Pros and Cons of being short and trying to lose?

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  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
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    Double con -- being short and older -- 5'1.5" and 55 yo. I'm maintaining on around 1200 + exercise calories. It does get depressing at night to measure 3-4 oz. of fish on a plate, a veg., and 1/2 cup of cooked rice and say "I'm done for the day" while the males in my family load their plates. This is with exercise, too.
    I've calculated the numbers and by the time I'm 60 I'll have to eat only around 1000 a day to stay the weight I am now.
  • 21million
    21million Posts: 113 Member
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    rosebette wrote: »
    Double con -- being short and older -- 5'1.5" and 55 yo. I'm maintaining on around 1200 + exercise calories. It does get depressing at night to measure 3-4 oz. of fish on a plate, a veg., and 1/2 cup of cooked rice and say "I'm done for the day" while the males in my family load their plates. This is with exercise, too.
    I've calculated the numbers and by the time I'm 60 I'll have to eat only around 1000 a day to stay the weight I am now.

    This IS depressing. 1000 before or after exercise?? Either way...:/
  • 95836
    95836 Posts: 1
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    Ya I am 5'1 and I weigh a smaller number than my sister but because she is tall she is healthy and am overweight
  • markrichtsspraytan
    markrichtsspraytan Posts: 89 Member
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    Some people like to have a goal of a small dress size... For someone short, a size 0 or 2 may be a reasonable goal, but for someone tall, a size 0 might be only at a very unhealthy weight. So you can "I'm a size X now!" which might seem more impressive when X is smaller.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    I am tall (5'11) but I've often been jealous of your shorties.

    Pro of being short and losing weight:
    -People notice every few lbs you lose. It took 25 lbs lost before many friends noticed on me.
    -You change sizes more rapidly. I have lost 50+ lbs now and I can still wear my fattest pants. They're a little baggy, but not unwearable. I'm only 1-2 jean sizes smaller.
    -Clothing is designed for you at whatever weight you are. When I was tall and big, I could wear big jeans. As I drop down in waist/hip size, even tall pants in smaller sizes get shorter.
    -You can weigh 100-120 lbs and be healthy (if you're short enough). I would LOVE to be that light, but it's unattainable/I would look ghastly/I would be soooo underweight.

    Cons of being short and losing weight:
    -You have to workout more to eat at the same levels of a sedentary tall person
    -If you're a dude and you're short and you're lifting, people think you have a complex.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    markrichtsspraytan wrote: »
    Some people like to have a goal of a small dress size... For someone short, a size 0 or 2 may be a reasonable goal, but for someone tall, a size 0 might be only at a very unhealthy weight. So you can "I'm a size X now!" which might seem more impressive when X is smaller.

    THIS SO MUCH THIS. Again, I'm tall. One of my shorter coworkers once said, "Ugh if I were a size 8 I would just kill myself. Talk about being a chumbo." Yeahhhh. I'm 5'11. For me, I'm a size 8 when my BMI is 19-19.5 (136-140 lbs). I could probably NEVER be a size 6 and remain in the healthy weigh range.
  • 21million
    21million Posts: 113 Member
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    @tall ladies, do you find dieting easy with the calories you get? Typically I need 1400 to lose .5lb/week, and I am usually pretty hungry if I make bad choices. I know some taller women can eat around 1900 (?) For the same results. Mu question is, does this seem like a lot of food to you (it would be GREAT for me) or do you have to watch yourself like I do lest you end up hungry?
  • svpracer
    svpracer Posts: 42
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    I guess at 5'9 I am considered avg, to short for a Man, at least in my circle of friends. Most of my friends are north of 6ft. A pro for me was always the shorter distance the bar had to travel for a "good Lift". 5'9 225, with a 29 inch inseam. Im all torso, which leads me to my con... no matter how much I loose, I look stocky.
  • LauraPa1mer
    LauraPa1mer Posts: 65 Member
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    Yeah... obviously most short women will not maintain at 2350. It's great if that works for you but not everyone lifts that much and not everyone wants to. And that's fine.
  • teagirlmedium
    teagirlmedium Posts: 679 Member
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    I am 5'4, I think that is short.
    Cons:
    1) Even in maintenance mode for 130.2lbs I am at 1,660.
    2) If I want to go to a fast food place I better not want to get a meal because If I do there goes at least half of my calories for the day.
    3) People judge me based on the number of plates I get at a buffet. If I go to a buffet, people give me odd looks when I get 2 or 3 plates covered in food, randomly glance at me while I eat, and occasionally someone will make a comment about wasting food to me or that I can over here, then they give me looks of surprise when they see that I am going back for desert because there is nothing left on my plates.

    Pro:
    1) If I am at a restaurant and only eat half of my food everyone expects it, so I can eat the rest of my food at midnight when no one is around to judge my odd choice of snack.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    I'm 5'1 and trying to lose 40 pounds.

