Dieting/Calorie Count

Hi Everybody!

I just signed up today. I was wondering how they came up with an RDI for me of 1500? I am 5'3, 180, would like to lose between 30-40 lbs. When I was on Weight Watchers, I believe I was hitting about 1200 calories with 22 points a day (the old Momentum plan). It took a while, but I lost about 20 lbs...Of course, it's back! I also have a thyroid issue and very slow metabolism. I'm trying to stick to 1200 calories a day and need to start exercising. Anyone having any luck on any of the popular diets? Any thoughts or input would be appreciated!!

Try logging a "normal" couple of days for you and see where you are at with your calories - then go from there..

According to LiveStrong.com, "A VLCD, or Very Low Calorie Diet, is only recommended under medical supervision. Most adults will begin to experience a loss of normal physiological function when daily calorie consumption drops below 1200 calories. Eating less than 1200 calories per day can result in nutritional deficiencies such as anemia, bone loss and infertility."

Just be careful, please.

Thank you both! I thought 1500 was too high...I try to keep it around 1200... I've been logging for the past two days, just to see if I'm eating as little as I think I do... I'm pretty close, but just not realizing how 100 calories here and there add up to the big picture!! I have been so desperate lately, I've been contemplating Weight Watchers again; however, I found last time that the Points Plus doesn't work for me... I was just reading something on the Dukan Diet? Have either of you heard of that? How much/what kind of exercise do you do? I have been starting to use the Leslie Sansone Walk off the Weight.... too soon to see any results yet....I'm so tired of being fat! In the last 8 years, I put on 50 pounds!

leslie sansone is aewsome! i have a couple of her dvds. im in the same boat as you. hang in there, it will happen

I'm 5'3, 29 years old and average around 1500-1600 calories and have gone from 162+ to my current weight of 131. And I'm still heading in a downward direction, albeit slowly. If I restrict my calories more I do lose weight a little faster, but I have found my WOE to be very sustainable (been at it almost a year now) and I'm pretty satisfied with my results. But everyone is different. I would suggest trying 1500 calories for a couple of weeks and seeing how you do. You may find you don't need to restrict as much as you think and still drop pounds. And you may find it to be more satisfying. One problem with going too low is it's hard to sustain that level of eating and it can lead to binging. Not impossible, just harder.

I personally am 5'2" and my recommend calorie intake was 1600 per day, so I make that my big number for the day in case I need a cheat. So my meals I keep about 300 calories give or take and then healthy snacking so I don't go hog wild hungry. So far I am doing pretty good. My goal weight is 140. Weight Watchers said I should weigh 132 or something like that. I went down that little and that was little for me and everyone thought I had been eaten up with cancer. I was even working out steadily, I just did not look good I was all bones. So if I get about 140 144 lbs I will be doing just fine.

in an online calculator i just used: a 30yr old woman weighing 180 has a Basal Metabolic Rate 1591 if she's 5'3" and 1629 if she's 5'11. I guess according to that one they figure the 8 inch height difference equals 38 calories, ceteris paribus, for BMR anyway. Don't get me wrong, I don't think what it tells you your RDI should be is always gonna be able to give you the weightloss results. Sometimes it overestimates for sure.

Fat secret calculated my RDI as 1800/day to lose 1 lb/week. But I spoke with my doctor after carefully tracking all food and exercise for 5 weeks and we agreed 1400-1500 is good for me (I am 5'6" and walk 3 miles/day, but have an otherwise sedentary desk job). I agree that you should use FatSecret to test the RDI that works best for you, and speak with a doctor if you are shooting for less than 1200/day so you don't end up creating more health problems.

Thank you everyone! I'm going to try between 1100-1200 a day... I was thinking that when I was on WW Momentum, I had 22 points, which I figure 50 calories a point... I lost about 17-20 pounds but it came back. It's weird, I really never had a weight problem until about 7-8 years ago (used to be a size 2, could wear anything... - Now I carry all of this weight around my stomach... It really is depressing...I'm glad I found this board/website. Now I need follow through on my exercise plan....Thank you all again for your input!

Hi Marlene - yes, we are very different heights, but I don't think height difference plays as much of a role in RDI as weight/age/body composition. Like Jess, I used the Mayo Clinic's calorie calculator and input the same weight/age/activity stats for 2 people, one at 5'3" and one at 5'11", and I only got a calorie difference of about 50 calories. When I did the same thing and only changed the age (one at age 60, one at age 20), the difference was 250 calories.

Obviously people that are 5'3" can eat more than 1450 calories because umdterpsgirl is that height and eating 15-1600 calories and still losing weight. Our bodies are all SO different, it's tough to generalize for anyone. That's why I said the OP should just track a few normal days and see where her average calorie intake is, and then go from there.

I do realize that eating below 1200 calories has been 'working' for you so far as far as weight loss goes, but I (personally) don't think it's feasible for most people to live off of Atkins shakes/strawberries/almonds for their entire caloric intake. I'm not trying to attack your WOE or tell you that it doesn't work.. I was merely telling the OP to be careful when restricting calories that low.

I am 5'4" and I am naturally curvy. My lowest is 144 and that was 15yrs ago. I danced almost every night, went to the gym 3 hrs at a time 3-4 days a week, and went for walks often. I was a size 4-6 with a 22 inch waist. My shoulder blades were positvely boney! Everybody is different, you just have to find what works for you. Sorry if this is coming off grouchy. I'm, well, grouchy. LOL Having a bad night. Good luck to you!

