Short Women Suggestions

No Snacks, no sweets, no seconds. Except on Days that start with S. Too simple for you? Simple is why it works. Look here for questions, introductions, support, success stories.

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Eeyore
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Short Women Suggestions

Post by Eeyore » Thu Apr 04, 2013 9:58 pm

I'm 5'3 and would like to know how other short women are doing with NoS. I'm still a newbie and trying to ditch the diet mentality but sometimes fear my size will prevent me from doing that.

I gain weight at the drop of a hat and worry that eating three plates of whatever I want will cause more weight gain.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions for me?

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sophiasapientia
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Post by sophiasapientia » Thu Apr 04, 2013 11:31 pm

Hi Eeyore! Another 5'3" lady who gains weight at the drop of a hat here. ***waves hand***

I think at first the most important thing to do is to cultivate a basic No S habit and see where that takes you. If you were previously eating a lot of Ses on a daily basis, for instance, just cutting those out during the week may be enough to get you where you need to be without any issues.

If it isn't enough, there are definitely minor tweaks -- using slightly smaller plates, eating a lighter breakfasts and/or lunches, etc -- that we shorter ladies can use. But they may or may not be needed, depending on your habits and needs. Personally, I've used some of these tweaks myself with great success but have been half-Sing for many months so am mostly trying to recultivate solid habits at the moment. :roll: :wink:

loop
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Post by loop » Fri Apr 05, 2013 1:56 am

You sound just like me :) To be honest, NoS alone has not resulted in weight loss for me, but it has helped me maintain for the most part.

If I get into a regular exercise habit, and eat two meals a day, I see a slow downward trend, although I haven't been doing this long/consistently enough to have a large effect. It has helped me reverse some temporary gains due to vacation indulgences, which in itself is an improvement for me.

I would not worry about weight loss at the moment (although I do understand being worried about weight gain), but I would focus on the habits. There are lots of benefits to the habits, even if you don't lose weight.

You said "I worry that eating three plates of whatever I want will cause more weight gain". In some ways I want to eat large portions of indulgent foods at every meal. But becoming more aware of how food makes me feel means I want to eat food of types and in quantities that will make me feel good and keep me full longer. I think the structure of NoS - having to make it from one meal to another without snacks - helps me focus more on this and make better choices.

I no longer routinely overeat at meals. I eat several servings of fruits and vegetables every day. While it's not a "want" at the level of "this is the most tasty food I can imagine eating", it is a "want" at the level of "this is the food that will make me feel the best". It did take time, but it got easier and mostly automatic after a while. And I do also eat rich tasty food, just in smaller quantities.

I didn't gain weight when starting NoS, maybe you won't either. If you're really worried about it I would suggest that you don't deny yourself (or else how is this different from a diet), but don't go crazy either. Pay attention about how full you're feeling while you're eating (and after), and think about balance in your meals.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Fri Apr 05, 2013 3:40 am

I'm an under 5'3" woman -- and way post menopausal, too. I don't gain at the drop of a hat, but it can be difficult to lose weight. I'm generally a two-meal-a day person and one of those meals is pretty light. At the other meal I pretty much eat whatever I want.

I rarely eat breakfast and if I do, it's light and then I eat a light lunch, too, with a more substantial dinner. If I eat a big breakfast, I'll skip lunch and eat again at dinner and it may be a light meal.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

noni
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Post by noni » Fri Apr 05, 2013 12:44 pm

Menopausal 5' 2" here. A light breakfast. Medium lunch, 8 1/2" plate for dinner. I have been attempting to put more salad/veggies/fruit on plate or as oolala calls it, "freggies". This leaves less room for denser foods. Like wosnes, I also skip meals periodically. This works for me as my weekends are still not moderate. If you were/are a heavy snacker, then keeping the weekdays green will be very helpful.

wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Fri Apr 05, 2013 2:05 pm

I'll have to say that while eating two meals is pretty much routine for me, whether it's a light meal or more substantial meal isn't so much part of a plan as it is habit or just "this is what I feel like."

Also, years ago I read that as we women age, we need to cut our calories by 10% every decade after age 40. So, if the average woman consumes 2000 calories daily, after 40 it should be 1800; after 50, 1620, after 60, 1460 and it probably levels off after 60 or 70.

I'm in my 60s and I find that while I could eat as much as I used to eat out of habit, I really don't need as much food to be satisfied.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

AndreaRN9
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Post by AndreaRN9 » Fri Apr 05, 2013 2:16 pm

You can try following the MyPlate recommendation when fixing your plates: 1/2 veg/fruit, 1/4 protein, 1/4 carb/grain.

