Looking for advice - 4'11" and struggling to lose weight

weesa1983 · July 2014

Hi all, looking for advice if anyone out there has any! I am a 4'11" female and currently weigh 148lbs. I started as 155lbs but this was months ago and have yet to see any significant (or consistent!) weight loss. According to some BMI scales, my healthy weight is between 92lbs and 124lbs - the lowest in my opinion for me would be ridiculously low so I am aiming for the higher end of the scale and would be very happy at that! I cook fresh most days and take lunches with me to work so as to avoid eating badly! I have started doing more exercise and try to walk during my lunch hour as my office job is sedentary most of the time. I have tried to educate myself with regards to my calorie intake and according to MFP, if I wanted to maintain at my current 148lb, I would have to eat 1600 odd calories a day so I at least know what I should be aiming under. I initially started at a calorie goal of 1200 as MFP wouldn't allow me to go any lower - to lose 2lbs per week, i would have to bolster this with exercise (my first moan at being so small - seems my calories required overall is lower than "normal height" people but I can be just as hungry! lol!) Anyway, I stayed at this 1200 calorie level but never saw any significant loss. Having lost weight in the past by just reducing calories and no exercise, I expected to at least consistently lose 1lb per week with me now exercising but I didn't, I would say it was more like 0.5lb per 3 weeks and even then, that wasn't guaranteed. I am not naive and understand the importance of weighing food, logging and sticking to allowance. I had another look at it and decided to try and lower it to a level where I have lost weight previously (1000 calories - not always recommended but I wanted to try for a couple of weeks and see if it would work). Well, 4 weeks later, I have only lost about 2 lbs!! I don't know if I am now eating too few calories?! I was younger when I did this before and not sure if my metabolism has slowed? I am at a loss - I find it a struggle to lose even 0.5lb per week. I have tried measuring in case I am losing inches but no change! Can anyone help with some advice - is it more difficult to get calorie levels right when you're a short a**e like me?!

Thanks in advance folks!!

JensRiot · July 2014

Hi there, I'm on the short side as well. 5'1". Would you mind opening your food diary to public? People can give more specific advice if you open it. Are you logging absolutely everything accurately, meaning using a food scale instead of just measuring cups? I was shocked at how far off I could be using just measuring cups and spoons. Those calories can really add up.

amandagorder · July 2014

hey we are in the same boat! im 4'11 140 but ive been loosing ive done the 1200 cal a day diet but I also do 30 min aerobics in the am. and then walk/run 30 min at night feel free to add me ! good luck

moparjer · July 2014

I'm 5'0" and almost 59 years old. I have tried MFP's 1200 calories/day and was finding myself hungry all the time. I'm very active (on my job, Zumba, walking), so I know I burn a lot of my calories. I also have come to a plateau. I also walk on my lunch hours (1 mile) and try to exercise more at night (instead of just watching TV). I was able to lose 65 lbs. 3 years ago, but that was before two surgeries messed up my hormones. I'm hoping you'll find whatever combination works for you. Be careful not to add salt to your meals. I have found there's no such thing as losing 2 lbs. a week. Your body will know if it's starving and needs more food for fuel! Good luck!

lynn1982 · July 2014

I'm 4'11 1/2, so I'll chime in. I started weighing 180 pounds, now I hover between 108-112 (110 seems to be ideal for me). First of all, congratulations on your loss so far!! At our height, even a 2 pound loss over 4 weeks is fantastic! Unfortunately, due to your height, weight loss is going to be slower than others who are taller. It's simply harder to create a deficit, so you must make sure that you're logging as accurately as you can and exercise to add to that deficit. Just keep doing what you're doing - eventually the weight will come off. I promise!!

gdionlove · July 2014

Just hang in there and don't give up!

A few ideas follow:

1. Try to eat 6 small meals per day. View your metabolism as a fire. You start the fire in the morning with a good, nutritional breakfast. If you don't periodically "feed" the fire throughout the day, the fire goes out (metabolism slows). Stoke the fire by eating consistently throughout the day. Good snack foods include Almonds, walnuts, fresh berries, seeds, etc.

2. Try not to eat/drink anything at least 3 hrs prior to going to bed. If you go to bed at 10PM, don't eat or drink anything past 7PM.

3. Drink a lot of water.

4. Try to get your heart rate up at least once daily. Find yourself out-of-breath on a daily basis, even if it's just a power walk around the block.

I hope this helps! Good luck and Best Wishes!

katatoniczka · July 2014

Hi there. I'm about 5'2" so a bit taller.

My highest weight was about yours.

I lost about 10 pounds pretty much fasting, an apple a day...and nothing else. I did manage to keep most of them off but don't do what I did - I lost a lot of hair, it's a bad idea, 10 pounds' not worth it and you won't manage to keep up eating so little

Then I lost a lot eating about 1000 cal, now I know it's too little, back then I didn't, but I probably miscounted and ate more, so I might have been at, say, 1200.

Then I started using MFP and eating 1200 + all exercise calories.

And well, that partially unhealthy journey led me to my dream weight, but not my dream appearance - I say go listen to the girls that do heavy lifting because I wish I had known about how it influences weight loss & looks!

