year 2009, short girls aiming to lose 20-30 LBS

so due to all the end-of-year celebrations. I've gained tons of pounds.

I'm 5'2 at 131.12LBS (59.6kg)

aiming to lose 25 pounds to reach my happy weight.

anyone joining me?

Original Post by anokhi13:

I'm still here... too many calories this weekend overall, but right back on track this lovely Monday morning.  Weighed myself Saturday morning and was 136. 

How about u?

 Yay!

Yeah, my weekends consist of more calories too but I try not to feel to guilty about it yet. Not until I hit the dreaded platau, lol.

I'm at 128.5 which kinda surprised me in a good way.

I am still here!  I was wondering if this thread was dead ... glad to know others are still here too!  I weighed in on Friday ... my weight was 148.5 lbs ... the next day it was 149.5 lbs and today ... it is 149 lbs LOL.  This is the story of my life! haha ... but hey ... at this point I am happy to bounce around the 140's ... it means that I have said goodbye to the 150's ... hopefully FOREVER!  I will do cartwheels once I get over this up, down, up, down, up, down thing that my weight is so inclined to do over the past month, month and a half!  I NEED to lose this weight!  I am shorter than most people I meet on CC and I started out pretty heavy at 171 lbs (wow)!  At this point, I am looking at more than vanity pounds ... I am still looking at shaving off needed health risk weight **sighs deeply**.  But, I will NOT let this roller coaster derail my efforts!! Glad you all are still here!

moon_doggie:  The dreaded plateau sucks ... but right now ... my weight is doing this up, down, up, down, up, down thing ... and I am so frustrated!  Along with the weight roller coaster comes a lovely little emotional roller coaster as well.  **shrugs shoulders** Oh well, what are you gonna do about it ... I guess all I should care about is the that the numbers continue to keep showing lower highs and lower lows, right?  I CAN'T WAIT until I hit 128.5!   Good job!!  It feels like a lifetime away for me at the moment!

anokhi13:  I tend to eat more calories during the week end as well.  But, I think I feel better about my nutritional choices, my workouts and the number of times I eat in during the day than I tend to feel about the weekday routines.  I have more time to focus on making good food choices, cook healthy meals and remind myself to get in my small snacks, the proper protein, enough water and fiber.  During the week I am lucky if I can get in one snack ... and I struggle to meet my caloric minimum at times.  I can't wait until I am able to make it to the 130's ... 136 seems like a dream!  You are making great progress toward your 20 lb goal so far!!  Keep it up!

Have a happy Monday!

--Gwen

How many calories is everyone eating? How many times do you exercise? I try to eat 1500 calories a day, 'try to' lol and work out about 4-5 days a week.

I jump around from around 1,200 to 1,600 calories a day. I don't exactly exercise...I try to do a few sit-ups and push-ups but I suck at them, really bad. I don't push myself to do more becuase I hurt myself doing that awhile ago.I also walk alot. I don't own a car and It's hard to hitch rides nowadays. Everything has been somewhat managable so far.

I started out eating 1200 calories.  Recently, I lost 20 lbs and for my reward, I bought myself 4 weeks with a personal trainer.  While working with her, I hit a plateau (22 lbs lost and holding) and she suggested upping my caloric intake by two to three hundred.  Now, I bounce between 1200 and 1600, depending on the amount of exercise I do for the day. 

I work out every day.  I may not do something strenous every day but I try to do a little something each and every day.  I do strength training about 4 times per week (hand weights, resistance bands and floor exercises -- no nautilaus or free weights).  I do some type of cardio every day ... even if it is only 20 minutes on the treadmill or a walk with my friends -- but I try to mix it up a bit and I sometimes do swimming, elliptical, biking, cardio-kickboxing, or salsa dancing just to mix it up so I won't get bored.  I also do yoga at least 2 times per week (more if I can fit it in ... I LOVES IT)!  And, every so often, I do belly dancing but not as often as I would like to ... and I suck at it, BAD!  I am THE MOST UNCOORDINATED person on the face of the planet ... without a doubt! haha!  I try and try but I can't even do the grapevine in my cardio-kickboxing class ... and don't get me started on the salsa moves either LOL.  I am not sure how much cardio benefit I get from those things ... b/c I am obviously not doing them correctly... but it is fun and I do keep myself moving!  Plus, I am sure my b/f is going to video tape me at some point ... and we will win 10,000 dollars on America's Funniest Home Videos!    Hello new wardrobe!  Woo Hoo!