The reality is if you fill up your plate to heaping with calorically dense food, say Fettucine Alfredo, then of course it's not going to lead to weight loss. But a plate that is 1/2 veg/fruit to start is going to have a lot less calories than one devoid of those foods.

vmsurbat
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Post by vmsurbat » Fri Apr 05, 2013 2:57 pm

I'm also 5'2" and in my mid-fifties. I lost the first 30 lbs just following Vanilla NoS. After that, because I wanted to, I added walking as my fitness of choice (I use a pedometer for motivation) and aim for (not perfectly, but as a general rule) to plate my food according to the 1/2 veggies/salad, 1/4 grain, 1/4 protein rule for dinner. I've since lost 25 more pounds. I'm now in the healthy BMI range, fwiw.

I eat three satisfying meals a day. I think I could lose the last stubborn five pounds if I was willing to make a meal or two smaller, or cut down to two real meals and maybe a glass of milk/fruit for one. But so far, I haven't been willing, although I can see it happening on the horizon as my youngest leaves for college this coming fall and I'll be able to more flexible with meal times for the hubby and me.

I can say that what constitutes a "satisfying" meal now is less than when I first started NoS. Note that I didn't purposely try to make my meals smaller, they just down-sized gradually (over YEARS--I've been at NoS for 4.5+ years now) as I learned to not like a "too full" feeling.

My best suggestion: start out with Vanilla No-S--No sweets, no snacks, no seconds except sometimes on S days. Be diligent about no little snitches while preparing food unless you must taste and correct for seasoning--for us small women, those little bites add up fast.

Next best suggestion: Read the sticky at the top about No S Catch Phrases--the biggest challenge is beating diet head and the best way to fight it is to replace wrong thoughts with right ones. That thread has a number of helpful word pictures, mottoes, and suggestions for fighting diethead.

You can do it!

HTH,
Vicki in MNE
7! Yrs. with Vanilla NoS, down 55+lb, happily maintaining and still loving it!

Shortformyweight
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Post by Shortformyweight » Fri Apr 05, 2013 4:54 pm

I am not quite 5'2", I've been doing No S for a little over two weeks, and I've lost 8 lbs as of this morning, even though I haven't been perfect and had a couple of days with failure.

I am also tracking my food in My Fitness Pal, which is helping me make some smarter choices in what I'm putting on my plate for each of those three meals.

Looking back at the various attempts at weight loss I've tried over my life, I can say that even in 2 weeks this feels different, but there are some other things that are in place that are making it work for me.

1. Emotional eating - I used to be a big time emotional eater, but I got divorced a few years ago and now the major source of the chaos and frustration that fed my emotional eating isn't part of my life on a daily basis. So I am not doing much emotional eating right now, and when I do have those emotional moments, I try to substitute exercise for eating.

2. I learned that in order to not overeat, I need to eat when I feel hungry, and stop eating when I'm satisfied (not full). Part of this is making my meals a more sacred time - my daughter and my boyfriend and I sit down together and it's a social experience, with conversation and discussion, and I tend to eat less that way. I've had a few days this week where I wasn't able to finish what was on my plate! I can't do the 5 small meals thing because I never feel hungry and I never feel satisfied, it just turns into an all day extravaganza of eating.

3. Internal and external motivation - I need to lose weight to have surgery on a lifelong disability. I am only a few pounds away from reaching that weight. My daughter is getting married this fall, and I want to look good. And I'm feeling just healthier inside - that I care enough about myself to want to feed my body the foods that are going to do me good.

I know it's hard to lose weight when you're short, and I know that even when you do lose weight, it doesn't always look or feel like it when you're short (see: I've lost 25 lbs this year and I'm still wearing the same jeans because the next size down squeezes my middle too much, so it's a belt on my old jeans). But are either of those good reasons to not try? I don't think so.

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Anoulie
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Post by Anoulie » Fri Apr 05, 2013 5:26 pm

I'm 5' 2", too, and I have pretty small breakfast and dinner (think a small bowl of muesli with milk for breakfast, a slice of bread with tomatoes and cheese on it and an apple for dinner). Lunch is my only warm, big meal, and even then I don't eat as much as my classmates. I'm not hungry for more anyway. My suggestion is to first try out the plan and eat whatever -- don't worry about the weight gain. You'll figure out pretty quickly how much food you need to eat to tide you over until one or two hours before the next meal (hunger does not mean you're starving and is totally allowed).
There's only us, there's only this
Forget regret, or life is yours to miss.
No other road, no other way,
No day but today.

leafy_greens
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Post by leafy_greens » Fri Apr 05, 2013 6:58 pm

I don't think most people gain huge amounts of weight on No S, if any. From what I have read in the boards and testimonials, some people are losing with No S, and some are plateaued or gain 3-5 lbs. However, I have not seen anyone who gains 50 lbs by strictly following a vanilla No S plan.

