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.

No, my waist would have to be lower than 24 inches

@ACuppaAlwaysHelpslooking at your screenshots I’ve realised I don’t do nearly enough to get this weight moving 😂 I have a charge 4, and only use it when either working out (short home work out), or intentionally going to a walk.
I’ve lost and gained the same 4lbs for a while now, but I’m not surprised. I’ve lost my mojo, eat crap, finding it hard to not binge. I know I have insulin resistance due to pcos so need to stop giving in to cravings, but sometimes I lose my motivation and give in (and it’s bad, more than 1 bar of chocolate, biscuits, crisps and ice creams all in one day).

I’ve been decluttering and decided to try on a dress from 13 years ago…the dreaded stomach area 😢

I can donate some hips

I was always a pear, although my upper half has filled out in recent years. The cost of getting a stronger upper body is that my back and shoulders are filling out and making clothes tighter, but at least that's healthy, useful mass.

It is the bit in the middle that I want to see reducing a little. I have already noticed my upper thighs/ hips having a soother line than they did a while ago.

Having another good day, and it's been a good week despite modest expectations. I haven't felt as hormonally fuggy as I was expecting either.

Weigh day tomorrow for me and i’ve made a conscious effort to eat healthier this week, so hopefully a loss, i’ve been catching up on the thread. @BogRollBOGOF & @Pickingmyselfup i am in awe of your running distances and dedication. Inspirational.

Hi all, so glad i've found this chat. I'm 5'3 and 41, have put on around 9lb over the last year. No idea how but suddenly i hate my body having never really worried about it before. I'm veggie and weight train but find hitting protein targets hard while also cutting calories, all the information out there is so confusing

1lb down this morning after a week of healthier eating, only another 8 to go 🙈to get to my happy weight, trying to reduce my carbs and increase protein, which isn’t the easiest when i’m a fussy eater and have an egg allergy 😂. Trying to get back into a regular running routine too, managed a 5k and a 6k this week, aiming for x3 a week as i find it good for my mental health too and it keeps me motivated.

How much are you losing whilst eating 1300-1400 based on that level of activity? That’s high steps. I feel quite active and typically hit only 16000 steps per day on the Fitbit. My Fitbit definitely says I burn more Cals than my Apple Watch. For example, on a typical day Apple Watch would say I’ve burned 1750 in total for the day and Fitbit would say 2200. Huge difference. Who knows what is accurate.

Has slimming world worked for any of you petites?

@thas no, but I have thought about it, but just doing the diet, not going to meetings.

I have also thought about trying nutrition shakes, I don't know if anyone's done that? Just for a short time, though.

Well I'm now wondering if my scales are wonky. I used never weigh myself but have been weighing daily since I decided I wanted to tackle my weight gain. I was 9st 2.6 on 4th April. Yesterday morning I was 8st 1.5 and this morning it was jumping around and settled on 7st 13.5 I'd be delighted if that was the case but I'm not convinced, especially as it was jumping (it's a digital scale and usually settles within seconds) I do feel I've lost a good bit, I'm wearing clothes that I wasn't able to get into previously and some trousers are particularly baggy at the waist but at the same time I need to be sure! I'm borrowing my mum's scales this evening and will weigh again first thing tomorrow.

I've never done Slimming World or anything like that or used nutrition shakes etc. I've cut out all snacks and a lot of carbs, and alcohol. I've reduced portion sizes and I go for a 1 hour power walk every evening straight after eating.

@thas I’m not really losing, even with high activity and tracking every calorie.
No, I’ve never done Slimming World.

Wow @LifeInAHamsterWheel let us know if your scales are accurate. But, even if they’re not, you’ve clearly lost weight if you’re able to fit into clothes. Well done! I’m really inspired by you. Do you know how many calories you’re eating per day? What does a typical day/week of meals look like for you?

I don't log my food anywhere but I've definitely drastically reduced my calories just by cutting out the snacks and resizing my portions.

For breakfast I have a tub of kvarg (it's fat free quark so a bit like greek yoghurt, 15g protein per pot) I defrost a cup of raspberries and cherries and add that, and a chopped up kiwi with the skin on. I throw in a tablespoon of nutty granola and a heaped teaspoon of ground flaxseed. I have this at 10:30 every morning. Lunch is a lentil & chickpea curry that I make a big pot of and freeze in small portions. I have it with a warmed wholemeal pitta bread. It helps that I absoutely love it as I have it almost every weekday! If I don't have that I have vegetable soup with a slice of wholemeal bread. Dinners are all sorts really, meatballs & spaghetti, chilli & rice, pork chops & potatoes etc. I haven't changed evening meals at all but have reduced the portion size as I noticed I was eating nearly as much as DH and he's much bigger in height & stature than me! Straight after dinner I have a mug of tea and one rich tea biscuit! Once I've had that I don't eat again until breakfast the next morning. I have also increased my water intake, I find this hard, it was easier with the warm weather recently and I do find it makes a difference. But really the sheer amount of crap I had been eating between meals was the kicker. Every day I'd have biscuits, chocolate, pastries etc. it was a lot and it was constant. I've cut that out completely and only have the 3 meals each day. So I've no idea the total daily calories I'm now eating but it's definitely a lot less than it used to be. And the hour long walk I take every evening helps too, where I live is quite hilly so I feel I'm getting a good workout.

