Hey Petite Women! (Dieting Issues for Shorties)

HopefulMeD · July 2017

Hey Fellow Petite Women!

Is anyone else dealing with the challenge of meeting your nutritional needs - or even coming close - but not going over the calorie count in order to lose weight?

I tell people that I am 5 feet tall, but I am not. I'm 4'11" on a good day when I'm standing as straight as I possibly can! And I also range between sedentary and light activity, not because that's a choice of lifestyle, but due to injuries sustained about a year ago. I am working on those injuries but it is a slow process and I do what I can. Nevertheless, the only way I can lose weight, having packed on quite a ton since these injuries, is to cut food intake.

Even when I am at 100% physically, moderate activity level is about the best I can do. So for me, especially having dealt with weight issues my entire life, maintenance of proper nutrition and calories is how I have to live day by day - in order to be a reasonable weight, healthy, and to feel good.

But it is so tough! And those of you who are 4'9" or 4'10" or 4'11" or 5 feet -- I know you know how incredibly frustrating it is that a 10 pound weight gain on you, make that us, is enormous. 20 pounds or 30 pounds or more?

You're unrecognizable. For me, even a 7 pound weight gain means I am two sizes bigger and nothing fits.

But the really important thing is the issue of getting sufficient nutrition while not going over the calorie counts. I'm finding this to be a daily challenge. I am making progress using MFP, I am taking some specific vitamins that I hope will help, but I'd be interested to hear the experiences of others.

I also posted to the MFP feedback and suggestions area, because it annoys me to have the thousand calorie limitation on certain features. I understand the reasoning for it, but I can't lose weight at 1000 cal a day. Or rather, I would lose so excruciatingly slowly that I cannot maintain my motivation and I go off my diet. (Been there, done that, pass the yo-yo.)

I am currently losing at roughly 900 to 950 cal per day. I know I will plateau soon, and then the struggle will be to maintain motivation as I eat relatively little, and won't be losing much if at all. (I've been through all of this before, so many times, over so many years. At one point I lost 80+ pounds which was thrilling, but I was far more mobile than and 40 of that was the "divorce diet" so I'm not sure it counts!)

I've only been here for a week so... All comments, suggestions, and friends welcome!

Cheers,
Hopeful (Me) D

soupsandwich209 · July 2017

So true. I am 5 feet and the only way I can lose weight consistently is to up my cardio as soon as I hit a plateau. If it takes 2 hours of aerobics, so be it, I have nothing but time

debtay123 · July 2017

I would eat the recommended calories from MFP- THEN up my exercise and only eat back half or even 1/4 of the calories so you STILL have a deficit-yeah - it is really slow when we are short- but oh well- SUCH is life!!!! Keep up the good fight

miabellewalsh · July 2017

I have the same struggle. No injury, but as a student I am constantly busy. You can manually override the minimum calorie goal in the settings and as far as nutrient goals go, don't worry too much. If you are a smaller person, you need less of each nutrient. Think of the example of calcium; You have less bone mass than a person 6' tall, so you don't need as much calcium to maintain your bones. The USDA guidelines for nutrition are also, at best, an educated guess. If you do some digging you find they are for post-menopausal women and aren't even accurate for them. If you aren't experiencing any symptoms of deficiencies, don't worry about what the guidelines are. Stick to eating healthy, whole foods - mostly fruits and veggies - and you will meet your actual requirements.

Cheers!
-A fellow shorty

HopefulMeD · July 2017

Thanks! Will try to find that override to the settings, thank you. And like you, I figure if I get close to the guidelines, that's pretty good.

Where I am concerned is in areas where I am at best 20 to 30%, and I have to say, learning more about certain nutrients in foods (I have been supplementing my use of MFP with other research on the web this past week) is very helpful. I suspect I have been deficient in key areas for years and never knew it.

