Being short sucks for dieting
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ManiacalLaughManiacalLaugh
Posts: 1,028
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What sucks for me is restaurant portions and trying to fit in eating out. They don't make a "short persons" menu, and while a 700 calorie plate is only 1/3 of my bf's quota, it's 1/2 of mine. So, it's a matter of trying to figure out how much to leave on the plate (which can be tricky), or just accepting that I'm going to have to skip the accompanying cocktail and order water while he gets to indulge in two sodas.
Some restaurants will offer an a la carte menu. Those places rock. It's so much easier to order small (when you can) then try and figure out how much of your wrap you'd have to leave behind to equal 200 calorie
my bf and I split a meal, that seems to work really well. that way I can eat a few bites of the high calorie stuff, stick to the lower calorie for the bulk and we have no leftovers! of course, you have to want to eat the same thing....
Yes, because my almost 6 foot husband wants to split his meal? um no. Not happening.
I get those that are 5'5 can't eat the same as someone that is 6 feet tall. I get that. So reduce that weight by another half a foot lol. Now you are really having to reduce the allowance on calories daily.
I don't think anyone said anything about those that are taller being able to eat whatever they want?!?. unless I missed that part. You might be reading into things that are not even posted.
I can't drop 5 lbs in one week like my friends who are taller. I can drop maybe .5 a lbs when I push hard. The BMI drop will be around the same, but the lbs wont be. So we will both take the same amount (BMI wise) to drop the same "look" amount. I just have to work harder and eat way less then her
boo
And you are exactly right! No one notices if you go up or down 10 pounds, but EVERYONE notices if I go up 10 lbs when you are under 5 feet!
You know those dreaded 10 lbs taller people complain are so hard to drop? That is pretty much what weight loss feels for most short people. That part of dieting when you have to push the hardest constantly to get any wiggle out of the weight. That..
someone this short can't just reduce how much they eat to drop the weight. I have to also add in workout. Period. I have seem MANY friends drop calories to 1500 a day ( omg I could never afford that many in a day) and still drop 1 lbs a week without changing any other lifestyle habits. I would have to drop to 700 cals a day to do that lol Just not viable.
If you haven't been there since you were 10-11 years old, you can't relate and understand. Sorry.
And gawd, let us horizontally challenged complain a bit! Is it that hard to just empathize with someone these days and let them get it off their chest without chastising them and trying to prove a point?
oi.
I just want a thread to complain .. mutually, with others that feel they want to complain about being short lol so hard.. so hard..
complain away..... just realize us tall people have the same struggles...... and my bf is 6'2" fyi..... (he is one of those can't gain a pound guys so it works for us)
so come complain away with us for a bit lol.. Will call you.. Tall short
I don't think anyone thinks any part of this journey is easy.. it's just nice to vent and get it off ones shoulders.. you know?
And then laugh and poke at it.. We all know this is first world problems. I have more food than I know what to do with and that is my PROBLEM. wow.. poor me..
But sometimes.. kicking back and just lightening up is good
I still need a zero calorie chocolate bar to be created.
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Scaredycat2 wrote: »
Climbing on the counter strengthens arms and core and probably burns a half a cal per climb
Thus climb away fellow shorties! 0 -
Scaredycat2 wrote: »
Climbing on the counter strenghtens arms and core and probably burns a half a cal per climb Thus climb away fellow shorties!
LOL, you guys are cracking me up
I don't climb the shelves at the store, but I am mighty tempted sometimes when things are on the top shelf.
The clerk will ask if you found everything ok, and I will answer to myself, yeah, but I couldn't reach it.
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WinoGelato wrote: »Using height as an excuse that weight loss is more difficult, isn't really valid.
Glad to know I'm not the only one thinking this.
I'm 5' 1.75" and 139#. I maintain on 1900 calories. Saying "I'm a shortie and am so limited on how much I can eat!" is an excuse. It's as bad as females b!tching about not being able to eat as much as males. Stop it. The only reason being short sucks is the inability to reach the top shelf without climbing on the counters.
This. It is right up there with my other pet peeve of women who complain about or are seemingly surprised about weight fluctuations due to their period.
