Featherweights!! How many calories do you eat?
 

I'm wondering what other people are able to eat for their height and weight when they are losing weight and when they are maintaining???



my story:
I know 1200cal is supposed to be the minimum limit for staying alive, but I just don't see how people get skinny on that amount. Granted I do feel tired when I try less than 1200cal, but at lower levels of weight, the body weight won't budge without it.
I'm 5'9.
I originally lost 85lbs in just a year on a healthy vegan diet by constantly zigzagging calories between 1200-1600cal, always losing 1-2 lbs a week. I got down to 135lbs without too many plateaus. The lowest I ever managed to get was 132lbs, but I really had to push myself and I was eating closer to 1000-1200cal and I couldn't sustain that because I was ravenous and tired.
So I tried giving it a break and eating maintenance for awhile to see if that would help. Slowly, over 6 months I rose back to 150lbs and seem to be able to maintain that eating 1800-2000cal, which is most comfortable in terms of hunger, but doesn't help me stay at a lower weight.

I'm trying to work my way back down again, but the only proven method I have is the 1200cal zigzag method and then I'll probably get stuck again around 132-135lbs. Which is really irritating because 120-125lbs is probably where I need to be to get the last bit of fat off. I'm tall and small-boned like the models, but I have a huge ring of fat wrapped around my torso since I'm apple-shaped and carry most of my weight around my middle. At 132lbs, it was a lot better and I think it would have only taken a loss of 10lbs more to make my stomach flat for the first time ever.

I slowly increased my calories while moving into maintenance and I wasn't worried if I gained a few lbs back due to water-weight and coming off a diet. But several inches on my waist definitely came back too. I was trying to find the most comfortable eating spot where I'm not hungry so it can be maintained long-term without calorie-counting and 1800-2000cal was that sweet spot on a VEGAN diet only. If I ate meat/dairy/sweets, I'd end up overeating because those don't fill you up as well volume-wise.

150lbs
Chest 35.5
Waist 30-36.1
Hips 37.7

132lbs (my lowest weight ever achieved)
Chest 34
Waist 26-32.7
Hips 35

You can see just how quickly I gain in the waist compared to the rest of my body.
The first Waist number (30) is the place where the waist is naturally measured at its narrowest point.
The second Waist number (36.1) is measured at the bellybutton, which is my widest point and where I carry the most extra fat.
As I get heavier, my waist width grows to match hip width and chest protrusion, and I end up looking like a log instead of a woman with a natural difference between waist, hips, and chest.
At my lowest Waist, (26) looked pretty good, but (32.7) was still bad. It would probably be about (30) if the flab around the bellybutton would go away. And with the way I was losing inches, 120-125lb goal most likely would have given me that last 2-3 inch decrease. Any magic tricks for being able to eat 1800cal, but only weigh 130lbs? lol

I am not a "maintainer" or "featherweight" but I hope you don't mind my comment...

Exercise.

Seriously though. Intense exercise will allow you to eat more while maintaining or losing weight. But, I mean like, a LOT of exercise. That's just about the only "magic trick" out there I know of ;)

that just makes me hungry again because my body wants 1800cal, but I just exercised it off.... lol

My measurements at 5'6" and 133 pounds are around what yours are at 150 pounds (34.5 - 29/33 - 39). I had to go below 1000 calories average to lose any weight! :( I ended up doing a bit of zig-zagging too, not really consciously but that is how it ended up due to overeating one day/restricting the next.

I also HAD to go low-carb to lose weight. I lost weight just by caloric restriction last year, but it bounced right back up again (and then some!) as I ate more because I was dealing with huge carb cravings and was hungry all the time.

I would love to be vegan, or at least mostly vegan, and I am still working out my maintenance plan, but I already know that I can't have a really high-carb diet and keep my weight down ... so that complicates things. Are you focusing on getting a lot of protein as a vegan? Also if you are not entirely vegan now, you could just combine the best of vegan eating (lots of veggies) with non-vegan protein sources, but leave out the sweets and other things that make you so hungry. I love getting ideas from volumetrics and low-carb forums for increasing bulk veggie consumption.

I don't know how many calories I can maintain on. It kind of scares me really. I am hoping for around 1500 or so.

nonameslob posted while I was writing, and that was my next question: what exercise are you doing? I think that becomes critical at lower weights. I am faced with being skinny fat, even at my lower weights. I think walking/staying really active in daily life + lifting heavy weights and high-intensity interval cardio (only takes 20 minutes or so if done right) appear to be the right combination based on what I have read, and that is what I am going to aim for.

It makes me hungry too, but with a bit of self-control you can satisfy the hunger without taking in nearly as much as you burned off. Not to mention the added benefit of building muscle which will make your body more efficient and make you look better.

I am short. Very short compared to you. So if you scale me down, I can't possibly eat 1500 calories and lose with my lifestyle. Maintenance calories are 1500!! To lose, I've had to do around 900-1200 calories. I started out with 900 but not counting things like milk in my tea or olive oils to cook with. I've settled into between 1000-1200 with any amount of exercise.