Thanks again!

tetraneutron · July 2017

I don't eat back my exercise calories. I was running for awhile but I had to stop because of knee injuries and I'm still looking for a way to exercise hard that won't cause further damage. I'm starving all the time and I still can't lose weight. So, no. I can't help, sorry. From what I've heard the best approach is to eat nutrient-dense and emotionally satisfying proper, regular meals, and get plenty of sleep because lack of sleep makes you hungry.

msjessielynn · July 2017

Listen to your body. Adjust for your injuries.

If you can, take a ten minute walk everyday...even if it only gets you to the driveway, do it...then add on. Get to the end of the street, etc..set small goals and build.

you can also add small things while at your desk, or couch...even trotting your leg (That annoying thing people do under the table that drives me nuts) is movement.

Know your limitations. You did not describe your injuries, so I am being very generic. But you know you, more than anyone else. Push where you can, but do not hurt yourself more. Movement, no matter how small, can make waves over time.

Also, something I read today. Cut yourself some slack. This change is not a sprint, but a marathon. you will trip. You will fall. You will get mad, sad, disgusted. Those days you have to take a deep breathe, open your eyes, and move forward.

MegaMooseEsq · July 2017

I guess it depends on where you start - I know that it's harder to lose the less you weigh. I'm 5'2" and started the year 75 lbs overweight and have lost 18 so far averaging as high as 2300 a month. I'm at 2000 now and moving toward 1900 next month, but it's been working so far (if slowly). We'll see how things look when I get to that last 20 lbs.

HopefulMeD · July 2017

Some great points here, thank you. Also, the insufficient sleep thing. I know that makes a huge difference and I've been an especially lousy sleeper, unable to get in a position for months we are something isn't being aggravated and hurts.

" I'm not a patient patient and I hate not being active, which caused much grumpiness and eating of ice cream..."

Yup.

everyusernamewastakenso · July 2017

Weight loss isn't a race up your calories and start moving as much as you physically can. Exercise can be found in many different forms of life, find what works for you.

bepeejaye · July 2017

Hi there! I am 5 ft. 4 in. and if I my body would have a say, all food would go to my hips, ugh. I wish I could trade them,lol. Good job so far, but I think those are too few calories to fuel your body (sorry to repeat it), but you have to feed your body right while you exercise. It may take longer, but is it not better to do lose the right way? The journey is rough but so rewarding in the end but you have to commit 100% and sometimes it really does suck, lol. You have to eat (right) more to weigh less (if that is your goal or lose fat or build Lean Body Mass). Everything in between is just white noise/excuses - there is always a choice, even though bodies are different.

You have to find other things that motivate you. For me, it is riding my motorcycle, going to a shoe store (yeah, I know, lol) or teaching Zumba. My problem had always been under-eating, and I was so frustrated. I also did a lot of cardio (about 6 days a week, sometimes twice a day). That was a few years ago. Then I started lifting more and eating more and increased my protein intake. I now am on 1690 calories/day...I eat 6 meals a day at 3-hour intervals, starting at 4 am, and I drink about a gallon of water a day. I usually have emergency protein bars/liquids in my purse, in case I cannot get to my meals but these are only for emergencies. I set the timer of my phone to remind it is time to eat. I also do not eat back my exercise calories. I wake up every morning at 3:45 am and in the gym by 4:30 am. After I lift, I do cardio followed by abs. I lift 5 days a week and cardio+abs 6 times a week. Sometimes I do not want to get out of bed, but believe it or not, finding excuses why I should not get up always get me up

I do a complete Body Comp Analysis and have a spreadsheet to track these (I tweak my macros depending on the outcome of these results)...that is how I know what am doing is working. I am stronger now too. I only take progress pictures once a month (it is always such a breath of fresh air to compare previous months!).

Sometimes I may fail to meet my macros for the day but I do not sweat it anymore (I also do get down on myself sometimes, especially because I have figured out I lose weight ever so slowly - gggrrrr!!!).Tomorrow is a new day and one just has to get back to it. If you fall off the meal plan or good foods (e.g. on weekends), do not wait till Monday. Get back right on the next meal, forgive yourself, do not put yourself down and move on - we are human after all. Do not necessarily be obsessed with caloric limits, macros, weigh scales, etc; they are like a double-edged sword - they can help but can be a fixation.

