Short, relatively small women in long-term maintenance

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  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
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    How are you logging the 700? Are you using a Fitbit or similar device or going off a MFP estimate?
    Are you eating all the 700 plus 1645?
    What is your activity level set at in MFP?
    Did MFP set your maintenance goal?

    Sorry for all the questions, just trying to look at everything.

    Are you using a scale? This wouldn't make too much difference if you didn't use one when losing, but might.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
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    middlehaitch wrote: »
    @kayrdeerin, I just had a quick look at the AARP site and felt it was too off in a number of things for me to like.

    Only 4 eggs a week because of the cholesterol, nope.
    Harder for women in the menopausal range to lose weight, nope,
    That I should weigh 90lb, nope, nope, nope.

    Yes, it appears that most of their recommendations are outdated and considered plain wrong now.

    The normal BMI for a 5' woman is from 95 to 128 pounds. Someone who is 100 pounds would have a BMI of 19.5 and be on the lowish end of normal. I'm about the last person to defend BMI, but it's a LOT more sensible than the outdated advice given by AARP.
  • ljcox7210
    ljcox7210 Posts: 57 Member
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    middlehaitch wrote: »
    How are you logging the 700? Are you using a Fitbit or similar device or going off a MFP estimate?
    Are you eating all the 700 plus 1645?
    What is your activity level set at in MFP?
    Did MFP set your maintenance goal?

    Sorry for all the questions, just trying to look at everything.

    Are you using a scale? This wouldn't make too much difference if you didn't use one when losing, but might.

    I don't log it, I ignore the exercise I do hence I'm so confused, nope the 1645 is the amount I eat not net. I weigh EVERYTHING I eat and go by the calorie information on the packets, my activity level is set at sedentary and nope I set my maintenance goal. None of it makes sense!
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
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    @ljcox7210
    I am stumped. You should actually be able to eat more than you are.
    Have you ever dropped your calories to 1600 and seen what that does?
    I know it isn't what you want, but you are petite, so it may just be that for you, for a reason that we can't figure out, 1645 is a little high.

    So sorry I can't come up with anything, h.
  • ljcox7210
    ljcox7210 Posts: 57 Member
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    middlehaitch wrote: »
    @ljcox7210
    I am stumped. You should actually be able to eat more than you are.
    Have you ever dropped your calories to 1600 and seen what that does?
    I know it isn't what you want, but you are petite, so it may just be that for you, for a reason that we can't figure out, 1645 is a little high.

    So sorry I can't come up with anything, h.

    It's fine I don't expect you too! I'm grateful for your help, hopefully I'll be able to figure something out!
  • MamaLlamaThatsMe
    MamaLlamaThatsMe Posts: 22 Member
    edited November 2015
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    Maybe I shouldn't be replying since I'm a bit taller (somewhere between 5'4" and 5'5"... I like to think higher end, but I'm probably wrong!), but I do share some of the same struggles because my weight is very low. (100 pounds) I am torn between maintaining and gaining, but due to a health condition my diet is extremely restricted, and maintaining might be more reasonable at this rate, since I seem healthy otherwise. (The medical condition is independent of weight.) I am really right between petite and regular clothing. I can often wear petite pants, for example, but shirts are often to short both in the body and the sleeves. Anyway, my maintenance calories are about 1350 right now; I have been maintaining at 100 for about a month. I started trying to maintain a long time ago, at a higher weight, but I kept losing anyway, probably in relation to all the summer activity combined with my difficulties finding food that I can eat while away from home. Despite the fact that I'm slightly taller than many of you, people see me as petite or tiny. I have tiny feet too, and small measurements, so I do understand some of your clothing challenges in this thread!
  • stormyview
    stormyview Posts: 81 Member
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    LeslieB042812 wrote: »
    ljcox7210 wrote: »
    I'm 5ft 2 and 100lbs, struggling to keep the weight off unfortunately :( I feel like I'm still on a diet or I gain /:

    At 100 pounds and 5'2", you're actually classed as under weight, so that might be why it feels like such a struggle. Maybe see how you feel at 108 (the floor for healthy weight at that height).

    108 is actually the bottom of the healthy bmi range for someone who is 5'4". At 5'2", the bottom is 101, which would put someone at a bmi of 18.5.
  • jennyonthespot
    jennyonthespot Posts: 98 Member
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    Ladies, what do your workout routines look like? I'm 5'3', 139 and I'm struggling to get any lower than that. I was maintaining at 142, averaging around 1800-1900 cals a day. I had thought to maintain around this weight and just continue to improve fitness, because honestly I do NOT want to eat less! Everyone seems to be maintaining at a much lower weight than I am.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    My workouts are very inconsistent. This time of year I'm at the gym a couple of days a week for some strength training and some classes (e.g. pilates). I ski in the winter. I jog in the summer a couple of days a week. Etcetera. But I'm not all that diligent about it.

