Petite support for losing a few pounds/getting to our 'happy' size

[ACuppaAlwaysHelps]

Hi all. Following on from the thread that @SprayPaint started yesterday, a few of us (@Waiting9 @Horriblehistoree @FaceofSpades) seemed keen to have a thread to support each other in reaching our weight loss/body shape/fitness/health goals.

All petites are welcome on this thread, but it seemed like it would be particularly helpful to have a corner of Mumsnet for those of us who are petite/small framed and officially a 'healthy weight' but know we feel/look better a few pounds lighter (which would still be within a healthy weight/not underweight).

Maybe we can share goals, progress, struggles, things that are working, etc.? It would also be lovely to hear from any petites who are at a 'happy weight' and what you are doing to be successful.

Someone (maybe @FaceofSpades?) posted some helpful thoughts on the thread yesterday.

Please share how you all think this thread could be helpful.

Feel free to share as much or little as you like. Height, current weight, goal weight or other body measurements, nutrition, calories, exercise, NSV, etc.

Re smaller portions. That’s how I’m managing my weight loss, eating the same as my husband for tea but on a smaller ( called a salad plate!) plate. I’ve realised though that my smaller portion is actually a “ normal” sized one from back in the day. I think weve all become accustomed to eating larger meals as the norm. On the odd occasion that I have a ready meal for eg a pasta dish or a fish pie, I’m shocked at the tiny size of it and have had to add loads of extra veg to it.

V pleased to say I hit my target weight of 8 st 10 lb today.

I was 9st 5 1b at Christmas so have lost just over half a stone.

My t shirts aren’t clinging to my tummy area now and my jeans are a bit looser.

I have been eating smaller portions, esp of carbs and trying to have a big salad without carbs for 1 of my 3 meals about 4 times a week. I have been eating between about 8am and 6pm. I def have sugar cravings and sometimes absolutely long for big slices of cake. I let myself have a v small biscuit each day and a couple of boiled sweets and have done sugar free polos.

I have had some weekends where we’ve gone out for a meal or to someone’s house and I’ve had everything going….but I’ve had small pudding portions then and if it’s just been 1 day it hasn’t seemed to impact me too much.

I’ve basically lost half a pound most weeks. Have to say I don’t exercise much at all.

My plan was to do all this until Easter (weighing twice weekly) to reach my goal and then move to maintain/stay under 9 st with a fortnightly weigh. Having got here about 3 weeks early, I think I will try to continue to lose another pound until Easter, although I’m not sure I will manage.

What I don’t want is to be back here at Christmas having put the 9lb (or more even) back in and starting this slog again. Odd treats okay but I mustn’t slip back into regular snacking or big carb portion sizes.

I very much agree. I’ve just got used to bigger portions. Went to my in-laws for Sunday dinner and was 😱 at the portion size which I thought was tiny, it was actually substantial and I didn’t feel all bloated, lethargic and uncomfortable after. Agree too with the size of ready meals. I had a Morrisons counted lasagne this week, had to add veg to bulk it up a bit as I would have been starving and reaching for the biscuits. 🙈.

Yes to smaller portions. I got into the habit of serving DH and me equal portions even though he’s a foot taller and has a whippet’s metabolism. I think it was out of some sort of feminist principle (always hated the “girl portion and boy portion” nonsense) but it wasn’t a good idea!!

I’m happy to see a 57 on the scales this morning. Looking forward to being under nine stone for the first time in five years.

yeah my DP is a foot taller than me and borderline underweight so I’m always trying to get him to eat more. I think he would eat less than me if we both went with our natural urges, though. I’m a pig and he’s just not that fussed about food.

Me too, I’ve always had diffficulty finding a maintenance way of eating but def aim to stay under 9 st permanently now I’ve got there.

I’m close to my goal now. My scales finally start with 49kg instead of 50kg+. I’m glad this thread exists because I doubt the non-petite crowd would understand how much this means!

Firstly my figure looks much better. I’m wanting to tone my back and arms more, but I feel like I can see more of an hourglass figure coming through. When I weighed 55kg upwards, my back fat would cover my waist so I don’t look shapely. I’m finally seeing a decent silhouette without having to contour my body or pose in a certain way now. I think I’m realising that without regular gym sessions I likely need to keep my body weight lower than I anticipated.

Secondly, as if by magic, lots of my skin issues have gone away. I remember in 2022 my dermatologist mentioned that my skin issues could be related to weight, and I was offended as I had only recently gained weight. Prior to 2022 I was slim yet had the skin problems, so I though she fobbed me off. I was probably like 55kg and still healthy BMI. But now that I have lost that weight, I no longer have back or chest acne. My face doesn’t really break out. My skin tone is more even and I don’t get random dark marks or bruising. So the dermatologist was right in the end. Crazy.

Scales went down by a kg this morning but not sure how true that is. I weighed 54.7kg mid week and this morning after a coffee, water and the gym I was 53.8kg.

