Advice for a 5'3 fat girl

Lizzyhwhearts

Hi
I'm 21 and live a fairly inactive life style. I weighed myself at the new year and weighed in at 14st (196 lbs) the heaviest I've ever been. I've been working out daily and following a 1200 calorie diet and have lost 11lbs. I was aiming to loose 80lbs in total (around 6 stone) I've been on MFP for 3 days and have seen the GWs of other people either my height or my SW and their GWs seem to be 20 or more lbs higher than mine.
So I guess what I'm asking is :
is my GW too low?
Is it unreasonable?
What should it be?

JSYK I've always been over weight So I've never seen myself at my 'ideal weight' and have nothing to go on. Also my birthday is in June and I'd love to be much nearer my GW (whatever that might end up being after this thread) by then

Thanks!
Any hints and tips are appreciated. Also I don't have a HRM but I'm working on getting one incase anyone asks
And I'd love it If you'd add me as a friend for morale or support in both directions

squirtgunsablzn

well some people may look at 80 lbs as to big of a at first and want to complete smaller goals and then see hoe they feel at that weight and determine further goals from there. IF you feel like you can complete your goal then just keep pressing forward and do your best.

txtia1

I think that 125-135 should be a reasonable weight to hit for your height. It can vary from person to person and your perfect weight could be a little higher or lower but it's not an issue. We're not all made the same. :-) I'm 5'4 and my goal weight at the moment is 150, I may choose to be higher or lower once I get close to it. It will depend on how much muscle I want and how much definition.

Trishkit

I think that 125-135 should be a reasonable weight to hit for your height. It can vary from person to person and your perfect weight could be a little higher or lower but it's not an issue. We're not all made the same. :-) I'm 5'4 and my goal weight at the moment is 150, I may choose to be higher or lower once I get close to it. It will depend on how much muscle I want and how much definition.

This! I'm 5' 2 3/4" (honestly!) and I have my goal set to 130lbs, but as I get closer to it, I'm going to really listen to my body and see how I'm feeling about where I am and reevaluate from there.

road2goal

Everyone is different. Your GW sounds reasonable based on what "charts" say for that height but I'm the same height and when I was at my most fit (running every day, weight training and eating extremely well) the lowest weight I was at was 147. I was in a size 7 pants (Canada sizes). So for ME, 125 would be hard to achieve and maintain. But as I said, every body is different. See how you feel as you go. aim for your GW and decide as you go where you are comfortable at. Good luck.

RoadsterGirlie

It's most likely reasonable. That said, you won't know until you get closer to it.

Take it one day at a time. Focus on losing one to two lbs a week. Celebrate those small victories, and don't worry about the big picture. It will come in time.

piggydog

Focus on the first 20lbs! Just looking at your 80lbs goal is going to seem dauting....


Small goals!

I'm 5'2'' and I'm going for 118

tehzephyrsong

Hi. Fellow 5'3, 21-year-old fat girl here. A goal weight of 116 lbs is not unreasonable for ladies our height; mine is 125, personally, but a "healthy weight" for a 5'3 woman is anywhere between about 107 and 139 lbs.

I will offer you some words of caution and encouragement.

Caution first. You've been dieting and exercising for one week; of the 11 pounds you've lost, *maybe* one of them was fat. The other ten or so were, in all likelihood, water. To lose 11 pounds of fat in a single week, you'd need a deficit of 5,500 calories a day, which requires you to eat nothing whatsoever and also run about 40 km each day. Weighing yourself at a different time of day will also distort your numbers some; your weight can fluctuate 2-5 lbs over the course of the day. Why do I call this information caution? I don't want you to get discouraged when the number on the scale starts inching downward at a slower pace than it presently is. It happens a lot; it happened to me, several times in my life. I start hydrating properly and thus stop retaining water, and then I actually start losing fat but doing so a lot more slowly than I was before, and it looks like I'm not progressing when I'm actually doing better than ever.

That said, look! You're already down a pound! You're doing it right, and it's working. You can keep this up and get yourself 26 pounds closer to your goal by June. Any progress is good progress - it's not a race, and losing too fast is a recipe for gaining it all back and then some. You didn't get to be 198 lbs overnight, so you won't get down to 116 overnight, either. Slow and steady wins the race.

