Slightly Confused

I'm in between the wondering whether I should maintain at 114-115 at 5'4" or go to 120-130 lbs at 5'4". I got down to this weight and I feel like i look amazing, I rollerblade alot, but I also feel like i have to be so. darn. careful. of. what. I. eat. Since I'm so short and everything. I'm also wondering if I go up to 120 or 130, where will the weight go. I used to be that weight, but honestly I can't remember must except actually having cheeks versus a drawn in face.
I've gotten to this point now where I look around, and look at other women, and I try to judge whether they seem tiny and try to justify whether I should be the way I am, because they are too. I know that isn't healthy. I've also tried to justify that too based off a group of high school basketball girls who had that stocky athletic body that isn't skinny minny but looks awesome. Does anyone do that. has anyone gotten over the hump?

So I'm a guy, roughly the same age as you according to your profile. That's where I'm coming from.

First of all, you're not short! You're average for a woman.

Now, when advising women my age about whether to gain or maintain, I always say it comes down to two things:
-your current weight
-and your personal preference

115 at 5'4 is a little on the smaller side in terms of weight for a woman your height, but it's probably not unhealthy to be that weight, and there are a good number of women in their 20s at such proportions. Now, whether you would feel healthier with another 5-10 lbs is something that only you can answer, because everyone's different.

I would consider gaining if you've often said to yourself things like:
-Girls who are a little heavier than me look so much better and/or seem stronger and more fit, and this is what I want for myself, too
-I feel awkward at my current weight because I feel too skinny and I would have more confidence in my body if it were a little bigger
-I want to be a lot stronger and am willing to put in effort to train and gain healthy weight to do so.
-I feel I need a little more muscle for health and/or aesthetic reasons

Yeah. These are the sorts of decisions where, either you know immediately what you really want after you ask youself various questions...or it might take a while to think about it and decide.

If it helps at all, I personally feel like 130 is around the ideal weight for someone your height. But some girls look great at 110, and others at 170...and a whole bunch look great in between!

Oh, and 5 lbs or so of muscle mass doesn't add a whole lot of size to your body. Fat does though, and if you gain weight, you'll want to gain both in proportion to be healthy.

Good luck!

excellent responses

It really does come down to the type of "weight" that is gain or lost.

In my years of experience working with all types of people with their vastly different goal sets and personal preferences adding lean body tissue almost NEVER hurts a physique.

My advice when trying to add lean mass to a small frame such as the OP's

- SMALL increases in nutrients every week or 2 in order to properly *kitten* if the weight gained is muscle or if some excess BF is being gained.

- Dont ignore carbs

- be wary of too much fatty acid intake

- keep your reps low and your weight workouts low in volume but intense/heavy and extra rest periods( 90-120 seconds)

- take at least one rest day every 4th day of training


Good luck!

I'm 5'3 and 112lbs - I don't feel I look slim, I think I need to lose weight around my stomach mainly. What I want to do really is lose a about 10lbs and then tone up (which I'll probably gain muscle and maybe end up weighing more than my goal weight but I will essentially still be slimmer).

It's all up to the individual though, I know people who weigh more than me and are a similar height who look smaller, maybe I just have a skewed perception of myself.

I do know that when I've lost weight in the past (in an unhealthy way not eating due to stress) I've felt ill, weak, cold all the time etc so I put the weight back on as I felt more comfortable, now I'm hoping I can lose that weight again but this time in a healthy way to see if that makes a difference to how I feel at that weight. If I start to feel weak or unwell then I'll put a small amount back on until I'm at a weight I feel better at.

Hazel: It sounds like you're describing yourself as "skinny-fat". I hate that term.

You probably know this, but to "tone up" when you're very thin, you'll eventually have to eat a little over maintenance. It would be best to start resistance training right now rather than dropping weight first and then trying to build it back up; it will do what you want if you stick to it. And it's easier to lose fat or build muscle when you start out at a higher weight because your metabolism will be faster at that higher weight. I know this sounds counterintuitive, but I would start by eating at maintenance plus eating back exercise calories.

You should see the problem areas start to improve slightly after a few months. But if you start actually dropping scale weight in the process, you'll need to increase calories by 100 or so and then give it several weeks to see if it stabilizes. You want your body weight to stay constant if possible at the beginning, because that would mean that fat is being burned during weight training but muscle is being created (ok, not created, since it's really hard to build muscle while losing fat...maybe augmented is a better term). This requires a decent amount of protein (1 g/kg to 1.5 g/lb of weight). Scale weight will fluctuate wildly at times up and down, and at other times will never seem to budge for days.

I'm in between the wondering whether I should maintain at 114-115 at 5'4" or go to 120-130 lbs at 5'4". I got down to this weight and I feel like i look amazing, I rollerblade alot, but I also feel like i have to be so. darn. careful. of. what. I. eat. Since I'm so short and everything. I'm also wondering if I go up to 120 or 130, where will the weight go. I used to be that weight, but honestly I can't remember must except actually having cheeks versus a drawn in face.
I've gotten to this point now where I look around, and look at other women, and I try to judge whether they seem tiny and try to justify whether I should be the way I am, because they are too. I know that isn't healthy. I've also tried to justify that too based off a group of high school basketball girls who had that stocky athletic body that isn't skinny minny but looks awesome. Does anyone do that. has anyone gotten over the hump?

