Short girls (5'4" and under) with a significant amount of weight to lose! (40+)

Hey everyone,

I'm 5'0" and I currently weigh 175. I know there is another short girls thread, but most of them seem to already weigh 120.

So anyway, I need some big time motivation. Weekly weigh ins, advice, encouragement, etc....and I'm betting that some of you out there could do the same.

So how about it?

Well, after last weeks bad day I've basically eaten at maintenance over the weekend because the rest of the cheesecake etc were right there in front of me... aarrgghh!!! I'm up 4lbs today, but I'm pretty sure that most of its just carrying excess water etc because I've had way too much salt and sugar, regardless of calories. Hopefully I'll be back down by Weds... I'll be so dissappointed if I'm actually up on the first weigh in for the group!

In answer to the question about how much we all lost a week - in 13 weeks I'm down 22lbs, but I'm pretty sure that plenty of that was just bloating - when I eat badly I get all puffy round the neck and hands etc, so I figure I'm down on average a pound a week of actual weight, which I'm totally happy with, as long as I lose something each week, even if its a quarter of a pound, I'm happy. this also makes good sense, as my daily burn is 1800 on a desk day and 2100 on an archive day, and I eat 1400 or so on a good day, so my weekly deficit should be around the 3500 mark.

I'm STILL not doing well. I'm usually really really good throughout the day, but then I just am NEVER satisfied at night and I just eat eat eat. Not fun. Also, my boyfriend bought a new scale that also tells you how much of your weight is fat, water, and muscle, and it's number differs from the scale I was using (in a bad way). So, I'm redocumenting my weight as 176.8 as of this morning. This could be a combination of my poor eating habits this week also. Wednesday is going to suck. Haha. One day at a time I suppose....

triciae77 - Congrats on breaking the plateau!  I haven't had a true plateau yet (I've only been at it a little over 6 weeks), but the loss sure is starting to slow down.  Way to go on getting pushing yourself and seeing some results!

halizabeth - CONGRATULATIONS to you on the record loss!  I agree with you about fries.  I was thinking about it this weekend, and fries really are one of the worst American habits, I think.  I mean, potatoes are already so starchy, and then we feel the need to deep-fry them on top of that!  It's so not worth it when you can have a yummy, good whole baked sweet potato.

liliam4066 - Sounds like you had a successful first day!  I'm not sure about the sleep situation.  I do know that I only sleep about 5 hours a night, and it hasn't hurt me yet.  Of course, I do a lot of "catching up" with naps on the weekend.  Shift work must really mess your internal clock up.  I'd say try to get in at least a 45-min nap every now and then when you can.

I'd just like to say that it is HUGELY motivational to see so many people on this thread who have already been doing this awhile and have achieved such great results with their hard work and dedication.  Thanks to you all for posting your stories!

My update:  So I was 185.2 when I joined this thread last week.  Then I fluctuated back up to 186.6.  THEN I had a cheat day on Saturday and dropped back down to 185.2.  This calorie restricting business is so unpredictable sometimes, haha.  So... I don't really expect to post a loss on Wednesday, but I'm going to keep plugging along and hope for the best.  I agree with you, v_avila - it's more about changing my habits than racing to lose a bunch of weight.

Hope everyone is doing well this Monday!

Hi, lynners!  Don't be so hard on yourself about the scale situation.  You had a tough calorie week.  But that's past now, and the important thing is to not give up!

I have the same problem with night-time cravings.  Grrrr.  That's when the ole self-control really starts to slip.  The cravings were really bad last week.  I've just had to start saving more calories for dinner/evening because it is suuuuuch a long stretch between about 7pm and 6am.

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a good weekend.  We went out of town Friday to a special rodeo that my son was in for children with special needs.  He's 9 and had a great time.  I did pretty good over the weekend except for the chinese food we had Sat.  I only ate a cup of sesame chicken and a cup of rice.  I also tried to drink extra water because I know chinese food is loaded with sodium.  My husband also made pumpkin muffins (yum) but I only had 1 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday.  I'm trying to still eat some good stuff but just not go overboard on it.  You know, the evenings are hard on me also.  I just need to try to find other things to do after my son is in bed besides eat!  My weakness is pastries.  Well I gotta go. Lots of laundry to get done after the weekend.  Have a good day.

