Petite Girl 5’0” Plateau - last 15 lbs
nadnan91
Posts: 15 Member
I began my weight loss journey at 165+ pounds last year and now I’m down to 131 as of today. I’m trying to get down to 115 because I think that’s healthy weight for me but these last 15 have been so so hard to lose. For a long time I was teetering around 135 and when I did lose a few pounds here and there after a week if I say had a couple of cheats meals I would gain those few pounds back. Has anyone else had this issue? I could really use any recommendations or suggestions because I’m trying to get down to 115 by September. Any advice is appreciated!
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Replies
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Honestly, 15 pounds in about as many weeks isn't really realistic for someone your size. A much healthier goal would be to lose approximately .5lb per week.
What are you doing now for weight loss? What is your daily deficit? Are you exercising?4 -
I hate the scale, I measure by the mirror. Just remember muscle looks better then fat, but weighs more. My advice for losing weight is drink a lot of water, get 1 hour of cardio in a day, easy a lot of veggies, and be consistent.9
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michelle172415 wrote: »Honestly, 15 pounds in about as many weeks isn't really realistic for someone your size. A much healthier goal would be to lose approximately .5lb per week.
What are you doing now for weight loss? What is your daily deficit? Are you exercising?
I actually have lost one to two pounds a week before that’s why I thought my goal was attainable by September. However that’s only when I really really control my diet (no refined carbs, sugar, and extreme portion control). Right now I do cardio atleast four times a week (moderate intensity for 45 mins or so) then a half hour of strength training for core, arms, legs etc. I try to stick to 1500 cals a day (whole
Grains, veggies, proteins, nuts, nonfat dairy, fruit).0 -
I am 5'0" as well and hover between 118-125. When I am 125 I feel frumpy and at 118 I feel like I look good but my energy is not always good. I do weight training and exercise quite a bit and know that for an ol 44 year old woman that in order for me to be less than 118 I would have to be extremely low body fat or lose muscle mass. I would adjust your goals 5 lbs at a time at this point. See what you can do to drop into that 125 range and see how you feel. That might be the sweet spot for you or maybe 120 range. If I get all the way down to 115 I feel and look horrible.
The last 10-15 are also the trickiest as it the closest to maintenance as you are going to get so as my final thoughts. Set your calorie goals to your maintenance goals at your goal weight. That could mean it is a bit less than your maintenance goals at your current weight. Just start living the life you want to live and how you want to live and within the calorie goals of a person who is between 115-125 lbs and see where that gets you. It might be slow but it will be sustainable.2 -
At our size, you have to be very tight in your logging once you get in a healthy weight range, but it is possible. 1-2 lbs a week is not very realistic when you are small and no longer over weight.
Everyone is different, but when I got down below 120 at 5'0" I was doing 10-12 hrs of intense activity a week (roller derby, rock climbing, power lifting) and eating about 1600-1700 calories a day to lose 0.75 lbs/week, and even that was not consist. Cheat days, summer parties, and big restaurant dinners out basically wiped out my deficit for the week.
I went from 137-108. It took about 6 months to lose the first 20 lbs, and another 6 months to lose the last 10. But...the last 15 lbs made a huge difference in appearance. I could see a difference every 5 lbs and I went down more than 2 dress sizes in that 15 lbs. I was very happy with the results, but it really tried my patience.6 -
I am in the same boat with you! At 5"2' I started at 160, dropped to 136 with calorie counting and exercise, and have just been stuck here. I keep trying different exercise techniques (right now I am strength training 3 times a week 40 minutes, cardio 3 times a week 20 minutes), nothing seems to work. I keep trying different diets and they don't seem to help either. I tried dropping my calorie intake lower, and lower, and now am at 1180. It is too few calories and I end up cheating all the time because I am hungry, so I am bumping it back up to 1200. I eat mostly veggies, and chicken. I do typically have a few drinks on the weekend, so maybe that is what my problem is.
If you find the secret, let me know! I am very interested too
We can get this! 2 -
Hello and congratulations on your weight loss so far! We both have similar stats, as I am also 5'0 and started last year around this time at about 143 pounds. I am currently down to 101 but not actively trying to lose anymore. To lose weight, I have had to keep my net calories at around 1200 throughout this journey. Early on, I was easily dropping 1-2 pounds a week even up through February/March of this year. After that, however, "plateaus" in my weight loss were much more common and would unfortunately last longer. On top of that, being a woman, I tend to gain weight at both my TOM and during ovulation which makes trying to find consistency in my weight loss an even greater struggle. It was incredibly frustrating to see what I viewed as a lack of progress when I felt my food logging, exercise, and consistency was on point.
