Low calorie count + workouts = tired

[joegibson]

@unhappymale 1200 is way too low. My maintenance is 1800 and I'm only 5'5".

 

[gadrogeek]

@joegibson 1800 is my maintenance and I'm 6' tall and I'm as active as OP.

TDEE is a range, not one size fits all.

 

[blinkshadow182]

@joegibson My maintenance is 1500 and I'm 5'1. This is really low for someone so active and tall.

 

[timur]

@unhappymale Whoa, with all that lifting and running, you def def def need more calories.

 

[christopher30]

@unhappymale you need more calories. 1200 calories is only suitable for very small, very sedentary women. you are neither!!

 

[gadrogeek]

@christopher30 No, sorry. That CAN be true, but it's certainly not universal. TDEE is a range based on many factors, and calculators are only estimates.

I'm 6' tall and very active, and my TDEE is around 1800/day based on long term (2+ years) of tracking.

 

[jerseyguy]

@christopher30 Same. I'm 4'11" and about 110. 1400 is perfect for me.

 

[dawn16]

@christopher30 Thirding this, I'm 5'9.5" and 122lbs and even I need way mroe than 1200 calories. I lose weight on 1600-1700cals (albeit slowly) so you should probably be aiming for AT LEAST 1400.

 

[frank972]

@christopher30 Seconding this. I'm only 5'0 and 116lbs and ~1400 calories is already a deficit for me.

 

[lezleebee]

@frank972 I'm 5'0, and 114lbs. Currently eating around 2000 calories, no more than 110g protein, rest in carbs. Lifting about 5x a week. My waist is i think around 25 in and glutes are at around 36 and quads at 21 inches. What I'm trying to say is girrrrl you need more calories, more specifically carbs! You are working out a ton and running exerts the most energy on mammals because of our anatomy. Your body is like a car, without fuel, you'll get nowhere.

Again I don't know your background and I am unsure of why only 1250 calories, but that's just my little input.

 

[sabrina_]

@frank972 I'm 5 ft, mostly lifting, and 1,800 is a pretty large deficit for me. OP is in her 40s, so her metabolism has probably taken a little bit of a hit, but not that much...

OP - Why 1,250 calories? You don't list your starting weight, but this seems pretty extreme.

 

[niko]

@christopher30 [sup][sup]^[/sup][/sup] This!

I'm 30, 5'4" and 1250 is 5 calories above my BMR at the lowest weight (119lbs) that I've ever hit in my entire adult life if I were doing absolutely nothing in terms of exercise at all.

Why are you working to take your calories so low? This seems unwise to me as it means you'll be eating way below your BMR which means your body will be fighting with you just to function - nevermind work 45-50 hours, run a half marathon and lift as well.

 

[elina99]

@niko Wait wait wait... Should I follow my TDEE with 20% removed? Or should I follow my BMR? BMR is 1485, TDEE with -20% is 1350. 5' 4" as well and at 150 lbs -working out 4x a week with 50/50 weights & running (goal to do a 5k in May). This crap is so confusing. I've been doing 1350 per day with IF 16:8 and been feeling fine, but I don't want to eat away at what muscle I have.

 

[niko]

@elina99 TDEE. However, a 20% deficit is quite harsh and unlikely to be sustainable for long. Is there any reason you're cutting so hard and fast?

If there is a reason then you will need to accept that your energy levels and mental/emotional state are likely to be negatively affected by trying to push your body to work out and consume less than your BMR at the same time.

 

[elina99]

@niko Honestly I was just following the FAQ on here.. Before that I was doing 1200 (thanks myfitnesspal eyeroll) and so I thought 1350 sounded more doable. I guess now I'll just eat at my BMR and see how that goes. I feel like the second I go about 1400 cals I gain and its so frustrating.

 

[hwst4]

@elina99 1350 is a low place to start cutting from. People prefer starting off high to lose at a nice pace before their body acclimates to lower needs. And people prefer to eat more food. Over time with dieting metabolic adaptation reduces your TDEE.

"It has been well documented that weight loss and energy restriction result in a number of homeostatic metabolic adaptations aimed at decreasing energy expenditure, improving metabolic efficiency, and increasing cues for energy intake".

So you generally don't want to go below BMR because you can't cut further from there.

I was reading an interesting article by Sohee Lee about prepping for a bikini competition that included how her calorie target changed over time. If you include the refeeds every 10 days she went down to 1377 kcal on average for the last 3 weeks of prep. She didn't have much fat to cut so she lost at an average rate of 1/2 lb a week. She's only 5'2'' and went from 110.8 to 105.6 lbs. She exercised four days a week, doing a strength training program designed my Brett Contreras, for approximately one hour each session and took three full rest days per week.

You can read about Sohee Lee's prep here.

 

[leahratliff]

@elina99 If I plug your numbers/activity level in here , I’m getting much higher numbers than what your saying for your TDEE. And I find this calculator close enough to accurate for myself. Are you sure you’re using your active TDEE and not your sedentary TDEE?

 

[needgod09]

@leahratliff Mfp has me on 1450 cals a day at 170 lbs and 5'7". This says my name is 1550 but I don't think I'd lose much at that rate.

 

[chris72]

@needgod09 100 calories isn't a huge difference IMO. At 5'7", starting at overweight, and with exercise you should be able to lose 0.5-2lbs a week with either estimate depending on how sedentary you are during the day and how much exercise you get. If 1450 works for you great but 1550 shouldn't derail fat loss with your stats as it amounts to a difference of 0.2 lbs a week.

 

[elina99]

@leahratliff I'm taking my TDEE and taking away 20% in order to have a deficit. I'm wanting to cut about 20lbs but Im still trying to keep up my muscle mass.