You have to set small goals and celebrate the small victories because these are the greatest motivations! Walk a longer distance than last time, do a wall push up, climb a step or two, carry a gallon of milk up and down the stairs, do sitting squats on your chair, pull a heavy object....all these count. Just be consistent and persistent.

Good luck to you!!

Sorry for the long writing

MrsPinterest34 · July 2017

I'm 5'2" ( really 5'1.5") but I round up. I know the struggle of the weight gain impact for us shorties. It's even worse if you are pear shaped like me. I started at 175lb January 2nd and as of today, 7 months later, I've lost 25lbs. I prefer the slow weight loss approach so that I don't have to restrict too much calories, I don't crash and burn, it's sustainable long term and of course I like to eat. My goal was and still is losing .5-1lb per week. Last month I only lost 1 lb but this month it's 2.5lbs so far. So, yes, expect and prepare for those slow periods along this journey.

What worked for me, eating on average 1300-1500 calories daily and once in a while I go up to 1800. But I also do brisk walking as my exercise which allows me to eat more. Even though I have my fitness watch set to 12,000 steps daily I average 15,000-17,000 steps. My Garmin watch, I think it's pretty accurate, shows that I burn 2000-2200 calories including my bmr. So im thinking on average I maintain a deficit of 400-500 calories.

Except for watching my salt intake because of my blood pressure, all I care about is counting my calories. So far this is how I'm able to continue to lose the weight and still enjoy my favorite foods, feel full and satisfied after each meal. I enjoy cooking and eating food from different cultures, I can't give that up. I just reduce the amount I eat or exercise more if I want to eat a bigger portion.

HopefulMeD · August 2017

Thanks everyone! Part of my challenge is that 1300 cal /day roughly is my maintenance weight. I do a walk at a slow or leisurely pace when I can, 10 minutes is a good day and 15 minutes is an exceptional day, but I can't manage that every day. So... food intake is all I can control.

Goober1142 · August 2017

4'11 here. Took me a year to lose 20 pounds. 1200 a day with no real exercise. My muscle tone was suffering so I started lifting heavy and now I'm pretty fit. I'm sure it was more than 1200 because I fell off the wagon more than a few times. You have to go slow or it's not sustainable and really easy to gain the weight back. I could not live on 1000 calories a day. Menopausal so I couldn't sleep either until I started taking benadryl nightly, makes me sleep like a corpse! Maybe count macros a make sure you're getting some fruits, veggies, nuts, protein and fat and you should be good.

sunabove · August 2017

Hi. I'm another. .5'1" is me and I know what you mean....any slight gain and it's straight around the middle.
I just watch what types of food I'm eating...as for nutritional .....I haven't been able to eat what is recommended but I do take supplements.

Psychgrrl · August 2017

miabellewalsh wrote: »

I have the same struggle. No injury, but as a student I am constantly busy. You can manually override the minimum calorie goal in the settings and as far as nutrient goals go, don't worry too much. If you are a smaller person, you need less of each nutrient. Think of the example of calcium; You have less bone mass than a person 6' tall, so you don't need as much calcium to maintain your bones. The USDA guidelines for nutrition are also, at best, an educated guess. If you do some digging you find they are for post-menopausal women and aren't even accurate for them. If you aren't experiencing any symptoms of deficiencies, don't worry about what the guidelines are. Stick to eating healthy, whole foods - mostly fruits and veggies - and you will meet your actual requirements.

Cheers!
-A fellow shorty

This is reall irresponsible advice! Healthy fats and protein are necessary! By the time you see the symptoms of deficiencies, you've done damage. And that's often only what you can see: hair loss/thinning, brittle nails, dull complexion, fatigue and gall stones. Loss of lean mass will occur at a greater rate as well.

It's better to make sure your body is getting the nutrients you need and have a small deficit than to deprive your body. Correcting nutritional deficiencies isn't easy. It took years for my hair to bounce back. And it's never been the same.

Also a fellow shortie.

Hey Petite Women! (Dieting Issues for Shorties)

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