What I had to do was alter my expectations and understand that if I wanted to lose more vanity pounds that it was going to take much longer than I had anticipated. Your weight will not continue to drop at the same rate as it did early on, and being small and already eating so few calories, you need to be very, very patient. I began to transition from looking at weekly weigh-ins to measure progress and instead switched to logging my progress on Libra which is an app that tracks my daily weight and provides a more long-term average for me to see (a trend of my weight loss). This has been extremely helpful for me, as you will be able to see common patterns in your weight more clearly and during these plateau times you will still be able to see how your weight in general is dropping as your daily fluctuations will become more frequent (and distracting).
Personally, with only 15 pounds left, I would also continue to incorporate cardio in your workouts so that you can keep adding a few extra calories for each week/day, but if you haven't already, I would also start up with more strength training. This has also helped me achieve a better look than what I was seeing before and it will make the slower progress on the scale easier to "accept" as you will be able to visually see your progress over time.
I hope this helps a bit and best of luck to you!4 -
I'm your height and maintaining at 110-115 lb.
You are not going to lose 15 pounds in 2.5 months. This is not a reasonable or healthy goal. You should be aiming to lose half a pound per week, and don't be surprised if it happens more slowly than that. Being very short and close to your goal means your deficit is going to be very small.
Depending on what you mean by "cheat meal," you could very well be wiping out your entire week's calorie deficit. If you stay within your calorie goal on six days and then eat far outside it on the seventh day, you are likely putting yourself in maintenance or even in a surplus.9 -
Tighten up your logging. Stick to your allotted calories and make sure you log your cheats as well. I am 5'3" and I started at 149. Just got to 115 last week, but it took very meticulous logging. Consistency is key. Your cheat meals may very well be destroying all of your progress.6
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While I’m not petite I do think the process of losing the last 10-15lb is fairly universal. You have no more room for error logging so you really need to carefully weigh and measure everything, even those “cheat” meals. Loss slows down towards the end once you’re in a healthy range too so a goal of 2lb a week isn’t realistic. You will likely get frustrated because it won’t happen and sacrifice more muscle in the process. It took me 6mo to lose my last 10lb. I could’ve probably done it in half that time but maintaining muscle and body composition was important to me.
My best advice -
1. Weight, measure, and log everything
2. Set a realistic goal of 0.5-1lb a week max
3. Look at your weekly calorie average because some days you will be over or under but the trend over time is what will get you there
4. Start strength training for body composition now4 -
Thank you everyone! And yes I think cheat meals are an absolute no no at this point! Any other tips and tricks for petite women losing the last 15?1
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Thank you everyone! And yes I think cheat meals are an absolute no no at this point! Any other tips and tricks for petite women losing the last 15?
I don't think they are an absolute no no. But maybe log them if you find you aren't losing. I was able to lose the last 10lbs with one cheat day (without logging) per week. It's all individual. I just kept my weekday calories to 1200 so that I averaged 1400-1600 with my cheat day.2 -
Thank you everyone! And yes I think cheat meals are an absolute no no at this point! Any other tips and tricks for petite women losing the last 15?
Again, it depends on what you mean by “cheat meal,” which is one of the many reasons why I don’t support using that term. You can have large meals sometimes if you are still in a calorie deficit for the week. You cannot lose weight if your larger meal puts you out of a deficit for the week. You should also not be surprised if the scale goes up after a larger meal due to undigested food and water fluctuation.4 -
I agree with not ruling out "cheat" days. I am putting this in quotes because I need to put this into a better context. When I say cheat, I mean days where you may go over your net calorie allotment but still log and record the surplus calories as accurately as you can. These "cheat" days or meals are sometimes needed for your sanity as you continue to incorporate your same level of exercise and calorie deficit. I would also recommend instead of these cheat days/meals to consider eating at the maintenance calories that MFP gives you for a few days here and there.
When I was still trying to lose weight but had very few pounds to reach my goal, my calories were still given as 1200, but when I started to feel starved and saw such little progress made on the scale, I jumped up my calories to maintenance of 1370 and just ate to that level. With exercise, I still found I was able to lose at the same rate as I was when eating 1200 calories. The point being, you can lose at a healthy rate in many ways and at this point with little to lose, do not deprive yourself of a few extra calories if you are continuing to incorporate cardio and strength training into your daily routine. Your body will thank you for it!