I can relate to the uncoordinated part. I've suspected vertigo for the longest time (But I let go of that theory cuz it's too crazy, lol)

Hi there!

I'll continue the weigh in we started last week :) I assume I'm the first one where it's Friday ;) Got onto the dreaded scales this morning, and it turned out I feared them for nothing .. Lost 1.3 kg this week, that's like 2.8 lbs! So I'm 136 now.

I'm kind of scared that I'm losing too fast and that won't be able to keep it off in the end or hit a bad plateau really soon. I was planning on a pound per week.  I know that might sound silly, but I'd rather lose more slowly. I wonder what I'm doing wrong. I have a daily deficit of about 500 calories and I read that that should make me lose a pound per week .. Maybe I'm miscounting how much I burn?

As to fairydust's calorie intake and exercise question: they suggested 1400 for me, which is okay :) When I have class all day, it's sometimes hard to get there, because I don't have enough time to eat. But I do eat healthily, always did, even before I started here. I'm a sucker for fruits and veggies ;) I'm following the exercise plan here on CC, now entering week 3 :) which means cardio 4x a week and stretching and flexibility exercises every day. hard to fit into my schedule, but it makes me feel really good, so it's worth the 'lost' time. I don't stick to the exact suggestions of the plan though. I don't have access to a treadmill or weights, so I do bike riding in nice weather (holy ****'s cold at the moment!!) or exercise vids. Speaking of uncoordinated :D You should see me do tae bo! It must look so hilarious! I can't even move as fast as they do!! Fortunately no one sees it, and I don't even feel like an idiot because it's so much fun :) Instead of the stretching they suggest, I do pilates and yoga, with a little help from my Nintendo DS. I'm even starting to get kind of good at that! :)

I'm so overly motivated right now, I hope it rubs off on anyone who's lacking it ;)

Hi All!

I am a bit confused.  Officially, I think I weigh 147 lbs... but initially when I got on the scale this morning it said 148.5.  I am so confused and I guess ... I will see what it says tomorrow when I weigh in.  I usually do not weigh myself more than one time per day ... but I forgot to set the scale to read my water weight and fat % ... so I had to step back on the scale.  So literally, in a matter of 15 minutes ... I lost 1.5 lbs? LOL weight is such a frustrating thing!  I am tired of the roller coaster!  Redselene ... I will take some of that motivation... HAHA!  I need it!  BTW, Gratz on your significant loss.  I wouldn't get too worked up about losing more than 2 lbs ... but it shouldn't be something to shoot for according to everything I read ... 2 lbs is the most we should be losing in a week.  Other things I have read say not to lose more than 1% of your body weight per week.  I don't know ... but even so ... I don't think one week of dropping an extra .8 lbs would do anything to screw you up too bad ... it could just be water wieght... couldn't it?

Hope you are all well!  Good luck this week ... and send positive thoughts my way because I really WANT a cheeseburger right now!! ARGH!

there are scales that can read water weight? I didn't even know :) Mine is the simple kind that tells the weight and nothing else ..

what is water weight, by the way? Do you mean just the extra weight you have from having a lot of water in your system from drinking it?I always weigh myself in the morning before I drink anything, so that is out, I think.  I'll maybe try and up my calories a little. How do you do the weighing? Do your scales just substract that? I don't think you really lost 1.5 lbs in a minute (nor gained them, for that matter) it was just your scales screwing around. Anyway, I am sending lots of positive anti-cheeseburger-thoughts and anti-roller coaster thoughts as well ;)

Another positive thing I noticed today: When I started out, cycling all the way around the park took me 35 minutes and I felt really exhausted afterwards. Today I did it in 20 minutes, and I did it twice, and I'm not even out of breath. Awesome :)

HI all

Mind if I join the group?

I am 41, 5 feet nuthin and weigh 145 (down from 148).

I am working out every day, walking 3-5 miles and doing calesthenics every other day. 

I started counting my calories a few weeks ago and thought I was doing everything right.  I havent been hungry and have liked my meals.  But then I started reading about metabolism and I learned I am not eating enough calories.  I have been eating about 900-1000 per day.  But now that I know better I am starting my new 1200 diet. 

I am still really new to all of this "healthy" diet stuff.  And still trying to figure out when I need to make adjustments to my diet.  Obviously I am not over eating, so for me it is about getting nough calories when I work out.

Also I have not been very active in several years.  My body is so weak! 

