|
05-27-2011, 08:41 AM
|
#1
|
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 531
Height: 5'0"
|
Any advice? I have no idea how many calories to eat
I'm short (5'0") and at my best-feeling body was about 105 lbs. Of course, that was also 15 years ago! Now I am 37 years old, and a mom of two, and weigh 127.
I'd like to get back down to 105. Whenever I enter my stats into a calorie calculator, it usually tells me to eat 1,200 calories per day--and I will reach my goal weight in May 2012! That seems... horribly far away.
I am also currently nursing my child (though will probably stop that soon). My activity varies greatly: most days I am completely sedentary, other days I actually do a little exercise (pushups, squats, etc. when my toddler gives me 2 minutes) or a short hike with my husband. I'd say I get in some formal exercise maybe once a week.
I am VERY hungry on just 1,200 calories per day, yet at the same time I'd like to reach my goal weight before May 2012. Any suggestions? Thanks!
|
|
|
05-27-2011, 08:52 AM
|
#2
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 547
S/C/G: 163/137/130-132
Height: 5' 6"
|
I'd try a different calorie calculator. That seems off. I use LoseIt on my ipod. I set it to lose 1.5 pounds a week. As you lose weight, it reduces your calorie allotment. So, I started out around 1300 calories, and right now it is 1162 calories. I've lost 29 pounds in about 20 weeks, so it was pretty accurate for me.
|
|
|
05-27-2011, 09:00 AM
|
#3
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 547
S/C/G: 163/137/130-132
Height: 5' 6"
|
I meant to mention something that I am sure you already know. Nursing burns a lot of calories. If your child is a toddler, then your body is probably not his soul source of nutrition, so I wouldn't tack on the full recommended 500 calories a day for nursing, but maybe add in an extra 100-200 depending on how often he is nursing. (Oh, and when I say full recommended, I am talking recommendations of six years ago when my baby was nursing, so it could be totally out of date LOL)
|
|
|
05-27-2011, 09:07 AM
|
#4
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 154
|
your body weight X 10 is usually a good starting point
|
|
|
05-27-2011, 09:10 AM
|
#5
|
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 531
Height: 5'0"
|
Thanks for the response! I'm not nursing my toddler. I actually have a 6-month-old that I am nursing. But she'll be starting solids soon, so I'll start reducing the amount she nurses in the near future.
I know they say nursing burns 500 calories a day, but that just never seemed right to me. Or, at least, my body doesn't seem to work that way. Maybe my body just wants to cling to the fat. If I were burning an extra 500 calories per day and counting calories, I should be dropping the weight like crazy (and I'm not). Wish I was though!!
Thanks for the app suggestion. I have a droid, may look for something similar.
Last edited by banananutmuffin; 05-27-2011 at 09:11 AM.
|
|
|
05-27-2011, 09:43 AM
|
#6
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Davis, Ca
Posts: 23,149
S/C/G: 204/114/120
Height: 5'
|
I am also just 5' tall, I lost on about 1300 - 1400 calories a day. I maintain on about the same amount. You might need a little less as your goal weight is lower than mine. I don't think it will take a year to lose 22 pounds. Remember this, too. We shorties need less calories to maintain our weight. In other words 2000 calories a day just isn't in the cards for us.
|
|
|
05-27-2011, 09:58 AM
|
#7
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Africa
Posts: 1,699
S/C/G: 134/126/under 124
Height: 5'2.5
|
I don't know about how many calories you should be eating, but I do want to share what keeps me full on 1200 calories: protein, fiber, and fat! I usually get 60 g protein (though recently it's been 90 with the help of protein powders), 45 g of fat, and 20+ g of fiber a day. I try to keep carbs between 100-150. When carbs are in check I'm never hungry and usually actually pretty full, even on days I run 3-4 miles.
Hope that helps!
|
|
|
05-27-2011, 02:55 PM
|
#8
|
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 531
Height: 5'0"
|
Thanks for the suggestions! I used to think I had a super high metabolism: I could eat 2,000 calories a day and never gain weight when I was in my mid-20s. Now, a decade later, this is sooooo not the case. I am still a slow gainer, actually, but I am also a slow loser. Seems like my body finds a point it wants to be, and no amount of eating more or eating less changes that point dramatically. Guess I should at least be happy that it's not easy for me to pack on weight either, although it's even harder to take it off.
|
|
|
06-01-2011, 12:32 PM
|
#9
|
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 519
S/C/G: 155.2/ 133.1 /110
Height: 5'2
|
Begin to eat 1500 calories to fill yourself up. And try to burn off 200 calories a day by working out. Jillian Michaels DVD's are great to burn off calories. For me working out has been crucial to creating a calorie deficit big enough that it won't take me 1,5 years to lose the weight. Like you I'm short and with orginally 44 pounds to lose, it would have taken forever with just watching what I eat.
Last edited by IsabellaOlivia; 06-01-2011 at 12:35 PM.
|
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:29 PM.
|