Just as a side story as well--a few months back I attended a wedding. I had planned to just eat at maintenance and enjoy myself for the weekend. However, I found myself within 24 hours gorging in spreads of pancake breakfasts, pasta feasts, and three pieces of cheesecake...and wedding cake. I ended up 1300 calories over my maintenance level for the two days, but only about 100 or so over for the week. It did not move the scale in any direction. I went right back to my normal routine and continued to lose after that without depriving myself for the days that followed. Don't be afraid to live and enjoy your life on this journey a bit.2 -
I'm 5'0 and currently 109lbs so I can relate to how hard it is to lose. I'm gonna tell you what I do and take it as you will. It's not something you should do all the time but it has helped me.
When I am trying to shake up my routine because the scale just isn't moving, I usually reduce my intake pretty low for the day. Follow it with some light walking (usually 3 miles or so) in the evening, nothing really intensive or fast, just a good amount to kickstart digestion if that's whats keeping the number up. I also drink a lot more water than usual. The next day I may see a spike because of water weight from muscle recovery, but after that it drops.
Also I agree with everyone else about logging food: I can eat a little over my goal one day and undo almost a whole week's worth of deficit. It's tough for tiny girls trying to lose weight. But the encouraging bit is that a couple of pounds lost looks much more impressive on us.
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My issue is that if I eat a cheat meal it gives this signal to my brain that says “oh go ahead have a cupcake or a cookie nbd” so I think I just fall off the rails that’s why I think going cold turkey until I’m at my goal weight might help? Thoughts?0
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My issue is that if I eat a cheat meal it gives this signal to my brain that says “oh go ahead have a cupcake or a cookie nbd” so I think I just fall off the rails that’s why I think going cold turkey until I’m at my goal weight might help? Thoughts?
Have you considered having 're-feed days'? Cheat meal - for those who still have issues (and using that term very loosely here - is a bad term (I think). For me, it is all about mindset so I get somewhat particular with words....in the context of MFP.
A re-feed day is something close to the below:
1. you are in a caloric deficit
2. you up your caloric intake - likely for two days in a row - to maintenance
3. Assuming that you have macro goals, your protein and fats remain constant while your carbs are increased
4. You can do this split over two days (so, maybe on Wednesday and Saturday - days you do legs, maybe) if you like.
A Re-feed day helps big time. In lots of ways.0 -
My issue is that if I eat a cheat meal it gives this signal to my brain that says “oh go ahead have a cupcake or a cookie nbd” so I think I just fall off the rails that’s why I think going cold turkey until I’m at my goal weight might help? Thoughts?
You can have a cupcake or a cookie if it fits into your calorie budget. You can have a larger meal if it fits into your calorie budget. When I was losing weight, I ate chocolate every day. (Now that I'm in maintenance, I eat more chocolate every day.) I also went out to eat almost every weekend. However, those restaurant meals either coincided with my long run days, or I only ate 1-2 meals that day to make it fit.1 -
Hello and congratulations on your weight loss so far! We both have similar stats, as I am also 5'0 and started last year around this time at about 143 pounds. I am currently down to 101 but not actively trying to lose anymore. To lose weight, I have had to keep my net calories at around 1200 throughout this journey. Early on, I was easily dropping 1-2 pounds a week even up through February/March of this year. After that, however, "plateaus" in my weight loss were much more common and would unfortunately last longer. On top of that, being a woman, I tend to gain weight at both my TOM and during ovulation which makes trying to find consistency in my weight loss an even greater struggle. It was incredibly frustrating to see what I viewed as a lack of progress when I felt my food logging, exercise, and consistency was on point.
What I had to do was alter my expectations and understand that if I wanted to lose more vanity pounds that it was going to take much longer than I had anticipated. Your weight will not continue to drop at the same rate as it did early on, and being small and already eating so few calories, you need to be very, very patient. I began to transition from looking at weekly weigh-ins to measure progress and instead switched to logging my progress on Libra which is an app that tracks my daily weight and provides a more long-term average for me to see (a trend of my weight loss). This has been extremely helpful for me, as you will be able to see common patterns in your weight more clearly and during these plateau times you will still be able to see how your weight in general is dropping as your daily fluctuations will become more frequent (and distracting).
