SHORT LADIES! ~5'0" Need Inspiration, Success Stories

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ladybugloseit
ladybugloseit Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello!

This is my first time posting on the MFP forums. My best friend recommended I do so, because finding people her height and starting weight who have been there and accomplished what she wants to achieve has really helped to inspire her.

I am 29, 5'0 and 190 lbs.

Although that little annoying height/weight chart in the doctors office says I should be 95 lbs-120 lbs... I would say my "dream" goal weight is 135. If you are around my height and starting weight, I would love to hear your story and get to know you!

A little about my history:
I have always been overweight, up through grade-school for as long as I can remember. For the past 10 years I have hovered around 180-195. I managed to lose some weight and get down to 162 for my wedding four years ago, but shortly afterward my husband and I decided that buying a house was the thing to do! The stress of working full time, plus moving, plus fixing up the house to move means I found comfort the one way I always knew how.. I stress ate myself right back up to 190. Then a few years ago I lost weight down to 181, got pregnant with my only son up to 230. I FINALLY lost all my baby two months ago with the MFP app and reached the 179 lbs for the first time in years! Shortly afterward I found out my husband and I were pregnant, but unfortunately it was not in gods plans that we stay pregnant :(:(:( (wow, that is really hard to share :/)

As a short-term goal, I'd like to start tracking calories again and get back down to 181, the weight I was when I conceived my now-two-year-old. I have heard from many supportive family members that often after a MC a family is often blessed quickly with another baby, and I want to be ready. I also want to be in a good mindset to have a healthy pregnancy, both in food and exercise. I am afraid because of my history of being overweight that I will pile on weight with each baby. That fear lingers in the back of my mind. Eventually I would like to get down to a healthy weight, but I have been this weight for so long, it seems impossible, you know?

So, short ladies..Please share your success stories with me. Add me as a friend, if you like. I could use the inspiration of someone who was where I am at now.

Thank you
Ladybug
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Replies

  • Cheeky_and_Geeky
    Cheeky_and_Geeky Posts: 984 Member
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    Great job at getting back on here & working at losing weight again!

    I'm 5'1'', 25yrs old, I have a 2 year old, 131lbs.
    Starting Weight (7/2013): 167lbs

    At first, I walked in the jogging stroller with my toddler, then started going to the gym at my apartment complex (running some, exercise bike, elliptical, some strength training). Then we moved so now I'm working out at home. I do HIIT, yoga, kickboxing, etc all with no equipment! But you have to be really, really motivated to work out at home. It's tough.

    Do you plan on working out at home or at a gym? Remember: Diet is the most important aspect of losing weight. I suggest tracking daily. How many calories are you consuming? I have mine set at 1350 but I eat anywhere from 1250-1550 daily.

    You can do this! I've been doing this for almost 5 months & will never look back again! I feel like a new person!
  • ladybugloseit
    ladybugloseit Posts: 3
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    Thanks for the response!

    And Wow! 36 lbs! Congratulations! That is a huge progress for 5 months. Years ago, the one time I had managed to lose 30ish lbs for my wedding -- it took me nearly a year and a half!

    Before when I was tracking calories, I had it set at 1400. Today when I updated my new (higher) weight -- MFP set my calories to 1200. I am unsure if I should change it, or just leave it for a week and see how well I can do meeting the 1200.

    As for working out, we have a YMCA membership that I plan to take advantage of twice a week. During the fall and friend and I were regularly going to a Zumba class on Wednesdays, but then school started and the Y's daycare suddenly had 3x more kids in it, and my little two-year-old man got sick a few times.. so our activity tapered off a bit. I do want to pick that back up however, and maybe go more times a week.. even though my friend cannot go.

    We also have an elliptical at home in an empty bedroom, but we.. have some issues with it... it SQUEAKS VERY LOUDLY every time you are on it, ear piercingly loud. So much so that it 1) drives me nuts and 2) discounts using it during my son's naptime because I am pretty sure it would wake him up.

