Weight loss tips for shorter women with limited mobility and no jabs

[Heereforagoodtime]

Hi all!

First time posting - apologies if I'm covering old ground!

Just wondering if there are any fellow shorties on here (I'm 5ft, weighing 12st 2lbs, with a BMI of 33.2 😬) who'd care to share their weight loss secrets?

I can't really exercise (or even walk very far, for that matter, because of various issues with my knees and ankle - awaiting further surgery - JOY!) which is really frustrating because I was very sporty in my younger days and then, having put on weight, I shifted 27lbs of it in 14 weeks during lockdown from walking (sadly, it's since gone back on). I also don't think I can fast - I get a migraine if I go too long without eating. Appreciate that limits my options.

A dietician friend also once told me my calorie intake would be 1,340 calories per day to maintain my weight, which doesn't leave much scope for a deficit!

I've lost the first 10lbs (whooo!) but I still have 4st 2lbs to go 😬 Ouchies! Hoping to do that over the next 40 weeks. Am I crazy?!

Any tips or recommendations are welcome.

Thaaanks!

P.S. I want to have a proper stab (pun intended) at this without the jabs.

Hi, I was the same im 5ftish with medical issues and I put on 3 stones during covid, and for me it was a lot to move around, i started fasting I don't know the ratios but I don't eat breakfast have lunch and dinner, i "allow" myself a snack in the evening if i want and the weight came off, once I was into it I cut down my portions. I am not overly strict with it so if im away from home ill eat and drink what I fancy.

I read some stuff about having chia seeds soaked in water twice a day can help with feelings full. If you have a Google of chia seeds for weight loss, it might be worth a try.
I'm on the jabs, but I was thinking of trying the chia seed thing with my eldest son who doesn't want the jabs, but has hEds and gained weight and it's such a vicious circle.

It took me a while to be fair because of bloody menopause! but im at 8.5 stones now which I am happy with.

can you give us an average daily meal plan?
there are lots of online calculators to work out your TDEE - you just need to add in your weight, height and activity level.

Surely your only option is to eat less calories if you can’t exercise ?
have you looked at ’volume eating’ so filling your plate with salad or veg first and adding lean protein? Less stodgy carbs and make sure they’re complex/ whole grain. You’d need less carbs than the average person if you’re not moving much.

If you put your statistics into a TDEE calculator giving "sedentary" as your activity levels, your maintenance calories are about 1600. So a deficit of 500 cals a day would be nearer to 1100 cals which is low but not super low. You could also go for slower weight loss and aim for around 1300 cals if that feels more sustainable.

Are there any seated exercises you could do? Or would swimming be an option?

Im 5ft1 and lost 5 stone through diet alone. I'm also disabled /unable to exercise (my average steps is about 500.
I maintain on 1350 and dropped to 1000 to loose.

Some things that helped-
I tracked my calories over a week rather than a day.
I cant fully fast because of my health but I did eat slightly later in the morning and finished slightly earlier.
I had a few meals that were low calorie for lunch on rotation so eggs or tomatoes or mushrooms on a slice of toast, homemade soup, chicken salad or a half portion of leftovers.
Logged everything I ate or drank.
My evening meals were a portion controlled portion of what everyone was eating so I might have one or two less spoon of rice but an extra spoon or two of vegetables.
Snacks, I never stopped myself but made sure I had healthy snacks which I'd box into individual portions so mixed dried fruit, salad sticks and hummus, fruit or plain crackers.
The biggest thing for me was portion control.

I'm a size 6/xs and have maintained by continuing the same but adding 300 more calories. I still document everything. I think the biggest difference to any other diet I've ever done was this was more about finding my long-term eating plan and even though it came off slowly (about 18 months) it was comingoff consistently.
Good luck with how ever you do it.

I think if you can't increase your calorie burn through exercise, your only option is to reduce calories so as to be in a deficit, and/or accept that because your deficit is smaller, weight loss will be slower. The best tip I can offer as a fellow short woman, is to focus on getting the most bang for your buck in terms of nutritious, satisfying and tasty meals as you can.

