Question for petite women dieters

jstandie

Thank goodness a group of petite women that understand! I went through a 12 week nutrition plan and sessions with a trainer. They both kept saying you are not getting enough calories. I followed their instructions and gained nearly 7 pounds. I was so frustrated spent a lot of money and they kept telling me there must be something wrong with my hormones or thyroid. I am 5 ft tall and felt like I was consuming more food than I did before I started. My BMR is 1148. I feel so much better now knowing I am not destroying my body by going under 1200!!! Thank you!

GreenGettingLean

So glad I found this topic! I also struggle to make it to 1200 cals per day (except on heavy workout days or cheat days) and I'm still seeing steady weight loss and feeling full. I even eat some chocolate most days! I worry that I'm eating less than what MFP recommends and I'm scared of going into the dreaded "starvation mode," but so far so good!

MaitreyeeMAYHEM

I am a very petite woman (under 5 feet tall with a small frame). I know the standard recommendation is to never go under 1200 calories but in the past, I have found that I do not lose much when I eat that many calories. Do any other petite ladies go under 1200? I know it's a fine line between getting low enough to lose but also not feeling deprived... I just think 1200 is too much for me.

All the time!! I have never met my calorie goal because that is way too much food for me. You need to listen to your body and what is best for you. I eat then I work out everyday, I joined this site to make sure I literally eat everyday. Thank you for making this topic! I have been searching for ppl like me on here. I'm about 4'11" to 5'0" and weigh around 88 pounds. Its small I admit but I have always weighed around that much. I gained 30 pounds my first year of college and that was too much for me. I got wider. I wouldn't suggest going to full 1200, that is just my opinion.

cjnolt

I'm trying to find the right balance between calories and exercise for maintenance. Seem as though there is such a smaller window when you are only 5'2".

Starlage

guess i'm different!! I'm 5'1" and started at 174 eating around 1200 cals a day and not eating exercise calories back- this did work for a couple of months, but then i stopped losing consistently once I increased my exercise to 5-6 days a week an hour a day half cardio half muscle building/toning. I figured since I'm trying to build muscle AND burn fat I needed to eat more to feed the muscle and allow it to burn the fat.... so I increased calories, began eating my sedentary 1200ish a day plus I added calories burned from exercise and calories burned from walking at work (i wear a pedometer and calculate what I burn with an online calculator) and am acutually eating all that back instead of staying around 1200 no matter what my activity during the day. Now I'm eating around 1400-1600 a day and eating all of my exercise calories back with in a hundred or so. I've started losing again slowly but surely, a half a pound to a pound a week- sometimes only a pound in a month for the last couple of months; I am losing inches still even though my pound loss is slow. I'm happy with it though- now that I've added muscle work and increased calories (which was easy by eating a 300-400 calories breakfast and having two snacks during the day with a smallish lunch and a larger dinner and a small treat after dinner) I feel overall stronger and healthier, not hungry all the time because I'm eating healthy, often and a lot! I feel like everyone's different though. Everyone's body responds differently to food and exercise. While increased calories is working for me now if I plateau i'd probably go back down in calories to change it up. everyone's different but I do understand ladies!! I figure it all depends on whether you're simply burning fat because you're larger like i was at 174 or whether you're trying to burn a little less fat and gain muscle like I am now at 159 and trying to slim down to lean muscle.

armaretta

I am a very petite woman (under 5 feet tall with a small frame). I know the standard recommendation is to never go under 1200 calories but in the past, I have found that I do not lose much when I eat that many calories. Do any other petite ladies go under 1200? I know it's a fine line between getting low enough to lose but also not feeling deprived... I just think 1200 is too much for me.

I am 5' 2." I too, have struggled to meet the 1200 minimum in the past, but as I have approached my weight/BF% goal, I get hungry more often and find I need some extra calories to make it through my day. I hear, the closer you get to your goal, the more important it is to eat back your exercise calories as much as possible. I find it physically impossible to fit that much food in, but I try to get at least 100 or so calories within my limits. I also exercise like a mad woman though. I work out 1-2 hours/day because I want to be athletic and strong, not just slim.

I think a lot of your needs depend on your activity levels. A very active, well muscled petite woman may need more calories than a normal sized, average muscled woman. Then, when you take into account genetics, hormones, and water retention, all guidelines and "normal" standards can be blown out of the water.

Personally, if I plan out my intense exercise days, I then plan my meals that day accordingly. On a day I expect to burn 600-700 calories, I might plan to eat 1600-1800 calories that day. I ditch the low-fat foods for the day, and eat regular varieties. I might add a little butter or fruit preserves to my toast or eat whole eggs instead of egg whites. I might add an extra slice of cheese or avocado to my sandwich or salad. It's a little way to add a few more calories without adding a huge volume. Some people add peanut butter to their fruit slices (but I hate peanut butter). Alternately, if I know I'm going to be sedentary the majority of the day, I'll eat light simply because my digestive system gets miserable if I eat too much and not exercise and move around.

It's really all about listening to your body. As you go along in your diet, you'll get more acquainted with yourself, and you'll know what's best for you. Just keep in mind that your body will become accustom to the same thing over and over again, so it can never hurt to change it up to break through a plateau.

Starlage

i agree with the above! well said.

Chigirl7

Hello Everyone,
Wow..This forum for petite women has been eye opening. To say the least, I am still trying to figure out how to lose some extra pounds. Anyway, I'm 5'3 around 119-120 and would like to lose 5 pounds. It has been difficult since I have been around 115 for a long time. I started to workout and I wasn't loosing weight and actually gained. I guess, I was eating my exercise calories.

