Short girls and hard time closer to goal

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  • mrihel6615
    mrihel6615 Posts: 37 Member
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    I'm having a similar problem,
    I'm 4'10, and started out at 142 pounds (nearing obese range)
    And I'm currently down to 119-122 pounds.
    Which it right on the edge of a healthy weight.
    I've got 10-12 pounds to go until my goal weight.
    I am going to give something a shot, and I'll have to tell you if it helps.
    But, since I am a carb-o-holic I'm going to limit carbs to only one meal per day to see if it can help me push through the last bit of this!
    I'm only starting this today, so we will see!
    But I've been stuck around 122 since early January, and just recently broke through to 119.
    So I'll try just about anything (that's still healthy!)
  • SwankyTomato
    SwankyTomato Posts: 442 Member
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    I feel for you except I am 50 and almost in full menopause. My TDEE is the same...so LOW, it does suck. I did take a break for 2 months. I did not go crazy but I had to take a break from logging. It did help me get back on track.

    You will figure it out.
  • TheGetFitGal
    TheGetFitGal Posts: 98 Member
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    tiffanyking1976 wrote: »
    Im 5 ft 1 and found i axtually needed to bumo up my calories. I lost nada at 1200 found out my tdee was 1331 and as soon as i started esting that the lbs started falling i recrntly got stuck. . I redid my tdee and found it gad jumped to 1476 so im at 1400 a nice round #. You may want to consider bumping up. o:)

    Whats tdee and how do u know it fluctuates?
  • TheGetFitGal
    TheGetFitGal Posts: 98 Member
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    Spyer116 wrote: »
    taycupcake wrote: »
    Heh I actually do most of what you said for 2-4. Drinking 65 oz water a day but didn't consider drinking right before a meal. I aim for 200-300 calorie meals and on occasion I hit 300-400 but usually cause it wasn't possible in whatever circumstance :p I get between 100-120 grams of protein. I could definitely use more veggies though!! The rest of your info is very helpful too thank you! :)

    Haha that's great then! And that's plenty of protein too :)
    Consider taking a break anyway for a week (both of the calorie deficit, and the gym), and see what happens when you start again. I was stuck at 162 pounds for about 3 weeks. Took 1 week off, and even though I did nearly nothing that week, and ate at maintenance calories, when I started again the next week I was at 155 pounds which was shocking. So who knows, maybe you just need some time off!

    Hope to see you hit your goals soon though! :)

  • Expat4Life
    Expat4Life Posts: 154 Member
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    ektrice wrote: »
    I'm not an expert/dietician/nutritionist, etc. However, I would say that, when you hit a plateau, usually you need to change something. It doesn't always mean you need to decrease your calorie intake. Sometimes, you aren't eating enough, so your body starts to hold onto everything you are eating because it thinks you are starving it. That has happened to me in the past. As soon as I started adding in some additional, healthy calories, the weight loss kicked back in for me. Also, try changing up your fitness routine. Mix up your cardio and add in some strength training. Your body might just be used to what you're doing, so the exercise doesn't have the same impact anymore. Here is a great article from the Mayo Clinic about weight loss plateaus. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss-plateau/art-20044615

    This! :) great advice!
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    5'4" here. I also do little cardio. I want to get to 128 now. The past few weeks I've had luck with keeping my calories at 1400 daily, but averaging about 1600 for a .5 lb weekly weight loss. It's slow...but this approach has worked well for me since I like to eat close to maintenance on weekends.
  • threnjen
    threnjen Posts: 687 Member
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    Op I got nothing, just with you on how hard it gets. I'm on my last 6 pounds and I find I have to be SO careful with counting. I also lift heavy and don't get a lot of cardio. I'm kind of stuck at .5/week although I would love to still be at 1/week to get to maintenance. I have to be so careful and specific with my calories I'm getting afraid of maintenance at this point.
    It's just hard for us small people... our TDEE tends to be much lower than average. When other people have 100 cal swing it's not that much, but for us it can make a big difference.
  • kamakazeekim
    kamakazeekim Posts: 1,183 Member
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    I'm 5'3 and bounce between 128 and 133. I try to hit 1300 calories but most days I'm under. I work out every day but only log it a few times a week and I don't eat back exercise calories. I'm so stuck right now! I haven't lost weight in over two months. I'd like to get to 120 and reevaluate at that point...the lowest I'd go is 115 but that seems so far out of reach right now!
  • taylormoooon
    taylormoooon Posts: 130 Member
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    I'm going to start doing some hiit 3x a week and occasionally steady state and see how the extra calorie burn works. One person on another post said the only way they successfully got down was diet, lifting and cardio (which I mean is obvious) but hopefully that'll work for me too since my cardios been lacking!
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    I'm 5'1" and currently 6 pounds away from my goal (well, my initial one... I might keep going a bit further once I get there, I'll see). And yep, I hear ya. Weight loss for us small shorties is slooooooooooooooooowwwwwww.

    I don't think that increasing calories is the answer here. Maybe decrease a tiny bit more, if you can stand to, since you're in a pretty small deficit right now without much room for error, so even minor logging errors could easily be erasing your deficit more days than not.

