5`2/5`3 women success stories?

shayswife wrote: »

Love it! short girls getting fit!! 5'3" high of 173 pounds..started losing a long time ago. 18 months ago weighed around 163...been working on getting that off. Took up running and now I"m a junkie. Signing up for my first half marathon for my 45th birthday present from my hubs Currently at 136 pounds. Working on toning and wherever I land from here is fine. I'm happy with my size, just want to be a lean, mean, running machine.

laineybz wrote: »

I'm 5"2 and started around 196lbs in Feb 2012. I'm now around 106lb and have been maintaining for a few years now. The left picture was probably not at my heaviest. The right was Dec 2013. My more recent picture the bottom one.

Kymmu wrote: »

Did you ladies who successful got to goal also lose cellulite? I'm at goal but still see it.

sjb5577 wrote: »

I'm 5'2 and 165lbs Starting 1200 cal tomorrow

trina1049 wrote: »

blb85 wrote: »

trina1049 wrote: »

titotito48 wrote: »

I run on my treadmill 4 days a week. I am up to 5.15 miles per workout. I would love to start lifting but I'm afraid to gain weight on the scale as I know muscle weighs more than fat. Did this happen to you or did it help you lose faster? I have plateaued for the last 4 to 5 weeks so if I can get enough evidence that It will help me to lose then I will start lifting.

trina1049 wrote: »

titotito48 wrote: »

Were you able to lose without exercise?

trina1049 wrote: »

Hi, 5'2.5" and I've lost 49lbs. over the last year and a half counting calories on MFP. Started at 179lbs. I'm pretty much at goal weight but trying for 4 more pounds. Finally at a healthy BMI.

Oh, he** to the no! I began by walking then as I dropped weight I became more active. I ended up joining a gym and lifting weights and some cardio 4 days a week. More than that is just too much for me.

You can lose weight without exercising but what happens is that you lose muscle mass along with the fat. You can mitigate the muscle loss by lifting weights which has really reshaped my body. I'm at 129lbs and into a size 4 Petite (US).

You want to maintain as much muscle as possible whether you're young or old (like me).

No, that's not how it works. Muscle does not weigh more than fat. They weigh the same but fat takes up more space by volume in the body. Also, you can't build muscle while in a calorie deficit. As I mentioned before, resistance training will help maintain most of your current muscle mass. Building muscle mass is very difficult and to do so you need to continually eat in a surplus (calories over your maintenance) to first gain weight and muscle then cut the fat by dieting (bulk and cut) several times over long periods of time.

Lifting will reshape your body in a good way -- you can't bulk up because you don't have the same amount of testosterone as men do so that will never happen.

You will keep your bones strong by lifting and you don't have to lift very heavy to begin. I take Body Pump classes at my gym and I can't believe the difference. I actually can see muscles now and I'm almost 66 years old.

I did a lot of cardio when I first joined the gym but fell in love with lifting and do so 4 days a week (1 hr.) and only do minimal cardio now (1.5 hours in 30 min. increments after lifting).

It's not a question of losing faster with cardio or lifting; cardio burns more calories than lifting but lifting reshapes your body and preserves your muscle mass so both are beneficial.

If you're in a plateau then first look at your logging for accuracy. How are you estimating your calorie burns. Have you set MFP for too steep of a deficit?

If you're logging as accurately as possible and you're getting adequate nourishment then one thing I do is take a break from dieting every two months or so because I've been in a deficit for so long. I eat at maintenance and take a week off from the gym but still stay active walking and such. Then after a week I'm back to my calorie deficit/gym routine and start losing again.

I don't know your personal stats so I can't comment too specifically about your plateau but the above has worked for me. Hope this helps!

Trina

Preach sista!

Amen!

QueenofComeBacks wrote: »

sjb5577 wrote: »

I'm 5'2 and 165lbs Starting 1200 cal tomorrow

I started right at same weight and started out eating 1500 and every 10lbs I drop down 100 calories. I'm at 136 right now and eat between 1200 to 1300. In past I tried start out low calories and failed. You may be different but I wanted let you know my experiences. good luck!