At the end of my life, which will come, I will never regret eating a donut. I will never regret running as fast as I can. What I will regret is every second I thought "I just need to lose ten pounds." As a 5'3' now 48-year old woman who has had over 30 years of diet culture screamed into my subconscious, I want to say THANK YOU for the work that you do. Rock on.

It just strikes me as so sad how clearly disordered a lot of the logic/language is in these posts. Maybe it is a side effect of being short that people might refer to you as “cute” or “little” or “tiny” or “pocket sized” your whole childhood and into adulthood and it might have a seriously harmful effect on body image. I hope all these people are able to get healthier, both mentally and physically ❤

One of my fave elements of this stuff is that apparently 'small girls need wrist wraps', whereas at 5'6" my gargantuan wrists wont need support when lifting 😂

I got really sucked into this subreddit, I thought eating anything over 1,200 was severely overeating for my height of 5'2" because that's what they promote. At this point I figured that if 1,200 was my "maintenance", and I wanted to be in a deficit of 500, then I could only eat 700 calories a day to lose weight. I only JUST started to realize that this is not normal. My body is exhausted, these ideas about "petite" weight loss are rarely healthy and have real consequences.

Oh my god, 85lbs at 4'11 for a 26 year old ADULT? Even for my 15 year old self of the same height (that also had SEVERE anorexia) that weight almost made me land in the hospital. She probably labels her eating patterns as "emotional eating" since she has restricted for so long she might as well be dealing with some sort of extreme hunger she can't control. She needs professional help.

I’m on this subreddit! I agree with you 100%, there’s a small group of us who try to encourage muscle growth and introspection but holy hell are we not common. Most of these people who are like “1200 is fine for me!” also are on ED subreddits

The girl being like "I gain weight on 1200 a day" is blowing my mind cause yeah girl, your body is starving and trying to rebuild any muscle or bone it can

i frequent r/PetiteFitness, and core community of the server are mostly muscle mommies and pilates girlies. some girl teenagers come and post something concerning quite often, but that main core audience tries to help with quality advice, or at least give their opinion that too low calories or too low of a goal weight doesn’t sound healthy. 1200 is usually lowest calories on deficit (and it’s discouraged to go below that). as a 5’0 i was losing well on 1200 (6 full months of consistent 1200) but i also bumped up my activity to speed up weight loss and start muscle growth. now, one year later, i can’t eat that low because i’ve put on a lot of muscle and even 1400 may be too low for when in deficit, and my maintenance now is around 1850 which i find very forgiving as i can hit protein goal and have any carbs and snacks i might want, in moderation of course but it comes naturally at this point

Thank you for this! I was subbed there for a while but left because of how ED-esque everything is. Ironically, it made me realize that being 5’2” doesn’t require special workouts or diets.

I'm also 5"1 and 7 years ago I ate around 1200 calories/day for about a year meticulously tracked, and it got me hypothyroidism. Do not recommend -10/10 stars.

Every time I hear about something off the wall I am astounded. Im 5-3 (on the way to 5-2) and who ever thought us shorties would need something special beyond shorter lengthed pants....LOL

I've been on that sub and most people take a pretty typical approach to fitness and it is common for posters to say 1200 is way too little. There ar emore posts with people saying they eat 1500-2200 calories. They also have tons of posts that encourge strength training. They talk about bulking for people who have that goal and want to eat in a surplus. To be fair, those types of posts are on a lot of fitness boards, just replace the word petite with "woman" or "genetics" or whatever else and you will see the same things. Most just wan to see people who have similar proportions. I relate to Caroline Girvan and Cathe Friedrich because they are on the shorter side and their physiquesyiques are relatable to me.

I am 4’11” and have just gotten into fitness and training in the last year. It never occurred to me that I need to train differently because I’m so small but I did need to learn that I don’t need to eat as much as most of the people in my life. I was just used to always getting the same serving as them at home or at restaurants when I really need about a third less to feel full. That was a revelation for me even though it seems like the most obvious thing in the world. But in my mind, one serving was one serving. Oh wait, I lied….i do need to train different as a petite. I need to put weights down to use as step stools to use on some machines, like the belt squat 😂 In all honesty Justina, thank you so much for this video. I was just starting to go down the rabbit hole these last two months and tried cutting my carbs back…even though I’ve been happy with my results!! Don’t know how I can be so suggestible sometimes 😫

I was on this sub for a while but I really got sick of the “eat as little as possible” attitude. I’m barely 5’1 and I was finding it increasingly uncomfortable to read about all these people eating extremely low calories when my maintenance is significantly higher. I had to get off cause it just turned into a competition of who can suffer the most in the name of being short.

