Weight loss and Calories

[Ande30]

I am 5'2 and weigh 118.  I want to get back to 107. According to fitbit  I can eat less than 1000 calories a

day.  I know I am not very active but that is not enough food.  I am calculating something wrong. 

[Dominique]

MyFitnessPal will not let you eat less than 1200 calories, as a safeguard. Fitbit has no such safeguard and will have you eat any amount, no matter how small. If someone is a petite woman, especially an older and inactive one, BMR and TDEE are low enough that when applying a 500 or 750 calories deficit, what is left to eat is less than 1000 calories (which indeed is not a good idea).

You may want to play with this online calculator. Instead of using deficits in absolute terms (e.g. 500, 750, 1000), it expresses them in relative terms (e.g. 15%, 20%, 25%). This would be better suited for someone like you.

The other thing to take into account is your current weight puts you at BMI 21.6, which is quite thin already. This makes the case for a slower rather than faster weight loss (if deemed necessary at all).

[SunsetRunner]

You may have too large of a deficit. Your best bet is to track how much you normally eat for 7 days and average those numbers. Then reduce by 250 calories. How much you currently eat and what Fitbit says may not be the same.

[Ande30]

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question.  I know that weight wise I should be just fine but none ofmy clothes fit because of this weight gain.  I just would like to figure out how many calories a day I can eat and maybe lose a half to a pound a week.  The only activity I am doing three times a week is yoga but it is not poweryoga or anywhere near that. Thanks 

[Dominique]

Your three weekly yoga sessions won’t really contribute to your weight loss, since they’re already part of your existing routine. If you decide to keep your activity the same, you will have to cut somehow about 250 calories everyday from what you are eating/drinking. I would personally add low-intensity activities while eating the same. For instance, how about one hour of dedicated walking everyday? It’s something most people can do, if they don’t have serious mobility problems.