For me this means focussing on protein and fibre intake as a priority (I aim for 90g protein and 30g fibre per day on 1400-1500 cals total), plus ensuring you get lots of fruit and veg. Some carbs and fats but in moderation. It's much easier to achieve this if you can cook at home largely from scratch, doesn't have to be very elaborate meals, I eat a lot of things like overnight oats, eggs in various forms, soups, stir frys, beans on toast, batched cooked chillis, curries and stews made with pulses, beans, lentils etc. I try to avoid too much meat especially red meat but can hit my protein target with some careful thought and planning by eating chicken/fish a few times a week and then tofu or eggs or pulses the rest of the time, plus I do have some protein shakes or protein bars as a supplement. Seeds like flaxseed or chia are great for added fibre as well as plenty of fruit and veg and swapping to wholegrains e.g. wholemeal bread and pasta, brown rice etc. and I recently discovered some sugar free sweets which have lots of added fibre and v low calorie as well so that's a nice bonus (just be careful with eating too much at first or the consequences may be, erm, interesting!). Finally you do need to live your life a bit and have occasional treats or eating out etc but the key is to stick to the occasional/moderation part rather than allowing the fact that you say had chips for lunch or an ice cream after dinner lead to a huge binge session or total abandonment of the whole diet!

I share some of your problems re mobility but have managed to lose some weight... so here goes. Whilst in hospital following a hip op and then breaking the very same leg the next day (so painful and worse than birth, it was the femur) I lost over a kg. I decided to have no coffee or tea and therefore no milk of any kind for the three weeks I was in hospital. I had no breakfast but a decent vegetarian lunch and supper...

Motivated but still immobile for various reasons I recently read the review of a book by Annette Sams who is a medical professional who worked on the semaglutide injections. She said weight can be lost by eating more greens like broccoli because they reach the end of the colon in order to be digested whereas other foods like biscuits and crisps don't. Well I decided to have a go for 5 days last week. I ate collard greens, spring greens, carrots, lettuce and other veg but had a treat every day which she does not recommend of two cups of coffee with a decent amount of milk added but I decided to go with half fat goat's milk: really filling and I felt better for it. I had this late morning. I ate no chocs or sweets. I drank green tea and water. I ate berries, apples and I had a couple of pots of organic milk yoghurt throughout the week. I now can fit in to some trousers that I could not last week. I have never before eaten a collard green in my life nor a spring green... but my complexion is radiant... According to the review you can be on this strict green phase for up to two weeks. I broke it at the weekend when I had a perfectly lovely Sunday lunch and some organic butter on bread and some rice... but I want to incorporate those green veg every day from now on. I have been eating mine raw... but then it has been hot... I do want to actually read the book but I am saving money so I may not order it yet but if you are immobile and determined I highly recommend five days of this, a break and adding those greens every day in your life... It really is not too difficult to do.

Do a TDEE calculator , that intake seems a tad low

If you cant fast - make first meal later in the day, and finish eating earlier , even an hour a day will help

Protein and fibre are the foods you need to be filling up on, both fill you for longer , take longer to eat so you automatically feel more satisfied

I start work early and get home around 10am so am ready to eat around 11 am so I will have something like a couple of eggs - scrambled or poached, kippers, spinach and tomatoes on one slice of dark rye bread . Or a pot of fat free cottage cheese. some chicken and a pile of salad veg and pickles

That will keep me going till dinner where I eat what ever - only I cut back on the white carbs, choose brown rice and wholemeal pasta or replace altogether with couscous , quinoa, lentils , chickpeas . I eat a lot of lentils , chickpeas and beans - all sorts , through them into anything, ups the protein and keeps me full . Believe me a bolognese made with half lentils and served with wholemeal spaghetti- you will be eating a kids portion and feel stuffed . And I pile on the veggies , even last week when the BBQ was in use all week, on went sweet peppers, corn on the cobs, flat mushrooms and asparagus - eat them and a piece of chicken and a bit of fish - you arent looking the sausages and ribs and burgers - too full . I get the veg in me first, followed with the protein and then decide if I really want or need anything else

If I need something later in the evening - greek yoghurt and berries

There are some foods Ive had to cut out of my life - white bread and butter - that just gets inhaled and doesnt fill me , and I keep an eye on how much cheese Im eating, but I drink very little milk, only one milky coffee a day

Ive lost over two stone and maintained now for 3 years . Sure I gain here and there - holidays, eating out and parties Im not going to say no, but at home I keep to the basics and it keeps me in my clothes . not bursting out of them :)