Petitefitness on reddit is not about being as small as possible or eating as little as possible even when some people there eat quite little. Petite in that context is defined by height alone. It is in the description of the subreddit. The description also specifically says not to promote diets less than 1200 calories. While I haven't posted anything there, I have read some stuff and agree with a lot of the reasons for having the community. For example with the calories, an issue with being short is that for us a lot of the advice out there is contradictory. For example many people say no one should go under certain calorie numbers while saying it's all about diet and you shouldn't try to lose weight with just exercise. But those two don't work together when you're short. You either have to do it with very low calories or basically with exercise. I'm currently obese, but still my maintenance calories according to pretty much any calculator or estimate are low because I'm short. Even my maintenance is too low according to some advice. And I can't change my height. A lot of the advice I've seen on the subreddit have been about gaining muscle and trying to get your body to burn more energy despite being naturally smaller even when overweight or obese.

The amount of Buzz words on these post it's insane. I hope this video reaches people with this concerns and they can find some useful information ❤

I’m 4’11” (a little under 🤫) and small framed but muscular at 110 lbs. I used to weigh 87-90 lbs in high school into college but I wasn’t fully “developed”. Maybe the other 4’11” lady is trying to get back to an unrealistic early adulthood weight. I’d have to give up so much muscle, hips, boobs, butt, and bone density to get back to 90 lbs. I’m very active and aim for about 1800-2000 calories. I walk 20k steps roughly a day just leisurely walking my dog 2-3x. Plus I workout and jog 3-5 times a week. At low activity in the winters I’m at closer to 1500-1800 unintentionally bc my body isn’t as hungry for fuel bc I’m less active. I drop to 98-105 lbs but I’m sure it’s muscle loss. I’m sure 1200 calories would be safe for intentional weight loss for a short period for a petite or older petite woman though but not for maintenance. I’d never want to go back to 90 lbs as a fully developed woman 🫣.

I feel so called out right now because I actually follow that Reddit page. 😅 In my defense, I follow pretty much every fitness subreddit in existence (r/xxfitness and r/fitness are both much, MUCH better) and I also routinely name drop your channel whenever the "recommend me a petite fitness expert I should listen to" question comes up. I tried and tried countless times to make these tiny little special people understand that being short is not an excuse for skipping meals, being miserable and delude yourself into thinking that you somehow defy the laws of physics, but it's pretty much useless and for the record I'm short myself, I'm not disparaging anyone, being short is just fine! Also, good news for the 5'' crowd: you would be considered perfectly average where I' m from! 😎 So yeah, long story short (pun definitely not intended) there are people with a healthy mindset in that subreddit, but they're a minority, unfortunately. Thank you so, so much for spitting facts straight as usual!

I’m 5’2”, and 1200 calories IS my level of maintenance calories. I can have up to 1400 calories with a lot of exercise, not just a walk. I am a hypothyroid insomniac, and my doctor says I’m getting enough thyroid medicine. I put everything I eat into My Fitness Pal. 😩

I have recently heard an eating style where you don't take into account the extra things that we tend to nibble on and eat mindlessly throughout the day (and then wonder why our daily calorie intake calculations are way off) described as a BLT diet (Bites, Licks and Tastes!) - I'm definitely going to steal that one! Excellent video as always 👍

Maybe I'm a freak of nature but I'm 5'4 and have been eating around 1400 for ages, exercising 6 times (now 5 times) a week, circa 11k steps per day. Never caused me issues and comfortably maintaining 112 lbs. I don't feel any starvation or deprivation because I volume eat and tons of protein.

