5'4 and 146lbs

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So obviously I am doing something wrong... My weight just fluctuates. Its not on a constant down no matter what I do. Just found out that I am definitely going about this all wrong. I don't even know how to figure out what my TDEE is so that way I don't go into Starvation mode... which is what I have done. I would like to lose at least 2 lbs/week but cant figure out what I need to do to achieve that. Exercise wise, I go for an hour walk with my daughter pushing her in her stroller, 30 mins of Taebo.. and 45mins - 60 mins of quick walking/jogging a night. Where do I go from here... how do I figure out my TDEE and what I need to do to get on track to lose the weight I want to lose.

HELP!
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Replies

  • mallory3411
    mallory3411 Posts: 839 Member
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    You are pretty small already so you will not be able to lose "at least 2lbs per week" ... at least not in a healthy way. That amount of weight loss is best for the much larger person who needs to lose over 75lbs. What is your goal weight? Healthy weight loss for you would probably be around 0.5lbs per week.

    Weight fluctuates a lot. When losing weight you won't lose each and every week. Some weeks you will stay the same and some you will go up. Unfortunately it is just how it goes.

    What are you eating in a day? Processed foods or foods high in sodium can cause water weight gain and changes on the scale. If you aren't drinking enough water that can change things too.

    I'm betting you aren't in starvation mode unless you've constantly been eating just a few hundred calories a day for a while. That term is thrown around here a lot.

    How many calories do you eat in a day? Are you measuring your food? Counting everything? The exercise counters here tend to overestimate calories burned so it's best to use a HRM if you have one.
  • healthycurves2012
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    At my smallest, I was 140 lbs. and a size 8 in clothing. People constantly told me how skinny I looked, and I noticed it as well. No matter what I did after hitting 140, the scale did NOT budge. This was because my body did not want to go under 140. That was my healthy weight. You are only 6 lbs. above that weight, and the same height as me. It is likely that your body is comfortable at the weight you are, and that it will be very hard, if not impossible, for you to lose much more, if any. If I were you, I would focus on health rather than the number on the scale at this point and let the chips fall where they may.
  • dieseljay74
    dieseljay74 Posts: 376
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    I found when I started mine was too low. Once i adjusted higher it started coming off. I would honestly try a few other calculators and average it. MFP seems consistently too low
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
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    You and I are the same height and have the same weight goal! Cool!

    1st, weight fluctuates. Up and down and all over the place throughout the day, across days, even across weeks. I am never down and stay down in weight. I'm up and down and up and down all the time! Water weight, food consumption, time of day, clothing, whether you have relieved yourself recently or not all affect the number on the scale! It's not the best judge of your progress, but it's the one most of us are most familiar with! Don't get frustrated, as long as the general trend is downward, you ARE doing it right!

    2nd, with only 11 pounds to lose, you'll probably not lose 2 pounds a week, even if that's what you're set for. Your body just doesn't like to let those last few pounds go! LOL!

    Don't freak out about starvation mode. It's either going to happen or it's not! No point worrying about it. To keep it at bay as long as possible, make sure you net your BMR in calories. Which means if you exercise, you eat more! You can get your BMR from the tools tab on this website!
  • Jamiewoodle
    Jamiewoodle Posts: 100 Member
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    We're somewhat close!

    Ht 5' 4"
    SW 172
    CW 152
    GW 130
    Age 29
    Female (obviously, lol!)

    Desk Job
    Workouts Mon-2mi run + 30 min Strength/Tue long run 4-6mi/Wed Jillian Michaels 30 day shred/Thr 2mi run+strength
    Friday-rest/ Sat rest / Sun Jillian Michaels 45 min workout

    I lose 1-1.5 lbs a week. Feel free to look through my diary and/or add me as friend :wink:
  • Bikini_Bound150
    Bikini_Bound150 Posts: 461 Member
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    I agree that your body is telling you that this is where you should be. Instead of trying to get skinnier, why don't you try to tone your body? Weight training will give you that lean, toned, sexy look without looking too skinny and unhealthy. You are at a great weight for your height and body type and you're absolutely gorgeous. Also, getting toned will help you fit into clothes differently than just being skinny. Your weight might go up a tiny bit (because muscle weighs more than fat) but that's a great thing! You will see results in INCHES, rather than on the scale.
  • bdk123
    bdk123 Posts: 1
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    it looks like you're doing a lot of cardio, which is good but that alone doesn't always get the job done. if you want to see results such as losing INCHES, i would suggest lifting light weights. doing this may increase your weight on the scale, but that's only because you will be gaining muscle which weighs more than fat. it's good to have a goal weight but if you're goal is really to like the way you LOOK then i think you should add some weight lifting to your exercise program. also, protein plays a huge role in muscle repair and conditioning. you can google tons of info on protein and find out how much you should intake a day and the best times during the day to take it or of course talk to someone at a supplement store or some other health program. by doing this, i found out i wasn't taking in near enough and began using a powder supplement. i started seeing a difference within a few weeks and felt a lot better!!

    ultimately, everyone's body is different and therefore requires an exercise plan that fits YOU. If what you are doing isn't giving you the results you need, mix it up! there are also TONS of excercises on DVDs that are really good and you don't have to leave the comfort of your own home or pay a monthly fee for a gym (which are both hard to do when you have a little one...i know!).

    good luck! :)
  • wvtracyann
    wvtracyann Posts: 106 Member
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    you can feel free to add me I am in the same boat I am 5'4 and 145.5 as of today I am trying to get down to 125 my prebaby weight the whole two months I have been doing this I have lost 8 or 9 pounds I have never been able to reach that 2 pounds a week thing
  • Skinny4BG
    Skinny4BG Posts: 145
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    So this is gonna sound really bad... but Ive only been eatting between 600 and 700 calories a day... and always trying to make sure I have at least a 200 or higher in the negative after ive exercised by the time I go to bed. Water wise.. I drink at least 10-12 8 oz glasses a day. Dont drink anything else but water anymore. So I would eat like 600 calories... and burn 800 calories just working out so i would have that negative. My goal weight is 135. I was there before I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, and want to be there again. But Im a pear shape body so I hold all my weight in my hips, butt and thighs.
  • amuhlou
    amuhlou Posts: 693 Member
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    There was a post the other day about how a nursing baby consumes close to 600 calories a day. So definitely 600-700 is not sufficient for an adult. It's very possible that your body is holding onto everything you feed it because it's HUNGRY.