    Cons:
    • 40 pounds may not sound like a lot to some people, but to me, it's 25% of my body weight!
    • The percentage may come off as quickly but the total pounds come off slower. Tougher to stay motivated when the numbers are so small and sometimes undetectable by the bathroom scale.
    • Spending my entire life sitting in chairs where my feet don't reach the ground, straining my back and neck at desks that are designed for tall men, not being able to reach the handlebars or ground on bicycles, not being able to see over the dashboard in cars... this is the stuff that leads to premature back problems, hip problems, muscle problems, etc. which can impede activity level later on.
    • Being condescended to, not taken seriously, or treated like a child in professional and personal situations, even though I'm in my mid-30s.
    • 1300 calories a day is really not a lot of food. I can't get away with even small cheats, since even one extra piece of chocolate will make a big difference.
    • Getting strange looks from people for the small amount of food I order in restaurants, or getting dirty stares when I send two thirds of what's on my plate back.
    • Even after losing the weight, I'm still not gonna ever look like the fashion models on TV, 'cause the media tells us that tall and leggy is the ideal standard of beauty. I may not be fat but I'm always going to be short. Clothes will never fit me properly no matter how thin I get.

    Pros:
    • I can pull off "cute" even at an older age.
    • The actual number of pounds to lose isn't nearly as daunting as it is for someone taller and heavier.
    • Doing a killer karaoke rendition of "I'm a little teapot, short and stout".
    • Being able to dress as a hobbit, or one of the munchkins, for Halloween.
    • Um....?
  • thesmallestpineapple
    thesmallestpineapple Posts: 21 Member
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    Lol at getting to dress as a hobbit at Halloween... I've actually done that, with my tall friend as Gandalf!

    Pro- I don't have to duck under things that taller people smack their heads against.
    - Long sleeve tops are never too short on my arms.
    - Shorter legs... more steps in the day!
    - Heels. :)

    Con - Can't see a d**n thing at gigs because everyone in front is taller.
    - Trousers need altered so they don't drag on the ground.
    - Maxi-dress... no chance, faaaaar too much fabric, and too much effort to alter.
    - Need something from the top cupboard, fetch step-ladder. Then again for the other cupboard. And again for that third item. I should get more step-ladders. Or keep nothing in the top of cupboards.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    edited October 2014
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    Ugh, I *hate* not being able to see over people's heads at gigs and concerts. When I was younger, I used to line up for hours in advance so I could get a spot in the front row. These days I prefer old-people venues like arenas with seating. :)

    And I forgot a pro: Being able to take a great lookalike photo with a penguin!

    3406350084_5fe4f8a51a_s.jpgIMG_9645 by segacs, on Flickr
  • ciacyrus29
    ciacyrus29 Posts: 109 Member
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    Ok - just stop it! There are no pros and cons to your height! It doesn't matter if your 4'7" or if your 7'4" if you need help losing weight then you need help. Yes, of course weight looks different on everyone. Take several people who are 5'2" at the same weight and they will look different. We all experience this. So the only con is what you make up in your mind, the pro is doing something to change it!
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    The spirit of this thread is just lighthearted and amusing. I don't think it's a competition.

    Yes, everyone faces challenges of their own at any height. That doesn't mean it isn't fun to discuss this!
  • 0somuchbetter0
    0somuchbetter0 Posts: 1,335 Member
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    steff274 wrote: »
    BombshellPhoenix wrote: »
    I dunno. I'm 5'3.5 " 120 lbs and maintain at 2350 when I'm doing my lifting routine...not everyone has to eat little. Also, depends on your activity level on how much you can consume. It's not all about size :) Embrace being small.

    Maintaining on similar calories I am short 5ft 2 have an active job go to the gym regularly am 7st 7 thats 105 pounds I now have to be really careful now I will still drop if I don't eat enough excersize calories back!! My problem is I under estimate what I burn off through excersize!! My calories without any excersize is 2010 my settings are set to very active to maintain ;)

    Jealouser and jealouser of both of you. You must be young.

    At 48 years old, 5'3" and 175 lbs, I have to net under 1400 to lose weight. And I still want to lose at least 45 lbs more. By the time I get to my goal weight, I'll be even older. If I get there and turn 60, say, I'll have to net under 1400 just to maintain! I'm looking at a hungry old age.

    Nope, no pros to being short. :(
  • rieann84
    rieann84 Posts: 511 Member
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    nadiabear1 wrote: »
    21million wrote: »
    @tall ladies, do you find dieting easy with the calories you get? Typically I need 1400 to lose .5lb/week, and I am usually pretty hungry if I make bad choices. I know some taller women can eat around 1900 (?) For the same results. Mu question is, does this seem like a lot of food to you (it would be GREAT for me) or do you have to watch yourself like I do lest you end up hungry?

    1400 is a lot to me, I eat around 600 when trying to lose weight but some days I'll eat more like 1,000

    you what??

  • 0somuchbetter0
    0somuchbetter0 Posts: 1,335 Member
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    rosebette wrote: »
    Double con -- being short and older -- 5'1.5" and 55 yo. I'm maintaining on around 1200 + exercise calories. It does get depressing at night to measure 3-4 oz. of fish on a plate, a veg., and 1/2 cup of cooked rice and say "I'm done for the day" while the males in my family load their plates. This is with exercise, too.
    I've calculated the numbers and by the time I'm 60 I'll have to eat only around 1000 a day to stay the weight I am now.

    Exactly! Didn't see your post before I posted mine. We're going to be hungry hungry old ladies. :'(

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