Anyone 5'2", 115-ish lbs, losing on 1400 cal?

I am basically looking for a CC twin who is maintaining on 1600 cal or losing on 1400.

I am 24, 5'2", 117 lbs. The allowance tool says I should eat 1400/day to get to 110 by the end of October. But at 1400 (average -- I zigzag) I seem to be holding pretty stable, I fluctuate a bit but no loss.

I know a lot of people have had luck upping their calories, but with me I was losing at 1200, then not losing at 1400 so I am afraid at 1600 I may gain. I know this is the same thing everyone worries about and then they eat more and they have this breakthrough... but to me 1400 *was* eating more. Also everyone I've read about that's losing by eating what the site says, has been average height. So I guess I am looking for someone short, small frame who is had a similar breakthrough.

i,m 5' and about 118lbs.  today i am unable to eat 1200  cals, i'm so tired and sore from the gym, i don't think i could stuff one more bite in.  but i feel the same way:  i'm afraid to go above say 1600, unless i have really been active that day.  i haven't really lost much but water weight, but my legs and arms feel like Lead!  so i am in the same boat you are.  hope we can find some answers. :)

If you were losing at 1200 I'd say stick with that. Do whatever works for you.

I think I am your twin. I am 5'1"-5'2" and 115 lbs (down from 130 ish).

For the past month I have been vasilating between 115 and 117 but last time I was even close to 117 was 2 weeks ago now.  And today I was 114, so I guess now I vasilate between 114 and 116.

For me I zigzag between eating 1200 calories and 1500 calories and on that I lose. Not quickly at all but I do lose, slow and steady.

I got to 120 for the first time in April in YEARS and am now holding steady at 115 without any feeling of starving whatsoever. I am thoroughly enjoying eating healthy and literally have changed my whole outlook on food and life. For me it was a lifestyle change more than anything else and I am having FUN! I feel EMPOWERED by the knowledge I have gained here (even if the weight is coming off slower than I would prefer).

So the weight IS coming off. Albeit slow and steady.

Since I have been logging every bite (since mid May) I eat average of 1500 calories. I have some bad days of 1800-2000 and some amazing days of 1200 but more often than not it's 1500. I tend to lose more if I can do 1-2 days a week down around 1200 but that's very difficult for me. I love food!!!! So, in order to maintain the weight I have lost and keep losing more I allow myself a little more food and voila, dieting has become easy and fun for me.

Let's keep in touch, tag this thread and do it together. I want to be 105-110 sooooooooooooooon. I literally cannot wait!

Hi twins! Sorry it's taken so long to get back to you but I've been away from home.

I was eating 1200 and losing on that but the problem is I wasn't eating back my calories when I worked out. I got a little worried, so when I came down in weight (I also started around 130 -- came down to about where I am now) I upped to 1250. 50 measly extra calories... and I stopped losing.

Of course, if I was maintaining at 1250 and I maintain at 1400... well I'd rather maintain at 1400! I just wonder what would happen at 1500 or 1600 which is what this site calculator predicts for me, but I'm a bit afraid to try it out, which is why I looked for twins! I also have a slow heart rate and poor circulation (always cold, toes freeze) which I can't help but think relate to slow metabolism... but then again, if heart rate was a factor, you'd think it would be easy enough for online calculators to take it into account. My problem is, I have seen online calculators predict a BMR closer to 1300 for me, so I am afraid that they might be right :)

I have also been logging every bite (well... except for tastes here and there when I'm in the kitchen but I add back estimates) and I've been averaging 1400, but I guess only for 2-3 weeks now so maybe I should wait and see if this is a very slow loss. I am not unhappy at my current weight but would be happier with a flatter stomach :)

nycgirl -- I just reread your post and you say you zigzag between 1200 and 1500, but you also say you have 1800-2000 days so you AVERAGE 1500. Which is it? I was zigzagging between 1000-1600 (which would be similar to your 1200-1500, on average) but am trying to up it to 1500 AVERAGE (similar to the second thing you said) and hope I lose or at least don't gain.

Ok, sorry for being so confusing.  I am still learning myself.

According to this website, for my height, weight and expenditures,  I am supposed to be intaking 1200 calories (plus/minus some) to lose the 10 lbs left by my desired time goal.  However, I find it hard to sustain 1200 calories (though it's getting easier the more I read here as I am learning about how to prepare low-cal satiating foods). That being said, I find it easier to eat 1300-1500 calories and I *was* losing weight - but slowly (2 lbs a month). So, to "speed" things up a bit but not starve myself with only 1200 calories, this month I was sometimes eating 1200 calorie days and sometimes 1500. Occasionally I slipup and have a 1800-2000 day but it's not really intentional. However it appears to work to my benefit as I always gain a lb or two and lose it quickly plus extra. This is what I mean by zig-zagging. I  don't stress if I have an 1800 calorie day (or even two!) as it will make the scale blip up but it disappears quickly as it's not a real weight gain as long as the diet is a healthy one and I get back into it right away.