Also, some advice. Like others have said, 80 pounds is a lot. To help keep yourself from getting discouraged, perhaps try planning some rewards for yourself for milestones. It can be hard to think of rewards that aren't food, so allow yourself one food reward, but try to make it worth the calories. For example, my goals and rewards list looks like this:

Once I lose ____ lbs, I will reward myself with ____:
5: A new pair of shoes
10: A sushi dinner (I love sushi, so I consider it worth the calories and the sodium as an occasional treat; all that rice and soy sauce adds up!)
20: New jeans
30: A trip to [nearby city]
42.5: $42.50 to spend on anything I want (This was my initial halfway point. I went ahead and moved this amount into my savings account to ensure I had it when the time came.)
55: A trip to [local theme park]
65: Spa day - mani/pedi, facial (haven't cashed this one in yet...partly because I have to re-earn it, lol! Damn you holidays!)
etc, etc. There were more; initial goal was 85 lbs, from 224 to 139, then I revised it so I want to revise the rewards too. Start a "reward fund" (and a "new clothes fund," so you can replenish your wardrobe when you shrink out of everything you own, lol!)

delyn356

I'm 5'3" & my ultimate goal weight is set for 114. I'm currently 149, so I still have a ways to go. If I find myself at 125 & happy with the way I look, then I'll stop there. It's good to have a certain end goal weight in mind, but it doesn't have to be set in stone. Like others said, take one day at a time (:

kayvanne

Hey we are pretty similar! I am 21, 5'5" and 205 lbs. Though we probably have similar bodies because of the height XD
My end goal is 140lbs. I would be ECSTATIC to end up at 125ish one day though!

This might be weird but you might like to look at this page: http://www.cockeyed.com/photos/bodies/heightweight.html and see the different bodies people have at 5'3"??

Personally I think 116lbs for you is a tough goal! You will probably look SMOKIN at 130 ! Someone who works out and loses weight and gets to 130 lbs is gonna look a LOT better than someone who was 110 and gained 20 lbs. Because assuming you work out to lose weight, your extra muscle mass will have you weighing more than if you were just skin and bones.

Just don't get disheartened if in the end you can't get your exact weight. Try to have an image in your mind of your body and try to achieve that instead! What's on the outside is better than any silly number on the scale. If you look awesome, who cares what the number is?:D

Dexy_

I'm 5'3" and my GW is 110lbs. I started out at 196lbs and I'm getting there! Feel free to add.

PrinnyBomb

I'm 5'3 and my current goal weight is 10st (140lbs). However I have quite a broad frame so I may stop earlier than that. Or I may decide to lose a little more. It all depends on how I look/feel when I get closer. Have your 80lb goal in mind, but start with smaller goals and see how you feel along the way :-)

Feel free to add me if you like. i've been doing thing for a year now and started out.... very heavy. Let's just say I'm looking forward to just getting to 14 stone!

HRM is definitely a good idea too

Zommbunny

I'm 5'2 and my goal weight is 135 - this was the weight i was happiest at

flying_inside

Considering your height, I would say your goal weight is reasonable. But it also depends on your body frame and other factors, Stick to your own goal and don't worry to much about others.

Agree 100%. I sometimes feel shameful for my goal weight, but my frame is super small & I've been at the weight before and know it works for me. I also (happily) lack muscle.

Kurrupt1922

I'm 5'2 and a half...lol and my goal weight is 130lb. I started at 234lb and I'm 181lb now. It took me about 6 months to loose the 1st 50lb.

ukstarlight05

I'm *almost* 5'3" and my ulitmate goal weight is 125. I'm trying to get below 130 at the moment, I'd be happy if I reached 128 and maintained. Everyone is bulit so different. I personally looked way too thin when I was less than 120. Feel free to add me as a friend

desiv2

I'm 5'3" (and a half!) and my GW is 113. I chose it based on being in the middle ground of a healthy BMI. However, I understand BMI isn't always the best way to measure yourself, and I also know I'm not going to obsess over it. If I'm at 125 and feel like it's where I want to be, I'm going to stop. GW is never set in stone, so don't stress out about it! You'll be able to better understand where you want to be when you are closer to it. In fact, I've been playing with the thoughts of changing it again to 120. XD

Wanda1744

wow - after figuring out the acronym! your goal weight should be where you feel beautiful, but where you can maintain it too.

Colombianchick29

I am also 5'3 and weigh about 193
If you look up the ideal weight on line for your height , it says :
5'3" height
111-124-small frame
121-135 -medium frame
131-147- large frame

for me, I remember I was about 120-135 in the late high school years. I look back at pictures and that was TOO skinny for me. Afrter I had my first child, I was about 160. I didnt look bad at all. I wouldnt mind being that weight again. 140 sounds nice but I also dont want to be TOOO Skinny. I like having curves, just want to have them all in the right spots LOL.

So in answer to your question, you might just have to set mini goals for yourself and play it by ear!

niknak2308

I agree with the others that it depends on your own body shape and to take it step by step and keep re-evaluating.

I'm a smidge over 5ft3 and started about where you are now... I was originally aiming for 140lbs, but was really pleased at 147 so hovered there for a while. I have gained back about a stone since that figure last summer so am aiming to get back down to at least that, hopefully 10st exactly which will put me *just* inside healthy weight. Then I plan to work really hard on toning up so I may even gain a bit but look better for it!