I am always so glad to see you post! I get a lot out of your really practical and thoughtful explanations and points of view. Also you just seem like a really fun person. ❤ thanks

This just seems like an excuse to starve yourself because “I’m just a little girl I can’t possibly eat like a normal adult uwu🥺”

Definitely a classic case of people overcomplicating fitness and nutrition 😅 I’m 5’1” and I don’t train any differently than the average person and I eat ~2500 calories a day! I can’t imagine trying to survive off of 1200 calories or completely change my workout routine just because I’m short. I’m not built THAT differently lmao

I am so excited! I haven't watched the video yet but I used to a veryyy active user on the subreddit until I got tired about how ED-coded the language and posts were.

The issue I have being short is that fat shows up faster on a short person. If my fat was spread out onto a tall person they would not look as fat. Therefore I have to eat less especially BMI. The weight is so low…

I’m 5’2” and when I was getting my wedding dress altered I had gained a tiny bit of weight (I was a size 2, 110-115lbs at the time so not big by any means) and the alterations person noted it. I was frustrated and vented on social media. I was venting about the shaming, not the weight gain. A friend told me to start eating 800-1000 calories a day. Needless to say I did not take that advice and muted that friend instead.

im 5'3 i was on this sub reddit for a bit. it was sadly eating disorder central, i wasnt triggered by it but more of an eyeroll and didnt provide me with any valuable incite. i would wither away on 1200 calories a day even if i was sedentary

The problem with being petite is that many times our apetite doens't really scale. I feel like I can eat as much as my boyfriend who is almost double my size. Also everyone is bigger than you and is eating a lot around you and it's hard to size portions for yourself. It takes a lot of self control, much more than for bigger people. I wish I just didn't have taste buds and didn't like food as much as I do, that would solve all my weight problems.

I’mve never watched you before, but I just wanted to thank you. The way you speak about diet and exercise seems really healthy and non-judgemental. I struggle with disordered eating (I was a calorie counter and went to the gym daily), so I’m scared of diet and exercise because I don’t want to fall into that trap again. I really like how you didn’t obsess over the numbers and restricting. I’m interested in getting my health on track to be better, but I’m getting a certified expert with ADHD and autism experience to help in that case

Oh I would really like to hear more on your take of the sedentary vs lightly active. I always click on sedentary when calculating Maintenance calories. I have a desk job.. I usually get 9k steps on weekdays (If id do and escape the office walk on break or walk my dog after work) I do very minimal resistance training (I am 60) and I hike on most weekends (6-12 miles on Saturdays) So I click on the Maintenance calorie at current weight for sedentary person and subtract around 250 calories.

As someone with ADHD (and ASD). And as someone who's struggled her whole mid teen to adult life with yo-yoing. 100% restricting too much was the problem. When you have adhd, and your brain doesn't get enough dopamine. One od the easiet things to turn to is food. Fast carbs, foods that really hit the spot (cheese lol). So if you're over restricting. That is aaalllllll you will think about. And it'll get to the point where you can't even have things in the house. I honestly thought I'd always have to live that way.. then I realized that the issue was. I wasnt wasn't enough, I was telling myself I couldn't eat certain things. Which then made absolutely sure those foods were the only things on my mind. Which was horrible. Its all about working with how your brain functions. Not against it. Technically you could call adhd a hormone issue. Since dopamine is bith a neurotransmitter and a hormone? (Don't quote me on that). ADHD and asd can both also affect tour periods. And how your hormones change through the month. We're more likely to have pmdd than your NT counterparts. Again this is all just what I've read. Unfortunately a lot of this isn't studied. Woman aren't studied enough in general. Let alone ND women. Just all anither reason to work with a doctor and a refistered dietitian. There are so many things at play. It took me 12 years to figure myself out without help. And that's a looooongggg time. And let me tell you.. all of that set me up bad for the big Panini.. when we lost... A lot of things that added to our lives. Aaallllll I had left was food. It didnt go well. But honestly, im now more healthy than I've ever been. Now that im focused on Quality, and movement, and getting stronger. And not just about restricting everything. Ive also lost 50lbs. So im very proud of that. It might have taken longer than it could have because of things like the adhd, and my periods. But like 🤷🏽‍♀️ I've got plenty of time. It came of slow and easy. Its been sustainable. I'm more healthy now at almost 30 then I was as a teenager. I feel like that's saying something Also, I can't over the 15k steps being "nothing" 😅

She says she walks 15k not 15,000 steps; that is 9.3 miles, for the average person that would be around 20,000 steps and I would think a shorter person even more. That is definitely not sedentary!!! I know she says sedentary other than that but I bet she moves more than she thinks at least another 2 to 5k steps during the day.

