Weight Loss

Well I seem to have no one to talk to since I'm one of the few out there. I'm around 5'1". Currently I weigh about 126 - 127 (except for right now because I'm ready to start). Anyway, how does everyone handle food intake, calories consumed and the weight charts we are supposed to go by? I feel like we constantly get the short end of the stick. Now this website gives me a decent amount of calories to maintain my weight but I'm obviously trying to lose 11 pounds (when I'm at the weight of 126) so I will be at 115. I know they say not to drop below 1200 pounds but do you think that applies to us short people? How hard is it for you to drop the pounds?

I'm going to try to incorporate more healthy fats into my diet.  Meaning nuts (walnuts/almonds/pumpkin seeds/flax seeds) and I guess I'll get more protein from these nuts too as a vegetarian.  I'm just so confused because I know eating these and increasing my calorie intake will only make me gain weight when I'm trying to lose weight.  But I guess this is the only thing I can do to get my metabolism back to normal.... (if anyone knows another way, please let me know!)

And I bet that even after I add more healthy calories I will still be under 1500 because the only time I have ever reached that high is when I binge ate profusely.

Well from what I've heard at the gym, from weight watches and other programs that a "healthy lifestyle" is 80% what you eat and 20% exercise. If you're looking at adding a few extra calories to your diet and a little more fat (we need fat to keep our body working, just not too much) eat nuts or an avacado. Those are the good fats.

I'm not one for junk food like candy and cookies but I love salt and can't completely give it up! As far as upping calories, for me if I eat less than 1200 calories I notice that I don't lose weight as fast as I do if I eat 1200-1500 calories a day. I think it is because my body thinks its starving if I get below a certain number of calories a day.

I have to say now that I'm counting calories and activities my house will stay a lot cleaner because instead of sitting on my butt I will be cleaning, cleaning, cleaning!

Yeedy, will try the same thing as you!

 

Want to compare results over the next few weeks and see how we do?

 

I'll be upping my sports as soon as I get more time too, so will need to intake more.

 

It'd be interesting to see how our metabolisms/weight react toi the changes:)

 

 

Yes, I will join you in this endeavor! I think I'll also try to work out more to accompany this change.  I just have a nagging feeling that I'll gain weight, but we'll see!

Lol to the cleaning, but it is effective:)

 

Yeah the fight will be to stay above starvation mode:) What I might do is start carrying food with me, bananas, nuts etc as I'm always on the move and even though I felt I didn't do much, at 6pm I had to crash, couldn't stay awake.

 

Any good ways to keep up with protein intake without eating too much meat?

I don't eat junk often, but since I'm on holiday and meeting up with friend, I do like my iced coffees :D

 

How about liquid intake? Because we are shorter does that mean if we drink more do we retain more?

Yeedy I have been putting my cals up over the last few days and have lost 1lb in the last 4 days, hoping it isn't a yoyo thing:P

 

Mum has said I look a bit more toned (don't know how as I haven't done much except add cals:P)

 

And we shall see, you might gain..but it'll be better for you :D

Shooster, thanks for the advice! If it worked for you, then hopefully it will work for me.  And since you lost weight with little effort then it seems that the weight loss will be permanent (the only time weight loss isn't permanent seems to be when we put too much effort into it and don't eat enough, hence the problem I am having). 

To eat more protein without meat your best bet will be beans, tofu, nuts, and whole grains.  Make sure you eat a combination of these though because they each contain a different type of amino acid that need to combine to build one complete protein, like the kind in meat.  (Soy is the only food that has one complete protein on its own).

Ooooh shall try, thankies Yeedy:D Would whole grains be in cereal bread?

And how much protein, or rather what's the percentage of protein one should have in a day? Am managing an average of 50 grams a day, is that ok? Or do I need more? And how about fat?  (I am new to the whole counting system as you can see :P) Lots of q's!

 

 

Anyway it's 2am, must be up and at it in 6 hours again xD

 

Ciao!

 

 

You can find Whole grains in certain cereals (the healthier types) and whole grain bread.  I'm not quite sure what you mean by cereal bread though, never heard of it :P

50 grams of protein a day is more than enough (I'm lucky if I can manage 30 grams in a day).  Also, fat should stay under 30 grams.  I think anywhere from 10 to 25 grams is a good bet, but this should be good types of fat (omega-3 and such which is found in walnuts, almonds, flax seeds, avocado, salmon, and olive oil).  I'm not completely sure about the fat count so you might want to make sure, but I think that's about right.

Good luck!

 

Oh dung..my fat is reaching 40ish on average a day! I'll have to work on lowering that somehow. replace bad for ghood I guess!

 

Oh I meant whole grain bread xD daily sat fat intake being at 10...I heard or read somewhere that it shouldn't cross 6g a day xD Wow ok I'm really going to have to work on that :)

 

Anyway, night:)

Yeedy, I am so glad you are going tp up your calories. Speaking as a shortie who lost 30 lbs last year eating 1500 cals per day (I went from 132 to 102 lbs roughly) trust me, it will work! At first you may gain a little weight from the extra food weight or water weight but give it time to settle down and eventually you will be healthier for it.

