1900 cal/day and still losing weight (fat and muscle, since I'm only doing cardio). So if you are trying to gain muscle mass, you will certainly need more than 1300/day.
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
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    5' 1.5" here, 127lbs (yup, still got quite a bit of fat to lose). I eat around 2150 calories on training days and 1750-ish on rest days. I'm actually LOSING weight very slowly... like 1.5lbs per month, so I may have to up my calories slightly. I only do weight training, almost no cardio.

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