I do like this sub because I like being able to look at progress photos of women around my own size. I also have to take regular breaks from it because all of the misinformation is so frustrating.

Honestly got caught in this trap years ago and it always felt very limiting - luckily never got down to 1200 calories and at least the message about resistance training stuck. I was convinced though that maintaining my 130 ish lbs at 5’2 needed effort and sacrifice. But honestly not, I eat to satiety and exercise less than I used to and easily maintain at 127 ish pounds - it’s very possible and it doesn’t need a special petite approach. I just learned to tell my hunger and satiety cues and what kind of exercise feels natural to me.

omg under 40kg for a grown-up seems low... Im 155cm and my goal is 60kgs, been thinner too hard to maintain personally.

For the record, 4'11 and 85 lbs is a BMI of 17.2, which is decisively underweight. It's just a general guess of course but... No

I just found your channel through this video - liked and subscribed. This made me cry, honestly. I can't tell you how much I needed to hear this. ❤️ I'm 5'4" and my body doesn't seem to want to go below 132 lbs. I fell into a pattern of water fasting for 3-5 days at a time and still not eating 1,000 calories on the days I did eat, but I plateaued. I am fortunate that I do not have a problem with binging, but I have been so afraid to eat. Since last week, I can get up to 1,300 calories, but it's difficult for me to eat enough to retain muscle/bone mass, and I'm not losing fat even though I'm still doing progressive overload and strength training 4x week, and walking for 30+ minutes on rest days. In 2019, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 lipedema, which is not only painful, but also significantly inhibits fat loss and decreases muscularity (only 67% compared to obese subjects in studies). The surgeon had advised me to lose as much as possible to minimize the amount of surgeries I will need, and when I asked how much, he said the more, the better. I was trying to get to the ideal weight for my height, 120 lbs, but I'm feeling so stuck. 😢

I really struggle with what to say when I hear people say they're eating what I would describe as a starvation diet (for me, I feel deprived if I'm trying to intentionally only eat 1600 calories a day) and that they can't lose weight when they want to. I think my go-to is, stop trying to lose weight and focus on a different goal instead - but it isn't typically well received! I am really trying to reframe my idea of what is "health" because it really feels like people out there think health for women is solely making yourself as small as possible. Particularly when the focus is on the scale alone, often at the detriment of our muscle mass, bone density, and ability to eat a cookie once and awhile. I am really glad that there are folks out here, like yourself, trying to gently challenge this message and remind people that our bodies can do more than shrink.

I want to also add that the last post where the girl was 4”11 and weighed 85lbs. That was me at 19yrs old before I started to have kids. I never would want to be at that weight because I did look anorexic even though I ate I just had a fast metabolism. I never would want to be at 85lbs again. I’m trying to get my weight in between 110-114. I was most comfortable at that’s weight. But now that I’m in my 40s it’s hard for me to lose weight

This makes me SO sad. I’m “petite” and when I was younger I had an eating disorder. I would have been all over this and would only have gotten worse and drastically underweight. I’m thinking of all the young girls who will fall victim to this. 😞

Thank you for talking about this. It is so important to adress things that seem off and could harm others. I really like your channel. I know u are the one we can trust!!

I was on this subreddit for a bit and it was so horrifying. People starving themselves, refusing to listen to science and how to fuel their bodies and achieve their actual goals. I only lasted a few days before I left.

My favourite genre of KZfaq video right now is "Justina Ercole being right about things other people are wrong about in a way that makes me feel like balance exists in this world"

I’m 5’2-5’3ish and petite fitness never crossed my mind. I was so confused when I started to hear about this. You’re right that you don’t have to drastically have to do things different than others beside shorter pants 😂great video

Im short and love lifting as much weight as i can safely...this all sounded very disordered to me, thanks justina for expjaining things in such a kind way.

