Petite & confused!

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  • copselily
    copselily Posts: 117
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    You are focussing on scales only.

    Take pics and measurements.

    Start exercising. (combo of resistance training and cardio)

    ???

    Profit

    I do take pics and measurements, I'm literally staying the same. I rarely weigh myself, maybe once a month. I do need to exercise though, I think that's the push I need :smile:
  • misschoppo
    misschoppo Posts: 463 Member
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    I am 24, 5ft 3 and really small framed, my weight fluctuates between 99-103lbs. My diary goal is set to 1200cals but I almost always eat quite a few hundred more, it works for me to keep my diary set at 1200 as I tend to plan my food to fit around that goal but then if I fancy extra helpings or an evening snack I'll have it & I might end up being several hundred over but that is fine, works better for me than planning to eat 1500/1600 in the first place because then I'd probably eat more like 2000+ (still do that occasionally anyway :smile: )

    At the moment my goal is to maintain or actually gain weight but lower bf% but when I was focused purely on losing weight, I did find that being so small if doing no exercise or workouts and only relying on calorie restriction, I found I could not lose weight unless I ate at 1200 or below, anything over that I just seemed to maintain. I found it a much better idea to workout (mix of strength training, fitness dvds, walking, boxing) and then eat back about half my exercise cals on top of the 1200 i was already eating and I pretty easily lost around 18lbs doing it that way with a start weight of 121lbs which was my heaviest adult weight. Sounds pretty reasonable for my height but I did not carry it well on my frame at all.
  • tropicaltiger
    tropicaltiger Posts: 254
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    I am also peitite-and 5'4-I Would suggest working out-I go to the gym and have done it for 5 years-when I went on maintince-when I went back to eating more-and adding more I did gain alittle back- but then I upped my workout and my body adjusted -but if you even just go for a walk it works-it gives your body a jump start-I use to eat over depression-now I just find other things to do-before I did 1200 calories I had a nuturist tell me I was starving my body I was only doing a 1000 a day for 5 years-so know I am doing 1200 at first my weight went back up 5 pounds-now it has come off-and my body adjusted-I was unconfotrable also increasing calories-I lost a total of 90 pounds 5 years ago-and have kept it off-going to the gym writing before biting- (you need to find what works for you-good luck on your journey
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
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    My two cents.....start lifting weights if you dont already. Its a sture-fire way to change your body composition. I'm the same height and currently weigh a little bit more than you. Im not going to assume you want to look a certain way, but these are my progress pictures from lifting....the first pic I weighed around 135lbs, the middle I weighed about 120lbs and in the third picture I weigh around 145lbs. I got to the second picture by doing 5x5 and not counting calories (though I did eat paleo 90% of the time). By the final picture I had been drinking a lot of milk, and lifting/beginning crossfit. Ideally Id like to be a little leaner, but am quite happy with how I look. I guess Im sharing this because I weigh more in the last picture than I do in the first, but I dont think it necessarily looks that way.....lifting will change your body composition slowly but surely

    GAINS_zpsaff793de.png]
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    Hmm not too sure, I've struggled for a long time trying to lose weight but this year I used MFP and was told to have 1200 a day and I've dropped 24lbs since. I'm 5"5 and now 139lbs

    1200 does work, I lost weight on it too :smile: It just didn't agree with me when I went back to eating normal calories...

    Yes worked for me too over and over and over which is why I'm here doing it with more calories this time so it stays off.
  • copselily
    copselily Posts: 117
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    My two cents.....start lifting weights if you dont already. Its a sture-fire way to change your body composition. I'm the same height and currently weigh a little bit more than you. Im not going to assume you want to look a certain way, but these are my progress pictures from lifting....the first pic I weighed around 135lbs, the middle I weighed about 120lbs and in the third picture I weigh around 145lbs. I got to the second picture by doing 5x5 and not counting calories (though I did eat paleo 90% of the time). By the final picture I had been drinking a lot of milk, and lifting/beginning crossfit. Ideally Id like to be a little leaner, but am quite happy with how I look. I guess Im sharing this because I weigh more in the last picture than I do in the first, but I dont think it necessarily looks that way.....lifting will change your body composition slowly but surely

    GAINS_zpsaff793de.png]

    Thanks for the advice! Ugh you look PERFECT :love:
  • leilaphoenix
    leilaphoenix Posts: 839 Member
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    I'm 26 and 5ft2 and currently ~133lbs. I maintain on 1400/1500 calories. I'd like to get down to 120lbs.
    I find the only way for me to lose weight is to NET 1200. This could be by eating less or by eating more and exercising. Either way, you need a bigger calorie deficit if you are maintaing. Achieve this through diet or through exercise, or a mix of both.