Yesterday I took my usual walk up the local path.  Its uphill all the way and I walked as fast as I could.  I felt so proud of myself for walking 2.5 miles in half an hour.  But when I returned to the office some of my coworkers were like - "yeah, I usually walk 3 in 20 minutes".  I felt like I had not been doing enough even though I was sweaty and tired.  I have a really competative nature.  Maybe its not wise, but I have to keep myself motivated for 30 lbs.  I have never needed to lose weight before. 

I am aiming to meet my goal by september.  That seems like such a long way away.  I would really love to lose faster.  Size 4 for my birthday in May sounds wonderful.  But I know that would take hours every day.  In the long run I would not be able to maintain that level of activity.  I aim to keep the weight off!

I probably have some wrong ideas.  Let me know if you see something that isnt quite right.  I have a lot to learn.

Welcome people! Hopefully everyone is overcoming the chocolate temptations today?

Original Post by redselene:

there are scales that can read water weight? I didn't even know :) Mine is the simple kind that tells the weight and nothing else ..

what is water weight, by the way? Do you mean just the extra weight you have from having a lot of water in your system from drinking it?I always weigh myself in the morning before I drink anything, so that is out, I think.  I'll maybe try and up my calories a little. How do you do the weighing? Do your scales just substract that? I don't think you really lost 1.5 lbs in a minute (nor gained them, for that matter) it was just your scales screwing around. Anyway, I am sending lots of positive anti-cheeseburger-thoughts and anti-roller coaster thoughts as well ;)

Another positive thing I noticed today: When I started out, cycling all the way around the park took me 35 minutes and I felt really exhausted afterwards. Today I did it in 20 minutes, and I did it twice, and I'm not even out of breath. Awesome :)

My scale does water weight % ... just like fat %.  So if my weight goes up ... and so does the water weight ... I know it is likely because of TOM or because I didn't drink enough water.  I guess water weight was probably not the best way to word that .  I usually weigh myself first thing in the morning but before I eat or drink anything.  It is just easy because I can pee and my scale is staring me right in the face.  And, I don't know what was up with the scale the other day ... but I am right back to 148.5 today.  BLAH.  Always ... two steps forward and a step and a half back.  But, hey, at least I am continuing to go down ... just not the way I would like to see it happen is all.  AND, thanks for the positive thinking ... I did NOT eat a cheeseburger at all!  Lobster yes ... cheeseburger no.  But, I did NOT dip it in the butter LOL!  I made through V-day with no major slips except not doing any exercise.  No chocolate, no cheeseburgers, no melted garlic butter for my lobster to baste in ... and I am still alive to tell the tale!  WOO HOO!

Grats Redselene on raising up your endurance!  Don't you just LOVE it when you notice such an increase in stamina and endurance!  Makes me feel invincible when I notice that kind of stuff!

Happy V-Day everyone!  Hope you are all doing well!!

I'm short too, about 5'3 or 5'3.5 at the most.  I want to lose 20 lbs by my daughter's 2nd birthday, May 24, and another 10 by my 25th birthday, Aug 31.  That would put me at 130, which I don't think I've been since I was about 15 or 16 years old.  (Might've been a bit less than that at that age maybe 120-125, can't remember...)   Maybe my weight loss goals aren't ambitious enough?  A lot of you are AT my goal weight right now... 

I LIKE being small; I just wish I was small all over ;)

I'm exercising at the gym 5-6 times a week for an hour a day, plus whatever exercise I get in my daily activities, and trying to eat around 1600 calories.  Anyone else wanna share their fitness / calorie intake plans?

I'm in!  I am 5'1" 121lbs, started CC a few months (at 131lb) ago but I still need to lose more. I would like to get to 105 by June.  I have a tip that is working for me... when you eat (and I tend to overeat) don't eat everything on your plate only eat 1/2 - 3/4 of it and it has trained me not to take so much next time so I don't waste it. Seems to be working for me in the portion size dept.

Amyvegan:  I will share my fitness/calorie intake plan.  I started out with the CC tool for target calorie intake, which recommended that I only eat 1200 calories a day.  On days when I would exercise, I would sometimes eat a little bit more so that I would not maintain more than a 1000 calorie deficit.  Eventually, I got a good exercise plan down and I hit a plateau (which I am currently trying to overcome), at the advice of my personal trainer, I upped my calorie intake from 1200 to 1400-1600 and began maintaining a deficit of about 600 -800 instead of 1000 (which I had been shooting for on a daily basis initially).  I am now started to look like I am moving past the plateau ... and I am eating on average 1250 - 1400 calories (maintaining about a 350 - 900 calorie deficit depending on how much I exercise).  Should I feel as though I am plateauing again ... I will increase my calories to hopefully get my body moving in the downward direction once again!