If I were you I'd try to stick with 1200 kcal because well you are short. If you feel weak etc up the calories or try eating more fat/protein to feel fuller. Maybe the weight doesn't go down at first but it will if you're not sick or something.

xilka · July 2014

I'm your size, started at 137, felt fine at 120, am currently working hard to maintain 116.

I think you should try upping to 1,600 and see what happens.

My NEAT is 1850, that's on a day when I do some light housework, take a short walk,
walk up and down stairs a few times, and spend at least 6 hours in front of my computer.
So, unless you're a total couch potato, and it doesn't sound like you are,
I don't think you could be all that much lower than me.

geekyjock76 · July 2014

You don't have a problem losing fat. You do have to realize that you absolutely will not lose 2 lbs per week because you don't have a large enough amount of fat mass to induce such expectations - that option is suitable for someone with over 80 lbs to lose. If you are losing between 0.5-1 lb per week, then you are right where you need to be. When you have less fat mass available, your body pulls less from fat stores or else we'd all die very quickly during starvation.

sparkyval · July 2014

am right there with you.. Now I have lost 85 pounds but then when I get into the same range as you , it becomes so difficult. For me I am also 51 so my metabolism is not what it used to be. Couple of thoughts. First, MFP suggests not going down but in reality it can't stop you from going below .. but it doesn't really matter I have found because. After I came to a stop with the weight loss, I panicked and tried to drop the intake lower. Now I wear a bodymedia band so I can see what I actually burn each day. When I dropped the calories you would not believe how low my burn plummeted to!!!
So for the last year after losing the 85 pounds I have been stuck but stubbornly insisting on a two pound a week drop.
So I don't have any magical tips for you . But I can offer you my journey thus far to maybe save you some steps. First... have a physical.. but honestly unless your doctor is an exception, they are usually not the best informed when it comes to the latest findings. Go just to rule out thyroid and anemia etc. Next, for a couple of weeks try an actual laid out plan to the letter like the womans day 1500 calorie diet... believe it or not I have honestly lost more with 1500 calorie diet plan particularly this one than with my own attempts at lowering the intake. IT may also be interesting for you because at least for me, the manner in which they divided the meals was totally different than what I routinely follow. Variety can sometimes jumpstart.
Other thoughts... watch processed foods... you can eat the same amount of calories with them and lose less weight or none at all,... it is weird that our bodies react to things such as chemicals and hormones or even corn syrup like this... but the truth is it has actually been documented that it does...
Also... instead of thinking of one big workout each day, realize there is more bang in constantly moving and not sitting... not asking people to grab your phone if you leave it someplace... go get it yourself , etc... move inefficiently making extra trips etc.. helps get your burn up also... water very important... maybe the most important in many ways... and sleep. So good luck to you and feel free to pop me a line or friend if you need support... gonna get there... we are ...eventually!!!!!

aliakynes · July 2014

I'm a bit taller at 5'1 but I was your weight a few years ago and could not lose with a very high deficit. I found that when I was set at a half pound loss per week, I would lose a half pound per week. If I ate less, I still lost a half pound per week on average so I ate more and focused on increasing my athletic ability for mini-goals while I waited for the scale to move.

Anyway, I highly recommend weight lifting to boost the muscle and metabolism. It seemed to tackle the inches more than just a deficit and cardio alone.

AllOutof_Bubblegum · July 2014

I'm 4'11 and 5/8, and am losing on 1800 cals a day. Eat more.

weesa1983 · July 2014

Thanks for all the responses - it's really interesting to read your experiences and tips! I think I'm going to just go ahead and increase my daily intake as the 1000 a day isn't doing anything for me and I'm a bit annoyed at myself for trying it to be honest! I'll try and plan in some more exercise throughout the day too - definitely hate the thought of how little I move during the day! I would LOVE to try strength training/weights - I just don't know where to start! I HATE the thought of people watching me at the gym, totally lack confidence and always think that people are looking thinking "she's doing that all wrong!" Would I need to do this at a gym or is there anything I could do at home?

elaineshuter · July 2014

Being smaller than most, it will take time to drop the weight but it you stay consistent with your intake and exercise you should see the weight dropping. Your TDEE is around 1550 a day based on no exercise and a good deficit to aim for would be a 15-20% below your TDEE. 15% deficit would put your cals at 1320, which sounds like a healthier number to go for, this will also help keep you satiated and balance the leptin and ghrelin hormones a little better. Try and see exercise as helping maintain muscle and being healthier and stronger rather than just exercising to burn calories. Aim for 4 workouts a week and mix it up, mostly make sure it's something you enjoy so you will stick to it, make it fun and enjoyable rather than painful. You'll find some good weight training exercises for free on bodybuilding.com that you can try in the comfort of your own home, go out walking or get on your bike, or the dailyhiit has free workouts on line as does doyogawithme.

Eat quality nutrient dense foods, get plenty of sleep, drink water not calories, best of luck.

lynn1982 · July 2014

I know youtube has weight training videos that you could try. I understand the intimidation at the gym... I was the same way until I started taking a weight lifting class at my gym. It was a bit less intimidating with an instructor telling us all what to do and everyone doing the same thing.

Looking for advice - 4'11" and struggling to lose weight

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