Here is my calorie intake since June 1st and you can see that overall my calorie intake does correlate to my weight lost (I have lost 3-4 lbs *already* in June. The overall average is 1500 per day, even though I sort of randomly "zig zag":

DATE      CALORIES   WEIGHT
5/29/07  1300            116.2
5/30/07  1600            116
5/31/07  1900            117  
6/1/07    1500            117.2
6/2/07    1800            115.2
6/3/07    1300            114.8
6/4/07    1400            115.8
6/5/07    1100            115.4
6/6/07    1400            114.2
6/7/07    1500            114.6
6/8/07    1700            115
6/9/07    1600            115
6/10/07    1600          115.2
6/11/07    2200          115.6
6/12/07    1500          116.8
6/13/07    1800          114.8  
6/14/07    1200          116
6/15/07    1500          114
6/16/07    1200          115.2
6/17/07    1200          113.4
6/18/07    1200          113

*Edited 6/19/07 as I omitted some calories by accident.*

Wow... I'm jealous!!

Here's mine from June 4 when I started the daily weigh-ins:
Day    weight   cals      exercise?
4        114.5    1410   spin
5        115.0    600 (woke up really late)
6        115.0    1100
7        114.0    1300   spin
8        115.0    2000 (estimate -- drank, pigged out on doritos & cheese & crackers!)
9  (wasn't home)  1000 (again, woke up late)
10      114.0    1400   walked ~1.5 hrs, 3.5-ish mph
11      117.0    1300   spin
12      117.0    1250
13      115.0    1350 (estimate: dinner out)
14      114.0    1350   spin
15      114.5    1550
16      114.0    "about a million" (that's what the log says! hehe drank again... and pigged out... I swear I don't do this a lot!! In fact before the Jun 8 party, I hadn't had a drop of alcohol since I started my diet)  and spun for exercise
17  (not home)  didn't count (but ate reasonably, maybe 1100-ish) and for exercise: walked ~2 hrs, leisurely
18      116.5    1500   spin
19      115.5    1260

The days that I marked as "spin" for exercise I burn ~350 calories spinning (sometimes 25-50 more, sometimes 25-ish less). There are days I do Pilates (twice/week) and a weight class (1/week) which I don't really count because it's not as much of a calorie-burning activity.

The program I use to track my weight is showing a gain of .2 lbs/week over the last 2 weeks, corresponding to a daily excess of 100 cal. That worries me a bit... I'm not really sure what to do! Maybe the two parties sabotaged me a bit -- luckily I don't foresee any more of those for a little while...

Oh -- I forgot to say that before the last 2 weeks, I was eating 1200-1250. That was the 1200 I started on, lost 1lb/week for a good number of weeks... upped to 1250, and stopped losing. So... I kept upping it more based on what I keep reading on here. I'm a bit worried -- now that I'm up to 1400 I don't want to have to go back to 1200!!

Although I saw a calorie calculator on self.com I think that said I should be eating 1196 cals/day to maintain at 117 lbs. Strangely, it didn't ask for my height, just weight and age... but I wonder if it's right :-/

Did you workout before or is that new? Maybe you are building muscle? Also are the 1200-1500 calories you are eating healthful? Are you meticulous about the calories you log?

I suggest you alternate between weeks of 1400 and a few days (maybe 4 in a row) of 1200. Bounce up and down even (and maybe it helps too) with the occasional bad 2000 calories day (as you and I both have) we should still lose overall.

Is this 1200/1400 net (ie after workout)? Because many on here say it isn't safe to only eat 1200 if I burn 350 -- that on those days I'd have to eat 1550.

Looking back, it seems that on days I burn 350-ish cals spinning, I don't always eat them back, leaving me with a net intake <1200. Is this bad?

Also if I'm supposed to be on a 1400 day and I burn 350, I could still eat 1550 and be "safe" as far as the 1200 minimum... but I wouldn't be at 1400 net. So are you saying a week of 1400 NET cals alternated with 4 days of 1200 NET cals... or really 1400 and 1200?

Somehow I completely missed the first part of your post.

I've been working out since January so unfortunately muscle is not the likely culprit... unless my body hasn't had enough nutrients until now to build muscle! or some convenient excuse like that :) I did switch one of my spin classes for a weight class. Spinning 4 times/week was a bit much for me, especially since two of those times were back to back. So now I spin 3 times/week, Pilates twice, and weights once. And I'm trying to walk when I can on days I don't work out.

I am borderline obsessive about logging calories... in fact I am trying to loosen up a little :) the only exception is I don't log spices sometimes (like if I am cooking and sprinkle in some cayenne, for example, I won't log that) and I'm also bad about tasting stuff when I cook :-/ but I do try to guesstimate those amounts and add in some "padding". And yes I am eating healthful calories, whole grains, lean meats, veggies, fruit, the works. Recently I've been trying to get all my pyramid servings as suggested by the USDA and I wasn't that far off before -- except I wasn't getting enough dairy servings. Go figure.

Well, I'm hopefully getting rid of my Sunday water weight... we'll see what the scale has to say in the morning!

Bad news on the scale this morning: 115.0 lbs. I say bad because two weeks ago I was pretty solidly in the 114's... which tells me I'm slowly gaining!! :_(

Ahhhh I know what you guys mean. I'm 5'3'' 116 ish, I dropped down to 112 at one point, but I can't seem to keep it that way.
Definitely need advice on calorie intake!

I am like most of you guys I started out at 154 and got down to 110 and now have gone back to 123 and it is killing me.... I am 5' 2 and want to get to 109. I definitely eat under the calories that I am supposed to around 1100 to 1200 which is hard for me to even do on most days. I just get full fast now. I have stopped running lately which is probably why I put the weight back on. I need someone to push me, so please push me:0

Hi.  I have never posted before, but since I am also your twin I decided to stop lurking.  I am 5 ft 2.5" and have just reached 116 for the first time since high school (now am 24).  I eat 1400-1500 a day when I work out and less on days I don't, closer to 1200-1300.  I work out about 4 times a week and burn 300-400 cals.  once a week (friday night dinner through saturday lunch) I have a higher cal, but very healthy day.  I am losing slowly, maybe .5 lb per week, sometimes 1.  My goal first goal was 115, almost there, my second goal is 110, and then I will reevaluate based on how I feel.  

Flowerbud, try eating a little more only on days you work out.  I add about 240 cals of Almonds (30 almonds) before I work out and this gives me so much energy I end up burning off twice as much as I would if I didn't eat.  Plus, almonds are amazing food, the vitimin E makes my skin soft, hair shiny, and they have just the right balance of carbs to fat to fiber that really hold you for hours.

-stalls are normal and can last for 3 month.
-you body's water weight can flux up to 10 pounds
-metab changes take 6-8 weeks
-net cals (cals you dont burn off in exercise) under 1200 can make you slow or stall
-once you lose some weight your body will naturally stop for a bit

so it could be any or all of those reasons.
just pick a plan and stick to it for 2 months
if nothing changes in three months talk to a doctor

Hi, twins!  I'm 5'2" (uhhh, really 5'1.5" but who's counting?) and was down to 117 but now vacillate between 117-119.  I had been steadily losing from 130 by eating 1200 or less 4-5 days per week, then eating upwards of 2500 on weekends.  Also, I run 6 days a week, 25-30 miles.  Recently I made some nutritional changes (have trouble getting enough iron and protein so added those) and upped my caloric intake to 1400-1500 on low days and immediately stopped losing.  It's very frustrating! 

The allowance tools tell me that I can maintain at 1600 per day, and should consume 1350 to lose (all post-exercise).  Hmph, I am SO jealous of 6 foot tall men who can eat 3000 calories a day to maintain!

I am going to try 1200-1250 cals on days I don't do cardio, like you guys suggested, and closer to 1500 on days I burn 350 cals. Also no horrible party day this weekend! I will let you guys know how I do... hopefully this works! :)

EDIT: By the way, I totally know what you mean about being jealous of 6' tall guys!! I have read posts on here from people who pig out on something that's 1200 cals and like "no big deal that's only 1/2 my cals for the day". This makes me jealous!

The thing is, that one day of pigging out (I mean eating 1800-2500 calories so not really a true pig-out) and you won't gain - but it must be an isolated incident.

You might put on a pound or half pound of "water weight" from the sheer volume but if the rest of your diet is unscathed it will come off and usually extra with it.

As for me, this week I ate 1200 for the past 4 days and have been the lightest in years, but as I said before that's not a truly comfortable intake for me so today had closer to 1500 and will do the same tomorrow .... so we will see what the scales says (I expect a rise but  if I go back to 1200 this weekend it should come off, plus some).

One problem for me is that the days I work out I have less time to eat, and get home late so it's harder to get in the 1500 cals... whereas on days I don't work out, I often end up going out to eat or whatnot and ideally those would be my high-cal days!

Also -- I feel like 2500 calories would be a true pigout... that's twice the cals I'm supposed to have! No? Oh and my water weight has been more like 3 lbs :-/

But it's REALLY hard to plan for 1200 cals if you're going out to dinner... even 1500 is borderline. Means salads the rest of the day, and definitely no dessert :(