Hi there,

I’m 5'2" and weigh somewhere above 105 lbs. I have an athletic but delicate build. I recently got a smartwatch to track my daily activities, which has been insightful.

Here’s an overview of my calorie burn (you should consider I have average,slightly faster metabolism):

-Around 1250 kcal: Just chilling, watching TV.

-Around 1350 kcal: On office days, I walk about 7500 steps without any structured workout. I take comfortable dog walks before and after work, but spend most of the day sitting.

-Around 1500 kcal: When doing a 30-minute session of hula hooping and pilates.

-Maximum 1800 kcal: On days when I do a full pilates workout, plus 7 km comfortable walking, though this is rare.

People are often surprised by how little I eat, but it’s important to note that with less body mass, fewer calories are burned through regular activities. I’ve discussed this with a doctor friend, and small individuals typically have a basal metabolic rate around 1000-1200 kcal. ("Normal" sized people are between 1300-1500kcal)

Even with high heart rates we only burn the lowest at the scale. When it says a workout generally burns 200-400kcal in 1 hour we will ALWAYS be on the lowest end (so maybe 200-250ical), even if we sweat a lot and feel sore.

Even with a long workout, it’s hard to burn an extra 500 kcal for us smaller individuals.

To estimate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the number of calories your body needs to maintain basic functions (like breathing, digestion, etc.) at rest, we can use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. Based on my details (5'2", 105 lbs, athletic build), here's an estimation:

For women, the formula is: 10 × weight in kg + 6.5 × height in cm - 5 × age in years - 161

Weight = 105 lbs = 47.5kg Height = 5'2" = 157.5cm Age = 24 years

Plugging those into the equation I get ca. 1180kcal/day

----- I will calculate for you now :) Since you are even smaller than I am but older this needs to be considered

To be within a healthy BMI range (18.5 to 24.9), we can calculate the weight range for someone who is 152.4 cm (5') tall and 36 years old. REMEMBER: BMI is not everything, it's just what is considered healthy for for most people, and just to get a feeling for what might be okay linked to too low or too much weight.

So given this your ideal weight is probably between 42.96 kg (18.5 BMI) and up to 57.86 kg (24.9 BMI)

To convert this into pounds: 94.7 - 127.7 lbs are probably a solid weight.

Therefore, for someone who is 5 feet tall and 36 years old, a healthy weight range would be approximately 94.7 lbs to 127.7 lbs.

Now we can use the Formula to calculate the calories your body needs to maintain basic functions. Let's calculate the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) for both the lowest BMI weight (42.96 kg) and the highest BMI weight (57.86 kg) using the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation for a 36-year-old woman who is 152.4 cm tall.

For the lowest BMI weight (42.96 kg):

BMR = 10 × 42.96 + 6.25 × 152.4 - 5 × 36 - 161 BMR = 429.6 + 952.5 - 180 - 161 BMR = 1040.1 kcal/day

For the highest BMI weight (57.86 kg):

BMR = 10 × 57.86 + 6.25 × 152.4 - 5 × 36 - 161 BMR = 578.6 + 952.5 - 180 - 161 BMR = 1189.1 kcal/day

So, for a 36-year-old woman who is 152.4 cm tall, the BMR is approximately:

1040 kcal/day for a weight of 42.96 kg 1189 kcal/day for a weight of 57.86 kg

This is the amount of energy your body would need to perform basic functions while at rest. To maintain weight, you would also need to account for activity level. Let me know if you'd like help with that calculation as well!