Granted we have entireely different bodies, and hopefully you don't mind hearing this from a male, but I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to try to slowly add some more weight. It's hard to say especially since you don't have a pic showing how your body actually looks, but 114 seems kinda skinney even for a 5'4". It doesn't/ shouldn't be anything immediate but if you're strength training and eating right you should be able to add a few lbs of muscle to your frame and probably have a more muscular tone to you rather than just simply being skinny......skinny isn't hot anyways jus my 2cents

^This is what most people are going to tell you around here, OP. But it's really a *personal* decision. That said, if you do decide to go on a program to add muscle, it's just as difficult as (and maybe moreso for a woman) as losing fat. But we'll support you and guide you through the process. (I myself am doing a slow, clean bulk actually.) In any case, adding, say 10 lbs of muscle over time would be a great achievement, and it won't make you look big either...just "toned" (man, I hate that word!)

I am 5'5. I can be underweight at 130 pounds and look gaunt because I have low body fat and lots of muscle. I weight lift. Get a fat calliper on line and use body fat as a gauge. These are inexpensive A healthy body fat for a woman is about 22 percent. Female marathon runners have body fat as low as 12 percent , but this can affect your period and cause other problems. Check your body fat and then maintain the wait you feel comfortable at. You might feel better at 120 and still look great.

Deborah

I'm 5'3 and 112lbs - I don't feel I look slim, I think I need to lose weight around my stomach mainly. What I want to do really is lose a about 10lbs and then tone up (which I'll probably gain muscle and maybe end up weighing more than my goal weight but I will essentially still be slimmer).

It's all up to the individual though, I know people who weigh more than me and are a similar height who look smaller, maybe I just have a skewed perception of myself.

I do know that when I've lost weight in the past (in an unhealthy way not eating due to stress) I've felt ill, weak, cold all the time etc so I put the weight back on as I felt more comfortable, now I'm hoping I can lose that weight again but this time in a healthy way to see if that makes a difference to how I feel at that weight. If I start to feel weak or unwell then I'll put a small amount back on until I'm at a weight I feel better at.

Hazel: It sounds like you're describing yourself as "skinny-fat". I hate that term.

You probably know this, but to "tone up" when you're very thin, you'll eventually have to eat a little over maintenance. It would be best to start resistance training right now rather than dropping weight first and then trying to build it back up; it will do what you want if you stick to it. And it's easier to lose fat or build muscle when you start out at a higher weight because your metabolism will be faster at that higher weight. I know this sounds counterintuitive, but I would start by eating at maintenance plus eating back exercise calories.

You should see the problem areas start to improve slightly after a few months. But if you start actually dropping scale weight in the process, you'll need to increase calories by 100 or so and then give it several weeks to see if it stabilizes. You want your body weight to stay constant if possible at the beginning, because that would mean that fat is being burned during weight training but muscle is being created (ok, not created, since it's really hard to build muscle while losing fat...maybe augmented is a better term). This requires a decent amount of protein (1 g/kg to 1.5 g/lb of weight). Scale weight will fluctuate wildly at times up and down, and at other times will never seem to budge for days.

Thanks so much for the advice, I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out I'm already eating back my exercise calories, my weight is kind dropping a tiny amount then next day I'll find I've put a pound back on. I'm not really too hung up about weight per se, just really my overall look. Think I'll concentrate on toning up and general fitness for now then go onto building muscle/weight training? Just not sure I'm fit enough (endurance, stamina, strength) to start weights.

You can start by doing light weights for a few months or a year. It's not that hard. That's what I did. Then after using light weights once or twice a week on-and-off for a year, (never was totally consistent) I started using medium and heavy loads. Get some 3, 5, 8, and 10-lb dumbbells and do a basic routine. It will help your joints get used to weight training.

What will lifting light weights for a year or so accomplish? Are you saying that lighter weight higher reps burn more fat than a heavy load?

Do you really think that you need to do this for a year for you "joints to get used to weight training". Can't provide me with where that came from?

Personal preference.

It's a great strategy for someone who doesn't feel ready for full loads.
It's about getting the joints and the mind used to lifting.

I could tell that Hazel feels, like I did, that she wasn't ready for fully challenging loads, so I suggested she go light initially to break in.

But no, you don't have to. It's better if you can actually start going moderate or heavy from the start.

What will lifting light weights for a year or so accomplish? Are you saying that lighter weight higher reps burn more fat than a heavy load?

Do you really think that you need to do this for a year for you "joints to get used to weight training". Can't provide me with where that came from?

Personal preference.

It's a great strategy for someone who doesn't feel ready for full loads.
It's about getting the joints and the mind used to lifting.

I could tell that Hazel feels, like I did, that she wasn't ready for fully challenging loads, so I suggested she go light initially to break in.

But no, you don't have to. It's better if you can actually start going moderate or heavy from the start.

Completely. Also I feel it's vital for me to feel comfortable using weights and learning to use them correctly before I move onto moderate to heavy loads. I want to be able to perfect it to ensure I don't injure myself. I've already had knee pain from incorrect form during some of my Jillian Michaels workouts and can only imagine the damage I could do to myself if I start lifting incorrectly. Thanks again for the advice.

Yup. But yo ushould learn to use a barbell from the start, too.
You're welcome. Btw, I see you're low on friends here being so new. Feel free to friend me if you want. Same goes for the OP...