I don't know if you already have a video on this, as I'm new to the channel, but I would love to see something on creatine. Specifically for women. I've been on creatine for awhile, but a lot of people will tell me that it's going to destroy my liver, or that it's going to mess with my female hormones. I've looked into a ton of research and haven't been able to find anything that backs this up (I'm studying neuroscience at college so I promise I know how to read research papers lol). I would love to hear your takes and if you have any research I might be missing or insight that I haven't heard yet. Thanks! :)

Hahah OMG I love you. There's a problematic "petite fitness" YT account out there that just throws the word "bulky" around as a scare tactic and charges insane money for a "custom" plan (I won't call it out by name because I'm nice). No thanks. But I felt the "yeah. . . .that's just how life works". I'm 5'1 120lbs with a 6'4 boyfriend who inhales cheeseburgers. I could eat what he eats but I would weigh what he weighs. . .HAHAHA

Hi Justina! I really enjoy your content!

15k walk doesn’t burn calories???😮

I’ve fallen down the calories in vs calories out rabbit hole. I’m a male, 5’9. I would gain body fat on 1500 calories a day and even still on 1,000. I only started losing body fat % and building muscle when I upped it to 3,000 a day, fueling my body with what it needed and focused on as much protein as I can. Macros are so much more important than a number, your metabolism isn’t a calculator. I used to eat whatever I wanted “as long as I was in a deficit” But now I eat AS MUCH as I want but eat Whole Foods and the nutrients I need and the pounds have been shedding off for months.

With the second person, I'm wondering if 15k is supposed to mean 15,000 steps (like how you interpreted it) or 15 kilometers (how I interpreted it, especially since the person said their height in centimeters). Either way, it's hardly sedentary, but 15 kilometers /especially/ is not sedentary!

I was in the extremes: I ate 1 200 calories, exercises/cardio ++++ seriously I don't know how I could hold that: spoiler alert my body didn't appreciate that: 10 years later + 20kg. Now I am followed by a dietician, and I know how to eat healthily without falling in extreme.

I watched a couple videos by someone on KZfaq claiming that losing weight is different for petites. I watched her live, where she tried selling her "plan". What a scam.

Um, I’m a runner so the 15k (9.3 miles) DAILY walk stood out. It takes me 88-90 minutes to run that far. Why is she walking that long? 🤔 How is she not losing fat just from that activity without reducing her calories? 🤔

I am petite and I went seriously low calorie because I am a vegetarian and tried to do Keto for many months (spoiler: it is super super hard to reach the macros in keto as a vegetarian. It was almost always too many on one thing, usually fat or protein in order to cut the carbs that low. I honestly never could do it as hard as I tried.) At some point I stopped losing weight and felt so unwell. Then my period stopped. I realized I was in starvation mode. That shook me up. I wasn’t cheating, I wasn’t saving up I was slogging exhausted through life because my calories were just too low. (I also have stage one / two-isch lipedema + perimenopause so those were also a factor) My particular „petite“ body doesn’t lose weight at such low calorie intakes (at least for a while, but after that, I think we are in ED zone.) For reference: My goal was 1500-1600 calories in Keto and I reached about 1100-1300 a day if I wanted to stay in „the macros“ of Keto. I felt like crap. I can’t imagine trying to do sports at that consumption. I could barely go upstairs. For me it was disordered. Started eating „normal“ healthy again, period came back and I felt so much better !

this sounds toxic AF. As someone 155cm as well, who is in a deficit to lose weight, As someone who has always been heavier, I think the mindset of, Oh, i'm short I got to be as skinny as possible, is that according to BMI, someone of my height should be 105lbs, and for people who have been heavier most of their lives, they've only been that size as a child. So to me, I'm not aiming for 105, I'm just aiming to be as healthy as possible. But this repetition of toxic opinions parroting back and forth on this subreddit is terrible.

1:06 i’m 5’4. I used to eat 1200 cal to lose weight. Caused me to view food in a bad light. I lost water weight, i was constantly sick and i never looked healthy or ‘thin’. Now, I roughly eat about 1700 on a deficit. Im losing weight, i feel strong and fit and thankfully i had no trips to the hospital. Make it all make sense

Bahaha omg your jump scare warning 🤣

Greetings from Kenya. I am a small or petite 40 years old woman.Over here we don't have the habit of counting calories and i don't even know how to though I will Google that after this. I love to keep fit but also not loose any weight, preferably i would like to gain some if possible. It's really difficult getting the right workouts for my body type. Right now I focus on basic stretches, skip rope, jogging and more recently, glutes. When I increase my food intake, mostly it's my tummy that gets big. 😢

Barely started watching, but your makeup is goregeous today:)

