I've been losing around a pound a week for several weeks now, but I'm wondering if I can't do better eating more, or even less. I eat very frequently, usually smaller meals, and drink more than enough water. (5 or so bottles worth, plus several green teas)
A typical day:
Breakfast, 5 egg whites, 1 low cal pita: 135 cals
Lunch: Summer rolls (shrimp/avocado, no rice, just veggies), an apple, small amount of sweet chilli sauce: 300
snack: 200 or so calories worth of something like yogurt, fiber cereal, a pita, protein shake, etc: 200
Dinner: small chicken breast and spinach on low cal pita, veggies: 225
evening snack: 170
It comes out to 1030, which seems low, but this number usually can go up a bit with the amount of sauce or milk or whatever that I use when preparing things. I ideally try and keep around 16-17 WW points max per day (non points plus.)
My question is, at my shortie stature of 5'1", is this really too low? Admittedly, I'm shy of raising my calories beyond 1100 or so, because I feel instinctively that being the little person I am, I can't possibly need the same base amount as someone with a larger frame and a few more inches of height.
My exercise usually subsists of 30 mins of cardio 3-4 times a week, and plenty of walking back and forth across my school's large campus all day.
it's suggested that no matter size or stature, it's dangerous for a female to drop below 1200 calories. at that point, it's possible to start losing muscle mass instead of experiencing fat loss. i'd say you could stand to up your intake by a few hundred calories, although as to whether or not you'll lose more i'm not sure about.
the worst that could happen is that you'll lose a little less, but there's no harm at all in experimenting in order to figure out what will work best for you.
You don't give much information beyond just your height. If you're trying to lose 100lbs, yeah, that is WAY too low.
If you're just aiming for the last couple lbs or only have a small goal, then yes, its low but not horrendously, awfully low. You could bump it up by adding a piece of fruit or a glass of skim milk easily.
You would benefit from checking to see what your BMR is and basing how many calories you eat off that.
How old are you and how much do you weigh?
1000ish calories/day is what my MIL and FIL eat on a daily basis, but they are both very short and very tiny....and very old, but in great health.
Well, if you want to add more calories, go for it. Try 1200 a day for 2 weeks and see what happens. You'll more than likely still lose, maybe faster, maybe slower. Readjust if necessary. The important thing is to keep going.
Oh, and 1200 calories/day is just a recommendation across the board...a blanket statement. Each person is different.
I'm similar to you in stats - 5'2" and currently 153 lbs, similar activity level - and I'm trying to eat 1300 calories/day. I was at 1200 cals/day for a while (read the same thing about not going below that) and am trying to eat a bit more just as an experiment. Sometimes I feel full enough at 1000 or 1100 cals but I try to get it all in. Why not do what I'm doing and try a couple hundred more calories per day for a few weeks and see how your rate of loss is affected? So far I'm still losing fine.
If you are already at 1100 you have absolutely nowhere to go once you've lost some weight. I don't believe it makes sense to eat based on our height but instead based on our weight and activity level.
Last edited by LandonsBaby; 02-24-2011 at 03:35 PM.
Am I eating enough?