Thing is I lose all my boobs and start looking quite gaunt at much under 10st so that's why I'm choosing 140ish.

Part of me would love to to be a "skinny-mini" at 115ish but I know I'd look like I had an ED rather than looking sexy and toned.

jujulamb

I think that 125-135 should be a reasonable weight to hit for your height. It can vary from person to person and your perfect weight could be a little higher or lower but it's not an issue. We're not all made the same. :-) I'm 5'4 and my goal weight at the moment is 150, I may choose to be higher or lower once I get close to it. It will depend on how much muscle I want and how much definition.

Im 5'2 3/4 and have lost 20lbs so far. My goal weight is 130 because I look sickly at 120 Friend me we can encourage eachother

kr1stadee

80 lbs is hard to lose.
20lbs, 4 times, THAT's easy!!

Break it down. I'm 5'3.5, and I started at 220, with 80lbs to lose. It will put me at 140, and then I'll see where I'd like to be after that!

I've followed MFP's settings for 1.5 lbs per week. Once I made it to 30lbs lost, they dropped my calories to 1200, so I changed my goal to 1 pound per week and it gave me 1440 calories. Yay food!
My loss has slowed a lot, but I'm still losing, so it's good!!

beancurdie

I'm the same height. When I was in my late 20s, I was about 185lbs and decided to try Weight Watchers. The one thing that really stuck with me from WW was to aim to lose 10% of your current weight and then reassess your goals. So my advice to you is to lose 19lbs and see how you feel. If you feel you need to lose more, go for another 10% and lose 17lbs. Then 15lbs if you want to lose more. Setting to a goal weight is a process and I don't think focusing on such a small number is good idea this early in the process.

dawnreid2012

Hey there Im 28 years old, 5 foot 2 and currently 193 pounds.. I would like to lose 50 pounds but I broke them up into 5 groups of 10 pounds by 5 different dates. I figure that would be better for me to look at instead of 50 lbs..

AshleyLo_44

Considering your height, I would say your goal weight is reasonable. But it also depends on your body frame and other factors, Stick to your own goal and don't worry to much about others.

I agrre with this. You actually might need to make several different goal weihts so once you've hit it that you can continue onto the next lower number and not be disappointed if you don't hit it by the end of six months to a year. Beign realistic and not over doing it but taking it step at a time and have mole hills not mountains for yourself is the best way to go at it.

tracyprout

I too am 5'3 and got to 148lbs and was a size comfortable size 12. I think looking at 80lbs might make it feel like a long road. ( I lost 101 to get to goal but have recently jumped off the wagon)
I focused on feeling better in myself and being able to buy smaller clothes to begin with.

Jill_newimprovedversion

Aim for a healthier lifestyle, lower your portions in what you would eat normally,
and find *something* to do that gets you up and on your feet-

suggestion: Park further away, push shopping cart back into store, etc.

small steps, added together, make BIG differences.
You just keep building on those steps.

While in the beginning, I aimed for a GW....I realized later that I needed to find
the ending place where I can reasonably maintain it for the rest of my life.
That's the key, in my opinion.

If you're doing OK with 1200 and not famished, keep going.
You always have the option of increasing it by a few hundred calories- it'll slow your progress
but you're less apt to backslide.


I'm shorter, 5' 1" and I dropped to 115- that was too hard to maintain without causing me food issues again- constantly thinking about what I can/cannot eat.
Sticking around 120-125 is mentally/physically OK as well as making my Dr. happy with my bloodwork results.

BrieLP

Considering your height, I would say your goal weight is reasonable. But it also depends on your body frame and other factors, Stick to your own goal and don't worry to much about others.

I agree with this.

I'm 5"1 and my GW is 130#. I remember being 130 and feeling big back then but looking back on old pictures I think I looked amazing and want that back. I don't want to be "Skinny", I like being curvy but I am tired of being fat and feeling ugly.. so that's my goal: when i hit 130 and i still feel like losing more then I will.

orlandomichael

A friend of mine is 5'4" and weighs probably 145 and is very fit. She just carries muscle. (used to be an exotic dancer) She looks "just right" but you would never guess her weight to be that by looking at her because , of course, muscle weights more than fat by volume.

Depending on how much you weight lift and your body responds to that, you may find your weight goals might change.

agoofynut

I'm 5'3" and have always been overweight, so I also have no idea where I actually want to be. I'm setting my goal at 140 (highest weight for a "healthy" BMI) but keeping in mind that this may need to be adjusted depending on muscle or how I look/feel once I get closer to there.

Jackielyn17

5'3" too over here my GW is 135-140... before I gained weight, I was 125 pounds, except that for me, it was too skinny. I have always had big boobs & big butt, at my skinniest I was wearing a size 3-5 jean. Everyone's body is different as you can see how everyone also have different goal weights