    Walking sounds really nice too, but it is getting colder and colder here. :(


    Thank you for sharing your story and success with me. Your progress is amazing!
  • Cheeky_and_Geeky
    Cheeky_and_Geeky Posts: 984 Member
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    Thank you! The YMCA sounds like a great way to workout. I had mine at 1200 for probably 3 months before I upped it to 1350. I've lost the same amount of weight, about 7-8lbs per month. Do whatever is comfortable for you. If you think you can eat only 1200, then go for it, but if you think that's too restrictive, then go ahead & up it to 1300 or 1400.
  • ladybugloseit
    ladybugloseit Posts: 3
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    bump :)
  • discern82
    discern82 Posts: 17 Member
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    Hi! It's so great to hear that you're motivated!
    I'm 5'0", 30 years old and 190 lbs. I started in July of 2012. In May of 2012, I was 244 lbs. I started with exercising 5 times a week (during the summer months). When school started, I tapered it back to 3 times but gradually increased it. Now, I'm back down to 3-4 times a week. I'm trying to focus more on diet since I've been told it's 80% diet and 20% exercise or some say 70% diet, 20% exercise, and 10% genetics. Unfortunately, with the holidays, I just gained 5 lbs because I was 185 last Monday.

    When I first started exercising, I walked on the treadmill and outside for an hour and I did water aerobics because I physically couldn't do anything else. I tried the elliptical eventually but only lasted for about 10 minutes. Now, I can do an hour easily so I have to raise the resistance. I started taking step aerobics. I've never liked group classes but thought I'd change it up so I don't get bored. I also spin. I even began riding a bicycle which is very fun and relaxing but it's still a workout!

    Diet, I eat protein at every meal. I weigh/measure my food! I'm quite consistent with it too! I don't eat out as much but that's because I started looking at the calories and said eating it wasn't worth it. When I first started this journey, I always logged my food in. I have slowed down well actually stopped so I think this month, I'm going to push myself to log my food in at least 3x a week. My calorie number is 1490. It goes down as I lose weight. It was higher before.

    I wish you great success!!!
  • ShortStrut
    ShortStrut Posts: 22 Member
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    Hi-

    I'm not a success story yet... but I plan to be.

    I'm 27, 5'0" and 190lbs, ish... I still need to weigh in today and see what's what. I was diagnosed with PCOS a year... maybe 2 ago. And I knew I was overweight, but when the doctor told me I was morbidly obese, and might want to consider gastric by-pass, that's when I decided to change my life.

    I love lists. I love checking things off, and I love planning my day. So I have systems of lists, work out, food, and even chores. Because making a change isn't just having one less piece of bread at dinner, it's finding ways to make those changes and stick to it, to the point that it's second nature.

    I realized I was spending too much time watching tv, playing games, and cleaning the house. So I did make several sacrifices. And now I have a system, that I've seen myself losing about 1 pound a week on.

    I walk 1.5 miles in the morning, and 1.5 miles at night. If I'm feeling fast or energized I'll go more. I do this everyday. Although on the weekends, I do the 3 miles in one sitting. Then 2 strength workouts during the week. Just a half hour is enough. I don't want my workouts to consume my life, I want them to energize it. At first I was just walking whenever I could, but I need more structure than that, and now I look forward to my wake-up walk.

    I also found that I had too many food options, so I've made a couple of select choices, for breakfast I have 1 of 3 options, and lunch, 1 of 3 options. Dinners are salads with some sort of protein. I snack on an apple on my drive home. And weekend dinners vary between pizza or a night out, but you still have to be mindful about what you eat on those days.

    I found eating carbs early in the day, while mainly sticking to just veggies at night was a big boost for my body.

    I know walking everyday might not be in your budget, but you really should fit it in. Some sort of physical activity, everyday. I decided to walk rather than other things, because I thought back to when I was my most healthy, I was walking about 3 miles a day, living on a college diet. I got a treadmill, just a cheap one off of craigslist, because I knew weather and terrain would majorly detour me from my goals.

    I'm still early on this journey, this is my first day on the site, but I'm happy to share in any insights or inspiration I can.
  • Emar11
    Emar11 Posts: 246 Member
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    Hello, I'm 5'2 and about 178lbs.

    I started my journey at about 235 and have maintained a 50lb weight loss for about 2 years.

    All of those BMI charts are misleading. While I am petite in stature, I am very solidly built. I could probably have 10% body fat and still not get under a size 5. I have found a website that actually calculates healthy weight by your frame size. There really is such a thing as being big boned. This helped me out a lot and even shifted my 125lb goal to 135.