Good morning everyone!

My younger brother (15 yo.) is visiting me for a month and although cooking healthy meals has been a bit of a challenge at times as he likes pancakes, hamburgers, pizza, etc.. I have found ways of making healthy versions of his favorites...  This week I made cottage cheese and blueberry pancakes, I intriduced him to turkey bacon, light lentil soup, light Caesar dressing, and no soda for the entire week - except yesterday.. =) things are going pretty well!

No significant weight loss to report yet but I'm keeping with things as I 'feel' lighter.. Earlier this week I made the mistake of drinking WAY TOO MUCH club soda which made me retain water due to the sodium... I thought I was making a healthier choice (club soda instead of regular soda) and although it is way better, my sodium intake levels for 3 days was off the charts! so I'm now only having club soda at the movies or when eating out to avoid temptation...

Well, that's it for me.. hope everyone has a great day!

I have a fantastic recipe for turkey burgers which are a great substitute for real hamburgers. I also found a boxed frozen hamburger variety that aren't horrible for you and they taste good too! If anyone is interested let me know. :)

I absolutely adore cooking and baking and the food that comes along with it. I found a cook book called Betty Crocker Cook Book for Women. It has a really great motivational and, maybe this sounds a little silly, sensitive introductory section. I've tried quite a few of the recipes and they're really tasty! I highly recommend it. :)

Lynners....I'd like the turkey burger recipe!

I am struggling to get back down to eating my 1200-1300 calories a day!  Today I'm done eating and I've had 1900.  I just had to fry the fish instead of baking it!  UGH!!!  Tomorrow I'm gonna go back to my healthy snacks and salads as side dishes!  I'm about to take a 30 minute walk and then do jumping jacks/situps/pushups for as long as I can.  I'm so frustrated with myself! 

Don't be so hard on yourself!!! I had a GREAT day for what I ate...1157! Except then I ate probably 5 Hershey cheesecake chocolate kisses, plus 2 Lindor balls....so that probably gets me close to 1700 haha. I'm just hoping not to have gained for Wednesday, because I'll definitely not have lost.

This is SUCH a battle for all of us. We're going to have ups and we're going to have downs. We just have to focus more on the ups to keep ourselves motivated. I know I sometimes feel like "what's the point"....but I try to stop that as soon as it gets in my head.

I'll message you the turkey burger recipe tomorrow!

Also, someone messaged me with the idea of making a new thread each week. I personally like the idea of keeping the same thread, but I think it would be more fair to see how everyone else feels, of course. Let me know!

Hmmm...either way works for me as far as the thread is concerned.  I don't mind keeping the same thread though and I can see the benefit of weekly threads.  Hmmm...I know I didn't help much LOL.

Thanks for the encouragement lynners!  I went for a great run and a long walk and felt so good after that.  I'm not going to let myself get down.  This is just going to be a loooong process.  I can't wait to hear about all of our future successes!

I seem to have a deathwish for my diet this week :(  I finished work really late yesterday, so I picked up some nice picnic type foods for my bf and I to have for dinner. The last few times I've done this I've been really good - some wholemeal crusty french stick, some olives, grapes, plainish side salad, some lean cold meat, or a small pack to share of something like parma ham, so that overall the calories don't go mad. But yesterday I was weak.... I couldn't resist the array of nice cheeses and the quiche.... So I prob ate 1500 cals just for dinner, and today I feel bloated and crappy. But every day is a new day, and I'm off to a good start for today!!!

Hi everyone!

Thanks for the heads up on the cookbook, lynners.  I might just have to break down and order that one from Amazon.

I like having one thread.  I think it makes it a lot easier, especially since we're trying to get to know everyone.

Just an idea, but how about if we post a "mini" food or exercise goal with our weigh-in tomorrow to keep us focused?  Nothing big or drastic, just something small that we can be proud of accomplishing, even if the weight doesn't budge.  What do y'all think?

