Welcome to the Group

Welcome! We would love get to know you, so please tell us a little bit about yourself. You can choose any format you'd like, but most of us here share some or all of the following details:

1. History with weight loss:
2. History with Calorie Count:
3. Reason for joining this group:
4. Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests:

And now just go ahead and make that first post!

Hey, I'm Sarah--a 5.2, 21-year-old college student. 

1. History with weight loss: I used to weigh about 130, but with calorie counting I dropped to 105...and quickly rose back to 115. Then I stopped weighing for about a year and got up to 122. I have started dieting again, and I'm 119. I hope to reach 95 pounds--don't tell me that's too small, because I have an extremely small frame! (That's one of the problems with being short isn't it?) I'm eating 1200 calories a day, and trying to exercise more.

2. History with Calorie Count: I used Calorie Count to great success last time (only ten pounds from my goal when I for some reason stopped...I think it was Christmas weight gain that stopped me from weighing...) This time I'm going all the "weigh"

3. Reason for joining this group: I created this group because I feel like it's hard to relate to tall girls who are loosing weight too. They can eat more and weigh more, so it's hard to compare. 

4. Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests: Well, I'm a senior at the University of Alabama double majoring in political science and journalism. I plan on getting my PhD and teaching college political science. (I hope to go to grad school at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina where my brother teaches). I have recently started cycling and I really enjoy it. It is a great way to burn some major calories. Now that school has resumed it is a little harder to find time for a 25 mile ride though. I have even more recently started jogging. I hate to jog, but it's something I can do before class. I'm trying to get in the habit of jogging five days a week. Right now it's more of a jog/walk...

Nice to meet you! I hope that this group can be an active one!

My name is Holly. I am 32 years old. I have two children, ages 8 and 11, one sweetheart of a fiancee', a dog, Manson, and a cat, Squash. I am a receptionist at a small father/son law firm, and I really enjoy my work.

I was always tiny. I am only 5'1, small frame. But after having my 2 children, I never really lost the weight, my metabolism slowed down (due to getting older, I'm sure), and I didn't change my eating habits. I'm 32 now, and I weigh 25 pounds more than my pre-baby (and ideal, according to the calculator on this site) weight. I had been stuffing myself silly every time I ate. I love food! I knew I had to do something when my thighs started rubbing together when I wear a dress to the point that it would kind of irritate the skin!

I joined this group because I need to hear from people who understand that for a person who was simply MADE more petite, 95-105 is NOT an unhealthy or ridiculous goal. While some people on the main forum are wonderful and very supportive, I keep seeing posts that say things like "no adult woman should weight 105", It is very discouraging. I can assure them that 130 looks very different on a person who is 5 feet tall with a small frame than it does on someone who is 5'7!

The plan I am following is to stop eating as soon as I am not hungry anymore, and to exercise every day (the hard part!). At the same time, I am eating whenever I am hungry, so I keep low calorie snacks around at work just in case. I also drink a liter of water with every meal, and another liter throughout the day. No sodas, ever, and no junk food. I did buy some low cal ice cream sandwiches so that I can satisfy a junk food urge at only 120 calories!

Nice to meet you, Holly! 

I'm so glad you understand my plight with having to explain that my goal is not unreasonable! The ideal weight numbers listed for short people are much too high--especially if you have a small frame!

It's so hard to stop eating when you're not hungry any more--at least for me. I'm such a clean my plate girl. That's a really good strategy though. I do that too by eating slower, and really realizing what I'm eating rather than cramming it all in at once. And exercising, obviously, is great too. That will really help your metabolism. Low cal ice cream sandwiches are an awesome treat--they're already portioned out so you can't pig out! 

I have had to come up with a plan to stop when I'm full. What I do is (as you said) eat slowly, and in addition, I take a sip of water after each bite. I have a one-liter water jug that I use all day, and I like to make sure that I drink a whole liter with my meals.

The other thing-- and this doesn't speak well for my will power -- is to put only a SMALL portion on the plate. I'm a plate-cleaner, too. And go ahead and put away leftovers before you sit down to eat, or throw away the remainder if it isn't enough to save for leftovers. No joke, since I have been dieting, several times I have walked into the kitchen to put my plate in the sink and hastily gobbled up whatever is remaining in the skillet much as a hyena would do! And then I think "Now Why did I do that??!!"

I'm totally the same way! I blame my mother for never telling me to waste food...of course she used to always say, "a moment on the lips forever on the hips" and I never payed much attention to that apparently...

