is it more difficult for short people to lose weight?
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I don't think it's harder to lose the actual weight, but it took me a lot of guesstimating and learning to figure out HOW to lose the weight. I had no idea my TDEE was so low, so I was eating at my TDEE for months and not losing, and wondering why. Most online calculators overestimated how many calories I could eat, even when putting in my height and stats accurately. There was only one calculator that got it right. Because of this it's been a whole year and I've only lost 10 pounds. (My ticker says 9 but I wait until I stay the same weight for a few days in a row before officially changing it.)0
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It isn't necessarily harder to lose weight I think being shorter we compare ourselves to others and set this random weight loss goal in our mind. A better overall way to measure is to look at waist to height , waist to hip and waist to shoulder ratio's.
Height To Waist: take your current waist measurement and divide it by your height in inches. I've found the optimum ratio for females ranges between 38-42% waist to height in inches.
Ratio less than 35: Abnormally Slim to Underweight
• Ratio 35 to 42: Extremely Slim
• Ratio 42 to 49: Healthy
• Ratio 49 to 54: Overweight
• Ratio 54 to 58: Seriously Overweight
• Ratio over 58: Highly Obese
What the scale say and how someone looks aren't linear.
I wrote more about other proportions on myfitnesspal blog - Fit Petite
The reason most hit plateau’s (even while using TDEE) is because when you feed your body less it figures out how to use less. Your metabolism adjusts to the lower calories and now your only option is to keep going lower. Two important hormones are affected by this approach, leptin and ghrelin. When you put your body in a constant calorie deficit these hormones decrease and your appetite increases and your metabolism slows.
A better approach is calorie cycling. Eat more food on the days you workout and eat less food on the days you don’t.
There’s no rule that says you must be in a deficit of calories every single day. Think in terms of the entire week.
References
Denzer, CM; JC Young (2003 September). “The effect of resistance exercise on the thermic effect of food.”. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 13 (3): 396–402. PMID 14669938. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
Christensen, Peter. “What is the thermic effect of food?”. Retrieved March 28, 2005.
Long-Term Persistence of Hormonal Adaptations to Weight Loss: Priya Sumithran, M.B., B.S.,1 -
your height, assuming no metabolic issues, has no affect on weight gain or loss.
This ^
I love when I do 10 pushups and my husband does 10 and says its harder for him cuz he weights more then me- idiot.
Each person- each body- is different and you only lose weight on YOUR frame.
This question kinda reminds me of - which is heavier- a lb of feathers or lb of rocks.0 -
@ white zombie -- i agree! i find that gaining 5 lbs is way more noticeable on a smaller frame!
Also true - but that doesnt mean the short person is going to have a harder time losing 5 lbs.
Taller ppl LOSE quicker? omg- durrr...
They just APPEAR to carry it better because theres more room to spread the 5 lbs out.
Why would height hasten weight loss?!0 -
Sometimes I grumble about being short and losing weight. I'm 5'1 (barely!) and to lose even a pound a week I'd have to eat at 1200 calories. I can't do that and so eating at a higher goal, I sometimes worry that the weight loss will stall. I also sometimes great frustrated at how fantastic taller women look at my current weight (141) while I look much bigger.
The mechanics of weight loss, however, do stay the same, no matter your height. That's something to be grateful for.0 -
Your metabolic rate is tied very closely to your lean body mass. It is the activity of your internal organs and muscles that largely dictate how many calories you burn in a day.
AND, your lean body mass is most closely related to your height.1 -
^^^^^^^Don't look at "pounds" lost but actual % lost. Losing 1% of your body weight a week for someone who weighs 150lbs (1.5lbs) compared to someone who weighs 300lbs (3 lbs) looks deceiving, but percentage wise, the loss is the same.
THIS
Stop reading my mail!0 -
Fun fact of the day:
If you take two persons, each weighing the same with identical builds and activity levels, the shorter person will have a higher TDEE than the taller due to the fact he/she requires more energy to replace heat loss related to total surface area/mass.
So no. Just because you are short does not necessarily mean your energy needs are less than someone taller.0 -
Since I'm 5'1 I don't know if it would be easier to lose weight if I were taller---but I doubt it. I think weight loss is a challenge for all of us. I am amused by all of the magazine articles this time of year with the latest "super" food, miracle cure etc. "Cause the truth hurts--diet and exercise are the only real weight loss tools. If I ever find a magic lamp......good luck0
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I think it's definitely harder from a TDEE perspective, assuming the person is an average person activity level wise.0
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not only am i short 5'2 but I'm also in my 40's so that makes it even harder.
i don't have the energy/motivation that I used to have.
that will change when i start my new job...so excited!
That's me, too. Almost 5'2". 44 years old. Holy cow, my metabolism completely changed a few years ago. This is not fun.0 -
yeah iam really short but losing weight made some diffrence at certain angles it looks taller0
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Height has no impact on weight loss.
If you're talking cal's in vs cal's out you're right, but it has a HUGE impact on your BMR and TDEE. Sure if everybody could burn 1000 cal's in one work out that would be great and we'd all be eating good.
