People like me. Ladies who are 5'3"

chandlj3
chandlj3 Posts: 2 Member
in Motivation and Support
I'm trying to see how reachable my goals are and I've been all over the place with weight and being in shape yet I always seem to keep the weight around my stomach. I wouldn't say I am fat or skinny but everyone just thinks of me as average and short. As of today I have lost 12 pounds since starting MFP and look to lose a lot more while focusing on lowering my BF % which is wayyyy too high right now. Last time I had a thorough evaluation it was 36% with my weight chilling around 137 I've been eating well and exercising a lot so I'm sure its gone down some but I know when I started with my weight pushing 150 my BF was 40%! I'm hoping to lower it to 20% if not less but its hard to believe my measurements are the same as some people who way a lot less and have a lot lower BF. Although I know my doctor is a lot more accurate my scale claims I'm 24% BF and 136 lbs. I believe it for the weight but I can't feel a 12% decrease in BF especially when I'm pretty much wearing the same clothes. Last time I checked in at the dr. I had lost 3% BF and 7lbs of fat.

Any one with theories/ a similar situation??
Any tips to keep me going??

CW: 136
chest: 34"
waist: 29"
hips: 37"

GW: 110ish
chest: 34"
waist: <24"
hips: 36"

Replies

  • DeckerDoll
    DeckerDoll Posts: 201
    Our goals are similar, although I think I'm built a little differently (bone frame etc.) but I am 5'3" feel free to add me, I'm starting back up and trying to reach my goal weight by Halloween :)
  • emilyds
    emilyds Posts: 88
    My current weight is close to your start weight :(
    I'm 5'3 also and I think we might be built differently. My smallest at this height was around 125 when I had mono a couple years ago and couldn't eat. I remember people commenting a lot on how thin I was at the time.
    My goal weight is in the 130's. I'm not sure of an exact number, but I know anywhere from 130 - 135 is a happy weight for me.
  • lwoods34
    lwoods34 Posts: 302 Member
    Hey there! I am 5'3 and maintaining my weight at 125! My heaviest weight was 200 lbs (that was years ago). The advice I would give is just to set small, realistic and attainable goals and know that if you stick to the program, you will see results. Its just going to take some time and remember usually the closer you are to your goal, the harder it gets. When I first joined MFP, I was only looking to lose 5 lbs (I was eating a ton of Halloween candy and needed to reel it back in). Believe it or not, those 5 lbs took 3 months to come off! Yes, 3 months for only 5 lbs!

    Write down your goals and every time you meet one goal, create another goal and in time you will get there! Scales and bf% measurement tools are NOT 100% accurate...its just an ESTIMATION of where you are! What your scale says vs what your doctor's office scale says will always be different. What you weigh in the morning vs what you weigh at night will always be different. MOtivation to keep going is ask yourself, overall how do you feel? are you more energetic? Do you have more self confidence? higher self esteem? Do you feel better about yourself when you workout? Are you eating healthier? Those are more tangible things to look at when you think about progress! Do you feel stronger and more agile even if the scale isnt budging? How are your clothes fitting? You get the point! lol

    But you will get there! Trust me! If you do the work and stay motivated and dedicated even when you dont WANT to be, you will get there! I always say to myself that giving up is not an option!
  • hilarysgiants
    hilarysgiants Posts: 132 Member
    I am 5'3" as well, My goal weight is 120. I was 112, YEARS ago, and looked too thin. I have an athletic build, so it just didn't look right on me and thinking 120 would be good!
  • sharoniballoni
    sharoniballoni Posts: 163 Member
    I think you're going to see varying results on body fat, depending on the source. Most are quite inaccurate (scale, pinch test, etc.). My trainer said the best way to measure it is submerged in water, which is quite inconvenient.
    http://www.ehow.com/way_5147214_way-measure-body-fat-percentage.html

    I am similar to you in height and that my weight stays in the middle. It's frustrating. Flat belly is hard for me to achieve without getting "too skinny" as some people have said I was when I liked the way my belly looked. Can't win!!!

    -I'm 5'2
    -I weigh somewhere around 112, I think
    -I like how I look at 106, but my belly wasn't flat until I was about 103 (which resulted in comments that I was too thin and my already small b cups to get even smaller!)
    -My waist will never be below 24". It was 24" when I weighed 103. It's around 26" right now.
    -I work out a lot, I eat generally healthy with lots of veggies, but I've always been skinny fat and I'm just trying to fight my natural body type (and age)

    Good luck (to both of us)!!!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Your doc's body at estimate seems high for your height and weight. How did he measure it?

    As for your goals, I have no idea. Frame, age and body type are just three of many factors that go into what's attainable. I'm 5'3" and with my frame and body type, my goal is 115. I may re-evaluate when I'm around 120 and see if I want to adjust up or down.

    According to a PT, my BF was 29% when I was 166 pounds (and hadn't done hardly any exercise in a LONG time and m diet was crap). But outside of water immersion, I don't really trust BF calculations.
  • AlyMoniz
    AlyMoniz Posts: 9 Member
    Most of my fat stays around my stomach too. I'm 5'0" and started mfp at 153 lbs. I have been working for the past four months to get at my target range of about 115 ( i'm afraid of looking too bony/skinny).

    The only advice I can give is to have a high lean protein diet along with high fiber foods. Get your carbs from any fruits or veggies that you eat that way when you work out, your forcing your body to burn the fat stored on your body as energy rather than from any carbs you have recently eaten that day. I find that when I have more carbs, especially any refined starches, the fat hangs around more. It's also higher in calories, but you're fuller longer and getting rid of the fat hanging around your body. I hope that helps!
  • Evey_bee
    Evey_bee Posts: 77 Member
    Your goals seem to indicate that you think you'll lose mostly just fat around your waist, but not much on your hips and chest. I'm not sure if it's to do with your frame, but in my experience I hold a lot of weight on my stomach but almost always drop fat from my whole body pretty evenly. (I'm 5'3 and started at 140lbs(before using mfp) currently at 132lbs, goal is ~120lbs and my chest is definitely getting smaller! Unless you chest measurement is taken underbust it's likely you will lose some of that).

    I've always been told to think of it as kinda first-on-last-off when it comes to where you will lose fat from but I don't know if this is true or not /: And I'm not sure how easy it is to aim for certain measurements on certain parts of the body, so i'm assuming that's just kind of a guide.... But I'm sure you'll know when you're happy with your body shape either way (: Just look in the mirror!

    Other than that all I can really recommend is plenty of exercise and a high protein, low calorie diet as others have pretty much suggested to lose the weight and maybe try to tone up a bit.
  • chandlj3
    chandlj3 Posts: 2 Member
    Thanks for all the advice!

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