I always find the belief that if you are a petite female of a certain age that you are doomed to a lifetime of eating 1200 cals in order to lose weight to be really disheartening to hear because it is so prevalent on this site.
I'm 5'2, 41 years old, and I lost 30 lbs eating between 1500-1900 cals. I'm now maintaining around 120 lbs and my TDEE is 2200 per my FitBit. I have a desk job and my exercise is walking (15K steps/day) and light weights a couple times a week.
So much this! Bitching about being female and how it's harder to lose weight is bad for all females.
As for the short thing, meh I've always been jealous of my short friends. If they lose 10 pounds they go down 2 dress sizes. If I lose 10 lbs you can't even tell (although I admit the same applies to gaining 10lbs). But it takes so long to go down a dress size when you're tall.0 -
kommodevaran wrote: »Hi there I'm only 5'3 / 1.5m - and even after I reach my goal I'd still be 10kg within the healthy weight for my height - I can't even imagine eating any less that I am right now, I can't believe anyone my height can be skinny!!
I really envy tall people who can seem to eat so much more. I realise I could do a lot more exercise but that's something I'm working on.
That doesn't even make any sense. We shorties can't eat very large amounts of food without getting fat, but we get full on smaller amounts. Tall people eat more because they need more.
5'3 is more like 1.60.
I wish, but I do not get full on smaller amounts. I can keep up with the men in my life in terms of appetite. I'd love to eat like the dainty, 5ft nothing that I am! :-)0 -
Maybe try to eat something every few hours. I'm also short and I find that eating 3 meals with a small snack in between helps to curb my hunger and keep my craving at bay too. (for the most part) Always try to have some sort of protein though with each meal and snack.0
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Scaredycat2 wrote: »
Climbing on the counter strengthens arms and core and probably burns a half a cal per climb Thus climb away fellow shorties!
Time to create an exercise database entry for "shelf-climbing, supermarket, 2 tiers"?
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You're not that short.
I'm 4'11 5/8", and I don't have a problem staying lean. I watch my intake, work out regularly, and have reasonable treats that won't derail my progress. There are just as many tall and average-height people who are overweight as there are short people. It's more about your lifestyle than your height.0 -
yes!! I'm under 5 feet.. about the bloody size of a 5th grader
.. it SUCKS.
You have to workout harder.. you have to eat less. You can't eat like other adults do and maintain. impossible. lol
I'm pissy about it also haha.. I know there is nothing I can do about it. I get that in the grand scheme of things, it is really a first world problem .. blah blah blah.
But it still SUUUCKS.. lol I hear you!
Yeah! I mean when you go for a meal or buy food out its all just one size. It's no fun cutting a burger in half. I have an appetite much bigger than my frame, don't we all to varying degrees? Isn't that why why anyone would want to lose weight?
I found the problem. If you expect weightloss, healthy eating and fitness (hell, we can apply that to LIFE entirely) to be nothing but "fun", you're going to have a miserable time of it. Which by they way you're talking, sounds like you already are.
Life sucks, there are things we do that we might rather not do. I don't particularly find wiping my @$$ to be "fun", but I do it anyway without complaining, because that's what needs to happen if I want to continue smelling nice and not getting a gnarly rash. Cut the damn burger if that's what needs to happen to reach your goals.
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I eat a lot of half portions in restaurants. I remember looking at restaurant menus and freaking about about the totals, until I realized that I don't need that much food most of the time. When I will eat the other half later I will take it home, but sometimes I won't, and it gets wasted. Yes, I did learn growing up that it's a sin to waste food. But if I eat it all, it's still wasted and will show up as fat on my body! I would prefer it in the trash can!0
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snowflake930 wrote: »Scaredycat2 wrote: »
Climbing on the counter strenghtens arms and core and probably burns a half a cal per climb Thus climb away fellow shorties!
LOL, you guys are cracking me up
I don't climb the shelves at the store, but I am mighty tempted sometimes when things are on the top shelf.
The clerk will ask if you found everything ok, and I will answer to myself, yeah, but I couldn't reach it.
Haha I have ZERO shame in asking strangers in the aisle to grab things for me off the top shelf!0 -
Scaredycat2 wrote: »Scaredycat2 wrote: »
Climbing on the counter strengthens arms and core and probably burns a half a cal per climb Thus climb away fellow shorties!