    I do get a lot of activity into my everyday life though -- I walk, cycle or use public transit to get everywhere, and I'm fairly active outside of working hours.
  • flaminica
    flaminica Posts: 304 Member
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    I don't work out per se. I find it easier to incorporate mini-workouts into my regular routine. I have a 40lb dumbbell set that sits outside my kitchen door convenient to a full-length mirror. When I'm cooking, instead of putting water on and daydreaming while it comes to a boil, I grab the weights and do a three minute routine. Add the pasta or whatever, do another three minutes, stir and drain. Put the meat in the microwave, set to defrost, do another three minutes, etc. etc.

    By the end of most days I've done 20-30 minutes of lifting and squats, most of it while cooking or talking on the phone.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    jennyonthespot wrote: »
    Ladies, what do your workout routines look like? I'm 5'3', 139 and I'm struggling to get any lower than that. I was maintaining at 142, averaging around 1800-1900 cals a day. I had thought to maintain around this weight and just continue to improve fitness, because honestly I do NOT want to eat less! Everyone seems to be maintaining at a much lower weight than I am.


    I'm not one of the low weight petites. ..I'm very happy at 132lbs..I'm lean and slim :smile: I maintain on 2100 approx. :smiley:

    My workouts look like this :
    Mon Wed and Fri - strength training x 30 mins and also a 3 to 5 mile run
    Tues and thus are cardio days and also yoga
    Weekends I walk loads.
    I average 10k steps per week to give you an idea of how much I move :smile:

    So I'm very active despite having a desk job.

    I am an early morning workout bunny and I love it :smiley:
  • LeslieB042812
    LeslieB042812 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    jennyonthespot wrote: »
    Ladies, what do your workout routines look like? I'm 5'3', 139 and I'm struggling to get any lower than that. I was maintaining at 142, averaging around 1800-1900 cals a day. I had thought to maintain around this weight and just continue to improve fitness, because honestly I do NOT want to eat less! Everyone seems to be maintaining at a much lower weight than I am.


    I'm not one of the low weight petites. ..I'm very happy at 132lbs..I'm lean and slim :smile: I maintain on 2100 approx. :smiley:

    My workouts look like this :
    Mon Wed and Fri - strength training x 30 mins and also a 3 to 5 mile run
    Tues and thus are cardio days and also yoga
    Weekends I walk loads.
    I average 10k steps per week to give you an idea of how much I move :smile:

    So I'm very active despite having a desk job.

    I am an early morning workout bunny and I love it :smiley:

    I am also not one of the low weight petites, currently at 137 (which I'm quite happy with), but aiming to still lose about 10 lbs (my all time low was 122, but that was hard to maintain and felt a bit too skinny). I couldn't imagine being less than 110, as many on this forum are. I had bones sticking out at 122! Ultimately, weight is just a number and it is dependent on so many different factors (body shape, muscle mass, etc.) that you can't say there is one right weight for a certain height. I think the core thing to remember is that everyone is different, so don't worry if your happy (and healthy) weight is higher than other people's.

    I also like to work out in the morning (even though I am NOT a morning person). It helps keep excuses from getting in the way and really helps start the morning off on a more energetic note. I'm working on getting into strength training and running, as well as yoga.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    Yeah, BMI is just a guideline based on the statistical likelihood of certain medical issues occurring at different body weights. It is not a be-all-end-all guide of how much everyone should weigh. One of the major limitations of BMI is that it's not very accurate for people with lower than average body fat, like athletes. If more of your mass is made up of muscle, then of course you're going to weigh more but probably be healthier in the long run.

