Weight loss plateaus for short people

danjou72

Hi all. I'm a 21 year old woman who started out at 138 pounds and am looking to drop to about 108-112. I'm between 5'0'' and 5'1'', so this would take me from an overweight BMI of 26ish to a more average number of 20-21.

Right now I'm at 125.5 pounds (23.6 BMI). I've been fluctuating around this number for about 2 weeks now despite no increase to my calorie intake, and even an experimental decrease last week. I've added some body-weight exercises into my routine, but I haven't seen any results. I even gained half a pound back despite my low calorie intake.

I'm at the myfitnesspal minimum of 1200 calories. I sometimes go under this number in a day, but almost never over, especially not in the last few weeks. Every BMR calculator I've used has told me I'm around 1430 per day, and since I'm mostly sedentary (other than walking between buildings on my small college campus) I tend to work with that number as my base. So even with a deficit of maybe 200-300 calories depending on the day instead of the usual 500, I managed to drop 12 pounds pretty easily in three months. I was also lucky that those first 12 pounds had been gained within the last year, so I think they were just inherently easier to lose.

I eat as much high-protein food as I can and haven't had any issues feeling full and satisfied. 1200 seemed low at first, but for someone as short as me I think it's very reasonable.

So now my problem is this: pretty much every source I find on breaking through a weight plateau has said to either drop to a lower calorie intake or make up the difference in cardio. On the other hand, every source I've found on dropping to 900 calories has called it a starvation diet and insisted that I'll gain back whatever I lose and more. I even tried 1000 calories last week, which I'm also told is a starvation diet, and it wasn't enough to get me back into weight loss mode.

I'm totally fine with starting at the gym doing weight training 2-3 times per week, but I simply do not have the time to incorporate enough cardio into my day to make up a 100-300 calorie difference. I just want to know if there's any real evidence to support 900 calories being universally considered a starvation diet. Are very short people really taken into account for that metric? Do I have literally any options other than lots of cardio? For other short people on here, how have you dealt with plateaus in general?

apullum

For reference, I am just under 5'0", maintaining at 110-115 for 2+ years after a 100 pound weight loss.

Some of your initial 12 pounds was probably water weight. You should not expect that pace of loss to continue.

Two weeks is not a plateau, especially when you have so little to lose. You are already in an optimal BMI range for someone who is 5'0". Weight loss is going to be very, very slow at this point.

You should not be attempting to lose more than 0.5 lb/week, and the scale will not go down every week. Sometimes it will even go up. Your actual average pace of weight loss may also be slower than 0.5 lb/week.

At this point, patience and highly accurate logging are necessary. You may go 4-6 weeks with no downward change on the scale. You have a very small deficit, and if you are not weighing all your food, it's very easy to wipe it out with a few logging errors.

You absolutely do not need to go below 1200 net calories. You need to be patient and consistent.

emmamcgarity

Two weeks is not a plateau. At your current stats you should set your expectations to lose about a half pound per week. You’ll also need to be very accurate about your logging. Then if after 6 weeks of accurate data revisit your plan and tweak if you aren’t losing at that time.

mom23mangos

I know the first thing people are going to ask is are you weighing and measuring EVERYTHING. If you aren't, chances are you are taking in more calories than you think. Everyone is different, but I'm the same height and was able to steadily lose about 1/2lb per week on 1400ish average. I did strength train 3x/week and do cardio 3x/week as well though. My cardio was only 20min of interval sprinting and strength training sessions 45min.

Pipsqueak1965

What they said - two weeks is not long enough to be worried. You will be losing, just very slowly (I'm the same height as you so I know how it goes - I went from about 120 to 101 but it took months. I also never went lower than an average of 1400 calories. Just be patient.

danjou72

You’re all convincing me I may have overreacted. I’d been at a very steady pace for over three months now and I assumed that there was something wrong when it stopped. Seeing the scale go up by half a pound also freaked me out since I hadn’t experienced that yet. I was under the impression that 0.5 to 1 LB of loss per week was a hard rule given a certain deficit, so this certainly feels/felt like a plateau to me.