Fellow shorties, even though we are short we still need to eat a minimum of 1200 calories a day. And in fact, for me, that is so little food that I really need to keep it higher. I now eat probably 1800-2200 a day (I do not count anymore) and am maintaining 105 lbs at 5'1" since last September. I was 100 lbs at the end of my 1500 calorie diet but found it too difficult to maintain so I put a few lbs on - I would prefer to be 100 lbs but I  don't have the time to count anymore and I am still thin where I am at, so am dealing well.

Hi girls!

I can't believe that I finally find people who has the same problems that I! In my house everyone thinks that I'm going crazy, but I'm really surprised especially with Yeedy, when I read what you said it was like I was reading my life! I hope you open your circle to me, because I'm short too =)

I'm 4'11'', I weight 110 lbs and I would like to weight 105 or under, but my first goal is 105, I'm trying to get my goal for about 2 years. I have a gym membership and I exercise almost everyday, I burn around 800 cal in the gym, and my calorie intake it's around 1100-1300 cal. Instead all the efforts I made, my weight don't move! At least not go down, I have a problem, I think my metabolism it's too slow o I eat less than I need so my body doesn't let the food goes away from him or something, so, two days ago I was reading this forums and I decided to increased my calorie intake just I little, I think I've doing this so bad during this week, I feel a little scared because I think I'm eating more calories but I'm not adding healthy calories (like nuts or avocado), I'm getting a little bit more of food (I mean, I'm eating more chicken or protein). So, I think we could do this together, add some healthy calories and still making exercise and compare results. If we lost weight we decided to keep eating a few more calories, but I'm so scared to gain weight that I think I'm overworking at the gym..

Thanks for the support guys!

Nycgirl, you have convinced me! I will strive to be like you by increasing my caloric intake.

One question: If I am supposed to eat 1200 calories a day to lose weight but I exorcise and burn 500 calories, does that mean that for that day I must eat 1700 calories to make up for the calories I burned??

Hi!  I'm new here and, yes, I'm a short girl, too.  I'm 5'2", 127 lbs. and gaining.  So many of these stories are familiar to me.  But I have another thing to throw into the mix . . .  I take medication for migraine headaches.  While it is one of the best-working meds I've ever taken, this medication is also used to treat bulimia - it causes cravings!  So far I've gained 7 pounds.  I don't get much exercise and I work at a desk all day.  Sometimes the day is so busy that I don't stop for lunch, much less snacks.  The dr. says I just need to be more active.  That may be true, but I still don't know how to control the cravings. I'd appreciate any advice.

I'm 5'2".  I thought it was just me with not being able to eat all the calories.  There must be something to this, because I sure see a pattern with most of us.

Since coming on here three weeks ago and logging my calories I realized I was only eating 800-900 calories a day.  I have since tried diligently to stay above 1200 and have lost three pounds so far.  The first week and a half there was no loss whatsoever, but, it seems to be coming off fairly quickly now.  I guess my body had to get used to eating.

I try to eat every two hours now.  I set the alarm on my phone so I don't forget to eat.  The other girls in the office crack up with my alarm because they always seem to be hungry.  I take along some cheese, yogurt, a frozen meal for lunch, then some beef jerky, jello, a Slim Fast for vitamins and a quick burst of calories and a Fiber One bar.  That leaves just a couple hundred for evening time which I fill with a banana and crackers and my nightly beer.

I exercise three times a week and have a second job that I'm on my feet for several hours - usually work there two to three times a week.  So most days my burn meter is over 2000.  I sure didn't think it would work to eat more, but so far it has.

It's my TTOM right now so I'm up a pound but I'm not counting that as gain.

I have a question for shorter ppl who weight around 110-130

I am 5'1 as well.. Currently around 121 pounds, trying to get to 110. I have been reading posts posted by heavier people on this forum & they seem to loose 2-3 pounds every week !

Us considering on the smaller side already, is it really possible to loose 1, 2 or 3 every week? This is my second week of watching my weight & have lost 1 last week & none so far

I am assuming we might loose weight more slowly that some of the more heavy people? is that possible?

You know, when I stay between 1200 - 1500 calories a day and get in at least 30 minutes of exercise along with all my other activities I have lost 2 or 3 pounds in one week and I'm between 5' and 5'1" so it can be done. Just don't starve yourself, stay active and eat healthy only taking in the good fats and limiting your fats to about 20% of your daily caloric intake. Remember 1g of fat = 9 calories.

When your body doesn't get the minimum calories it needs to sustain itself it thinks you're "starving to death" so it begins to store as much fat as possible in order to "keep you alive". By not eating your minimum amount of calories you will not lose as much weight, or worse, you'll gain weight.

Original Post by shooster:

 

Any good ways to keep up with protein intake without eating too much meat?

I do protein shakes.  I bought a protein powder in berry flavor.  I mix that with some orange juice and some kind of fruit (usually strawberries or half a banana).  Add ice and put in the blender.  Its 23 grams of protein in one scoop and my shakes usually add up to between 175 and 225 calories depending on the ingredients.  You can also mix with just orange juice if you are short on time.

I try for at least 75 grams of protein a day to maintain and build muscle.

I am 5'1" - Currently 144 lbs. - Got down to 122 at my lowest, was REALLY happy with that.