Help from other shorties! (~5'0)

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Hey everyone! I'm a 22 y/o female with a starting weight of 141 and a goal weight of 115. I started using MFP about three weeks ago and have only lost one pound. I go under my calorie limit every day (MFP limits it to 1200 calories/day and I usually end up eating less than 1,000). I unfortunately cant work out too much due to my school schedule, so I'm hoping to do most of this through diet. What caloric limits have worked for you, especially being a shorter girl?

I'm super frustrated after putting in so much self control and effort the past three weeks to not end up with much change. Any help/advice you have to offer would be amazing

wdwmindy

Make sure you eat all your calories! You need to fuel your body for it to function properly. Eating under 1,200 generally isn't a good idea.

For the first few weeks when I started counting calories there was no change in my weight. Then I dropped a few pounds. This still happens sometimes even now, I will maintain for 2 or 3 weeks then suddenly weigh in a few pounds less. I have no clue what my body is doing lol. I do know I have seen people on here mention weight loss is not linear, which is clearly the truth. If I average out how much I have lost with how many weeks I have been at this I average about one pound a week, which I am happy with.

I am also set at 1,200 with MFP. I use a Fitbit and walk for exercise. This usually allows me to "earn" another 300 calories a day. My exercise is limited due to health issues.

psuLemon

Do you use a food scale? Also, what is your per week loss goal set at? With only 20 lbs to go, your goal should be around 1 lb per week. Also, if you open your diary, we can make some recommendations.

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I just purchased a food scale last week! prior to that I was using measuring cups to get as accurate with measurements as i could. why is it a bad idea to have a goal set for 2lbs/week at 20 pounds to go? Just curious!

And i just opened my diary so that would be amazing if you could give recommendations! I also purchased a women's multivitamin today that i will be starting to take tomorrow. Thank you so much for the help!

gigglesinthesun

I am 5ft and I lost most of my weight eating 1350. When I started out I used measuring cups and logged only 1100, but as soon as I used scales it jumped to 1350 so clearly I wasn't very good with the measuring cups :-)

Me2FitMe

My goal is set at 1200 but often go over... There are times I hit a plateau for weeks but then the lbs come off easily-- and so seems to be my cycle. When I exercise I try to eat some if not most of my exercise cals too...

1two3four

I'm five foot on a good day

I am heavier than you and burn more calories just moving my heavier body however, unless you are a wheelchair user I'd venture to guess as a student you are more active than I am and burn more calories just in that. I eat 1400-ish calories a day without any exercise.

Make sure that you are eating enough calories every day. Less than 1200 most likely is NOT enough. If you are not eating enough you wont lose. Also consider trying to lose 1-pound a week, I know it's nice to be able to get the weight off quickly but sometimes that just doesn't work out.

And like I said, I know us shorties definitely require less calories when we're just sedentary or lightly active but with just a little activity our calorie needs do go up.

Good luck to you!

psuLemon

I just purchased a food scale last week! prior to that I was using measuring cups to get as accurate with measurements as i could. why is it a bad idea to have a goal set for 2lbs/week at 20 pounds to go? Just curious!

And i just opened my diary so that would be amazing if you could give recommendations! I also purchased a women's multivitamin today that i will be starting to take tomorrow. Thank you so much for the help!

2 lbs is for someone who is obese.. Large deficits will increase the chances of muscle loss. And considering you are not doing any type of weight training, you will already be at a disadvantage. When your body loses muscle, you lower your metabolic rate. Also, from my experience, people with aggressive weight loss goals tend to binge a lot.

Honestly, set your account to 1 lb per week, adjust your macronutrients to add in protein (40% carbs, 30% protein and fats is generally good) and use a food scale for 1 month. Until then, it's hard to tell how many calories you are truly eating. Those who haven't used food scales can underestimate calories by as much as 500 calories a day.

On a side note, your want to aim for around 1g of protein and .35g of fat per lb of lean bodymass.. it equates to about 70% of your body weight in grams of protein. This will help preserve as much as possible. And if you can incorporate exercise, start with resistance training (even if it's just your body weight).

nomorebingesgirl2014

4ft 11

leapylees

I'm 4' 10" and have found that the best method of weight loss for me is 'slow and steady.' I aim for a weight loss of between 0.5lbs a week to a pound every ten days - any faster and I end up with a frustrating combination of feeling awful, stagnation, loss of motivation and a tendency to binge. I started at 159 lbs, joined MFP at 138lbs, and now have 7-8ish left to go to get to my goal of 110lbs. It's taken me years as I'm easily distracted but I'd rather do it really slowly and gradually get into good exercise and eating habits that are sustainable - and now when I am distracted I tend to maintain rather than gain weight. I'm no fan of exercise, but have found that I can stick to a routine of Jillian Michaels DVDs (20-40 minute workouts are easy to fit into the day) and walking a lot. I've also developed a social circle of roller derby players. I don't play, but they have inspired me. In terms of food, I mostly stick to the MFP recommendations, try to eat lots of vegetables and protein and I don't deny myself treats (Friday night is always pizza night in my house - just not as much pizza as I used to eat, and vegetable pizza rather than extra cheese).