Question about calories?

[Tricia Haley]

Hi everyone! Would really love to get your feed back about something that has bugged me my whole life. I am sorry if this gets to long. Here it goes. I am 5'3 130pds. I am a pear shape very lean on top but of course i am not on bottom. My measurements are 37/27/38, legs 21 1/2 at the widest part. I would like to lean out my lower body like a fitness model. I only want to lose 10 pound taken me down to 120. I have no problem with exercise i love it and love doing it and i don't feel i do bad at eating. This year i have really focused on clean eating. I try to eat between 1600 to 1800 cals a day. I divide that up between 6 mini meals and do my best to keep a ratio of protien/carb at each meal. My question is how many calories do you 5'3 women eat and what do you weight? I know everyone is diferent but i just want to see if maybe i am eating to many calories to lose this last 10 pounds. It is so frustrating to me. I would like to weigh between 115 - 120 and my measurements be 37/25 to 26"/ 35 to 36" and legs at the widest point 19". Is that to much to ask of my body? I really don't think i am being unrealistic and i know that the last 10 pounds is the hardest to lose but i am willing to do it. I would really appriciate any feedback from you awesome ladies! and you don't have to be 5'3 to to answer. Any body who has been a pear or just has some great advice i would love to hear from you. And by the way i am 40 years old this year. Thanks for listening sorry this is so long! you guys are blessings! Tricia

 

[kariev]

hi tricia
i'm 5'3 as well and weight 120lbs. To lose weight i eat around 1500cals per day. For my body, i also have to do more cardio to get the weight to budge (~5days/week) I tried to cut back on cardio and eat the 1500cals but my weight didn't budge. So i decided i would rather keep my cals the same and up my exercise to drop the lbs. Worked like a charm. My mantainance cals are between 1800 and 2000. I'm not pair shaped so i cannot help you in that department. Can you list what a typical day looks like for you? Do you have weekly cheat meals? What is your workout activity throughout the week? I track my food on www.thedailyplate.com Also, for me, whenever i tried to eat 5-6 mini meals i was ALWAYS hungry and thinking about food which made me eat more b/c i never felt satisfied. I have recently switched to 3-4 meals per day and find that i'm being true to my cal intake and not sneaking bites here and there. But everyone is different with that and i just wanted to let you know that you don't have to do that. The last 10lbs are the hardest and they come off slower than the initial lbs. There have been times when it has taken me 1 whole month to lose 1lb no matter how diligent i was with diet or exercise. The thing is you have to stay consistant and don't give up!

 

[hriacobacci]

By the way, there is a check in thread for 5'3" and under if you guys are interested in checking in with a few of us other shorties!

Heather

 

[Tricia Haley]

Hi Kariev a typical day to me is 6 small meals spaced out thru day. i divide 1600 cals between those meal times. example 1) oatmeal and protien shake 2) cheese stick and 3 all natural crackers 3) lunch is usually a protien- chicken breast or tuna or cottage cheese with all natural crackers or salad and a protien. 4) usually a protien bar or protien shake with a piece of fruit or yogart with flaxseed 5) is usually protien shake with a veggie or almonds with a fruit or an egg with 2 serv egg beaters and a slice of ezekiel bread 6) dinner is usually a protien with veg and some type of starch. If i make a more fattning meal for my family i usually will eat a little bit and then load upon the veggies. I do have a cheat meal which is eddys 1/2 choc. chip cookie doe ice cream and i do measure it out or sugar free choc. pudding with ff cool whip etc. I workout 5 to 6 days a week. I am doing P90x right now and i just got done with cathe's sts earlier in june. Working out is never a problem for me i love it. I really like cardio. I also personal train at the gym i train in. Thats why i really feel its got to be my calories because i always workout if i don't i feel very yuck and i hate that feeling so thats why i have to be really tired not to exercise. Thank you for responding Kariev i really appreciate it and i will be looking forward to any more advice you can throw my way!

Heather where is the 5'3 thread you were talking about? I don't know that i have ever seen it and would like to check it out. Thanks again Tricia

 

[hriacobacci]

5'3" Thread

Look under the check ins and challenges section and the thread is titled 5 feet 3 and Under (or something really close to that)


Heather

Heather where is the 5'3 thread you were talking about? I don't know that i have ever seen it and would like to check it out. Thanks again Tricia

 

[looking good]

Tricia I could have wrote your post except I am 5'4. I decided to go in the opposite direction and lift heavy for a month plus cardio to see if that last stubborn 10 pds will go away. I am also tracking my calories on daily plate so that I am balancing my carbs, proteins, and fats. I am trying to eat 4 to 5 meals. Have just started this process this week and I hope going heavy on the weights will do the trick. Good luck I right there with you.

