5'4" ladies - how many cals per day do you eat?

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  • keiraev
    keiraev Posts: 695 Member
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    Can I join the 5'4" ladies?

    I have literally just started doing this seriously and I am finding 1200 cals a day nearly impossible! (I am currently 142 lb and would like to lose 14lb by August).

    I exercise 3/4 times a week - a mixture of running, swimming and strength training so I do burn off quite a few calories but my problem has always been thinking I deserve some kind of (choc!) reward and eating back all the calories I've burned off plus usually a few more!

    We had a very warm April here in the UK and I ate far too much BBQ food and drank more alcohol than usual (very bad I know!) so I am now determined to get rid of the stone that I've put on since my wedding in Aug 2009 before we go on holiday.

    I think 1500 cals a day is a realistic target for me and I have lost weight doing this before- I am just worried that now I am older (32) it takes longer to shift the weight.

    I am also avoiding eating carbs with my evening meal but having them earlier in the day as I need the energy to work/exercise.

    Will let you know how it goes! x
  • taletreader
    taletreader Posts: 377 Member
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    How do you measure your RMR, I know BMR but not RMR?

    Oops, my bad, I was referring to BMR, not RMR. I'd love to be able to measure more :) .
  • ladybug1620
    ladybug1620 Posts: 1,136 Member
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    1400, yes I eat back my exercise cals most days. I had it set at 1200 and wasn't eating all of my exercise cals, and got stuck at this weight so I just upped it. Hopefully it works.
  • Triquetra
    Triquetra Posts: 270 Member
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    5'2" and I eat 1000 cal's per day without eating back my exercise cal's. My doctor has me on this as I am hypo and he said that is the only way I will lose.
  • katznkt
    katznkt Posts: 320 Member
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    It set me to 1200 but it felt to low, so I usually target 1400. If I have a really lazy day with no working out I shoot more for 1200. I try not to eat back my workout cals but will if I am hungry. My *max* is 1600 for the day.
  • Cupcake1015
    Cupcake1015 Posts: 109 Member
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    bump, trying to play around with how many cals I should be eating.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Currently around 1590 NET calories a day (so that means eating 1590 plus my exercise cals).

    Today for example, I have burnt 407 cals, so adding that to my 1590 I have 1997 cals to eat. I
    have 1925 worth of food planned in my diary and I'm sure I'll eat everything I have planned. If I'm still hungry I'll probably add a few almonds as well.

    I've tried eating 1400 net cals but that just isn't enough to keep my mood under control - when I eat this low for more than a few days in a row, I get seriously grumpy! It's not necessary either, I know I will lose weight if I can stick to the current amount.
  • mischa_12
    mischa_12 Posts: 137 Member
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    I'm 5'4 and my calories are set at 1200. It's not too hard to stay within these calories and I have been eating back most of my exercise calories too.
  • FitSuga
    FitSuga Posts: 262 Member
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    Im 5'4.
    Mine is set to 1650. My bmr is 1634. I typically net around 1400 net though. Trying to increase it. I really want to be more around 1800. My TDEE is 2500. I eat back my exorcise calories.
  • josephine_x
    josephine_x Posts: 90 Member
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    Wow. You all seem to be on such low cals. I was eating 1500 per day but didn't seem to be losing on that much, then I bought a Ki Fit (UK equiv to body media fit) which showed me i'm actually burning about 2500 cals per day (and I thought I was sedentary/lightly active!) So i'm now eating 2000 cals per day and losing about 1lb per week. I'm 5'3 and 143 lbs.
  • clairerose11
    clairerose11 Posts: 95 Member
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    I am literally a smidgen under 5 ft 4 lol... I am on 1350 cals a day and eat my exercise cals.
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
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    I'm 4ft 11, and I am on 1600 calories per day.

    I was on 1200, but it just made me lightheaded and dizzy, so after researching my BMR and TDEE I took advice and upped it.
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
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    5'4", 46 yrs young, started at eating 1200 but kept losing and gaining the same 3 lbs, upped calories to 1500 and have been losing slowly but steadily - Cardio burn at about 500 calories 5 times a week and weight training 3 times a week. About 7 lbs from goal weight at this point but concentrating on muscle growth. Do not eat my exercise calories back

    4575945.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • Brittanysmith1001
    Brittanysmith1001 Posts: 18 Member
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    Im 5'4" and I was previously at 1200 suffering.... I lost 5 lbs in the begining but for three weeks the scale was at a stand still. It was recommended that I increase my calorie inwtake and I am now at 1590 cal/day. I will never go back to starving myself at 1200!!
  • TurkieFacie
    TurkieFacie Posts: 9
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    Hey everyone, I am kind of new to the MFP app.. anyways. I am 5'4'' and weigh between 118-120 pounds. I have my net calorie goal at 1200 per day to lose 2 pounds a week. At first I was not eating back any of the exercise calories and dropped like five pounds, but I quickly realized that it was muscle mass being lost. So, I think my body went into starvation mode. For the past two weeks I have been eating around a net of 1220 calories per day (always eating most of the exorcise calories back). I am going to up my daily calorie net goal to 1400 and see what happens since I have been in limbo at my current weight for about three weeks.

    Also, I have noticed that the times that you eat and exercise at matters more than the amount of calories you eat/burn in a day. On days where I exercise in the morning (before breakfast, just drink a LOT of water) I will weight less the next day even if I get a little crazy with the desserts and end up past my goal. Then, other days where I work out in the evening and am within calorie limits my weight can jump up! Crazy.

    If any of you have advice on how you figured out what net calories work for you I would love to hear it!

    -Stephanie
  • Chipmunk222
    Chipmunk222 Posts: 240 Member
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    I'm actually 5'1 but I wanted to add that I would literally starve at 1200 calories, I wasn't losing and upped mine to 1660, I lost the first day and have gained 2 pounds since. I am lost at how to lose weight, I have a HRM because I thought it would help me get a more accurate idea of the calories I was burning during the day, but even with that, I don't know how to incorporate the data with what I should be eating in order to lose weight. I'm really close to giving up :(
  • Jynus
    Jynus Posts: 519 Member
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    I'm training a friend of mine who finally accepted my help. I have her at 1600 a day that she tracks on her phone app. 150g min protein a day. She's lost 37lbs over almost 3 months now. 250-217lbs and 5' 8". Sedentary lifestyle as she a stay at home mom. Only exercise is resistance training 3-5x a week. half strength, half endurance circuit type.
  • ifyouwantfire
    ifyouwantfire Posts: 4
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    5'4"

    Mine is at 1000 cal per day. 2 lbs per week.
    I just changed it to that and it's working great.
  • TruckersWifeTruckersLife
    TruckersWifeTruckersLife Posts: 408 Member
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    I set mine to 1400 a day as I thought 1200 was a bit too low. It seems to be working better for me.



    I agree with this as I felt the same and I am 5' 2"
  • leiaorgana7
    leiaorgana7 Posts: 4 Member
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    I set my goal on 1700, 1200 was way too little. I eat my calories back too, but not always.

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