Does the 1200-calorie floor make sense for someone under 5'2?

[fresh-start]

Official guidance says women shouldn't eat under 1200 calories because of vitamin and mineral gaps. I get the reasoning, but does it really apply the same way to someone 6 ft tall and someone 5 ft tall? I'm nearing a healthy BMI and my loss has slowed, both in pounds and in percent each week. Going by a resting metabolic rate test plus my exercise, maintenance sits near 1450. The usual advice is to eat about 500 below that for roughly a pound a week. That would put me far under the 1200 floor. Sticking to 1200 means very slow loss and a much longer road to a healthy weight. To be clear, I currently eat more than my hunger asks for, lift weights and push protein to protect muscle. For the ladies 5'3 and under: do you hold to 1200 even when that is less than a 500 deficit, or do you go lower now, get to a healthy range sooner and eat more at maintenance?

 

[HungryNoMore_24]

5'3 here, holding steady since April. My planned weight was never reached, since I liked my size and my health markers (muscle mass plus bone strength), and I worried that another 20lbs off might upset that balance. Im 61, so strength matters! My weight sits near 150lbs and clothing is a US size 4/6 (equivalent to UK 8-10). In July my waist measured 30in, likely a bit less today. At 150 I look far slimmer than I ever expected, slimmer even than at this weight three decades back. A DEXA scan, if one is available to you, shows what is happening to muscle, bone and visceral fat. It moved my target from 132 up to the current 150.

 

[plum-plotter]

Yeah, like the others said, cravings rise but overall I eat less than I would unmedicated! Research suggests the luteal phase needs roughly 300 extra calories over maintenance, so I read my hunger carefully. I usually eat anywhere from 200 to 800 above my deficit number. I am 5 feet tall with PCOS and eat about 1200 a day on mounjaro, a 400 deficit, losing 0.5-1.5lb weekly, but in the luteal phase it is more like 1600-1800 minimum. That week I either lose nothing or gain 0.5-1lb, then a 2lb drop arrives around my period, so it evens out. My tracking spreadsheet shows a 0.7lb gain just before my last period, followed by several lost pounds. My cycle is only just regulating, around 60 days, so the evidence is thin, but enough to connect my hunger with my hormones.

 

[Yuki09]

I'm 5ft 1 and aim for 1200 calories, though most days it's closer to 1000. I've dropped 75 lbs across twelve months with 40 still to go. Early on I ate 1500 and dropped 30 lbs, then stalled, so I cut to 1200 and the loss resumed. A month ago I stalled again, so I added gym sessions. Good food lets you eat a fair amount, but hitting protein on so few calories is tough for me. Today was about 1000: overnight oats with banana and walnut in half a mason jar plus coffee with sugar-free creamer, a shrimp salad, a bunless pork burger with apple slaw and broccoli, and for a snack a couple ham slices with string cheese. Yesterday came to 1020: strawberry chia pudding, chicken salad on rice cakes, lemon chicken with cauliflower and a little rice, then string cheese and grapes.

 

[Nikki_92]

At 5ft 3 my daily deficit shrank from 1300 at the start to about 1000 near the end. On busy work days I ate 1100-1200 or more, then 800-1000 on lazy days at home, and I lost a steady 1lb weekly over 14 months, never stalling. Cutting carbs made me tired, but I needed to because I was prediabetic and carbs hit my blood sugar hard. I aimed for more protein, roughly 85-105g a day when I was 60-70kg. Now I'm in maintenance with a tdee of 1470, and yesterday I ate 1400, though I eat more carbs these days. I went from 15mg down to 4mg yesterday and have stayed within 3lbs either way for these 5.5 months.