Losing weight while short

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ckelly2016
ckelly2016 Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone. I just started getting serious in my life and losing weight is one of the goals I have. My main problem is trying to lose weight while short. I'm 4'10 and 115 lbs right now. I know to some people that's a perfect weight but I am small boned and have a small frame so the extra 10-15 lbs does not look good on me. My goal weight is anywhere between 95-105 pounds. Im also 'lucky' in the chest area but most of my weight centers around my stomach.Are there any shorties on here who are around this height and have had success losing the extra flab?

What have you done to lose it and keep it off? Mostly lose because it seems my body wants to keep it all :(

Thanks!

Replies

  • Rusty740
    Rusty740 Posts: 749 Member
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    Being short means we have less calories to work with. It's just one of the realities we face. The above poster is correct, you'll need to create a calorie deficit somehow, the easiest way is to eat a bit less. For shorties, there's just less margin to work with so unfortunately it can be harder. I think the best advice I can give you is to create a situation where you can develop new eating habits that you can work with forever. In your situation right now, 100-150 calories per day deficit is not insignificant in terms of overall %. Try for a deficit of 200? maybe, forget your exercise calories, they won't do much for you. Light people don't burn much and it is far easier to focus on your calorie intake than it is to attempt to work it off through exercise. Do exercise for the benefits to your cardiovascular system, not to lose calories. Lifting weights is good for everyone too, but a bit of a side track to your question.

    The only way anyone ever keeps the weight off is by retraining eating habits. I think a good way to do this is tracking your calories impeccably while in a small deficit. It's going to take awhile and it is vitally important that you focus on the process, instead of the goal. If you succeed in the process, your goal will happen.

    Several tips you can use.
    Get and use a digital kitchen scale and weigh all your foods.
    Eat more protein, keeps you full. Protein in the morning helps for the rest of the day.
    Black coffee is good too, is a stimulant to keep your body moving and suppresses appetite.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
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    Rusty740 wrote: »
    focus on the process, instead of the goal. If you succeed in the process, your goal will happen.

    This! This! This!
  • bribucks
    bribucks Posts: 431 Member
    edited August 2017
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    I am a little taller than you, 5'3". Started at 127lbs, currently at 116, with a goal of 110.

    It is absurdly frustrating to lose weight while so petite because we don't get very many calories to work with. But if you stick with it, it will work. I would suggest starting off by calculating your TDEE, or how many calories you burn on a regular day (excluding purposeful exercise like going to the gym). For me, I am sedentary so my TDEE is around 1470-1520ish and I lose about 0.5lb/week on 1300cals. (Sedentary = fewer than 5,000 steps per day).

    At your size, I'm guessing that your TDEE will be ever lower than mine, unless you are more active in your daily life, for example if you work on your feet compared to my desk job. Be forewarned that the lowest amount of calories MFP will allot you is 1200 but since you are so petite, you may need to eat less than this (I wouldn't recommend that for anyone who isn't very petite!).

    For me, breakfast makes or breaks my day calorie-wise. I need to eat something so I'm not hungry, but I limit it to 200ish calories so I have extra room for the rest of the day. Most importantly, fill up on protein & veggies!

    You are welcome to add me as a friend and look at my food diary for inspiration - I ate totally unhealthy this weekend though, so ignore that!
  • ckelly2016
    ckelly2016 Posts: 14 Member
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    Thanks guys! I just calculated my tdee=1,597 and bmr=1,131. This is all while doing light exercise. I do randomly take walks every now and then and walk around at work although it is a office setting.

    I'm trying to eat between 1131 and 1200 a day. And eat a lot of fruits and veggies with protein. That way I can trick me brain into thinking I'm still eating the same amount as before. And making it really colorful...


    Brianeangell08 thanks I sent you a request!
  • ckelly2016
    ckelly2016 Posts: 14 Member
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    Thank you for the feedback!
  • ckelly2016
    ckelly2016 Posts: 14 Member
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    brianneangell08 wrote: »
    You are welcome to add me as a friend and look at my food diary for inspiration - I ate totally unhealthy this weekend though, so ignore that!

    I can't figure out how to request friends... Could you request me..
  • kebass01
    kebass01 Posts: 33 Member
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    I am 5'3 and I haven't been less than 120 since freshman year high school. I know I should be around 105 bc my frame is tiny. My ring size is 3 1/4 and my wrist is 5 inches. I roller coaster btwn 128-140, and am starting to get serious and this is what I have found. I have a Garmin and I train for marathons. I did 20k steps today between a 4 mile run, and 2 2 mile walks. All in all my garmin will say I only burned 2300 calories today....2300! If I eat 1300 calories and every day were like today in a week I would drop 2lbs and I would be dying of starvation. Being short sucks. I know this number is only going to go down as I lose more weight and I have thyroid issues so it's harder for me to lose weight. The good news is because we are short, just 5lbs lost looks amazing on us :). Just keep persevering and take it slow. Enjoy a good cheat meal every now and then (I aim for once a week) so as not to go into starvation and keep the metabolism up otherwise you could gain the moment you start eating the maintenance calories.

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