I exercise daily (well with the exception of this week haha).  No matter what else I do, I will always do at least a little cardio (20 minutes).  Whether it be HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) on the treadmill, walking, swimming, cardio-kickboxing ... something.  I also shoot to do strength training at a minimum of 3 times per week (although it is often more than that 4-5).  I use resistance bands, hand and ankle weights and a medicine ball ... so I am not using heavy free weights or Nautilus (spelling) weights -- which makes it OK to do strength training without skipping a day in between (according to my personal trainer).   In addition, I do yoga at least 3 times per week.  Occasionally, I will salsa dance or belly dance (for exercise).  If I need something kind of fun, I will try to throw in one of these to make the exercise seem less like work and more like fun but I am not consistent with doing either of these activities with any regularity right now.

Besides keeping an activity log on CC.  I also keep a workout log with the types of exercises I do, including my total body strength training exercises and all my other activities.  The log looks at one week at a time and I record each activity, as well as how many calories I burned and how many I took in for each day.  I take this with me when I do my weekly check in with my personal trainer and she makes suggestions to help me with keeping the routine fresh and new.  Such as how to tweak the exercise and make it harder or more intense, or how many calories I should be eating and what to eat before and after workouts, you know ... that kind of thing.  It is very helpful.  I can track pretty easily how many calories I should be eating, just by looking at past workout logs, etc. 

Safireeyz:  I love that tip but I don't think it would work for me right now.  I think once I am FINALLY in maintenance (a long way off I know) that may be a good one to keep in my head.  Right now I am pretty compulsive about weighing and measuring every single thing I put into my mouth so that I have an accurate calorie count at the end of the day.  BUT, eventually, I want to get to the point where I don't look like an idiot out in public or at a party, where they serve food. 

When I hit my goal weight and I am no longer having to watch things so closely, then I think that your suggestion will be perfect!  From your size, it sounds as if you are already within your healthy BMI range and are shooting for the lower end of the healthy BMI?  I am 4' 11.5" and my weight range for a healthy BMI is between 95 - 120.  You are a bit taller than me ... so I am assuming that 105 is at the lower end of your healthy BMI.  At that point, I am hoping that I don't have to count calories so compulsively ... so that is a great tip for me to remember!!  Thanks for sharing it!

I think I am hitting a plateau as well but it really freaks me out to think I have to eat more to lose more.  I have not got that around my head yet. Do you just eat more per meal or meals per day?

I have a really small frame and my weight range says 106-118.  I have get back into really counting calories and getting a good excersize routine going.  You sound like you LIKE to workout, I totally lack the motivation/desire to workout.  I wish I had your enthusiasm to go everyday.

Hi everyone, this is my first post on cc and wondered if I could join you all on your friday weigh ins.

I am 5' 2" and weigh 144lbs.  My aim is to get to 126 by 20th May.  But for now I will be happy with any loss!

Original Post by safireeyz:

I think I am hitting a plateau as well but it really freaks me out to think I have to eat more to lose more.  I have not got that around my head yet. Do you just eat more per meal or meals per day?

 

I had that same reaction, it feels counter-intuitive to put more food in my body to lose weight!  For me, I just added an extra snack or allowed myself a little something extra during the meal.  I mostly added a sugar free hot chocolate made with non-fat skim milk (which is usually about 200 calories if it is made with two cups of the milk and two envelopes of the hot chocolate mix) at the end of the day.  My issue initially was not eating too much or eating treats ... my initial issue was eating enough during the day and more than one time per day.  So adding food to my day is really difficult as it is ... but so far it seems to making the scale move in the proper direction!

Hi all, mind if I join the group and do friday weigh ins with you?

I'm 5 ft 136.2 lbs with my goal weight 105. Just started CC about a month ago. So far I've lost about 5 lbs and need to lose a lot more to be at my happy weight! I want to reach my goal weight by July so that I can look good in a bikini for the summer!

I had a bad weekend with eating, but plan to work hard exercising all week and eat extremely healthy with no mishaps or cheating for a while! It's going to be hard since I'm in university and everyone around me drinks and goes out every weekend but I'm just thinking about how good I will feel and look in 5 months.

Congratulations everyone so far on all your hard work. Keep it up because it will all be worth it once you've reached your goal! : )

Count me in! I'm 5'3 and 137 looking to lose 25lbs by July!