1200 cal's in my opinion is starving and my BMR is 1050.
Ps - 5 lbs DOES look like 20 on us short ppl and it can be the difference between being in your clothes and being out.0 -
Research on the topic is lacking, however this is one that delved into the subject.Fun fact of the day:
If you take two persons, each weighing the same with identical builds and activity levels, the shorter person will have a higher TDEE than the taller due to the fact he/she requires more energy to replace heat loss related to total surface area/mass.
So no. Just because you are short does not necessarily mean your energy needs are less than someone taller.
A bigger person has more surface mass... i am misunderstanding something or you made a typo.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/176901960 -
i think it just depends on our genes and how active we are and how we take care of our bodies.
but taller people do have more area where they can store fat so yeah i guess shorter people can gain easier.
but idk0 -
I think it has as much as an effect as anyone with a smaller weight would have losing weight. When you're shorter you can weigh less and still be healthy but those last 5-10lbs are hard for everyone no matter what height.0
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There's really no point in worrying about this subject. There's nothing you can do to change your height.
Your activity level and muscle mass, though, you have control over, and they can make big impacts on your BMR/TDEE/weight loss process. At 5'3", I have thyroid disease and a desk job, and my TDEE (without exercise) is about 2200 cals. I work hard to keep it that way, cause this little chick loves food!0 -
I think it has as much as an effect as anyone with a smaller weight would have losing weight. When you're shorter you can weigh less and still be healthy but those last 5-10lbs are hard for everyone no matter what height.
what victoria said. I'm short and it's not harder to lose weight it's just that 7 pounds extra is a huge gain, noticeable and you need to buy a whole new wardrobe.0 -
I think science claims that if you eat less then you burn you will lose weight despite your height or stature. I think height only effects the appearance of how your weight is distributed. I weigh 235 and am 5'4 my friend weighs 280 and is 6'2. She looks thinner than me and is also hourglass shaped compared to my apple.0
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aww never mind.
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This isn't so much about height, but when I read this article and then worked out how many calories I needed, it was only 1359. A friend of mine who weights quite a lot more, and is a lot taller has a requirement of 1500 calories per day. At present we are both dieting and eating 1200 calories. That means she is 300 calories a day less than her body needs to maintain weight and I am only 150. Surely this means that I will loose weight a lot more slowly, so shouldn't I eat less than 1200 per day to loose weight. Just a thought
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1226258/Cant-lose-weight-Dont-blame-metabolism.html0 -
I'm a male and I'm only 5 ' 2 but I weigh 141 pounds. My goal is to be around 125 to 130. I know hight doesn't really matter how fast you lose or gain weight but I do certainly think it has something to do with fat. I'm not the most skinny person but I'm not to fat. I do tho have a round belly that sticks out a bit and good size love handles on my side. I been trying to lose them for quite some time but they just don't go away. Even tho I have been losing weight, because I'm short the smallest amount of fat shows on me more then most. Which is totally not fare0
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I'm 5'8" and to be honest with you being tall is a little more frustrating because you don't notice the change as quickly when you loose weight just because there is more of you! But a plus side is if I put on 5lbs I can usually only tell with the scales. I don't think it's any more difficult to loose the actual weight though.0
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Being tall (5'10") I can say it is easier to see 5 pounds lost on a shorter person than a taller person. No one really notices when I lose 5 pounds - it's more like 10-15 before there is a physical difference. And I have lost over 15 pounds and STILL wear the same size! I think when your shorter, your body changes a lot faster.
ETA: The same is true for weight gain though... if I gain 5 pounds no one's gonna notice, but on a shorter person 5 pounds might be noticeable. I guess there's pros and cons to both.0 -
Maybe it's just me, but at 5' exactly I barely notice my weight loss
So I can't really see it when people say it's more noticeable on short people. You could sure notice if I gained 20lbs though -__-
I think the hardest thing is really just not being able to eat as much as others, especially if you go out with taller people or something.0 -
From a physiological standpoint it isn't, but from a practical standpoint I would say yes. Being vertically challenged (I'm 4'11) means I have a lower BMR, and therefore less wiggle room than someone who is taller. It's not a huge obstacle, it just means that us shorties need to eat smart and get the most (nutritionally speaking) out of what we eat (nutrient dense, but lower kcal).0
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:laugh:0
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Yes it's harder, because you generally don't eat as much as a taller person, as you usually weigh less. However can I just say I'm jealous because I have to lose a good 30-40 lbs for it to be noticeable0
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Just wait until you're 60, on the last 10 lbs and have a thyroid issue. I know Im whining but us shorties have it rough!0
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That kind of implies that larger people will have more weight to lose given a similar BMI or physique, so it probably sort of evens out. It might be harder for short people to lose weight, but they'll have less to lose than a similarly situated tall person.Yes it's harder, because you generally don't eat as much as a taller person, as you usually weigh less. However can I just say I'm jealous because I have to lose a good 30-40 lbs for it to be noticeable0
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