I'm 5'3" (last I checked) and 40 years iold. I started at 183 about a year and a half ago. 1500 was too high for me as well. I kept to 1200 to 1300 a day (I know that may seem low but my whole family has a history of slower metabolisms so I guess with that battle and a seditary job it's who I am), gym 3 times a week min for 1 to 1 1/2 hours and dropped to 137 in about a year. I did give myself a spike day here and there where I'd keep it to 1600-1800. It took a long time but I truely believe is it comes off slow you are less likely to regain it. I also found that I didn't have nearly enough protein in my diet and I was a true carboholic! Once I fixed that it came off pretty steadily. Everyone is different but I'm hypoglycemic and I think that upping the protein and eating 5 times a day was key. Kept hunger in cheack and stabilized my bloodsugar. I just logged every single bite and got really honest with myself...the good, bad and very ugly.

I fell off the wagon and only gained a few pounds but it was enough to wake me up. Crazy that I found even 1600 a day and too many carbs caused me to GAIN! Now I'm trying to get that last 10-15 off. This is harder than I'd thought. Lots of support and ideas on here. Could never have done it with out this site .

Also keep in mind, I don't use a diet and never have. I decided that if I was going to do this it would be using changes that woudl be something I could live with for life. No store bough meals or shakes, not pre packeged meals. Real food is very important to changes for life.

I'm 30 years old, 5'4" and now about 134 lbs. The site told me I should eat about 1700 calories, but that's just a little high for me. I try to eat anywhere from 1200-1500 calories per day and I've lost. For me though exercise helps. You kind of have to experiment with what works for you. If I would consistently eat 1200 calories I'd probably lose, but I usually can't stay quite that low, I'd rather add some exercise and eat a few more calories. Like thynes I don't use a diet, I just try to eat better and stay within my 1200-1500 calories. Sure, I have days that I go over 1500, but so far as long as I'm exercising (which I do 6 days per week) I'm still losing or at least maintaining. I could never keep up with under 1200 calories because for me that's too low, I'd be hungry all the time and end up breaking down and eating everything in sight. Everyone is different, but what I would say is to stay where you are comfortable with your calories and if you like to eat more, then get some exercise in, and talk to your doctor if you think your calories are too low or too high and see what their recommendation is, especially if you have a thyroid disorder.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR THOUGHTS, THEY ARE HELPING ME GET THROU!

Hi, I'm Juli - and new to fatsecret. About the RDI, does our level of activity play into their recommendation? I also thought that mine was a bit high, but I am pretty active. I have decided to go with it for a couple of weeks to watch and see what happens.

Welcome Juli! You're taking the right approach. Go with what is recommended & try to meet it as consistently as you can for a few weeks, then assess & adjust if necessary. Yes, activity level DOES play a role, if you give me your stats (weight, height, age) I can give you an idea of how much of a difference it will make.

Tiluel, using the Harris-Benedict formula your BMR comes out to right around 1500, meaning if you literally lie in bed 24/7 & eat this amount, you'll maintain your weight.

What does this mean for weight loss? Here are your options, assuming a 1 lb/week target rate of loss:
- Little or no exercise: Eat 1355 calories daily.
- Light exercise (1-3 days/wk): Eat 1626 calories daily.
- Moderate exercise (3-5 days/wk): Eat 1896 calories daily.
- Heavy exercise (6-7 days/wk): Eat 2167 calories daily.

Log any intentional exercise you do in your exercise diary, just be aware that in some cases it overstates your calorie burn. Obviously, the more you work out, the more you get to eat every day.

Personally I work out 6 days/wk & eat 2500 calories daily. It is AWESOME.

Since you provided them, I plugged your stats into the formula too & if your goal is to lose 1 lb per week, you end up with:
- 1422 with 1-3 workouts/wk
- 1666 with 3-5 workouts/wk
- 1911 with 6-7 workouts/wk
- 2156 with 2 workouts/day

Sounds like you've found what is comfortable for you & that's all that matters, just thought I'd share the calcs. I will say that I notice a significant difference in the quality of my workouts at a higher calorie level so that's something to consider. Occasionally I'll take a break from weight loss & eat at maintenance but still work out (I did that over the Xmas holiday). I had some of the best workouts of my life during that time! Had tons of energy to run & the weight lifting was amazing.

Touching base with walking with Leslie's WAH dvd's. I was walking pretty regular with her for approx 4 weeks - never felt better! I wasn't losing anything as far as weight or inches, but I lost stiffness and joint soreness, mental fatigue, I was more "able" at work, I slept better, I think I even ate better, but still had my downfalls. The longer I walked the better it was getting. I fell out of practice walking when kids came home from college and friends staying over and then vacation - but I really, really miss how I felt. I will be getting back into it on a regular routine as soon DH vacation is over and at the latest when the kids return to college (they kind of took over my space and having to clear it before I can walk, makes me extremely frustrated = choose my battles). I guess what I'm saying is - work on the food plan, but make sure you walk, regardless.

on a side note: some of the benefits of walking were present after just two days - the energy it gave me, maybe it was just the fact that I just did something good for me, but it's a great feeling.

wishing you success!

Oh I totally understand how you must feel! I have been through a couple of diets where I lost my mind just counting calories and not losing much weight. It gets so frustrating. I’ve started the Dukan weight loss diet recently and have lost close to 5 lbs in the first week!!  It feels great. The best is that there is absolutely no calorie counting. I can eat as much as I want from a list of 100 natural foods. Try it for yourself! Good Luck!