I've recently gained weight so I'm not a featherweight anymore (yet). But you get those smaller measurements without starving by lifting weights. You'll probably weigh more, but you won't care, because you can eat more and be smaller and look amazing!! My first lifting program was New Rules for Lifting. Lift like a man look like a goddess. There are so many programs out there though. That program has an eating program, but I follow high protein/ non processed/ lots of veggies and do great.

I could kick myself for losing sight, but I'll get my body back! Good luck! Right now I have the measurements that I did when I was prob 15 lbs lighter before I lifted weights, and I'm far from hardcore right now (pesky migraines in the way)

I began counting calories when I weighted 138 pounds at 5' 2''/ 159 cm .
My weight loss rate has been roughly 1.5 pound a week, more towards 1 pound a week as my weight got lower.
I do 1-2 hours of mainly cardio exercises three to five times a week, otherwise I think I would have lost the weight at a much slower rate.
If 3500 cals is the deficit required to lose 1 pound, then I'd estimate my maintenance number to be 1700-1800 cals , only with activity present.
I'm still building into maintenance, so I haven't tried it yet.

At the moment, I'm experimenting... A week ago I decided to start eating 1500 cals on active days and around 1300 on sedentary ones...
My weight jumped up 2 pounds and pretty much stayed the same. I've been tempted to lower my cals again, but I'm trying not to give into panic just yet. ^_^

I also tend to carry the extra weight on my waist. :(
My most recent measurements: 31.4 / 25.5 (measured at lowest width, not belly button) / 32.6

I lost 61 pounds and got to my goal weight of 146 and found out I still had lots of excess fat (skinny fat here) and I couldn't eat 1500 calories a day and even maintain.

Three things helped me to at least get a path going:

1. I had my body fat tested by Bod Pod. That explained a lot. At a 25 BMI, I was still 45% fat! Fat burns less calories than muscle. (This was by the way after several months of weight training to try to forestall this but I didn't weight train the whole way down).

2. Even more important I had my resting metabolic rate testing. This wasn't just using a formula. This was a test where I breathed into a mask and they used the gases to figure out my resting metabolic rate. Mine was 1120 which is about 100 calories a day less than the formula Fitbit was using was calculating. So I burn less calories than most people of my age/weight.

3. I changed to eat more protein. I calculated how much based on lean body mass which is about 81 pounds. I chose a goal of 100g of protein. I think that will help me maintain more muscle (maybe grow a little) while I am working on losing the extra fat.

5'5"
35/25/35
Bodyfat 19%
Lift heavy weights/cardio daily
117-119 lbs

1500 calories to maintain. Low carb, between 50-85 g net carbs, no bread, grains, potatoes, pasta, etc. High protein (100-175 g).

To lose, under 1200. Closer to 900. Since I can't deal with this, I maintain instead.

Normally I eat about 1200 a day, with a free day on Sunday. But lately I've been trying to get rid of some quinoa and dates I bought, so, with one serving of each a day, plus free sauteed greens, I'm probably up to 1500. I try to make it as natural as possible.

I'm eating around 900-1100 at the moment a day at the moment. I think I could lose this way without exercising but it would be incredibly slow. If I exercise - nothing drastic, just pole walking for one hour 3-4 days a week for both muscle health and cardio - I'll lose at a proper rate, I'd assume about 1,5 lbs a week at this point. Even if I ate more to exercise it would be worth it - the exercise seems to change my metabolism so much. Body feels different, warmer, more alert, more awake, nicer bowel movement (sorry TMI). I actually hate the fact that it's not calories that are my problem (as I can be quite satisfied on around 1000 cals a day and having good time on 1300-1400), but the sedentary life style.

So... I'm just wondering, would exercising without expecting huge calorie losses be a possibility? Just to make the engine of your body run faster and warmer? Just a thought.

I'm 5'5" and when I got down to below 130 lbs. I was eating about 1800 calories, but running 30 miles a week. Right now I'm 144, running less (about 15 miles a week) and losing a pound a week on 1600 calories.

I'm new to all of this and trying to figure out a plan that works.

For all of you that stick to less than or equal to 1200 calories / day, what do you typically eat? Do you try to eat the same thing every day?

I do about 1200 calories a day, though I do shuffle them around a bit so I can eat more on Sunday. Here are some "regular" items:

Three fried eggs (this is going to sound weird, but I get to cook one food item or items a day in the butter left over from dh's breakfast, with only the food item's calories counting)

A salad or some broccoli - this is actually a free item - any greens, one or two servings (not canned). Dressing is not free, but a couple of cups of chicken broth, which can be paired with the broccoli, is free. :broc:

Blueberries 1/2 cup frozen - another free item. It's a superfood, doncha know. ;)

Last free item - 1/2 cup pomegranate juice

Other than that, I have apples and natural peanut butter, nuts, high-cacao chocolate, steak, chicken, hamburger, pork frozen fruit, once a week or so I'll have heavy whipping cream with that fruit - yum!

I try to eat whole foods, just so it adds up to 1200 calories. Some things I eat often, like 3 eggs a day. Also try to get at least four cups of water, including warm water with lemon, in per day. I also take lots of vitamins. :D