    :)
  • KeViN_v2pt0
    KeViN_v2pt0 Posts: 375 Member
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    Any suggestions at how I can reduce my body fat % at a steady rate? In a sustainable way? Thank you! ☺

    What kind of physical activities do you do? Calorie intake can be modified depending on your activity level. Different types of activities WILL change the shape of your body.

    Other people have mentioned lifting.
  • gelendestrasse
    gelendestrasse Posts: 204
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    I don't know of any way around exercising if you're going to loose weight and stay healthy. I'd stick with the 1500 but find a local friend who likes the gym or something and change your routine - as much as your responsibilities allow.
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
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    Exercise! You'll be able to eat an amount you can handle, and still create a deficit to lose weight :)
  • fityese
    fityese Posts: 18 Member
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    Hello! MFP is a real jerk when it comes to assigning calories. I don't believe one word it says. It says I will gain weight on my current calories of about 1600-1700, but it's not true, I haven't gained a pound. I am 4' 11" so I know the challenges of being petite when it comes to diet. I think we should eat less than taller people but not 1200 calories.

    Use these calculators to calculate your TDEE:

    http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

    This one gave me 2157 calories.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    This one gave me 2034 calories.

    http://www.fatsecret.com/Default.aspx?pa=rdic

    This one gave me 2200 calories.

    I know they all come out to a slight different TEE. What I did is add them up and divide them by 3 to get the TEE I use.

    2157 + 2034 + 2200 = 6391/3 = 2130 calories

    I want to lose weight so I subtract 500 calories.

    That leaves me with 2130 - 500 = 1630 calories

    Here's another calorie calculator, for good measure.

    http://www.womenshealthandfitness.com.au/energy-counter

    Best of luck (=
  • Gkfrkv
    Gkfrkv Posts: 120
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    I can totally relate. I'm 22 and 5'2 aswell, I sit on my bum at work all day and my TDEE is around 1,650-1,850, depending on how active I am.

    It is possible to lose the weight without exercise. I wouldn't recomment it though because your body will lose a fair amount of muscle aswell as fat. Strength training and eating enough protein will help you minimize muscle loss while eating under maintenance. Cardio will help you burn some calories so you can eat more.

    Anyhow, you said you maintained with 1,400 cals aswell as with 1,500. Have you been consistent with any calorie goal so far?

    Not really! I tried 1,200 and I got down to 134lbs within about 4 weeks. Then I fell off the wagon and gained it all back, to 140lbs again. But I gained it back within about 2 weeks and the idea of it coming back so fast as scary, so I tried around 1400-1500 with the intention to exercise and not eat the calories back, but I never bothered with the workouts so now I'm just maintaining at this number of cals and I'm still an unhappy 140lbs. :smile:

    I think I need to get up off my *kitten*.

    I went on a 1200 *diet* for the first two weeks, then I increased my calories by about 200. Now I go entirely by activiry level.
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
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    Thanks for the advice! Ugh you look PERFECT :love:

    Haha, I would'nt say that but thanks :) I used to eat a 1200 calorie diet and do 2-3 hours of cardio a day....all it got me was tired and run down. Lifting and eating well has changed my life
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
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    Also you like fitmama training, so you must be on the right track :) X
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    Are you using a digital food scale to accurately weigh all the food and drink you consume? Are you logging everything? If you are not doing both, then you likely are underestimating how much you actually eat.
  • OatFloats
    OatFloats Posts: 119
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    Are you using a digital food scale to accurately weigh all the food and drink you consume? Are you logging everything? If you are not doing both, then you likely are underestimating how much you actually eat.

    I agree. I was appalled to find out this morning that I was drinking 1/2 a cup of milk in my morning coffee instead of the estimated 1/4 cup.

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