    http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/ideal-body-weight-3146-143.html
  • fairygirlpie9
    fairygirlpie9 Posts: 288 Member
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    I'm very new to the forum. Just started a week ago. I am also 5ft but I weigh approx 173 lbs. However I definitely don't look it as I'm very muscular. I fit into UK 12 or US 8. I'd like to fit into a UK 8 though. I find exercise relatively easy due to the fact that I have a lot of muscle mass. I use a cross trainer at least 5 times a week for at least an hour. I also use light arm weights so that I can stretch and do various arm exercise whilst I'm on the cross trainer for extra calorie burn. I have also incorporated the 5:2 diet into my lifestyle where I have 500 calories 2 days a week and 1200 the other 5. Admittedly its probably not enough food but I want to lose weight quickly. My arms and legs are very toned but its just my belly fat that doesn't want to leave me! I know there are abs under there, I have a naturally thick waist and barely any hips but I have already lost 2 inches around my waist so I must be doing something right.
  • RozayJones
    RozayJones Posts: 409 Member
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    bump (I have yet to be a success story).......
  • myleadutcher
    myleadutcher Posts: 4
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    Hi-

    I am 5'0 29 years old and I am currently 137 lbs. I started on my weightloss journey on New Years Day 2011. I weighed 172 lbs which was more than I weighed when I was 9 months pregnant with my son who was 3 at the time. I did Weight Watchers Online for about 6 months and lost 36 lbs (136). Then over the next two years or so, I kind of watched what I ate (some) but didnt track and started to gain some of the weight back. This year around August I reached the 150 mark and that was my sign it was time to get back on track. I decided not to do weight watchers online, as my fitness pal follows the same concepts, only using calories instead of points. Since then, I am back down to 137. I have done this by eating within my calories and some exercise (although not much lately). How old is your child? My son is now 5 and we like to go on walks together. Its a slow pace, and I dont get to burn a ton of calories, but its more exercise than I would get watching TV and we get quality time together. He loves our walks and is disappointed if I go without him.

    I hope that you decide to stick with it make healthy lifestyle changes
  • Idontwanttobeahamplanet
    Idontwanttobeahamplanet Posts: 25 Member
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    Hi there! I'm 5'0 and 170lbs when I started. Progress has been very slow for me as my work means sitting on an office chair the whole day. I'm currently in a 1200 calorie diet which I usually can't follow on weekends.. My target weight would be 135lbs.

    I know everything depends on my determination. Good luck to you and I hope we could go thru this journey successfully.
  • kathyk519
    kathyk519 Posts: 197 Member
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    HI! I am 5'0'' too!~ I started at 188 lbs 2.5 years ago! (that is not my max, but where I started for this particular weight loss journey). I wanted to get healthy, so I started watching what I was eating and exercising. I originally started with weight watchers, but them moved to this. I lost 40 lbs in about 1.5 years (add a pregnancy in there), and now weigh 155 lbs. I have been struggling for the past year to get off the weight that I gained while pregnant, but I am continuing to eat well, exercise (run, dance, walk, elliptical, etc). I need to add more weight training in as that helped before.

    I have struggled with my weight for years now. I was about 125 my freshman year of college and gained steadily each year to get to get to where I was. My goal weight is 135, but if I can manage to get lower then I will, but I think that I would be happy with my goal weight.

    The way I eat now and how much I exercise and what I do, is simply my way of life now. I don't think of it as a diet or a short term thing. I want to lose more, but am happy. To know that I was a size 18 and now I am a 10 or 12 is a great feeling. Also the only reason that I got pregnant in the first place was because with the weight loss, I was able to regulate my hormones. When I was bigger, they told me that my chances of getting pregnant were slim. It is amazing how weight impacts us in ways we never thought of.

    I try to do some kind of exercise every day. Some days it is a leisurely walk with my husband - usually the weekends. Most days, I get on the elliptical that I have at home in the morning and run or go to the gym we have at work during lunch - Monday through Friday. I take a dance class once a week. I would continue this no matter what - even if I didn't lost anything else, because it helps with stress, it allows me to eat and enjoy the food I want, and I like myself.
  • mrsamanda86
    mrsamanda86 Posts: 869 Member
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    Hey! I'm 4'11 and started out around July at 178(have been higher, but that was during pregnancies, way higher unfortunately!). Right now I'm at 142, and am hoping to get to around 120-125 eventually. I go to the gym anywhere from 3-5 times a week for about an hour workout each time. Half cardio, half weight lifting. I started checking in with a personal trainer once a month on August 28th and since then have brought my bf% down from 30 to 26% I get it rechecked tomorrow, along with a new workout plan. Having him give me new workout plans every month REALLY helps me, cuz I get bored way too quickly. As far as diet, I usually stick to netting 12-1300 calories(so on workout days I get to eat like 15-1700 calories depending on how hungry I am and how much I burned). My weight loss has slowed down from like 1.5-2 pounds a week to about a pound. I'm assuming it'll slow down a bit more at some point in the close future, which is okay. As long as I am at goal bf%(somewhere around 20%) and weight by fall 2014 I'll be a very happy camper! You can do this, don't think about how far you still have to go, just do something every day and make sure you pay attention to all the small things: 5 pounds lost, 10 pounds, having to get new pants because the old ones are just way too big, being able to walk more/run more, lifting heavier. Always celebrate any improvement!!
  • flumi_f
    flumi_f Posts: 1,888 Member
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    I feel like a success already, even if I still have 10kg (22lbs) to go. I too was always overweight and the weight I'm at now....I was in my preteens and I'm 44 now.