I've dropped my calories slightly since I've not been doing as much running. I'm not longer doing a marathon thanks to an injury so at least just sticking to halves and some faster 10Ks, I can afford to eat a bit under maintenance and hopefully continue weight loss.

I want to get to 50kg again by September/October, it's a very realistic goal I think with a maximum of 4 kg to go and 6 months to do it in.

Scales still show my body fat as being overweight though, I know they aren't the most accurate but it's still a bit depressing that I'm doing all this lifting in the gym and my fat levels are still high.

Sounds like lots of you have seen some progress this week. Well done!

Thanks to all the people who responded to my question about 5:2 earlier in the week. I already do either 16:8 or 18:6 most days. But I’m still not sure whether to give 5:2 a go or just keep going with regular calorie counting.

Wow - well done! This is so encouraging and inspiring. Do you have any tips on how you’ve achieved this? What’s your daily or weekly plan of food and/or exercise? Any other tips?

Hi can I join? Saw this thread suggested and thought I would pop over. I’m 5ft2 and currently 9st 5lbs so only “just”
in “healthy BMI” range.
Trying to lose a few more lbs to feel more comfortable.
I’m 50 and have been hovering between 9st 12 and 9st 5 for the last year or so.

the lightest I can ever recall weighing is 8st which was in my early 20’s, at this point I did zero exercise and didn’t eat much so I was unhealthy.

I piled weight on during (and after) my first pregnancy and my heaviest weight was 11st 11.

For context I don’t have a small frame - my hands and feet are large compared to others my height and I have broad shoulders. I have a fair bit of muscle as I train 5 times a week which includes heavy lifting so not expecting to be able to get much lower than I am now but would love to get under 9st

I've had my annual weekend of girly fun (which is quite active) and come back at where I left off on Thursday which is great (my scales probably dodged my hormonal peak )

I had fun, went with the flow but wasn't crazily excessive. My first alcohol in a month which was very enjoyable. I was less snacky than I'd normally be and think that the last month of reduced carbs has helped with that.

Hopefully I can get back to my downward trajectory this week

My husband was weighed at the surgery today in his asthma review and said the scales weigh half a stone more than ours! Allowing for clothes it’s still a bit disappointing! I’m going to ignore it

catching up on all the posts, it’s great to see some people have made really good progress.
I’ve been up and down last month, went down to 8st 8lbs, then had a week of eating whatever and whenever, went up to 8st 10lbs and now back to 8st 9lbs.
I’ve decided I need to stop focussing on the scale, and work on toning up. I also can’t do any type of fasting long term, as it feels too restrictive and I do end up binging eventually which pretty much ruins the progress 😂

@Storynanny1i would ignore that! I have analogue and digital scales, there’s a whole 7lb difference between the two. When visiting my parents the scales they own is in between the two I have 😂
I think my digital ones are the closest to actual weight, but they fluctuate too depending on where I weigh myself.

Thank you!

So I started Reformer Pilates. It’s really beginner friendly. I was so weak when I first started but have been able to move my body in ways I didn’t think were possible! I go with my friend and getting the encouragement from her & the class leader each week was great. It helped me to build endurance and abs.

Being initially shit at Pilates made me visit the gym more to build my endurance and learn proper form. I found I loved the rowing machine, bikes, lifting weights and using the resistance machines. I never thought I’d be a gym girl but it’s nice seeing yourself improve and all the little changes that come with it.

I also increased my calorie intake and focused more on protein. My version of dieting used to be vegan/vegetarian, no snacks, 800 calories etc so protein was never really on my mind. I try and prioritise it now.

Also I don’t have a daily or weekly plan aside from Pilates classes every week.

I try to go gym 1-3 times a week. I just base it on how tired my muscles are tbh. I generally find gym enjoyable but I’m still finding that balance between overdoing it and being consistent.

One game changer has been Apple Fitness+ if you have an iPhone or Apple Watch. It’s so cool. There’s workout videos there that you can do from home or gym but the trainers are really supportive and you can monitor your metrics. For example with rowing exercises they tell you how fast you should be going, or with indoor cycling when you should increase your resistance etc. So it feels like a proper workout.

In terms of a diet plan, I put my goals into chatgpt (lol) and asked it to create one. I don’t follow it perfectly but it helps when grocery shopping and thinking of high protein meal ideas.

I'm in a terrible biscuit hole at the moment. I swear there ought to be a 'biscuits anonymous' helpline.

Back to where I was a week ago after my weekend away hump.

I've been hungry a lot this week!
It's been hard to balance that with trying to re-initiate fat loss again.

I'm feeling like my tummy is getting softer. Not smaller as yet, but less dense in the same area. The trouble is it has saggy, crinkled skin and an overhang thanks to DS1's huge bump and birth so it will never look great. But my choice is either filled out with unnecessary fat or sagging around 🤷‍♀️ (Or surgery... but the thought of ££,£££ and a couple of months of healing isn't that enticing!)