    The general wisdom says that for proper nutrition you need 1200 calories as an adult. So even if you ate 600 and didn't exercise, you are way undernourished.

    On top of that, you are close to your goal, and weight loss slows down because your BMR gets lower. 2lbs a week is no longer possible for me because a goal of 1200 per day only gets me a 500 calorie deficit each week, which equals 1 pound.
  • Kait1215
    Kait1215 Posts: 61 Member
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    So this is gonna sound really bad... but Ive only been eatting between 600 and 700 calories a day... and always trying to make sure I have at least a 200 or higher in the negative after ive exercised by the time I go to bed. Water wise.. I drink at least 10-12 8 oz glasses a day. Dont drink anything else but water anymore. So I would eat like 600 calories... and burn 800 calories just working out so i would have that negative. My goal weight is 135. I was there before I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, and want to be there again. But Im a pear shape body so I hold all my weight in my hips, butt and thighs.

    Yup defintly not eating enough, working out is great but you have to net 1200 calories a day or your not gonna get anywhere and eventually get frustrated and quit
  • jennifer52484
    jennifer52484 Posts: 888 Member
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    I'm not sure what you are eating but if you can add additional protein to your diet and maybe two intense cardio sessions a week. Try to add some strength training in too. keep mixing your exercises up so your body keeps guessing.
  • angie_sample
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    u need more food. I tried the extremely low calorie thing too. Lost a lot the first two weeks and then bam stopped losing. Thing of food as fuel. I think u might need to add some weight stuff to ur exercise routine. Cardio is AWESOME, but if u build muscle u burn more calories just when ur sitting around compared to someone who doesnt have a lot of muscle.

    The amount u need to eat depends on ur body. I've tried many different things. But i recently have started eating 5-6 times a day at 200-250 calories a meal. I LOVE THIS!! bc i never feel hungry but i never feel stuffed either. This may not work for u though bc every body is different just try some different things with ur exercise and eating and try not to focus so much on the scale. Make sure to take ur measurements ur body could easily be changing just not on the scale. Good luck and u look wonderful!! :)
  • cainie19
    cainie19 Posts: 126
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    The highest healthy weight according to BMI for your height is 145.7lbs, you're freakin 0.3lbs overweight. Don't sweat.
  • Skinny4BG
    Skinny4BG Posts: 145
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    Okay.. so lemme see if I understand this... The thing on the main page... Goal... Food... Exercise... Net... So if my goal is 1200 calories... And I eat 1200 calories... but then say i exercise off 600 Calories.. but then eat back the 600 calories.. and my net says 1200 calories... no negative... then Ill start back losing weight?
  • mallory3411
    mallory3411 Posts: 839 Member
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    You don't need to burn off everything you eat. The calorie goal you have per day already has a deficit built in. You don't need to burn off 1200 calories if you eat 1200 calories.

    Your body NEEDS food to function properly. You are not eating enough. I'm guessing you aren't getting in the proper nutrients your body needs on such a low calorie day.

    Sounds odd but you need to eat to lose. The number at the top should be as close to zero as possible at the end of the day. Not a negative number
  • bella51708
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    That is how it works for me. I'm 5'4" like you, but I weight 250. I want to lose another 100 pounds and am losing about 2lbs a week. My calorie goal is 1410 and I exercise off 450 calories bringing my calorie goal to 1860. I usually try to keep under that a bit though (in case I overestimated my exercise calories or food calories). Normally, I eat between 1400 and 1600 cals on the days I exercise and 1200-1300 on days I don't. MFP will never put your goal under 1200 since that is the minimum you need to eat to be healthy.

    But, if you exercise heavily, you need to eat back your exercise calories so that you net 1200 for normal bodily functions.
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
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    Okay.. so lemme see if I understand this... The thing on the main page... Goal... Food... Exercise... Net... So if my goal is 1200 calories... And I eat 1200 calories... but then say i exercise off 600 Calories.. but then eat back the 600 calories.. and my net says 1200 calories... no negative... then Ill start back losing weight?

    Probably not immediately. Your body has been struggling to adapt to a starvation diet and will need some time to recover. You may even gain a little in the beginning, if only because of the weight of the food and former food in your alimentary canal. But don't let that stop you from doing it. In the long run you'll be much MUCH better off if you eat more, so my advice would be to put the scale away for while until you're past the period of readjustment.
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
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    Definitely eat more. I started at 147 lbs (5' 4") and 1200 calories, as my activity increased so did my calories. I'm now at 128 lbs and 1500 calories a day, I do some form of heavy cardio 5 to 6 times a week and burn about 500 calories per session (with my HRM) and weight train three times a week and am still losing. Every 3 weeks or so I increase my calories by 100 per day and although I gain a bit in the first week of the increase I lose by week two. Got to fat2fit and determine your true TDEE and that will give you a good starting point.
  • sweet110
    sweet110 Posts: 332 Member
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    So this is gonna sound really bad... but Ive only been eatting between 600 and 700 calories a day...

    Bingo. That's your problem. Your body is trying to keep you alive, it has no interest in losing 15 lbs. Eat. And do something strength bearing.