Short Girl Problem

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kc116206
kc116206 Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello! I am 5'2" and struggling to loose weight at a steady pace. It has taken me almost 3 months to lose 12 pounds. I have tried changing my exercise routine, changing my meals to six small ones a day and still I am stuck at a number for a few months then all the sudden I will lose 3 pound. None of this makes sense to me. Is it harder for short girls to lose weight? I work out 5 days a week and go for walks almost everyday too. Is it supposed to take that long? Just want to make sure I am on track. :-)

Replies

  • Vegplotter
    Vegplotter Posts: 265 Member
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    I agree. Because you are small you'll never win the biggest loser race. Just keep doing whatever you are doing.
  • kc116206
    kc116206 Posts: 6 Member
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    I am currently 161 pounds with a goal of 125 - 135. :)
  • jhmomofmany
    jhmomofmany Posts: 571 Member
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    Congrats on your loss so far! I'm tall, and I've lost six pounds in the last three months. It's not your height. :) Progress is still progress even if it's slower than you'd like. If your plan is to lose the weight and NOT gain it back then slow and steady is really best. Keep it up! :)
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    SoDamnHungry wrote: »
    Losing 12 pounds over three months is REALLY good. That's an average of a pound a week. Depending on your current weight, that may even be too aggressive.

    Yup yup. You're kicking assy so keep doing what you're doing. That's great progress. I know it's slower than what you'd like to see but it's honestly really really good.

    kc116206 wrote: »
    I am currently 161 pounds with a goal of 125 - 135. :)

    You can do it. Just keep in mind that it is easier to lose weight when you're over weight quite a bit. The closer you get to your goal the longer it's going to take to lose a pound but then by that time you won't need to lose much. Just don't get frustrated and give up.
  • auzziecawth
    auzziecawth Posts: 244 Member
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    Being short your calorie window is smaller, your exercise burns are smaller. There's little room for error and it's hard to make a large deficit to lose fast. You have done good at around a pound of week, keep up the good work and you will get there :)
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    you are doing good. at 5'3" i understand. keep it up, keep weighing your food and logging and it will go again. it just takes time and sometimes there is a stall and then a woosh
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    It's not harder, but all numbers are smaller for smaller people than for larger people. The percentage is the same though. You can expect to lose up to 1% of your total body weight per week, as long as you are overweight/obese. Your weight loss rate is excellent.

    Meal timing and exercise has little impact on weight loss. Focus on accurate logging and correct measuring of results. Stick to your calorie goal - track accurately and honestly - be patient - and weigh yourself regularly and consistently. You need lots of reliable data points over a long period to see the trend. What you are experiencing is totally normal. The weight graph will never show a straight line.
  • itsthehumidity
    itsthehumidity Posts: 351 Member
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    kc116206 wrote: »
    Hello! I am 5'2" and struggling to loose weight at a steady pace. It has taken me almost 3 months to lose 12 pounds. I have tried changing my exercise routine, changing my meals to six small ones a day and still I am stuck at a number for a few months then all the sudden I will lose 3 pound. None of this makes sense to me. Is it harder for short girls to lose weight? I work out 5 days a week and go for walks almost everyday too. Is it supposed to take that long? Just want to make sure I am on track. :-)

    I'm guessing you've been reading magazines or something that promise losing 30 pounds a month or 8 pounds in 5 days or something.

    The reason you're confused and frustrated (where the diet and fitness industry generally wants you to be) is for two reasons:
    1. You have unrealistic expectations about the rate of weight loss. 1lb/week is very good and possibly a bit aggressive depending on your circumstances.
    2. You haven't learned how weight loss works. It's not a smooth, steady, linear thing from day to day. The body hangs on to water one day, lets it go the next, hangs on for three more days, lets it all go next. There's a "noise" of fluid flux above the "signal" of fat loss.

    You can see there are several variables at play here, and you may guess (correctly) that one number on a scale can't describe the interaction of all those variables. Once people learn about this, they typically come to the conclusion that they wish to weigh themselves less often. Maybe every two weeks. That allows them to see the trend of fat loss without worrying about the daily and natural ups and downs of fluids.
  • MTgal477
    MTgal477 Posts: 829 Member
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    I'm 5'3" and I've lost 42 pounds since January....it hasn't been easy, but who's journey really is? Working out and losing weight is HARD at any size! It sounds like you're on the right track though. Maybe try throwing in some new exercises or increasing the intensity? You'll get there!
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    1 lb a week is awesome! It's hard to be patient, especially when the media is throwing all these crazy weight loss rates at you, but seriously - a lb a week is perfect. Keep it up!!!
  • heartofplastic
    heartofplastic Posts: 68 Member
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    Sounds normal to me, I'm 5'1 and it took me 2 months to lose 8 pounds. I'm 104 now and still want to lose another 6 lbs and they say the last few pounds are always the hardest bc there's less weight to lose. I'm gonna keep going at it though!!!
  • kc116206
    kc116206 Posts: 6 Member
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    Thank You to everyone for the encouragement! It seems like I'm not doing as poorly as I thought. :-)
  • leejoyce31
    leejoyce31 Posts: 794 Member
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    itsthehumidity wrote: »
    kc116206 wrote: »
    Hello! I am 5'2" and struggling to loose weight at a steady pace. It has taken me almost 3 months to lose 12 pounds. I have tried changing my exercise routine, changing my meals to six small ones a day and still I am stuck at a number for a few months then all the sudden I will lose 3 pound. None of this makes sense to me. Is it harder for short girls to lose weight? I work out 5 days a week and go for walks almost everyday too. Is it supposed to take that long? Just want to make sure I am on track. :-)

    I'm guessing you've been reading magazines or something that promise losing 30 pounds a month or 8 pounds in 5 days or something.

    The reason you're confused and frustrated (where the diet and fitness industry generally wants you to be) is for two reasons:
    1. You have unrealistic expectations about the rate of weight loss. 1lb/week is very good and possibly a bit aggressive depending on your circumstances.
    2. You haven't learned how weight loss works. It's not a smooth, steady, linear thing from day to day. The body hangs on to water one day, lets it go the next, hangs on for three more days, lets it all go next. There's a "noise" of fluid flux above the "signal" of fat loss.

    You can see there are several variables at play here, and you may guess (correctly) that one number on a scale can't describe the interaction of all those variables. Once people learn about this, they typically come to the conclusion that they wish to weigh themselves less often. Maybe every two weeks. That allows them to see the trend of fat loss without worrying about the daily and natural ups and downs of fluids.


    Spot on about that dreaded "noise" of fluid flux. Sometimes, it seems like I can retain fluid for 4 weeks just for hormonal reasons. It's really true and if you don't understand that, it will mess with your mind and cause you to become discouraged.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
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    Folks are right about the slower rate of loss, especially as you get closer to your goal. We shorties have less wiggle room. :disappointed: Be sure and adjust your calorie goal every ten pounds. But slow and steady wins the race. :smiley:

    I'm 5'3 and 119. My maintenance is 1440. I'm set to sedentary because I prefer my steps/workouts be added in after as a precaution in case I have a less active day. I do crisis management on a college campus and my days can be a tad unpredictable.

    If I were trying to lose, I'd be going for about .25 lbs per week (ish). My BMR is about 1200.

    Keep at it! You're doing awesome so far!!!

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