Good attitude holsfisher!  I went a little crazy at dinner time too last night lol.

beckabooey- mini food/exercise goals sound good!  I'll be thinking of a good one today.

Hey all!  I like having one thread also.  That way we don't have to look for it.  Last night was hard for me for some reason.  After I went for my walk on the treadmill, but stomach was just growling alot.  I drank 2 cups of water, but that didn't seem to help.  So I had a sugar free Bomb Pop and a cheesestick.  I like the idea of having mini food and exercise goals as well.  Have a great day everyone.

Hi all!  I also like having one thread.  I don't always post as much because I'm busy, but I find reading everyone is really inspirational, and I'd hate to lose track of our goals together if I couldn't find the next thread at some point!

I also love the idea of a mini-goal!  I had a really bad weekend, friends + going out + pizza in= probably no weight loss this week for me as well.  I know we all want to get over the ruts we are in, we just need a tiny little push to get rolling down that next hill I think!

Woo Hoo!!  I'm about to eat dinner and it looks like I'll be sliding in just under 1200 calories for the evening.  Not only that but I'm only slightly hungry so I know I'll be totally satisfied after dinner.  FINALLY! lol 

What was different about today was that I made a conscious effort to eat a breakfast that would fill me up for a few hours.  I was having a bowl of cereal and I was ending up hungry shortly after.  This morning I had oatmeal made with milk and I felt full for hours!  So I made sure to eat enough at lunch as well so I wouldn't be ravenous at dinner.  I need to do this every day!  I think I'm back on track...at least for now lol.

I like the idea of mini goals as well...maybe it will keep me a little better on track. CC says I've only eaten 1249 calories today...but I probably underestimated somethings so I'm just going to leave it at that haha.

Can't wait to hear everyone's goals tomorrow!!

Well, it looks like my UK time zone makes me the first to weigh in today!

Weight last week - 168

Weight this week - 170

Yeah, thats a gain of 2lbs..... But I have had a terrible week (at least two total cheat days, and two maintenance) so I can't really complain. I'm hoping its mostly water/sodium/bloat but probably about 1lb is real gain if my cal counting is right.

Mini Goal for this week - Not to buy things I shouldn't eat when I'm at the shop. Like gorgeous french artisan cheese :S instead I'll buy treats that are good for me but that are still treats - like a little smoked salmon, or some really nice wholemeal crusty seeded baguette. Once I have a whole pak of really nice cheese or something its like every time I go in the kitchen the cheese is calling for me to just have a slice, then before I know it...... 6000 cals of cheese in a week.... (Not literally!!!)

My weight goal for next week is 168 again. I know 2lbs is a lot to lose in one week, but I think 1lb is water gain, and I'm going to a Caileigh on Saturday so I should be dancing off zillions of cals, and my bf is making superhealthy spag bog today (extra lean mince, a ton of mushrooms and onions to pad it out, etc etc so we'll be eating that for days on baked potatoes, in toasted sarnies etc and its a treat, so I have no excuse for badness.

I hope the rest of you have had more success than me!  I think a Weds to Weds week is good for me - generally if I cheat its at the weekend so I'm always at my worst on my usual weigh in day of Monday and my best on Fridays. Weds should give me a more realistic weight most weeks.

Last Week: 192

This Week: 190

(Yay!)

My first mini-goal is 175, which seems very doable.  I may have just taken a month to lose what I lost during Phase One South Beach last time - but calorie counting doesn't make me have the low-carb flu. :)

I've managed to do my half hour of wii-fit every day this week, including when I had guests this weekend.  I didn't eat wonderfully while they were here, but I tried not to go wild - we went to Applebee's, and I ate about a third of my cheddar jack mac'n'cheese with chicken. (I know - salads can be wonderful, but lettuce makes me quite literally gag.)

So, happy Wednesday to everyone as they check in. :)

Lynners, I mostly buy pre-packaged cheese sticks, but when I don't, I try to break off a one ounce serving so I don't go wild with the yummy fontinella or double gloucester or whatever.  It's one of the things I actually use my food scale for, along with things that don't measure by volume well, like my cracker chips or pre-cooked pasta.