to think it’s a bit depressing how little you can eat when you’re short?

I'm 4ft 11 walk my commute so about 10k fast steps a day and potter some more. I am planning to get back into running as I used to run 5k three times a week and enjoy it.

I used to like Pilates and may be able to find an online Pilates workout to fit in at home. Used to dance, but no time for that now.

Can any of the strength trainers please tell me how you started. If you were me, active, but not very active, time poor, glued to home a lot of the time due to Children, what would you do to start introducing some strength training to a daily routine that can be built on to build muscle. Without a gym as I may be able to exercise while watching the kids, but not leave them to go to the gym.

Thanks

Surely it's all relative?
A smaller person would take smaller mouthfuls, have a smaller portion, but should feel satiated/content (not deprived) when they've eaten what they need.

I understand that people with greater calorific needs have more wiggle room but in the grand scheme of things that shouldn't equal a miserable life.

Agree, all you can do to help is build muscle /increase activity

This!!

This is the main reason I want to be a Gladiator when I grow up. They need to eat absolutely loads because of how muscley and active they are.

I agree - I do pilates, I walk or jog most days, I have a sedentary job, but I've had to switch to a standing desk with a walking pad as otherwise, since I've lost 3 stone, my daily active burn has dropped from 600 to 400 cals, and I've been struggling to maintain my macros without getting utterly bored by chicken and protein shakes (yes, I know there's lots of options, but I get sick of doing all that work and thinking too!).

I used to watch all those survival things, and I remember one where they had to survive for 21 days in whatever environment it was. Most people lost about 3 stone, but there was this little Japanese woman (same height as me, but half my weight at the time - she was a healthy weight though) and she lost 7lb. Because despite only eating the occasional lizard, her 'running costs' were so low.

Completely agree. I’m in a really similar boat — I’m 5ft 1, around 11st 3, and the NHS calculator puts me in the obese category. What gets me the most is how one tiny thing can tip you over your calories for the day. To stay in a deficit I’m meant to stick to about 1300 calories, which doesn’t go far at all.

My favourite Starbucks drink is 400 calories on its own, so it’s ridiculously easy to go over without even realising. Even a chocolate bar is 150-ish. When you’re this short, there’s basically no room for snacking and you have to be really intentional with every meal. I can absolutely see now how the weight crept on so quickly.

I do agree, a lot of our eating habits are literally that - habits - and general portions, what we might think are normal to eat, are out of kilter for what is realistic for a short woman. Restaurant meals obviously, but also the calorie count in pretty much any pre-prepared food from the supermarket or how much is put on an ordinary size plate. I'm sure there are some short women maintaining on 2000+ calories a day, but it's definitely not the majority. I walk 10k steps a day, I strength train 2-3 times a week and have done so fairly consistently for over a decade, and I do other sports on top, and I struggle to maintain a healthy weight. My maintenance is around 1750 and I need to stick to 1400 to lose weight, those numbers are higher than some but it's really not much wriggle room especially when I need carbs to have energy for exercise, and that I like to enjoy a variety of food.

At 5ft 2 I feel your pain! I walk everywhere-probably 15,000 steps a day and that helps. Often uphill. It’s the only exercise I truly like and will know I keep up with. It does mean I can eat without weighing myself obsessively and (mostly) maintains me at about 9st - which I’m ok with.

Yes it is frustrating to feel you put on the lbs much more easily, but you can love your body whatever its size. I am 4'11" and ticked unreasonable because I can choose to be a bit overweight (BMI 27) and eat whatever I like. You do have a choice!

YADNBU

It's hard socialising TBH - I can't really eat much any more and drinking a glass or two of wine puts me well over the limit!

I agree with the pp who said that living with men/older children also impacts - I eat like a teenager with an eating disorder, and I want to model good eating, but just don't need it!

I and i'm 50 and on HRT. If you have no muscle you will have a lower metabolism.

You need to build muscle. I'm 5ft 1 and weigh 9stone and i eat at least 2000cals daily. But i do 8 spin classes a week and swim. I do 100 squats daily.

@stressy1 take up weight lifting. More muscle = better metabolism.

Try and reduce body fat and increase muscle. Pilates is a great starting point if you don't want to go straight in with weights.

I'm mid 40s, albeit very tall, but I eat a LOT as I do a lot of sport and have a decent amount of muscle.

Oh, great, now I have thoughts about the horrors of the menopause in my head!

I am 5"3. A perk of my job is that it's brilliant for weight-loss... and it's a free way to build muscle tone without the need for a gym (I have been twice in my life, and it was Not For Me). The only downsides of this free workout regime are that it requires me to walk 10-15 miles a day, and that eating enough to keep my weight up is a very expensive habit!

Yes I agree. Now I'm menopausal I can only eat 1400 a day to maintain my weight. I love food but it's the enemy. In my 30's if I ate 1500 a day I lost 2lbs a week!

Yes. I’m 5ft 1.5 and have an underactive thyroid. But I also need a reasonable calorie intake and healthy carbs to support my thyroid function. Balancing calories in vs out is a very difficult balance, it is not just a matter of eating less and moving more.

I don’t find this. I am 5ft, aged 48 and definitely in peri. I eat quite a healthy diet and eat as much as I want and I don’t put on weight. I am still wearing clothes from pre children. I am quite active though, I dance and play football and do a bit of muscle building. I don’t drink alcohol or empty calorie drinks which I think is a big factor. My calories come from food and mainly healthy food so I can eat big portions. I had 2 bowls of stew and a banana yesterday for dinner as I was starving after dance class.

Yeah, I definitely feel like this, as a woman of small build and 5’4”. I’ve worked it out that I need 1600 calories a day to maintain my weight and I exercise, so that’s with me burning approximately 1500 calories per week. I do need to increase my muscle mass, but I HATE doing weights!!

I'm 5 foot 1 and I look at it as a positive because it costs so much less than if I was 6 foot 4.

If I go to a restaurant, I don't have any breakfast and eat around midday and then don't have to eat again until the next day.

I’m tall (well ‘ish’ at 5’8.5), and I can’t eat much. I have to stick to about 1000 calories a day to maintain my weight (more at weekends). And I have an active lifestyle.

I have a medical condition and I can't really exercise as much as I used to, and when the dc were younger running about after them kept me fit and slimmer, I don't particularly overeat i like a wine at the weekend that probably doesn't help either, I am about a stone over weight now I think I've just resigned myself to it.

The gym is so expensive though

It is indeed a ball ache. I’m 5ft2, 40yrs old and can only do 1200 calories a day. It sucks, but accepting the new normal is a mindset – not willpower.

Yes…I’m 5’1”, have PCOS and am now 65. You just have to be brutally honest, it’s basic thermodynamics that big people need more fuel than small ones. In order to eat more or less normal main meals, I now do 16:8 - no breakfast, basically - and try to walk about 5 miles a day, weather permitting.
an Apple Watch and nutracheck keeps me on the straight and, if not narrow then at least not too wide!