So, I started tracking my calories to be around 1200-1500 calories. When I was thinner I would listen to my body when I was hungry. Unfortunately, I feel like I could go many hours without eating and feel fine. I am determined to be healthy and lose the weight with exercise and calorie restrictions.

I am going to listen to my body and eat when I am hungry, not because the clock says to eat. I always felt like if I didn't eat around 1200 to 1500 calories I would be in starvation mode. After reading the previous posts of about 1000 calories being okay for petite woman, I am going to try it.

Now that I think about it those calorie charts are for taller women not petite women. (I always wondered)!!

Thanks to all!

gogojodee

I'm 5'2" and on a super good day, I rarely hit 1200. And that's when I'm eating super healthy and snacks (sometimes)

When I overeat (stress, "celebratory" meals, boredom) or eating HORRIBLY I meet/exceed that amount. of course, everyone is different. But there are days when I just meet 1000 or less. Ha. I typically eat food that has more volume than calories, especially if I'm eating clean.

Cait_Sidhe

I'm 4' 10 1/2". I ate at or under 1200 for around 6 months or so. Then I got hungry. I just don't think I could eat that little anymore. Right now I'm trying a new method of eating at maintenance and using my exericse calories as my deficit.

futiledevices

I'm 5'1" and I honestly have a hard time not going OVER my calorie goal. I work on my feet 4-5 days a week. The only way I can stay below is if I eat extremely healthily and cut down on carbs. It's hard. I haven't lost in a while, though, so I'm seriously considering trying a fad diet for a boost. Not sure what to do. I started at 150 and I'm down to 136. I think I'd like to be around 110.. maybe a little more considering I have a medium frame.

bikinisuited

Bump for later!

rachberger

Wow, thank goodness for this thread! I am 4' 11" inches and about 103 pounds. I too find it extremely difficult to eat 1200 calories on a regular basis. If I did, I would gain weight. I usually get in around 1000. Phew! Glad to know I'm not the only one!

SakuraRose13

Well Im 4ft 10 in age 29 and counting lol I average around 1300 a day or so when I first started here in Jan I netted 1200 I lost 27 lbs since then Im plateau currently I have no t been exercising much either and I have found if I take in 1400 I will gain weight it sucks whether I exercise and eat back calories or not.

so 1200 or under 1300 is good .

I think that being petites sets forth some challenges and a person of average height wouldn't have.

hemming pants , shorter shirt lengths so on a little off topic but seriously every time I go for petite pants the inseam is 28 mine is 26 sorry apparently they haven't thought of truly petite people , I wear petite sizes and womens clothes I dont have childs body or a teenagers especially not after my 2 daughters ages 16 months and turning 3 aug 10th. I do in fact wear a size 6 1/2 womens shoe so woohoo for me

at least my feet are not tiny too .

When I met a person who if 5ft I think wow must be nice to be that tall , they probably think what
I m not tall


some days my intake is even under 1000 or so but that is rare .

Im not of average height so why should I eat the same as person who is of average stature ?

giveMEbeauty

4fr 11

giveMEbeauty

Bump

jilly280

I am 4 feet 10 inches tall. I been the same height since I was 10 years old. when I was 13 to 16 I was 88pounds. Then when I was 18 to 20 I was 105. Then in 2004 I went down to 92pounds. Then in 2005 I was 94 pounds. When I got preg with my son in 2006 I was 100pounds. when I had my son in 2007 I was 138pounds. Then when he was 1 month old I was down to 112. Then went back up to 138 when he was 10 months old. It took me 2 years to get down to 128pounds. Then went down to 120 when my s was 3 years old. Then went up to 126 and down to 116 and up to 125. When I got preg with my girl I was 125 and when I had my girl in Sept I was 160. Now my girl is 6 months old and I am at 137.4. So I am back to the weight I was when I had my son in 2007. I want to be at 88 to 100pounds. But it is very hard for me. I eat like I am 5 feet 5inches. I know I can't. but I do. Even when I eat over 900cals a day I gain a bit of weight. I want to be able to fit back into my size 0 to 1 jeans and be able to not think about how clothes will look on me. I burn about 600cals a day and I eat about 1300cals a day and I don't lose I just gain. I wish it was easy for me to lose. One of my friends old me she lost 30pounds in one month but she is 6feet tall. But for me to lose 30pounds in one month I would have to eat less then 500cals a day. life is hard for people under 5feet to lose weight.

rencawdor24

I agree with the others - don't worry about getting to 1200 calories every day. You'll get a feel for how much to eat every day. Whether it's a good idea or not, I weigh myself every morning. Sometimes it's surprising how what you eat the day before can cause your weight to fluctuate up or down. Being short, every extra pound shows up right around my middle!

I'm 5ft 3" and exactly same with me interms of weight fluctuating due to food night before and all extra pounds showing up in the middle!

amoffatt

I am 4'11. I think everyone is different...because... I have lost weight on 1200 calories or less, I have also stalled at 1200 calories or less as well. I have lost weight with higher calorie intake (1400-1550) and stalled or gained a couple pounds here as well. I found that for me I have to "Cycle" my calories, high...low...high...low, just a trial and error. If I was stalling at 1200 calories or less, Id eat more, if I was stalling or gaining at higher calories than 1350 (which is what I am currently at).

In the end, trial and error. Good luck

WyrdSyster

Thanks to all for this discussion. I am 5 feet zero inches tall with a small frame, almost 47 years old. I am currently 118 and want to lose 15 to 23 pounds. First time chubby, was always around 90 to 105 before the past 5 years. Never counted calories or measured portions before joining MFP a few weeks ago. Learning as I go, and won't hesitate to drop intake below the 1200 mark if no loss. So far no loss, so I may drop it to 1000 or so in a week or two if no measurable change occurs. Thanks again for the community and input all!