    A bit more cardio (without eating back) might help, and certainly won't hurt your overall heart health. That could be a decent way to increase your deficit without decreasing your calories.

    But ultimately, I think there's nothing to do other than to be patient. Log and track daily, and set yourself up for the long haul. I mean, since you say you're in a 200 calorie daily deficit right now, then those last 10-15 pounds would be expected, mathematically, to take you 25-38 weeks, or between 6 and 10 months. That means you could actually be losing right now, but the rate of loss is so slow that it doesn't show up on the scale because it's smaller than your normal fluctuations. The only cures for that are to increase your deficit or increase your patience.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    Sundayt wrote: »
    What is your body fat %? if you are heavy lifting, you may be adding muscle, which weighs more than fat.

    I was reading through this and caught this... AINT SO on the muscle weighs more than fat..
  • taylormoooon
    taylormoooon Posts: 130 Member
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    gia07 wrote: »
    Sundayt wrote: »
    What is your body fat %? if you are heavy lifting, you may be adding muscle, which weighs more than fat.

    I was reading through this and caught this... AINT SO on the muscle weighs more than fat..


    Yes I second your correction! Muscle takes up less space Sundayt, though a lb of muscle and a pound of fat are the same weight. :)
  • taylormoooon
    taylormoooon Posts: 130 Member
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    segacs wrote: »
    I'm 5'1" and currently 6 pounds away from my goal (well, my initial one... I might keep going a bit further once I get there, I'll see). And yep, I hear ya. Weight loss for us small shorties is slooooooooooooooooowwwwwww.

    I don't think that increasing calories is the answer here. Maybe decrease a tiny bit more, if you can stand to, since you're in a pretty small deficit right now without much room for error, so even minor logging errors could easily be erasing your deficit more days than not.

    A bit more cardio (without eating back) might help, and certainly won't hurt your overall heart health. That could be a decent way to increase your deficit without decreasing your calories.

    But ultimately, I think there's nothing to do other than to be patient. Log and track daily, and set yourself up for the long haul. I mean, since you say you're in a 200 calorie daily deficit right now, then those last 10-15 pounds would be expected, mathematically, to take you 25-38 weeks, or between 6 and 10 months. That means you could actually be losing right now, but the rate of loss is so slow that it doesn't show up on the scale because it's smaller than your normal fluctuations. The only cures for that are to increase your deficit or increase your patience.

    Despite the long haul being annoying lol it is comforting to know that I might be losing without even knowing :) with the added cardio hopefully it'll be a little more prevalent on the scale but ultimately I'm going by how I look, not how I weigh
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    taycupcake wrote: »
    Despite the long haul being annoying lol it is comforting to know that I might be losing without even knowing :) with the added cardio hopefully it'll be a little more prevalent on the scale but ultimately I'm going by how I look, not how I weigh

    That's the spirit!
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,196 Member
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    I'm not sure why you think it is any harder for short people than for tall people. The last few pounds are just really difficult, for almost everyone.

    If your goal is based at all on BMI, you should know that those tables are much more lenient toward the short.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    azulvioleta6 wrote: »
    I'm not sure why you think it is any harder for short people than for tall people. The last few pounds are just really difficult, for almost everyone.

    It's not harder or easier; it's just different. But those last few pounds can feel slower for short women, especially those already eating at or near the calorie "floor" of 1200 and not willing or able to go lower in order to create a bigger deficit. Smaller women typically are working with smaller deficits, which is fine since our bodies need less fuel, but means that there's much less room for error or for the occasional lapse.

    But yeah, everyone has their issues, tall/short/fat/thin/whatever.
  • taylormoooon
    taylormoooon Posts: 130 Member
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    azulvioleta6 wrote: »
    I'm not sure why you think it is any harder for short people than for tall people. The last few pounds are just really difficult, for almost everyone.

    If your goal is based at all on BMI, you should know that those tables are much more lenient toward the short.

    No I don't pay attention to bmi. It's because my tdee is lower based on my height and weight so I have much less room for error. For example my taller friend can eat 1700 calories and lose weight whereas that's more calories than my tdee :p
  • Ray_89
    Ray_89 Posts: 1 Member
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    I'm in the same boat, I'm stuck around 128 at 5'1 and I'm feeling frustrated. I'm trying to up my cardio and remind myself that the number on the scale isn't everything (I do a lot of lifting and was a college soccer player, I don't pay attention to bmi). I just added you so we can support each other!
  • rocknlotsofrolls
    rocknlotsofrolls Posts: 418 Member
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    I'm 5'3", and for me, I don't require that many calories. Maybe because of my height, I don't know. 1200 calories a day works wonders for me. I walk about 30 min a day and do Zumba most days, and I lose about 2 pounds per week. I eat 80% healthy, mainly protein, and I save a couple hundred calories for junk food. It seems to work this way, and I'm not depriving myself of the food I really love.
  • taylormoooon
    taylormoooon Posts: 130 Member
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    Ray_89 wrote: »
    I'm in the same boat, I'm stuck around 128 at 5'1 and I'm feeling frustrated. I'm trying to up my cardio and remind myself that the number on the scale isn't everything (I do a lot of lifting and was a college soccer player, I don't pay attention to bmi). I just added you so we can support each other!

    Thanks for the add :)!

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