Personally, with only 15 pounds left, I would also continue to incorporate cardio in your workouts so that you can keep adding a few extra calories for each week/day, but if you haven't already, I would also start up with more strength training. This has also helped me achieve a better look than what I was seeing before and it will make the slower progress on the scale easier to "accept" as you will be able to visually see your progress over time.
I hope this helps a bit and best of luck to you!
Thank you! I do have a question - what is your diet with 1200 cals a day? Also, are the last 15 for me really vanity pounds? I ask because according to the BMI chart a female at 5 feet tall and 130 pounds is still considered overweight!0 -
Mouse_Potato wrote: »Tighten up your logging. Stick to your allotted calories and make sure you log your cheats as well. I am 5'3" and I started at 149. Just got to 115 last week, but it took very meticulous logging. Consistency is key. Your cheat meals may very well be destroying all of your progress.
Congratulations on getting to 115!!! Besides tracking your meals and consistency, what else did you do exactly? And yes I agree with you the cheat meals are most likely my problem.0 -
OP, I'm 5'1, and I don't do what I consider to be cheat meals. Yes, there are certain foods I prefer to eat for my health, and there are foods I'd prefer I didn't eat for my health. I try to aim to eat 80% foods preferred for my health and allow (if I feel I want them) 20% for foods I'd prefer not to eat for my health, but that I probably crave.
Then, I just track them. Most of the time if I have a food that's less desirable for my health, I aim to keep the portion of it within my calories for that day as much as I possibly can. I find this works better for me than when I used to do cheat meals. When I used to do cheat meals, I'd spend the rest of the week thinking about cheat day and getting worked up about it. Now, I eat the less desirable food, track it and forget about it, and now I find my mind has more constructive thoughts.1 -
Mouse_Potato wrote: »Tighten up your logging. Stick to your allotted calories and make sure you log your cheats as well. I am 5'3" and I started at 149. Just got to 115 last week, but it took very meticulous logging. Consistency is key. Your cheat meals may very well be destroying all of your progress.
Congratulations on getting to 115!!! Besides tracking your meals and consistency, what else did you do exactly? And yes I agree with you the cheat meals are most likely my problem.
I can tell you exactly what I do, but honestly it all comes down to math. To lose weight, you must burn more than you consume. My system might not be what you expect.
I spend a minimum of 10 hours a day at a desk job, so I try to get out and pace the parking garage for 30-60 minutes a day. I prep my breakfasts for the week, so every single work day I bring the same meal - 2 slices of bread (weighed), a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese, six ounces of egg whites cooked in to a pseudo omelet, and an apple (weighed). Mid-morning I have a nonfat Greek yogurt, usually with 20 grams of oatmeal mixed in. Yes, I weigh the oatmeal as well. I keep a small food scale at my desk. I'm in IT. No one cares if I'm weird. For lunch I usually have something I made in the Crockpot, but sometimes I will eat out. Like today I think I may have Panera's Strawberry Poppyseed salad because it's hot as heck right now and salad sounds good. After lunch I will likely have a mini Twix bar. Sometime this afternoon I will probably have a protein bar or something for a snack. It doesn't really matter as long as I stay under my calories. My "sub-goals" are to also get a minimum of 90 grams of protein and 25 grams of fiber. I let the rest fall where it may.
Dinner is kind of up in the air. If I'm on my own, I will probably make a tuna sandwich. If my boyfriend comes over we will go out and I will do my best to pick something that fits my calories and macros. I've become an expert at this over the last few years. We tend to go to the same restaurants over and over, so I have a "go to" meal at each one.
If I have a work call tonight, I will pace the entire time. This usually earns me an extra 100-200 calories, depending on how long the call is. My goal is to get 12,000 steps a day, but I usually get closer to 15-16,000. I will also take my dog for a 20 minute walk.
For (deliberate) exercise - On Monday nights I have a hour long bellydance class. On Saturdays I go horseback riding. On Sundays I do two hours of pole fitness training plus an hour of flexibility. Right now I am training for a pole competition, so I am practicing almost every night. In the "off season" I lift weights 2-3 nights a week, but my trainer doesn't want me lifting right now. I work a 9/80, so every other Friday I fit in an extra two hours of pole and an hour of flexibility. I'm also doing an extra two hours of pole on Saturdays right now, but that will end in three weeks.
