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

[stressy1]

I’m quite small, 5'1, and it’s honestly a bit of a shock when you realise how little your body actually needs. When you look into it, your “normal” is already quite limited compared to someone taller and then menopause comes along and seems to shrink it even further.

I am surrounded by people eating what looks like totally reasonable amounts. I join in and think I am eating normally, but over time the weight creeps up.
It doesn’t feel like overeating at all, that’s the frustrating part but it is for my height.

There is so little margin for error. A couple of small extras, a snack, a drink and I have tipped over. Meanwhile taller people seem to have so much more flexibility without even thinking about it.

Anyone else found this?

5ft 1in and I agree and it gets more difficult as you get older. I have some chronic health issues so I can’t get much dog walking done at the moment.
Being able to buy children’s trainers and being comfortable in an air line seat are the only positives I can think about being a shortie?

My best friend who’s 5 ft 2 has been a size 18-20 for years. She loves her food however. She’s dieted and lost almost 2 stone recently just by healthier eating and Pilates every day. Over lockdown she got to a size 14 but was walking 30 mins every day too.

Her mum who she lives with is just under 5ft and about a size 6-8, she doesn’t like big meals, often biscuits and cheese.

Yes. I'm 5ft3. I've taken up running 3 times a week (around 10 miles total) so I can actually eat some crisps and have a pint on a weekend.

Kids trainers and leg room is absolutely a perk I used to be able to wear kids clothes back in the dark ages 😀

Definitely the health issues don't help!

I don't enjoy exercise much any more and have torn rotator cuffs in my shoulders and bad knees from skating when I was younger (LOVED that!).

I do belong to a gym but am limited - even recently swimming was ruled out by the physio because it was aggravating the knees, and just constantly advised "gentle exercise and rest". EVEN MORE BORING.

I am 5ft 3 and cannot eat anywhere near as much as most people bigger than me. I don’t find it restrictive at all as I physically can’t eat more. Perhaps due to body type and metabolism more than height but makes sense that bigger people need to eat more.

First comment has it. Agree with this.

It isn't just about appetite. It's about someone bringing treats to work and asking if anyone will go halves on a donut with you. Or buying a supermarket sandwich and eating half and try to wrap up the rest to have for later. It requires consistently saying no or going against societal expectations, that's hard. Many foods available to us arent really possible to fit in to a low calorie diet even in moderation. The environment we're in and the food options we have around us have a big impact.

At what age did everyone start gaining weight more easily? I’m 35 and 5ft- I’m wondering how many years I have left eating what I want!

Look at it another way..,. Food is ridiculously expensive. It’s just fuel. you’d be happy if your car had a smaller tank than others but still did the same distance and speed.
You’re saving money. Start totting it up and then treat yourself to something nice like a beauty treatment.

If I eat over 1200 I put on weight. Im 5 ft and 50. Im not sedentary but I don't do exercise. Work ft, single parent to two, I don't have time or headspace. There's not a lot of wriggle room in what I eat between satiety and too much.

Yeah, I find the same. I think it's most difficult in terms of pre-prepared portion sizes because although of course my appetite is smaller than someone larger, a biscuit or a slice of bread is the same size for everyone. So if I eat one biscuit, that's a bigger proportion of my daily allowance than if my tall friend eats one biscuit.

Similarly, if DH and I buy a sandwich each in a coffee shop, we can both manage to eat our whole sandwich - a normal sandwich isn't a huge portion, even for a small woman - but I've eaten more than I need without realising.

it's actually crazy how much nice food there is everywhere and how easy it is to put on weight :(

I'm 5ft1 and have never thought about it tbh. Middle age had had more of an effect on weight gain than my height tbh.

My 30s were thrown off by having a baby at 34 then losing loads of lbs breastfeeding, but I reckon around age 38 my metabolism slowed right down. I'm 41.

Im 5ft 2 and I cant really eat over 1200 cal without weight gain

It is a benefit of being tall and also able to hide a few extra pounds. My maintenance calories are around the 2000 mark.

I'm 4 foot 11 and find it incredibly hard to lose weight in perimenopause, even though I weight train. I don't have enough hours in the day to do heroic amounts of exercise and it's very hard to get DP to understand that I need to watch portions, eat lighter, can't swill back pints of beer like he does.

Being short is a nightmare when it comes to this. I find that if I actually eat 3 square meals a day, I gain weight like it’s going out of fashion unless the portions are really small to the point of being child sized. My body just doesn’t need that much (even though I would like to eat that much). Two meals a day is plenty for me, sometimes even one large meal with snacks through the day is plenty, which is what I sometimes do if I’ve got a meal out planned or I’m looking forward to a takeaway later on.

I’ve got a physical job which helps keep the weight off but it’s always such a balancing act. I’d be the size of a small blimp if I wasn’t mindful and it’s not like I’m the perfect weight to begin with, could definitely stand to lose a few more lbs but it’s hard enough not gaining weight in the first place. I am dreading menopause and the issues that might cause with my weight.

Yes well add in 'old' and then really weep into your salad.

I was still a size 8 -10 at 45 I am 55 (almost )and I am a 12-14.i sometimes wear size 14 trousers for comfort, you have a while yet enjoy your food.

Yes - your daily energy requirement is just a LOT lower if you're short than iuf you're tall.
Just as an example.. Say you're aiming for a BMI of 22; If you're 5'2" you would weigh 54.6kg if you're 5'7" you'd weigh 63.7kg Taking low activity as a baseline... it's about a 200 calorie difference daily.
Then consider that running and walking burn a lot more calories when you are bigger/heavier. So if they both go for a run, the shorter person burns a fair bit less energy.
Yes - we short folk, need to be much more careful about portion control to maintain a healthy weight.

That's over 800 a week difference. So actually quite a big one. That's the ability to eat a fanily sized pudding and not gain any weight vs not. Over the year it's a huge different.

And yes 4 squares of chocolate or 2 biscuits the ability to have a treat a day and not gain weight is a big difference.

It alwasy annoys me hugely when tall or even average height people complain about their restricted calorie diet and it's more than I can eat even when doing a big work out. 1200cals a day is healthy intake- I'm a stone heavier at the mo because I'm doing around 1500cal a day.

I think I've donated my metabolism to my hollow-legged teenagers who have the physique of drinking straws.
The 6ft of husband who seems to burn 33% more calories both to exist and whem exercising also does not help.

I have an active job, run and do weights, but it tends to average out at about 300 active calories per day because you can't max out every single day, plus life happens, illness, injury holidays, being off routine... A few days ago I was doing a deep clean of the house clocking up 12,000 steps of movement through the day... and apparently only 136 active calories burned all day 🙄 I'm sure DH burns that by blowing his nose 🤔

It feels like there is little else to give short of living only on salad and protein, and being out of sync with the family. I also bonk out quite easily with strategies like intermittent fasting. My general habits got me to 40 with no bother, including losing the two rounds of babyweight. It's frustrating me, but I don't want to have to replace all my clothes and feel heavy when moving (plus the toll on joints)

My metabolism has changed, but my previously realistic appetite hasn't.

Absolutely agree with this.
NHS and food manufacturers still pushing out that adults need 2000 calories a day. I cba to work it out but how tall would a 'healthy weight' woman with average physical activity, need to be, to have 2000 calories a day and not gain weight?
When I realised how low calories I needed to live on and adjusted my diet, I had so many people telling me I couldn't possibly live on 1200 calories a day.

I find it much easier to just accept that I can't have a hot chocolate etc than work out when I can have one. That's just the way it is now,