Drinking lots of water is a good strategy though. Also if you eat a salad or a cup of broth before you eat your meal it fills you up faster. 

But about leftovers...what I try to do is only cook enough for my boyfriend and I so there are no left overs. Then I definitely can't have seconds! A lot of recipes turn out weird though if you cut the serving size down to two though. I don't know if you cook a lot, but I really like the Hungry Girl cook book (she has a website too: hungry-girl.com) and she makes a lot of low calorie recipes--well they're all low calorie...and many of them are one serving--very easy to double though. If you're looking for some recipes check out her website. 

1. History with weight loss: My parents are overweight and I grew up chubby. When I was 16 I realized I was overweight and decided to do something about it. I cut out fried foods, red meat, and soda - still ate enough and added cardio. I lost 25 lbs. I maintained there for a while when I decided I wanted to lose the last 10 (I was at 140 and I'm 4'11" - I'm now at 115. GW is 105)
2. History with Calorie Count: I was googling the calorie count of a food when I stumbled on it and realized it could really help me.
3. Reason for joining this group: I'm 4'11" and I need to be around people that understand that 115 is NOT stick thin.
4. Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests: I'm a freshman at Boston College, I like to work out a lot and excersize nearly every day. I was a breakfast waitress over the summer but now I don't have a job. I'm just enjoying myself and trying to avoid the freshman 15. Not only that, but I want to reverse it.

Hello! I made a welcome thread for you!

Hi, I'm Teresa, I am 5'1.5'',27 years old and a stay at home mom and wife. I weight a 128...sighs......Over the summer I gained 10 pounds and I really need to drop weight, nothing fits.

 

1. History with weight loss: I used to maintain 115 and over the past two years its gone up. I lost a few pounds about 5 months ago. I went from 120 to 118. I am having major problems loosing anything. I have noticed without success I tend to get depressed and stop eating right.

2. History with Calorie Count- I really do love this site and I think it would be very beneficial if I used it correctly and had some friends here to keep me  motivated.

3.Reason for joining this group- I need some motivation and love to motivate others to eat right and exercise.Plus its nice to be around people who are as short as me and know what its like to want to weight 105 and not be riduculed for it.

4 Some intresting things about me- I have two wonderful children ages 7 and 9. I am married to the love of my life and couldnet be happier. I have two cats, mouse and cupcake. I do not work outside the home. I am lucky enough to get to stay home with the kids. I am trying to get into jogging.

Welcome, Teresa! I get depressed too when I don't have success...losing weight is hard! 

It's always nice to have a new person who shares our plight of people telling us our weight is too low--hello! I'm seven inches shorter than you...I SHOULD weigh less!

I'm trying to get into jogging too...I hate it, but I think I will love it once I start to see results! Supposedly exercise will keep your metabolism up as well, so you'll lose faster!

Welcome Teresa! I got stuck at 118 too about a year ago when I was doing Atkins. After 2 months of a diet that didn't let me eat most of my favorite things, and maintaining at 118, I said forget it!

This time around I am doing better already. (Not that there isn't a chance of getting stuck.)

Good to see you! I hope you will post what works for you and what doesn't, and keep us up to date with how you're doing!

Hi, I'm Jennifer and I'm a 32 mother to 3 wonderful children ages 13.10 b, 8.6 g, and 6.7 b. When I got pregnant with my oldest I was 114 lbs and gained 50 throughout the pregnancy. I was able to lose almost all of that weight in a year and a half and was down to 125.

I then moved back down to Western Mass from Central Vermont, found my hubby and got pregnant for a second time. I was 105 lbs wearing a small size 5 and got up to about 150 lbs. My daughter was almost a year old and I hadn't lost a lb, but gained about 6 instead. My husband and I decided that instead of my losing all of that weight twice, might as well get pregnant again and then lose it all at once. That was my mistake and very poor thinking on my part.

Since my youngest was born, I can't eat most foods without having serious GI issues so my diet is quite limited as it is, and then I had a full hysterectomy in November of 2005.

After I fully recovered, about 3-1/2 months later, I got a gym membership and was going daily for about an hour and a half each day during the week as well as 2-3 hours daily on the weekends. I was able to get down to 145 lbs.

However, I then got the flu and a nasty sinus infection and then just never made it back for quite a few months. Once I finally felt up to going back my membership had lapsed and that was about it.