    I weigh 105 at 5'1". I'd be fine with weighing 110 or 115 if I knew I was putting on muscle. The trouble is, when the scale goes up for me, it's usually because I've added fat.
  • jrwms714
    jrwms714 Posts: 421 Member
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    I am also one of those higher weight petites. I am a typical pear, tiny on top, and stocky legs and butt. I was never 100 lbs., even in my 20's. 110 lbs was my smallest and I was constantly told I was 'way too think. At 69, I am still 5'0", 135 lbs. and have been on maintenance for a year, averaging between 1500 - 1800 cals per day. I workout in the AM, cardio, weights, etc. and do it 5x/week. I do not use the BMI because it doesn't take things like muscle and build as factors. I use my clothing (size 4 to 6 petite), how I feel,and my waist circumference (much below the dreaded 35 inches).
  • ShibaEars
    ShibaEars Posts: 3,928 Member
    edited November 2015
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    jennyonthespot wrote: »
    Ladies, what do your workout routines look like? I'm 5'3', 139 and I'm struggling to get any lower than that. I was maintaining at 142, averaging around 1800-1900 cals a day. I had thought to maintain around this weight and just continue to improve fitness, because honestly I do NOT want to eat less! Everyone seems to be maintaining at a much lower weight than I am.

    I'm 30, 5'2" (and a half :wink: ), and currently about 140 pounds. I would like to lose another 10 pounds, but am focusing more on my workouts than losing weight at this point. The lowest I've weighed as an adult was 120, that was when I was 20 years old. I can't see me EVER weighing 110 pounds or less, I don't think it would look healthy on my frame. Like you, I'm tempted to not even worry about losing more weight if it means my maintenance calories are going to be a lot lower :grimace:

    I've been maintaining for the last few months around 2000 calories a day, I lift heavy four days a week, with one or two high intensity cardio workouts a week, as well as a 20-30 minute walk most days. In this current phase of my workout program, my calories are a bit lower (between 1800-1900) so it'll be interesting to see if my weight does drop a bit.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
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    I am one of the light weight petites.
    100-105 maintain (6yr), 1200-1400 cal, 5'1".
    I look awful over 110, though if I could get my act together long term and lift consistently I may look good at that number.

    I generally try to get about 60x5 a week in of something, not counting the Nerdfitness body weight stuff I do x3 a week at home.

    I am not good at steady state cardio so steps aren't a big thing for me.
    I do a mix of things changing up every few months:
    Aquafit (my go to when lazy)
    belly dancing,
    Zumba,
    yoga (just started this fall),
    Pilates & core
    Rowing machine
    Swimming (learning, hoping to do 1km by Christmas)
    And foreys into weights but terribly inconsistent. I tend to use hand weights and machines- all for the simple life.

    Exercise doesn't come natural to me, I just know I should do something, so I sign up for classes a lot of the time so I will go- I would hate to waste the money.

    I exercised as much as I knew I could commit to long term when losing, for health and fitness rather than earning extra calories but, I always ate them back anyway ( big believer in fueling the body.

    Cheers, h.
  • k80flec
    k80flec Posts: 1,623 Member
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  • jennyonthespot
    jennyonthespot Posts: 98 Member
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    I've decided to set my calorie goal to something I'd be comfortable maintaining at for the long haul, focus on improving my fitness, and letting the dust settle how it will. I'm at the high end of a healthy BMI and I'm tired of beating myself up trying to lose "just a few more lbs". I take a pretty intense hour long kickboxing class 3x a week and I'm trying to incorporate lifting on my off days. Appreciate all your feedback ladies!
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
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    jennyonthespot wrote: »
    I've decided to set my calorie goal to something I'd be comfortable maintaining at for the long haul, focus on improving my fitness, and letting the dust settle how it will. I'm at the high end of a healthy BMI and I'm tired of beating myself up trying to lose "just a few more lbs". I take a pretty intense hour long kickboxing class 3x a week and I'm trying to incorporate lifting on my off days. Appreciate all your feedback ladies!

    I"m only 4'10" and will probably maintain around 115-117. Which only puts me in the normal BMI range by the smallest smidge, or at 117 means I'm considered very slightly overweight. But I'm fine with that. In the past I've been much lighter, and honestly it was horrible. I looked weak and sickly and felt that way most of the time. I look better at a slightly higher weight, especially now that I'm older (almost 53). I also carry a lot of muscle for my size, which definitely helps. At this weight I feel strong and healthy, and I know I would lose that feeling with the loss of more weight. It's not worth it to me.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    BMI is a general guideline. Not a hard-fast rule. If you're healthy and strong, then it shouldn't matter all that much if you're at the higher end of the BMI scale, 'cause really, BMI assumes an average body composition. If you're carrying more muscle and less fat than the average, then you're gonna be healthier than someone who's lighter than you but is doing the reverse.

    Long term, having more muscle mass is really important to maintaining health, especially in our later years. I'd say that's probably the priority over going super low on the scale.

    (I'm one of those petites with very low muscle mass. But I'm working on it.)

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