Therese

 

[kariev]

how long have you been eating in a deficit (1600cals)? you made need to shock you body a little and bump up cals to maitanance or about 1800-2000cals for a week and then jump back down to 1600 cals. This may stimulate you metabolism. Sounds like you are already lifting heavy. Mabe take out some of your steady state cardios and do a couple interval style cardios if your not doing that yet. Also, you could try and cut out starchy carbs except for pre and post workout and get the remainder of your carbs from veggie sources. That will lean you out a bit but it is hard (i love my carbs) Hopefully some others will have a suggestion.

 

[Tricia Haley]

Hi Karive, i have been eating 1600 cals for awhile but usually some time in the week i will bump up the cals. because i am hungry and i will start getting headaches or don't sleep very good because i am hungry. I feel like i have tried everything. I don't know this can be so frustrating. Right know I am doing a higher protien diet with less carbs and i have been trying my best to get my carbs from veggies in stead of starches. As far as lifting heavey, i do for my upper body. Everything i read on the pear body shape says that do low weight or body weight and high reps for lower body and to focus more on adding muscle to upper body. When i have lifted heavy for lower body my legs and hips tend to bulk and get bigger. ARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGG! The depressing thing for me is i really like to work lower body with heavey weights. When i am done i feel as though i have accomplished something great. Yesterday i did a leg workout but all exercises i did was with body weight and 25 to 30 reps. Boring! oh well i am going to try this for a while and just see what this does for my lower body.

Do you happen to know how many times i should work my lower body a week since i am going to be doing mostly low weight higher reps? Just curious. Thanks again! ps. I have all of cathes dvds and i also do an imax dvd at least once a week.

 

[kariev]

I really don't know what else you can do. You seem to be doing everything right How old are you? I know many women struggle with weight loss due to changes in hormone levels as we age. Second, have you had blood work done? It could be a thyroid issue. As far as frequency of leg training. I know a lot of ladies on this board have had luck with freestyle training which is basically working your legs everyday using only your body weight or super light weights. You can do a search for it on these boards to get more info about it. I've never done it so i can't tell you from personal experience. I work my legs once a week with moderate weight and do some hill work/sprints and count those towards working my legs.

 

[Tricia Haley]

I just turned 40 last January. One thing i didn't mention is that i have been on an anti depressent for about 5 years and i have been backing of the doseage slowly. (Long Story) So i don't know if that has anything to do with it or not. Each time i step down on the dose my body seems to retain water for about a week then goes back to normal. o well, i am not giving up on my self though. I will continue to press on. Thanks again Kariev i really appreciate your time! Thanks again. Tricia

 

[bundschuh]

I was a trained pattern maker/skiwear designer. Your body is not pearshaped, it is definitely hourglass.

The manner in which you figure out the shape of your body is to look at the measurement difference between bust, waist and hips. Your "drop" is 10" between each, so a very enviable hourglass.

An example of a true pearshape would be bust 34, waist 27, hips 40. The drop between the waist and the hips is usually 11-14" and the bust is considerably smaller than the hips.

I have always been startled when I measure people and they tell me their weights. I have measured very firm, very tight people whose bodyweights are at least 20 lbs more than I thought and then I have measured very soft, flabby people whose body weights are far less than I expected.

I think I read somewhere on figureathlete.com, the true measure of "fat legs" is the pinch test. If you can pinch more than 15mm on the calipres on your quads, you can lose more fat there. (I am working my way down to 15 mm, Meso 2 and miles and miles of hill riding on my bike are helping).

 

[Sunshine1528]

Tricia - you sound like you are doing a more freestyle type workout for the LB. Do a search on the board for "freestyle" and also on the internet. Loads of good info out there and the recommended # of workouts per week for legs is 4 - 5 times. Or basically every day.

I have done this before and achieved great results. At I got closer to 50 and have now passed it I to am struggling as you are. Only difference is I am 2" taller than you ! I just started the freestyle approach again along with running which has helped me in the past too. I am aiming for about 15 miles a week. My avtar is from a year ago when I decided to do a 10K. In prepping for that race (where they don't recommend heavy leg work - per runnerworld.com) I leaned up the legs but didn't lose the strength.

I also love heavy legwork but even now (I finished STS a couple months ago) with less heavy LB workouts and the incorporation of many lunges with no or low weight and running, my legs are very firm underneath. I am working on the "fluff" layer that is ontop of the muscles.

Hope that helps a bit. I have learned as Karie mentioned, that switching it up is necessary both with your nutrition and workouts when you hit a plateau.

Best of luck - you'll get there because I see you are determined !