At the end of the night, I will settle on the couch with my book and 10-30 grams of pistachios (weighed) and 1-2 glasses of wine (measured).
This is what I do. It probably won't fit your exact lifestyle, but that doesn't matter. What matters is the numbers. If you burn 2000 calories a day, you must eat less than 2000 to lose. How you do it doesn't matter. Eat less, move more. Be honest with yourself. I have days I am over my calorie allowance. Sometimes way over. It happens. Log it so you know what happened when you get on the scale. Eat nutritious food. Do resistance training so you keep that lovely muscle. Make changes you can stick with. I lost 34 pounds at roughly half a pound a week. Sure it was slow, but it was sustainable. I have never, not once, been tempted to give up. And now I'm 44 years old and in the best shape of my life.5 -
I'm 5'2" and I started at 186 pounds in 2012 I went down to 135 in one year and was maintaining pretty well until this past year. I'm up to 147 and I don't want to go back to where I was. I have started logging my meals again and got back into exercise, mainly walking at a very brisk pace for now until I re-condition my muscles. I limit my calories to 1200 and don't eat the extra calories that I "earn" in exercise.
I was reading the thread and was wondering was the recommendations would be for amount to lose per week. I have my My Fitness Pal set for 1lb a week at the moment but it may not be realistic. I'm looking to lose 15-20lbs total.0 -
Thank you! I do have a question - what is your diet with 1200 cals a day? Also, are the last 15 for me really vanity pounds? I ask because according to the BMI chart a female at 5 feet tall and 130 pounds is still considered overweight!
Let me answer the second part of your question first with the last 15 pounds. I find that it is slightly complicated to answer but I will try my best. The BMI chart is a general guideline which can be helpful in bringing you down to an "average" or healthier weight, but for us at 5'0 125 pounds is considered "normal" while 130 is "overweight". Does this 5 pound difference matter? Possibly, but that's when it comes down to body fat percentage (in my opinion). Many people who have a very healthy body fat percentage are still considered to be "overweight" on the BMI scale because it really only factors in your height and weight which does not exclusively determine your overall health. My personal suggestion is to stay the course with cardio and, most importantly, strength training. You may find that at 130 pounds you have a healthy body fat percentage and look and feel fantastic at which point, I would argue that worrying about the BMI chart value is not exceptionally important. However, personally, I did not feel I looked my best at 130 and set my first goal at 120 which put me in the healthy BMI range. I was not doing any strength training at that time and consequently still looked not as fit as I had envisioned. Many others at our height, however, do find that 130 is a great maintenance weight for them and they look wonderful, so it may just be something to consider and decide for yourself once you get there if you continue to maintain/build muscle on your journey.
As for my diet, I do not have an open diary, but I like to think that I have a very "high volume" diet. I like to eat and I like to feel full, so I have had to incorporate a lot of foods by trial and error that make the "full" feeling last as long as possible. A sample of what I have been eating this week is:
Breakfast: Dannon light and fit greek yogurt (1-2) 80-160 calories; better oats oatmeal (100 calories), and on some days a scrambled egg + 1 egg white (70-85 calories)
Lunch: This changes frequently, but typically consists of either a 240 calorie sandwich; turkey, village hearth 45 calorie/slice bread, laughing cow cheese spread (15 calories for half wedge), lettuce, tomato or I have a 200 calorie salad with either 60 g of turkey or 2 slices of bacon with my choice of dressing (I love Panera's poppyseed dressing with only 25 calories/2 tablespoons!), and strawberries and oranges.
Dinner: This is my largest volume meal because once I eat dinner, I typically am done snacking for the day and do not eat again until morning...usually. Right now, I have prepared two different meals of the week. The first is 125g of jennie-o oven roasted turkey, simple gravy (10 calories/17 g), 200 g broccoli with 1 wedge of laughing cow cheese, 5 g cashews, and a side of creamette 150 calorie penne noodles. Add a few spices in there and the total for dinner comes to only 460 calories (approximately). My other meal is the turkey with pasta plus 2-3 servings of zoodles with pasta sauce. The total for the second meal comes down to only 380 calories.
I do a lot of running during the week and therefore typically have a higher calorie allotment that puts me over 1200, but I have eliminated any other "snacks" I may sneak in each day in this post to give you an idea of what 1200 would look like exactly. My average though is higher because I need to eat back my exercise calories or I would not be able to sustain my level of activity.
Sorry for the long post, yet again. Hope it helps!0
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