@LifeInAHamsterWheel Thank you so much for the above reply yesterday. That’s really helpful. Did you weigh yourself on your Mum’s scales? Are your scales right?

So I’ve lost about 3lbs since joining this thread.
I gained about a stone in the last year and I’d like to loose about 9lb so I have a few to go. It’s been slow progress but I can tell it’s come off my stomach thank god!
Ive started c25k. I’ve cut out snacks between breakfast and lunch and limit to one before dinner. And stopped drinking so many hot chocolates 🙈 I’ve also been walking a lot more and trying to hit a higher number than I used to each day. I think it’s going to take me months but I’m pleased the first couple of pounds has come off because I was getting fed up about my stomach.

@fashionqueen0123 that's a great start with long term habits.

I started a 10am snack as part of the misery of "home learning" during the lockdowns and it stuck around for a while after. I trained myself out of it 2-3 years ago by making breakfast later for a while. I no longer eat breakfast with the DCs- they need more energy than me. I eat later when the day has calmed down a bit more.

Well done on your loss

Well done @fashionqueen0123 3lbs is lovely to see on the scales and gives you a great boost to continue - even better when you can notice it off your tummy!

I got my mum's scales but I'd say they're as old as myself! They're the old style needle type and I struggled to get them to zero properly so didn't borrow them. I ordered a new set off Amazon and they'll arrive tomorrow so I'll weigh then.

This is so true. I started eating chocolate just for fun in lockdown , rather than at birthdays, Xmas etc, and instead having it alll the time. So I’ve stopped buying it now. Taken me years!

We got a lot more sugary. Part of it was bribing the DCs to do stuff like long walks or breaking up the lessons so we could last longer before a family meltdown over it. It is hard to dial back once it's become a habit.

I worked out that I lost 5 miles a week of little bursts of functional walking- the tyoe that's really good for your metabolism. Just adding to formal exercise to compensate doesn't really work!

Back in 2025, last stages of this month's hormonal interference are in progress. It's not been too bad this month, but I now have a cold in the equation and sinuses feeling like they're in a vice are somewhat carb craving

I've been playing with banana pancakes which at least hit that sweet spot without adding added refined sugars as the sweetness is entirely from mashed banana... and maybe a small number of dark chocolate chips...

My new scales arrived and are telling me I'm 8st 5.6lbs
I'm not sure how many pounds of poop you can store up in a week but I'm hoping its 3 as I've not gone since the weekend!! I've also had a couple of more carb-heavy dinners this week which I'm sure doesn't help. Back on the DulcoEase sachets and hoping for movement soon (apologies for the TMI)

Sounds a bit like my week. I was expecting hormonal disruption, but also ended up feeding a cold which makes me carby. Exercise is down too. I'm maintaining my zone rather than gaining, so I'm rolling with that until I perk up next week.

@fashionqueen0123 I’m the same

I first weighed in at about 9lb 6 and lost 3-4 lb quite quickly in the first couple of months just from cutting out snacks and reining in portion size. But my weight has plateaued there since Easter, partly due to having exercised less (injured back) and partly old habits creeping back in.

My back’s better now so I’m back on the exercise and going to be stricter about the snacks. Luckily I tend to eat less in the warmer months anyway.

I would really like to be under 9 stone by mid July but I don’t know if that’s realistic without doing fasting or calorie control… I keep intending to do some fast days and then absentmindedly eat normally!!

Coming to the end of the cold and had a weekend away on "child-friendly" beige carbs. 63.4kg, so I'd class that as maintaining. It's not a big upwards surge. More disruption booked for the rest of half term week...

Disruption phase ended. Time to re-find momentum.

Crappy weigh-in, back up to 64.5kg. Hopefully there will be some easy bloaty losses in there over the next week.

Hopefully I should have a good block to get back in routine and at least my ankle has had a decent rest period and isn't as niggly as a few weeks ago.

I fell off the wagon too but restarted yesterday - first of the month and all that. I've maintained activity but just let my diet slide but I'm in pain again, so back on the high fibre diet. Weight wise I've only gained a kilo but my body fat has gone from 26% to 28%. I'm still aiming for the low twenties for that, so think I need to knuckle down for the summer. I've upped my gym membership plan and downloaded the Runna app to get a running training plan on the go. Unfortunately I did some weighted lunges at the gym on saturday and my legs have been in bits since, I've had to slide down the stairs and lower myself gently on the loo, so I'm behind on that running plan already! Impressive stuff for one set of exercises that didn't even feel difficult at the time. Oh well, tomorrow is a new day.