Well, even though I didn't have the membership, I still did pilates at home while eating healthy; although not keeping track of my incoming or outgoing calories. Once I started to actually keep track, I realized that I wasn't even taking in 500 calories a day! Not intentional, just I would only eat when I was hungry - which really wasn't very often. :(

I have been being faithful to this site since the 22nd and have been trying to keep my incoming calories to about 1348 (what I would need to take in in order to meet my goal weight by the beginning of March), and have been doing a pretty great job with my outgoing calories. I actually have made my "home page" within the site as my actual explorer home page to keep me reminded to post my foods and activities. I think it's neat though that the outgoing calories tracker is a little sneaky because anytime I get really close to my outgoing level, it steps it up - I know that it's an incentive, and I appreciate it.

Anyhow, I'm currently 166 (I was 167 when I started a few days ago) and would love to get to my goal weight of 95 lbs since I'm only 4'10" tall, but I would be happy anywhere from 105 - 115 lbs. I', a Virtual Assistant which means that I get to work from inside my home, so if there are other exercises or whatever that I'm not already doing (great pilates work out, squats, dancing, up and down the stairs, etc.) to help push me further with the exercising, I would really love to hear the input!

So, there I am - in a nutshell.

Oh, and one big thing...things are not well in my marriage and I'm expecting papers at any given time. When I go through stress, I sometimes forget to eat. Having little reminders is nice.

I have messengers through Yahoo, AIM, and MySpace if anyone wants to chat that way. They are: bedorefamily, DansGirl76, and JenniferJBedore, respectively.

Thanks for reading!

Welcome Jennifer! It's nice to have you with us--another shorty with the same goal weight as me! That's great that you are finding time to exercise! That will help the weight come off a lot faster. I always have a hard time making myself exercise. And if you haven't counted your calories before, I really do feel that it's the best way to lose weight. It's great because you can still eat virtually whatever you want, you only need to watch the amounts!

And I'm really sorry to hear about your marriage--exercise is supposed to raise endorphins that make you happy, so maybe that will help some of the stress. 

Welcome Jennifer! I'm glad that you could join us! Since we are just starting out as a group I have high hopes that we can be an active one. I am a member of another group here for short people and even though it has tons of members, it never seems to get any further than introduction posts. And even those get very few replies.

Hmm, excercises you can do at home... I think I am going to make a thread. I notice that running up and down the stairs was on your list. I saw that in the activities log and the amount of calories it burns is phenomenal. I also have found that my children love to go on walks with me. In actuality, my 8 year old slows me down a bit, but I really enjoy the time spent together, and so do they, so it's a fair trade-off. I like to take them individually instead of both at once, and we get a lot of good talking time in. They tend to start telling me all about what they have been up to at school, etc. This might be a super good thing for you as well, especially since you are going through a difficult time in the marriage. Sometimes they have thoughts and questions about the situation that might come out during the course of a good walk.

Hi, I'm Kris, and happy to have found this group, I do hope we manage to keep each other inspired. To follow Sarah's suggestion:

1. The most I've weighed is about 125, at a time when I wasn't exercising at all and was pretty unhappy with everything going on in my life. On a tiny frame it does make a difference, I also have a problem with the weight always going to my waist. I got into jogging and bike riding and got back down to what seems to be my optimal weight, around 103, but then developed knee problems that have made it harder to keep a good exercise routine. I'm at about 112 now and want to get to 105, since I can't work out like I used to I've been trying to track what I eat better.

2. I've used Calorie Count on and off for the past year I think, it has helped - I was inching closer to 120 again a year ago and crunching the numbers (as much as I hate doing it!) keeps me more honest. This is my first foray into the groups, I'm looking for that extra something that might help me reach 105lbs and fit back into some of my favorite clothes without worrying about bulges.

3. It sounds like I've joined this group for the same reason as others - being petite and not having a lot of weight to lose, but looking for support from people who understand that it does make a difference and is a valid goal.

4. I just started working at home - part time, cut out my full time job to focus on finishing a Master's degree. I'm worried that I'll be more sedentary, my job had a gym I used to go to regularly during lunch (I'm still planning to go once or twice a week, but it's definitely not as convenient), and I live in Manhattan so walking to and from the train stop every day for work could be one of those minor things that hurts my metabolism. I'm excited that I can now take a yoga class that was recommended for my knee problem and have weights at home that I'll be getting more into, but I know that the low impact aerobic stuff is gonna be harder to do without gym equipment. My husband eats totally the opposite of what I do (meat, sugars/simple carbs, hungrier at the end of the day than the beginning) so it'll also be a challenge to be around each other more and having more meals together when we usually want totally different things - on top of the fact that he needs to gain weight!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to keeping up with other petites and hope we can do a good job of supporting each other.

