OK have at it

What is a good goal for sodium intake? I am always way under MAP goal levels. What should I have that set to?

2000 - 2500 mg per day is a good goal.

There is NO WAY on this earth that your TDEE is 1470. I'm 5'3 and mine is 2400, and I don't work out! Walking is my excercise. Try running your TDEE and BMR numbers on a different site, also looked through your diary and it's my opinion too that you're not eating enough. I eat 1800-2000 each day. Good luck, I hope you get it sorted.

That's what I was going to say. I don't see how your TDEE could be 1470. I'm 5'5" and 124lbs and my TDEE is over 2500 (I exercise quite a bit). I would need at least 1700-1800 on a rest day, though.

So here is a question, where can I find a good calculator to better figure out my BMR and TDEE?

Google the "Harris-Benedict Equation" to accurately calculate your BMR. It involves some math, so get a calculator and a pencil

I also wanted to add that I just peeked at your diary, didn't look through a lot of days or very closely, but I would say you should probably track your sodium. It seems like you're eating a lot of pre-packaged foods or lunch meats that are just jam-packed with sodium. And where's the food? Holy cow, I'd starve on that little bit of food every day. I try to eat pretty clean, at least I aim for about 80% good, wholesome foods and then 20% junk to indulge my cravings. My diary is open, feel free to take a look.

And by the way, hello neighbor to the east! I saw you're in Green Bay.....I live in Stevens Point.

So after using 3 different calculators I came up with an average TDEE of 1968. My BMR averages at 1295. So what would be a good place to set my calories?

Since you are already small and are not looking to lose a lot of weight, it's best to keep your deficit really, really small. 10-15% deficit would be good for someone your size. I rounded to 1950 for your TDEE just for easy math....that would put your total daily calorie intake between 1650-1750.

I would recommend upping your calories gradually. When I started upping mine in January I increased them 100-200 calories a day for a couple weeks, then upped them again. And it doesn't have to be a lot (volume-wise or bulk) of food you eat, just get in the habit of replacing low-fat/diet foods with whole-fat, real foods. Add some nuts or peanut butter to your day and you can easily add 200 calories without feeling overly stuffed full.

One more thing....if you are eating based off your TDEE minus a deficit then you do not want to "eat back" your exercise calories. I just stopped logging my exercise on MFP because I base my eating off my daily calorie burn per my BMF. So I'm not telling you to net 1650-1750 a day, but to make that your total intake regardless of exercise. You have already calculated your average weekly exercise with your TDEE number, so you don't want to double-count it.

Uh huh... everything that everyone else has said. You already knew this so change what you're doing and you'll see results.

OK...I'm not a doctor or dietician or nutritionist.....Disclaimer, LOL =D

But, if you are 5'2" your healthy weight range is between 108-121----> I say this because in your picture you look like you qualify as a 'small framed' women. =D I think the doc saying 105 is OK is fine too...I would say anything less than 100 would be underweight for sure.

Here's my opinion. I looked at your food Diary for the past 30 days (back to Feb 27th).
You had 3 days of going significantly over your calorie goal-- I take it this is the zig-zag you mentioned
You had 6 days of what I would consider meeting your calorie goal, or coming within and accepted range.
And the rest of the days you were significantly below your calorie goal for the day, and commonly under 1000cals/day.


---So, like others have said, my gut incling is that you aren't eating enough to rev up your metabolism. So when you do eat, your body isn't using up that energy quick enough for you to lose weight, and it's even gaining weight. So even though it sounds scary....I really think you should give upping your calorie limit a shot --- and eat it all. At least for 3-4 weeks. Because I'd bet that when you first do it, you will gain weight. So it will take some time for you to 'reset' your metabolism. If I were you I'd do some research on metabolism as well...just to understand it more.

---My only confusion is that if you were eating basically the same, back when you weighed 108.....I don't see what would cause you to suddenly start gaining.....because on the amount of calories you're eating, I can't see you gaining muscle mass.


Basically my suggestions are:
Drink more water --- don't even bank on the water in the food you eat....drink at least 64 ounces of water per day. LOL, you'll be friends with the bathroom!
Keep track of your sodium intake. I can't remember if it was on your Diary or not..... but try to stay at least AT 2500mg/day...and if you can try to stay as low as you can. It's really hard, sodium is magically delicious...and great at hiding out!
And, like I said, for 3-4 weeks up your calorie intake to 1300/day (I calculated based on your ht/wt/age and got 1280 as your BMR....and I didn't know what kind of lifestyle you have to I used 'sedentary' and your TDEE should be around 1500)

----If you don't see results with doing the above......then I have no more suggestions b/c I don't really really know what I'm talking about. What I do know is that when I hit a plateau, I upped my calories (and I'm actually not doing a lot of working out due to an injury) and the scale started moving again....slowly but it's moving!

Good luck, and I hope you get to a place where you're satisfied again. =D

I think it is better to aim for a healthy and fit looking body, and maybe not obsessing so much with body fat% and the number on the scale? A person can be 110Ibs, and look bigger and less healthy than someone 10Ibs heavier if the heavier person is eating a really good diet and building lean muscle. I just think you are a little too caught up with the numbers on the scale, rather than actually getting into a really healthy diet and lifestyle you can sustain for life.

You know, people on this site always talk a lot about sodium intake. I'm sure if you have certain health issues you need to be very cognizant of that, but I added it to my diary and started paying attention-- I am by no means the world's healthiest or cleanest eater, and I am almost always way under my recommended sodium intake. Just makes me a bit skeptical of all the sodium/water talk.

Could there be a little bun in the oven? That would explain an unexplainable weight gain.:blushing: :flowerforyou: