5’3” ladies over 30, what are your maintenance calories and activity level?

[ecumeni]

@freds I'm 33, ~118 lbs, maintaining at 2000. My macros are 125 P, 200 C, 78 F. I lift 3-5 times a week and do HIIT 1-3 times a week, generally I'm in the gym 6 days a week. I'm also generally active; I walk the dog twice a day, walk to get coffee or groceries when the weather allows for it, try to schedule active social gatherings, I go up and down stairs all day long because my work space is in my basement etc.

I do want to mention that getting my TDEE up did happen gradually. When I first got serious in the gym I was maintaining around 1600 and I very slowly reverse dieted.

 

[chucklez]

@ecumeni Would you mind sharing more about what reverse dieting looked like for you? How long it took, how many calories you slowly increased, how you knew when to stop, etc? Hoping to transition after my current mini cut!

 

[ecumeni]

@chucklez So it's tough to give a good timeline for my experience. I first started this in 2019 and was making pretty quick progress in the gym and steadily adding calories. I felt GREAT during the process too, more energy than I'd ever had. But then during early pandemic times anxiety was kicking my ass in a big way and I dropped down close to 100 lbs very quickly and unintentionally. I did get back up to around 115 eventually and then working from that point was kind of a challenge because I still had no appetite or energy for a while. When I got around to starting tracking food again and my gym opened up I tried to get back into the routine I had but I was dragging. Resources I've looked at say you can add 50-100 calories per day each week but my appetite was diminished to the point that I was barely meeting my targets so I was closer to adding 50-100 calories per day in a month. I wasn't pushing that hard in the gym at first either. Plus! I was trying to get my macros right at the same time. I'd looked up recommended macros and it was too much protein and not enough fat for me personally, I jostled things around trying to get a better balance there as well. And there was a second lock down in my area as well so no gym again for a bit. What a time.

All of that rambling text to say that it took me, personally, well over a year with set backs and interruptions to get from ~1600 to 2000. I think it can be done way quicker when other factors in life are more stable. Focusing on your resistance training is huge, muscle is calorically expensive to carry. As for knowing when to stop adding calories, my lifts naturally slowed in progress and I saw my weight trending towards 125 and my clothes weren't fitting the way I prefer. So, I made the decision to get back to 115-120 lbs for the long haul. I did this by cutting 50 calories a week until I hit an intake that kept me stable in that range. It's a lot of trial and error! Having stayed here, my waist has decreased nearly 2 inches in the past three years and I've added inches to my hip and thigh measurement so I assume more muscle has been added.

 

[freds]

@ecumeni Interesting! Definitely looking into this reverse dieting! Thank you so much for sharing your experience say hi to your pup for me!

 

[ecumeni]

@freds He said he’s in love with you.

 

[freds]

@ecumeni Oh my goodness!! give him all the treats!!!

 

[skywatcher365]

@freds I maintain at 2300 - but I'm nursing a 6 month old. I spent a lot of time reverse dieting and increasing my NEAT. Average 16 to 20k steps a day. Workout 3x week. Generally lifting heavy but I've taken a lot of deload weeks since having the baby.

I think you might want to take a diet break. Eat at maintenance for a few weeks and go again.

Also I'd look at sleep and recovery. Take care of yourself!

 

[skywatcher365]

ETA also helps to know your current and goal weight. As things get closer it will get tighter. I'm currently 138 but aiming for 125ish. Once I get to 130 I'll have to tighten things up quite a bit.

All of this to say - just knowing people's cals based on height isn't really going to give you a full picture of what is appropriate for you.

 

[freds]

@skywatcher365 Congrats on the baby!! I actually did go on a diet break when I was on vacation two weeks ago! I was hoping the weight loss stall was just from that but it’s been two weeks lol goal weight is 120 I’m 141 this morning yeah I understand it will be different for everyone but I just wanted to see if there was someone out there maintaining at 1500 haha and if it’s even a thing lol

 

[thedovesear]

@freds So, ICYMI and love data

There’s this large TDEE database based on height/weight/activity from members from r/xxfitness floating around that’s not super recent, but may be useful!

I did not create this magical sheet but thought it might be worth linking over here since I found it helpful.

 

[freds]

@thedovesear Oh my goodness!! Data! Thank you so much!!!

 

[pete71]

@freds Weigh daily. Then take a weekly average. Weight fluctuates so much. It will give you a much more accurate picture. With your activity level I would be surprised that 1500 isn’t close to maintenance for you, even though you’ve only been going two months.

For reference I’m 5’0” and 54-55kg, maintaining on 2,300. But I have been lifting weights for 1.5 years for 4-5 days a week.

 

[freds]

@pete71 I downloaded happy scale! I do see the fluctuations but a few days ago I broke 139 and today I was back up at 141! thank you so much!

 

[stosa]

@pete71 How much cardio and daily steps do you do

 

[pete71]

@stosa I don’t count steps and I don’t do cardio intentionally. I cycle to and from the gym (10 minutes) and I work from home so I don’t walk all that much either.

 

[rogers91]

@freds since you are weighing and tracking your calories, use this spreadsheet for a few weeks so you can get an idea of what your TDEE is. it changes as you go.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1W8aX2BTGnISEYbvljmh\_echDpVYv18sS/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=105457877542545041317&rtpof=true&sd=true

 

[freds]

@rogers91 This is awesome! I love data haha thank you so much!

 

[dawn16]

@freds 1500 is quite low for working out 5 x a week.

What type of lifts are you doing and how long are you sessions?

 

[freds]

@dawn16 Okay don’t laugh at my baby weights but:

Twice a week - chest, shoulders & triceps (3x12) - dumbbell chest press 15 lbs, chest fly, Arnold press, skull crushers, overhead tricep, tricep kickback all 10 lbs, lateral raise 8 lbs

Twice a week - Back and biceps (3x10) - pull down, cable rows (55lbs), dumbbell rows 20 lbs, curls (hammer and bicep) 15 lbs

Once a week - Legs (3x12) - squat on smith machine (30 lbs), lunges and step up (body weight), dumbbell leg press (20 lbs), hip thrust (30 lbs), leg extensions (45 lbs)

Edit: Usually around 40 mins for these

 

[dawn16]

@freds Baby weights are fine when you're starting out as long as you try to progress!

I think the main consideration with lighter weights is the fact you're probably not burning a whole lot of calories despite going regularly (noting that 1500 is still low even if you're not pushing it with weights) . Is this just an example or are you doing the same exercise twice a week and then doing the exact same thing again next week? Cause you might want to look into spicing it up. I'd swap out the twice a week ones for once a week and then do full body resistance instead (like cardio and strength at the same time scrap the 30 minutes at the end of these ones).

I personally also don't see the point of walking on an incline for 30 minutes if you're doing a 30 minute outside walk and your goal is weight loss. You'd be better off jumping on the rower, stairs or bike and sweating it out for a shorter duration.

(and as long as you enjoy it of course)

edit to answer your original post question: I don't count but I am on roughly 2000-2500 cals a day pending on treaty treats. I do two strength, 1 cardio and 2 functional sessions a week and hit around 7000-11000 steps a day depending on dog walkies. This puts me at 55kg at 30yo's. I am significantly stronger though my single arm dumbell row is 30kg. But I did start at 6kg.