Hello! I'm Sarah. I’m 19 years old and a sophomore at the University of Cincinnati. I'm 5' 1 1/2" about 135/137 (not sure because my scale is off) My short term goal is 120 by Christmas. Once I’m there I will see how I look and feel. I want to reach a weight I can maintain.

1.My weight loss started during the summer between sophomore and junior year of high school (I was 16 years old). I started off around 120. I rowed all four years of high school so I have been active since I was a freshman (I guess I should mention that I was only active from January – June, during crew season). I started losing weight during the summer by running and watching what I ate (probably eating 1200-1500 cal daily). I started off running 2 miles (June) and by the end of August I was running 5 miles a day and doing some strength training. By this time I was 105 lbs. I was happy and proud of my weight loss. I kept the weight off for almost a year ( well I would be anywhere from 105-110).

I gained back the weight and then some by the following spring (during crew season … I went from 110 in March to 130 in the beginning of June).  and continued to gain weight that summer. By the time I went back to school for my senior year I was up to 142+ lbs. (I wouldn’t weight myself once I got to this weight). By the end of my senior year I was 125 and maintained that through the summer and ended up losing more weight at the end of the summer.

I was 118 lbs when I started college in the fall (I was happy with this weight although I was still bigger in size from when I started.. I think because I had some extra skin on my thighs/hips/butt). At this time I didn’t really count calories but I was running at least 2 miles a day and doing some strength training.

During my first year of college I managed to gain it all back. It astonished me at first because I was at the gym 5 days a week - on the elliptical for an hour (on random hills) and doing about 30 min of strength training. By the winter I was 130 lbs. so I joined club crew ( which meant 60 min of cardio 4 days a week in addition to 3 days of weight lifting). At first I lost weight and was down to 125, but it was hard to control my eating and by the time school was out I was back to 140. During this summer I have been between 135 and 140. This summer has been frustrating because I can’t run anymore because of my knees. For exercise recently I have been walking for an hour every morning (and running stairs every time I pass them adding up to about 5 min of stairs a day). I also go to the track every night and have been able to run about a mile before my knee pain is too intense to continue, after running I do some strength training. As of now I eat between 900-1200 cals a day … I’m just not that hungry.

 

2. I've been using CC off and on over the course of my weight loss struggle ... its a little hard to log in everything but i think it pays off.

3. I want to join this group because I’m sick of yo-yo-ing. I want to reach a weight I can maintain. Ever since the first time I gained the weight back I have been in a bad mind set. I lost weight pretty easily and I can’t grasp that it will never be that easy again (I’m not sure if it is just because I am no longer able to run or if I have messed up my metabolism) I know I can’t do this alone and I need the support of this group and I will try my best to support you all in return.

4. i think i included details through out my long post (sorry its soooo long)

Welcome, Kris! You have major changes going on in your everyday life there! It is wonderful that you are making a space in your new routine for exercise.

I have a very very thin man as well, in fact, to be honest, if people in public saw his thighs I honestly think they would point and whisper. He could gain 50 pounds and still not be overweight. Anyway, just today he asked me if I would please pick up some "sweet sweets" at the store for him. I got ice cream sandwiches and rocky road ice cream and two packages of chocolate chip cookies. LOL I got me some 100 calorie ice cream sandwiches. I can have one of those when he is next to me dipping chocolate chip cookies in milk.

Hello! :) My name is Kam and I already introduced myself on these forums, but I figure I might as well give a more detailed bio on the official introduction thread. :)

I'm 4'10 and 19 years old with a very small frame. I'm half filipina, half chinese - if you've watched the olympics recently and seen those tiny chinese gymnasts/ divers, that's basically my body frame. My highest weight was when I was 14-16 where I weighed in at about 140-150 pounds. At 16 I decided to do something about my weight and started eating less and exercising. (although admittedly, it was more about eating less) At 17 I weighed in at about 95-100 pounds and at 18 I was a slim 90.

However, my weight started going up after Jan 2008 due to a rocky breakup with an ex-boyfriend, who had been my best friend prior to us dating. After that, I started eating for comfort. I went out with my other friends almost every day and I ate lots of junk food and quit exercise. By July, I noticed that I could no longer fit into my usual pants and a pair that I had always considered "too big" was actually quite tight on me. I decided to get back on the scale and was surprised to find myself at 115.