For the record I am weighing and measuring diligently, so it sounds like patience really is my problem rather than consistency

RelCanonical

danjou72 wrote: »

You’re all convincing me I may have overreacted. I’d been at a very steady pace for over three months now and I assumed that there was something wrong when it stopped. Seeing the scale go up by half a pound also freaked me out since I hadn’t experienced that yet. I was under the impression that 0.5 to 1 LB of loss per week was a hard rule given a certain deficit, so this certainly feels/felt like a plateau to me.

For the record I am weighing and measuring diligently, so it sounds like patience really is my problem rather than consistency

At our height, weight loss in a healthy weight range is pathetically slow, even at 1,200 calories. The difference between 1,200 and maintenance for us isn't much compared to those who are taller. I'm at 1,350 right now (sedentary) and I'm only at 1/2 pound a week and ten pounds heavier than you (135, also 5'1''). Fortunately, each pound does matter more at our height, but unfortunately, any fluctuation from water or food weight will just kill any noticeable progress by the scale. It's possible that fluctuations from your cycle could be masking everything, if you run into that, and prior to now there was enough loss to overcome that. I weigh once a month because I love seeing a loss each time, and that's honestly the only way to get that loss.

Edit: Listed myself at 125, wishful thinking lol. I'm 135.

lorrpb

You recently began new exercise. This can cause a little water retention as the muscles repair and adapt to a new routine, looking like a gain on the scale. 0.5 lb fluctuation is not really a big deal. Since you’ve lost 12 lbs the little fluctuations and stsllsa are more noticeable. Many women experience temporary water retention at some point durin the monthly cycle, do this could be affecting you too.

Clairin

What is your BMR? Mine apparently is 1300 calories by this calculator and I'm sedentary working from home and 5 2. https://www.calculator.net/bmr-calculator.html?ctype=standard&cage=46&csex=f&cheightfeet=5&cheightinch=2&cpound=108&cheightmeter=180&ckg=60&cmop=0&coutunit=c&cformula=m&cfatpct=20&x=76&y=22#

koalathebear

Assuming you get to the point where you're eating enough and the right food to sustain yourself, the cardio to give yourself additional calories for your budget can be relatively simple ...

I know you said that you don't have time but I find even half an hour of intensive Zumba from YouTube is enough to burn quite a lot of calories. I am 5 feet tall and I have lost 31 kilograms. I have one more kg to go and then I will be at goal weight - 54kg. in the last month or so I haven't had time to go to the gym so I have just been walking the dogs and doing zumba at home from YouTube. It has been super easy to burn off hundreds of calorie a day and I can just do the Zumba in the lounge room whenever I have some time.

Here is one of my playlists in case it
https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PL9QddIGy06k0OV5GD9z__kOPwzkwrg7Cm

ETA: Not sure why there's a 'disagree'. I don't see anything wrong with suggesting easy exercise you can do from your own home at your own pace and at the intensity you choose. I like going to the gym but have had some time constraints the last month so have had to find other ways to exercise. The cardio has to be done in conjunction with eating enough of course.

ghudson92

You just have to be patient. I am 5"1 and it has taken me a year to lose 20lbs on 1300cals a day. I have 3.5lbs to go til I'm 112lbs.
Weighing and logging everything in the most anal way possible is about the only way to do it!
Good luck 😊

KreeativeKat

I totally sympathise with you. At 4ft 11ins I struggle to lose weight on a 1200 calorie per day diet. I'm 65 y.o which also makes it harder. All those tables that quote a 500 calorie deficit per day are obviously not taking ino account that there are 'shorties' out there. I'm following a keto diet at the moment, on which I can sometimes eat 900 cals without feeling hunger. I used to be around 108 lbs (many years ago), but my body wasn't happy with that. Right now, I'd be happy to weigh around 125 lbs, however I sometimes think it's never going to happen. I'm 138 and have hit the dreaded 'plateau'. I think that us shorties just have to accept it will take us longer to reach our ideal weight, On the plus side, a 7lb weight loss really does show. Good luck, and remember, there are lots of us out there who are 'vertically challenged'. By the way, one Ideal Weight chart quoted that I should weigh 95 lbs!!! That's never going to happen.