I think the biggest problem is the fear of gaining weight by letting yourself eat regular foods on a full plate. Realistically, you're probably cutting out so many snacks and sweets that 3 plates is not going to cause any weight gain, even with some wildness on weekends. Give vanilla No S an honest shot before getting scared about any weight gain.
Anoulie wrote:I'm 5' 2", too, and I have pretty small breakfast and dinner (think a small bowl of muesli with milk for breakfast, a slice of bread with tomatoes and cheese on it and an apple for dinner). Lunch is my only warm, big meal, and even then I don't eat as much as my classmates. I'm not hungry for more anyway.
An apple for dinner does not seem like enough calories.

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Anoulie
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Post by Anoulie » Fri Apr 05, 2013 7:03 pm

I only mentioned breakfast and dinner in between these parentheses.

a small bowl of muesli with milk for breakfast,

(lunch, which I mentioned later)

a slice of bread with tomatoes and cheese on it and an apple for dinner
There's only us, there's only this
Forget regret, or life is yours to miss.
No other road, no other way,
No day but today.

leafy_greens
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Post by leafy_greens » Fri Apr 05, 2013 7:07 pm

Shortformyweight wrote:I know it's hard to lose weight when you're short, and I know that even when you do lose weight, it doesn't always look or feel like it when you're short (see: I've lost 25 lbs this year and I'm still wearing the same jeans because the next size down squeezes my middle too much, so it's a belt on my old jeans). But are either of those good reasons to not try? I don't think so.
If it makes you feel better, I'm 5'7" and have to wear pants that are two sizes too large for the rest of my body, just to fit my waist. My waist is disproportionately large, even at a thin weight.

wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Fri Apr 05, 2013 8:52 pm

leafy_greens wrote:
Shortformyweight wrote:I know it's hard to lose weight when you're short, and I know that even when you do lose weight, it doesn't always look or feel like it when you're short (see: I've lost 25 lbs this year and I'm still wearing the same jeans because the next size down squeezes my middle too much, so it's a belt on my old jeans). But are either of those good reasons to not try? I don't think so.
If it makes you feel better, I'm 5'7" and have to wear pants that are two sizes too large for the rest of my body, just to fit my waist. My waist is disproportionately large, even at a thin weight.
For me it's not my waist, it's my hips. I learned to love elastic waists early due to large hips.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

Dale
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Post by Dale » Sat Apr 06, 2013 7:43 am

I'm slightly shorter than you and personally, I track calories as well, and my calorie-tracking is probably more consistent than my No-Sing. I started with pure NoS and did lose some weight with that alone, but I was very obese when I started. The more you lose, the less you need, unfortunately, so I have had to readjust on the way down!

Wosnes's post about diminishing calorie requirements with age was interesting! It was a big shocker to me to work out what my actual calorie requirements were! In fact my maintenance calories at my original (before I gained) weight are just over 1300! I'd assumed that I should be eating about 1800 - 2000! No wonder I put on weight!

The reality of it is that I can't have three full-sized meals plus calorie-laden drinks (I was drinking things like hot milk and orange juice when I started, which helped with the habit but not with the calories) and lose weight. I have to have some "mod", whether it be calorie counting, cutting portion size, etc.

Having said all that, I didn't gain at all when I started No S and initially lost weight JUST with No S. I'm still losing weight now, but have added other things in, using No S as a kind of template! I have a friend of similar shortness who lost all her weight just with No S (but she wasn't nearly as overweight as me).

Sinnie
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Post by Sinnie » Sat Apr 06, 2013 11:19 am

Hey Eeyore,

I'm just below 5'3 and 29 years old. Many years ago, my weight was as high as 145. I regularly stay under 120 now (gained a few recently because of emotional trauma). My point is that I easily was able to accomplish that with No S. I think if you use judgment, and eat fairly healthy, you shouldn't have to do much. Truthfully, just by cutting out the snacks and sweets on a regular basis, you created most likely a HUGE deficit in calories. So your meals may feel luxurious, and that's great! They should! They're also keeping you skinny. If you have a good gauge on your hunger and how full you feel before being really stuffed, I find a good rule is eating until you are comfortable and no longer hungry (usually for me that means when it doesn't taste as good as when I started. Yes, I may want to pick at more for fun, but really I'm done. That's about 80% full, the rest of the full feeling comes in after when it's digested a bit). Eat what you like and make sure you find foods or combinations that keep you relatively satisfied. My biggest downfalls, I've finally realized, it too many carbs or a meal of just carbs. I crash so bad I'm shaky well before the next meal. That spells disaster and weight gain. But eating 3 plates otherwise? As long as they're balanced and healthy, I just can't see how you would gain weight. Ask yourself what put on weight in the first place? For me, it was NOT meals, because I didn't eat them as I was always trying to cut back, so I GRAZED. And then binged at night. That is why I put on weight. So, even though my meals seemed so generous as first, it was nothing compared to the total amount of calories before. I remember thinking way back when I started, it feels like I'm eating MORE FOOD!!! That's because snacking and binging didn't really feel like it "counted" if you know what I mean.