@BogRollBOGOF I can understand what you are saying, I think I am in the same boat. I am going to try some Pilates to see if I can firm it up a bit. Though I doubt I will, another issue with petite ladies (especially if we have average or large babies) is the bump will necessarily be massive! Aside from that, I'll be choosing the right underwear to give a lovely shape clothed and pick swimwear that can tuck away the excess! Then nobody but me and DH will know what's going on underneath.

I am down to 55kg today, I think that is the lowest I have been since the birth of my babies. I would really like to be 50kg though, so will keep going.

@BogRollBOGOF
Omg I can so relate
I was up at nearly 15st pregnant. Since my sons birthday celebrations I've been off the radar with it all.
It's been nice to just relax a bit I know I can't continue.

My tummy has a apron from 2 sections and it's all saggy. I know with clothes on I can feel confident when I am down at my happy size but it is catch 22 because I am very insecure about my body with clothes off. This part I don't think I talk to people about as at our sizes they don't understand. X

In the pregancy I started at 9st 2, went down to 8st 7 through nausea by 4 months then ended up at 13st and couldn't sit behind the steering wheel for the last month. I had to stand sideways to reach the kitchen taps 😂
I think it was a 43" waist I had? My fundus was off the scale. I remember the MW sighing and plotting the graph by the title as it was bigger than it should reasonably have been despite my body beginning the eviction process before 40 weeks 🤣 I'd only just had another growth scan and all was well.

And people don't believe I have a squishy belly underneath well chosen high wasted pants and trousers just coz size 10.

There is decent muscle under there if I give it a good, deep poke 😂

I've got 36 hours to relax on my intake as I'm racing on Sunday. While 10k shouldn't need major carb loading, having spent the week limiting them, I think a good recharge will help on race day.

I've passed the wetsuit test today- a significant motivator to manage my size. Water temperatures have gone up a few degrees with this week's sunshine, and a good swim was a leg friendly way of getting moving today.

Thank you so much for your reply @Waiting9 That’s all really helpful. I have been doing some Pilates at home (unfortunately not really able to get to a class) and doing Caroline Girvan workouts.

One more question (hope you don’t mind - it’s so helpful to ask these questions to someone who has got to around what my goal weight is)… you say you have increased your calories? Do you know approx how many calories you are eating per day now? Would you say you are pretty consistent every day or do you have higher/lower calorie days?

Morning petites.

I had a blow out weekend! Treat Friday, then a beer festival and out to dinner Saturday, Sunday we had family round and at all the biscuits and wine. Ah well, the sun was shining and we were celebrating.

Having a busy life patch at the moment, but I am hoping to get back to some running and Pilates in May. That might boost the weight loss...or make me hungry so I over eat. But I have been making some consciously good decisions for a couple of months now and reducing portion sizes so I notice a larger meal leaves me feeling full and uncomfortable. Hopefully that feeling stays so adding exercise will not make me return to the large size dinners I was eating previously.

I'd still like to loose another half to 1 stone. But will see what effect that loss has visibly and at what point the weight loss stops. I wont restrict calories any further, though having just checked. My average calorie intake is 1650 per day based on 9 weeks data. I am steadily loosing half a pound a week. So not too much of a hardship there, I could go down a little more for short periods.

@Waiting9 reformer sounds really good. Unfortunately I cant find any classes near me.

I'm jumping on here hoping it will make me accountable! I'm 5'2", very small frame, early 50s and currently 9st2 apart from when I was pregnant this is the biggest I've ever been. I've read through this thread and found it very encouraging/supportive.

I have a full time desk job so not much activity through the day. I have started to walk for an hour each evening and am getting around 8k steps each day which I'm happy with but would like more. I keep thinking I'll get up early and get a walk in but when the alarm goes I'm so tired I can't do it!!

My diet is generally good except for the sweet things and I know this is my weakness. So I've been trying to cut out biscuits/pastries etc. and just reduce my portion sizes a bit. I have a good friend at work who is alcholic, he's been dry for 10+ years now and he said last week that he just takes each and every day as it comes. Gets up in the morning and says 'right, lets get through today without drinking' and he does. So I'm thinking of the same principle for sweet things. Not thinking too far ahead, just each day using my willpower to stay away from the junk.

Holiday abroad booked for summer so really want to be down to at least 8st6 by then 🙏

Back in patience mode... lots of yo-yoing up and down within a couple of lbs. The last 2 weeks have been disrupted with the weekend away (which was very active) and then running a race last weekend (so relaxed and upped the carbs so I had plenty of energy in the tank). More disruption this week with an ill child off school (yet again 🙄... gone for the vomit in school then rally at home technique this time. Sigh)... then we'll be into the Easter holidays...

I've dusted off MFP again. It's too tedious to do regularly and I keep forgetting to weigh things, but it does give a ballpark guide to where I'm at.