Time to create an exercise database entry for "shelf-climbing, supermarket, 2 tiers"?
I quite like the 'not able to reach the top shelf' problem. I take it as an opportunity to ask the next good looking tall guy who wanders by for help. I have been known to loiter for a good five minutes while waiting for someone to turn up! Men seem to like being asked as there's usually a lot of smiling involved. It makes them feel ... useful or something? (Or it could be a pitying smile? lol)
Side note, I'm 5'4" and I wouldn't like to be shorter, so shorties, ye have my sympathy for your low cal woes.
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That's when you start lifting to get muscles. Then you feed the muscles! More food, yay!0
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Scaredycat2 wrote: »Scaredycat2 wrote: »
Climbing on the counter strengthens arms and core and probably burns a half a cal per climb Thus climb away fellow shorties!
Time to create an exercise database entry for "shelf-climbing, supermarket, 2 tiers"?
I quite like the 'not able to reach the top shelf' problem. I take it as an opportunity to ask the next good looking tall guy who wanders by for help. I have been known to loiter for a good five minutes while waiting for someone to turn up! Men seem to like being asked as there's usually a lot of smiling involved. It makes them feel ... useful or something? (Or it could be a pitying smile? lol)
Side note, I'm 5'4" and I wouldn't like to be shorter, so shorties, ye have my sympathy for your low cal woes.
Works with spiders too!0 -
5'2 here and my biggest problem has always been my sweet tooth, not regular food. Nobody mentioned the sweet tooth. I don't need to eat a huge portion of cake to add on 500 cals to my goal. Even now that I'm losing I still eat close to 400-500 cals a night on just sweets. That's almost half of my cal goal. I baked a lot and ate everything I baked. I'm not talking half a batch of cookies, I'm talking 3-4 of them and that's it, I'm over. Sweets have always been my undoing and it doesn't take much.0
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Yeah it kinda sucks, but these are the cards you are dealt. I used to whine about it until some of my MFP friends told me to shut up and actually do cardio if I want to eat more (and yes I still love them dearly). I chose to shut up and not do cardio because it's not worth it (that's how much I hate cardio).
I am literally RELEARNING how to eat, for my smaller self. It is difficult. I would like 2500 calories per day, or at least 2000-2200. I can have 1800. Period.0 -
I'm 5'0". I'm always gonna wish I was taller so I could eat more. lolmrsnazario1219 wrote: »5'2 here and my biggest problem has always been my sweet tooth, not regular food. Nobody mentioned the sweet tooth. I don't need to eat a huge portion of cake to add on 500 cals to my goal. Even now that I'm losing I still eat close to 400-500 cals a night on just sweets. That's almost half of my cal goal. I baked a lot and ate everything I baked. I'm not talking half a batch of cookies, I'm talking 3-4 of them and that's it, I'm over. Sweets have always been my undoing and it doesn't take much.
Yep. Sweets are my downfall, too. I am learning to be satisfied with less thanks to a low carb, high fat diet. I love my low carb brownies, chocolate peanut butter fat bombs, and "cookie dough" bites. I just try my best to fit them within my calorie goal.
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I will forever be jealous of people who are taller than me, but I have come to just accept that this is how Im gonna have to live my life if I wanna maintain my weight. (I'm 5'1). Im not gonna be able to eat as much as everyone I know. I wont burn as many calories doing what they do, and I'm gonna probably have to say no to things that I enjoy a lot if I dont wanna walk around hungry all day. Its a sacrifice you make. If its important enough to you, you will do what it takes.0
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Not really your height that matters for TDEE, it's your weight (and activity, of course). Just plugged in 120 pounds at 5'7" and 120 pounds at 5'0" into a few BMR calculators, and the difference was 10-30 calories. Activity calories will also be about the same at the same weight.
I'm 5'7" 120 lbs and maintain on 2000-2200 calories per day because I'm active, not because I'm tall. I run about 10 miles a week and do weight/resistance work 4 x/wk, average about 13000-14000 steps per day (including the running). If I was sedentary, maintenance would be 1400-1500.0 -
tkphotogirl wrote: »
I'm with you! I gained 65 pounds in my first 10 years of marriage, eating what hubby did!!! Finally got my act together, and I've lost over 30 pounds since last August.