After going to my annual check-up (in august) my family doctor was also very surpised at my rapid weight gain and advised me to lose at least 15 pounds. My goal is to get back to 90 pounds, or at least fit into my old pants. :)

I came across this site in May 2008 when I was contimplating weight loss but decided against it, because I thought I wasn't "that bad yet". After July, I remembered this web-site when I was trying to write my food intake on a paper and pen. Since August I've been using this site every day to log in my weight and food intake. However, I have yet to get into proper habits so I haven't experienced much of a weight loss.

I wanted to join this group because I am looking for support from people with the same body frame/ height as me. I currently live in Toronto, Canada and I am one of the shortest people I know. It's hard to find people who understand the difficulties of being short. (having to eat less, finding proper fitting clothes, trying to use the gym equiptment properly)

I am currently a Linguistics and Philosophy major. Besides being fluent in english I can speak fairly decent Tagalog, French, Spanish, and German. I would like to be an interpreter or translator or a researcher on SLA. (Second Language Acquisition). I work part-time as a waitress, and have two dogs.

My interests include: swimming, reading, computer gaming, and languages to name a few.

I'd love to make friends here and if anyone's interested in contacting me on MSN just send me a message. :)

Hey I'm Susan - eeek I've never actually introduced myself here before, so I'm pretty nervous. =S mm k..

1. History with weight loss: I used to be that girl who could eat what she wanted and never gain weight. I never used to care about diets, ate everything in sight, and stayed withing a healthy range of 100-105lbs. Then I don't know what hit me. Depression? Exams? Stress? More people commented on how much I ate. Not in a mean way I realise now - I didn't take it as a compliment, so I started to eat in secret. That turned into binging, and the weight slowly crept on. I reached... around 121lbs? And sadly, I decided the only way to lose weight was to starve myself. Yes naive. So I got down to about 108lbs. Exams started, and I started binging again. And because I was so stupid..the weight crept back on, and it has been so hard to lose weight because of my super slow metabolism. =[

Now I'm trying to eat 1200-1500 calories a day, and do cardio for 40mins 5 days a week, resting every 3 days.

2. History with Calorie Count: I have just joined around amonth ago, and have only started logging my intake/outtake properly since yesterday! Fresh start with September!

3. Reason for joining this group: I find it motivating to find people my height with similar goals, and could use some tips - other groups may suggest ridiculously high calories which are suited for taller people. I also feel that people here can relate to me, because every pound really does show!

4. Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests: I'm from London, and am 17 years old - I'm hoping to get down to 110 at least by my 18th - [next Jan] I love playing the piano, and my favourite subject is Maths [yay to calorie counting]

Welcome Susan and Electricsky Sarah (we have 2 Sarahs now)!

Hello all.  I am back in the States after a 3 month trip to South America and an added 6 pounds!  Curretnly I am 5'2 and 120lbs.  When I left the States at the end of May08. I was maintaining at 115 pds for as long as I can remember.  Sometimes I would go up to 117 and for 2 months in December07 and Jan08, I was down to 111pds but my median was always around 115.  I am very involved in fitness and ran my 3rd marathon 2 days before I left for my excursion.  June was the first month in S. America and when I arrived I was lighter because of the race on May 25th and I was not eating near enough food and dropped to 108...unfortunately, so did my metabolism.  I began eating food again in July and that is when the weight gain began.  I should also mention that I have been in recovery from an Ed (bulemia and anorexia) for 4.5 years and had a relapse for the first time in 2 years, in the middle of this summer when I began seeing weight gain, so my metabolism slowed even more.  I continued to exercise but cut back significantly to 3-4 times a week for around 30 minutes, and I was drinking much more than normal (which at home is almost never).

I have been back in the states for 2 weeks and back on my normal exercise routine of 6 days a week for 45 to 90mins and I am eating 5 small meals like I always did before I left.  I was at 121 when I returned and I have lost 1 lb, so I am at 120 now.  I need a group to help me stay strong mentally because I keep thinking about how all last spring I complained about being 115 and wanted to get down to 110, so it is very hard for me to deal with being at a point where 115 looks good.  Will this travel weight come off quickly...I am worried that b/c my ed flaired back up for a few weeks that I have really ruined my metabolic progress.    I know that 5 lbs does not seem like much but as a shorty it feels like a lot.  That is my story....all thought and suggestions are welcome.