5'3" at 135 lbs want to drop down to around 105-110 lbs

Hey there. Just start by eating less than you are now and you'll lose weight. I highly recommend weighing your food with a food scale. It totally changed my life! I eat everything I want, just in smaller amounts. You can have a look at my diary if you like (I think you can see it).

By the way, we're the same height and you're at my goal weight! Hopefully that boosts your confidence a bit

If you can maintain at the goal you're aiming for that's fine.

I'm 5'3 and weigh 127, which I maintain in my range (126-129) pretty easily. At this weight, I wear a size 4, which never changes even when I have gone down to 116 (which I can't maintain) because really, I'm more or less sking and bone in my hips and my breasts simply stay the same size.

I am 5'3; I used to hang out in the 105-110 range. Honestly, the only way I was able to stay down there (and on me, at least, that is and looks unhealthily skinny) was by doing very little exercise. Basically just walking. Anything more intensive, and my body won't *let* me restrict. If I try to hold calories too low while running, interval training, weightlifting, I binge on whatever is around (not emotional or boredom eating).

I did, uh, overcompensate when I started distance running last year, and I'm in the process of losing some but not all of it. Again, I, personally, do not like how I look or feel in the range you're trying to get to. I am having luck by tracking what I eat and sticking to the right number of NET calories. That means yes, I am "eating back" the calories that I burn running and cycling. No starvation-binges. I am going very slowly and doing strength training along the way to try to preserve as much muscle as possible.

Hi anjimale,

I know I'm really late on responding to this, so my apologies! I just was digging around the internet for other people that have a similar build to me, to see where their goal weight is. I'm 5'3", am currently about 109 lbs. I've lost 6 lbs since the beginning of this summer. (Also, some body history: at my heaviest, I was 130, and at my smallest, 105.)

I've also been a runner, (averaging about 3 miles per run, running at most about 7 at a time,) I've lifted weights, and recently I've started to do barre/Ballet Beautiful. My goal weight is somewhere around 105, because I have a very small frame. When I eat relatively healthfully but don't calorie count and exercise regularly, my weight will stay somewhere around 115 lbs. While this seems perfectly reasonable for our height, and many people would say is on the "skinny" side, it really depends on your body composition. I have a good friend who is 5'4" and is a regular workout buddy. Our diets are similar, and how frequently we exercise. She is about 122 lbs regularly, and 118 at her smallest. And she is inches smaller than me, even when I weigh 5 lbs less than she does! She simply puts on muscle easier, and has a larger frame. (Also has bigger boobs.) On her, 115 would look borderline ill, whereas on me, it looks skinny-fat.

Ultimately, the number on the scale doesn't matter that much. The inches do. So if you look your healthiest at or under 110, like me, then so be it. And THE BEST way to get there is by a healthy diet combined with regular exercise. Eating clean and drinking lots of water is the only and best way.

I inadvertently have been doing a bulk/cut these past few months. When I was lifting weights, I ate like a horse, and ended up at around 120 lbs. I put on muscle, but had extra fat that hid the muscle. Now I'm using MFP to do a cut, where I'm making sure that I'm eating enough protein/getting enough nutrients to maintain the muscle, while also losing fat. Really, it's not "weight" that you probably want to lose, it's fat. (The last time I was 105 I was basically only running, and had no *kitten* or abs. I was just skinny. I don't want big quads or anything like that, but I'm looking to be strong/have some curves.) MFP can help you get there if you're watching your macros and making sure the calories you do eat are mostly complex carbs, veggies, and most importantly lean meats.

BUT, if it's too difficult to organize your own nutrition/workout regimen, I'd really recommend looking into a diet/exercise program like Kayla Itsines' Bikini Body Guides. They seem to work wonders for people to help them achieve their goals. I'd definitely start doing some resistance training/HIIT in addition to running. Because your body is probably used to running, so it's not really speeding up your metabolism and helping you lose that fat anymore. Doing HIIT or resistance sends your metabolism into overdrive and burns most of the calories AFTER the workout is over, whereas when you're running (unless if you're doing sprints) you're only burning calories during the workout. HIIT and resistance is more bang for your buck.


Anyway I've rambled for too long now, but I hope that by now you've achieved your goals, or if you've temporarily given up on them that this helps you get back on track!