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I"m 5"8 and my TDEE at sedentary is around 1952 calories but is way more than that due to exercise. If I was 5" and sedentary my TDEE would be 1666.
Exercise is the key, if you are able of course. Just walking gives me plenty of extra calories to make dieting more bearable.
My 5"2 daughter can pack away twice the amount of food I can!! My 5"11 husband eats way less than me.0 -
I'm not short, but I totally get it. So little wiggle room. When going out to eat for taller people is easier, it can be a whole day's worth of food for a short person. But that doesn't mean the food will leave them unhungry all day. I may be 5' 6" but I still wish I were either 6' 0" or addicted to exercise with a physical job!!0
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^^^ Yeah I think most everyone wishes they could eat more no matter what their height, especially without having to work for each extra calorie...0
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I'm 5'2 and 139 lbs. I'm currently on a 1200 calorie diet and I don't seem to have problems with that. I've lost steady 1.1-1.2 lbs/week since I started (7 weeks ago). I always eat very little anyway and the only reason I packed a couple extra pounds was snacking. So now that I weigh my snacks I find it simple to pack some snacks or chocolate in my everyday. I do not crave any food in general (exception at period time lol) so I have to admit it is easier for me. I do however like food and it's exciting for me to plan my meals to satisfy my nutritional needs. I could see myself living like this in general, I'm not hungry or lacking anything (I feel like I'm actually eating more since I'm eating more real food and less snacks), so I think when I reach my goal at 120-125 I will have no problem maintaining - as long as I keep my snacks weighed 0
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I bet Localgrr really regrets starting this thread. Some of you get the need for us to have a moan and whine a bit and have joined in and some of you just choose to use this thread to effectively tell us we're awful people for having a bit of light hearted whingeing about how hard it is to lose weight. That goes for everyone btw not just short people.
I've spent a lot of time of these boards over the last few weeks since starting my serious attempt at sorting out my weight. There's a lot of good advice and some really lovely people. But there is also a lot of self righteous, loving the sound of their own voice, preachy, judgemental, sense of humour left with the weight, *kitten* hats on these boards.
If when you preview a reply you are writing to someone it reads like you are going to make them feel bad about themselves then re-write it with a bit of empathy. Everyone has their own struggles and I for one do not respond well to being told I am stupid/making excuses/worthless. You are not my drill sergeant you are supposed to be supportive. End of rant.0 -
I posted right at the beginning of this thread that yeah it sucks to be small but, personally got over it accepted I have to eat little blah blah blah.
Well found out after husband measured me I've lost an inch ( or more likely was never 5ft) and am now just 4'11"0 -
I bet Localgrr really regrets starting this thread. Some of you get the need for us to have a moan and whine a bit and have joined in and some of you just choose to use this thread to effectively tell us we're awful people for having a bit of light hearted whingeing about how hard it is to lose weight. That goes for everyone btw not just short people.
Haha not at all but OMG I had no idea what a nerve this would strike!! I'm pretty new to MFP and the community vibe here is overwhelming. This is the closest a thread has come to trolling though... of course I realise we all have our different struggles short or tall
Brava, brava. I think "just exercise more" or "just eat less" is kinda implied, remember you all started somewhere...If when you preview a reply you are writing to someone it reads like you are going to make them feel bad about themselves then re-write it with a bit of empathy.
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I hate being 5ft - a couple of extra inches would make a big difference to my motorbike choice, clothes choices, being able to reach the top shelf etc etc. I hate looking like a weeble more though hence the quest to lose weight. I love food so it has to fit in. Hell if I want a big mac I would eat it, likewise meals out but I would seriously have to cut back elsewhere to cover it. My biggest peeve is the packaging - average calories for a woman 2000 per day RDA. Well thats fine if you are an average height lady but so many of us are not. MFP won't let me go below 1200, my TDEE is 1742 (using scoobys calculator) its a struggle sometimes as we all have days where we are hungrier (yesterday I could have eaten my own arm!)
Its coming off slowly - 20lbs down so far since the end of September last year. Lost just over 10% of my total bodyweight and my next goal is 15% and I'm hoping for that by Easter. 5.1lbs to go lol.0
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