    You can find my story in my profile and see my weekly losses in my ticker. I finally found a way to lose and maintain my weight. Since May it's been quite easy, after a life time of not being very successful in reducing my weight.

    Begin with logging your food, without making alot of changes. That will help you get a real perspective on what you have been eating. Make small changes from there and you will be successful too!

    Good luck and lots of success!
  • Littlestandrews
    Littlestandrews Posts: 96 Member
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    I'm just shy of 5 feet and started my diet at 169lbs. I began my diet/lifestyle change on July 13 of this year after a couple of mean (yet true) comments were made at a family reunion.

    I started out eating 1350 calories a day and running 1.5-2 miles 3x a week. After the first few months, I dropped down to 1300 calories and increased my running to 3-5 miles 3x a week. I try to only eat back half my exercise calories. I don't do cheat days or cheat meals. If I want something, I work it into my daily calories. Even at thanksgiving, I went for an early morning run so I could indulge more.

    The last time I weighed (Nov 20), I was at 143. My goal was to lose 30lbs by Xmas and then another 22 by my birthday (4/20).
    Good luck! You've got this!
  • laura4028
    laura4028 Posts: 6 Member
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    Hi everyone!

    Im 5'2 and my starting weight was 182. I started using the app on the 20th of Oct and today I weighed in at 160. I was always extremely sporty but over the past two years, I stopped and piled on the weight. I cut out all the crap in my diet and have found tracking amazing.

    I used to swim competitively (years ago!) and joined a gym purely so I could use the pool. However, I have found the old competitive me and run 3k for time or interval training for 5k , cycle 5k for time and then do a 1.250km swim.

    I am a long way from my goal of 120lbs. But I feel so much better all ready and got great blood results back! I can't believe my fitness pal has brought back mentally the person I once was!
    xx
  • loriq41
    loriq41 Posts: 479 Member
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    I am 5 ft, started out at 164.4 at the beginning of January 2013 and I am almost at my year mark at 122.8..the last 10-15 lbs are the hardest..would like to weigh about 115. I did primarily cardio up to three months ago and now I do 3 days heavy lifting, 2 days cardio...when I finally reach my goal I do not want to be skinny-fat. Been a struggle on and off but sooooo worth it if you are truly dedicated! :)
  • NovaStar82
    NovaStar82 Posts: 57
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    I'm 5'2", 30 years young and (re)started my journey just a month ago after falling off the bandwagon earlier this year.

    At my highest weight I was around the 190lbs mark (13 and a half stone) but I started last month at 178lbs.

    I've never, ever been skinny and I went to University a curvy UK size 14/16. I used to be fairly active - I had horses until I was 18 and then at Uni I used to dance 2-3 times per week. I suspect my target weight of 136lbs may be too low for me but we'll see when I get closer :) I just want to be able to get into a UK size 10/12 in time for my sister's wedding next August, and am aiming for a nice steady pound per week.

    To keep things manageable and realistic for me, I go to the gym at work, every weekday morning for 20-30 minutes, and alternate between strength and cardio sessions.
  • lostinsidemyself77
    lostinsidemyself77 Posts: 13 Member
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    5'3' weighing in at 239.8........not fun at all. Such a chore! Really need inspiration and motivation to keep me going. Really want this to be THE YEAR I finally get healthy!!! Happy New Year to all short ladies!!:drinker:
  • kaylorraine44
    kaylorraine44 Posts: 135 Member
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    Congrats on your success so far!
    I'm just under 5 feet tall and started at 178.6 lbs. My current weight is 132.8lbs. I started doing exercise videos in April and lost about half of that weight. In August I started running and focusing on strength training and lost the remainder. I hope to reach 120lbs by this summer. Everything in moderation has been the key for me!

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