Good luck!

Eeyore
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Post by Eeyore » Sat Apr 06, 2013 12:11 pm

Wow!!!! Much thanks to everyone who responded!!!

Ok so at this moment my focal point will be on creating the habits. I'm also going to incorporate some exercise in as well. The myplate idea sounds good b/c I can still eat what I want just in smaller portions and get my freggies in to.

It was good to hear very few if any gained weight when they initially started but even more awesome to hear some didn't have to tweak at all.

Thanks again for relieving my stress.

wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Sat Apr 06, 2013 12:14 pm

Years ago I found a very simple formula for determining how many calories one should consume. I've also seen it twice in the last year or so. Determine your ideal weight. If you're sedentary, multiply that x 10; if you're moderately active, multiply x 15; if you're very active, multiply x 20.

I've found that with one or two small meals and one larger meal, I don't have to worry about it too much. That is, I don't have to be a calorie accountant (I wouldn't anyway). The big meal is usually the only one that is plated, and I do use the half vegetables, 1/4 protein, 1/4 starch formula. If it's casserole, stew or other mixed dish, it can be 1/3 to 1/2 of the plate with the remainder being vegetables.

With the exception of the occasional smoothie that I use as a meal replacement, I rarely drink my calories. I'll also have the occasional hot chocolate in the winter, milkshake in the summer or cola, but none of them are consumed regularly. No milk or fruit juice for me. I consider them ingredients, not beverages.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

Dale
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Post by Dale » Sat Apr 06, 2013 4:24 pm

About drinking my calories - I know it's not a good idea and I didn't do it before No S and rarely do it during (the occasional cappuccino). BUT while I was establishing the No S habit I did take advice which I think was in the book about drinks, and I found that it did help. I didn't feel I'd failed if I had a drink rather than something to eat. As I say, I didn't put on any weight during that time and actually lost some, so the calorie-drinking didn't do any harm! Now that I've lost weight and need to have less calories, I don't like to "waste" them on drinks. I know it's not a good idea long-term and wouldn't recommend it for us shorties, but it was probably one of the things I found most useful at the beginning.

Sadly, the one calorific drink that I was planning to keep was wine, and I've had to give that up. It makes me want to eat!

wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Sat Apr 06, 2013 4:52 pm

Dale wrote: Sadly, the one calorific drink that I was planning to keep was wine, and I've had to give that up. It makes me want to eat!
I don't remember exactly where I first heard about not drinking calories, but it was in some way associated with the Mediterranean way of eating. The only two exceptions to not drinking calories were alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, digestives). I don't like beer at all, but I do sometimes have a glass of wine with my main meal. But, just like with milk and juice, I use it more in cooking than I do as a beverage.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

Minkymoo
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Post by Minkymoo » Sun Apr 07, 2013 4:20 pm

Shortformyweight and leafygreens.... I feel your pain too!
In the past when I have lost weight I didn't start looking attractive until I got down to below 10 stone, UK size 12 (currently 13 stone, size 18), purely because of my flabby waist, which muffins over any normal waistband. Elastic waistbands dont work for me, my friends are empire line jersey dresses and tights that end really high up!
BUT its probably more important for people of our shape to be loosing weight as the waist circumference is a pretty good (better than BMI) predictor of health outcomes associated with obesity.

clarinetgal
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Post by clarinetgal » Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:19 am

That's my problem right now, losing weight in the waist and abs. I especially want to lose it in my waist for health reasons. I'm 5'1, and I'm currently in a size 12-- although I've lost a few pounds recently, so I'm a looser size 12. I know from past experience that I feel I look my best in a size 4/6, or even some size 8s, depending on the cut of the clothes.

Dale
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Post by Dale » Mon Apr 08, 2013 8:14 am

That is so funny about our waists! One of the biggest changes I've noticed with losing weight is that my "waist" has now moved from under my bust back down to its proper place!

Shortformyweight
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Post by Shortformyweight » Tue Apr 09, 2013 5:04 pm

That is so funny about our waists! One of the biggest changes I've noticed with losing weight is that my "waist" has now moved from under my bust back down to its proper place!
Just in the past week, I've started to really see the weight loss, and my waist has moved downward! I don't have to undo my pants to go to the bathroom. If things keep going the way they're going, I will get to go clothes shopping soon!

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