I am tall, and never really struggled with my weight until I hit my 30s (I'm 40 now). However, that is also when I really started focusing more on my nutrition and strength training. I am WAY too lazy to track my calories, but I went to an amazing dietician that formulated a plan for me (2000 calories daily, but with a 1800 cal deficit). These days I just watch my portion sizes though, and try to include more fruit and veggies - I know that's my weak point, as well as getting enough steps in (and sleep, lol) ... Man, this makes me realise I need to tweak a few things, haha! 😅

I’m now realizing that there’s something wrong with me lol. I eat about 900 to 1k cal a day and still can’t loose weight, I look skinny fat btw I’m 5”4

I follow that subreddit. I don’t find it extremely triggering or anything. People are uninformed and are posting to get help. Why not post a helpful comment? 🤷‍♀️

I’m 6’ and I eat when I’m hungry. Some days I eat 1000 calories and some days I eat 3000. It depends on my hormones. Tracking my calories only stressed me out; thus I never wanted to eat.

I'm 5'1 as well. Thanks for this video!! You're awesome!!!

Eating more and sudden weight gain is usually just water from carb absorption, not actual fat gain right?

Toddlers children and adolescents are supposed to be eating a surplus because they’re still growing & developing. Adults aren’t supposed to be a surplus so I also felt this is stupid and unhelpful comparisons I still feel that 600kcal cut down is a perfect calorie goal for weight loss. No one serious about losing weight is eating a maintenance amount. Once I hit my weight goal the amount of calories I could eat to maintain it was higher than what I was eating to get there

As a petite, thanks for this video. It would be helpful as well to debunk some of the things April Whitney shares about petite fitness. Thanks 😊

honestly I know relatively a lot about fitness and nutrition but I truly don’t know what to do now. I recently stopped tracking calories because it was giving me too much stress, guilt, and shame and was just preoccupying my mind a lot- it made me have an unhealthy relationship with food. I am 17, 5’4, and 134 pounds, but I have relatively a lot of muscle; my goal is to lose fat so I can get that more toned look because I feel like I have that “bulky” look. About 1.5-2 years ago i lost a lot of weight, but by exercising a lot and eating very little, maybe around 1000 calories a day. I feel like that messed up my metabolism. Now, I currently eat 1200 calories a day (an approx number), and get most of those calories from healthy foods, averaging about 120-140 grams of protein a day with relatively low carbs (usually under 50-60 grams). But I feel like my weight loss has plateaued, and I don’t know why. I exercise for at least an hour everyday, alternating between HIIT, pilates, and strength training each day. When I experimented with eating more calories (about 1400, all these websites said I should be eating more because my TDEE was like 2300 or something), I felt like I gained a little weight and I haven’t been able to lose it again, even though I went back down to 1200 calories a day. I truly don’t know what to do, I want to speak with someone that has professional knowledge and can efficiently guide me, but my parents are not about that and would say that “I don’t need help” and to just “eat more” (i’ve been there:( ) Does someone with experience and knowledge mind helping me out or giving some advice? I would truly truly appreciate it, because I already have a poor body image. Thank you.

I don’t agree with encouraging smallness, but as 4 foot 11 woman I wonder if that creates an effect? Like is my DV calorically different? I wonder rather frequently

Bravo justina - you summed it up very well !

I’m 4’11 and I’m having a hard time losing weight. I’m overweight and weigh 140lbs. The extra weight is affecting my knees to where I just finished therapy because I somehow sprained a ligament in left knee that was causing it to buckle. Now I’m scared to workout because I don’t want to reinjure my knee, but I need to lose this extra weight. I am pre diabetic and have to really watch my carb intake. I just don’t know what to do.

Hi. I have a question about muscle & toning. I'm skinny (fat), plus I'm on a tight college budget, so I can't routinely meet my macros for the next year. Fortunately, I have dumbbells at home. Can I still get gains if I stay consistent? I'd be doing 3-4 days of dumbbell lifts: 3 sets of 8-12 reps.

Hey Justina! What are your thoughts about “sculpting” workouts? I’m curious what you think about the term sculpting, what types of exercises are considered sculpting, and what effects it has on the body (ie what is the purpose of it vs. marketing/misconceptions).

I don't really like commenting on youtube but this could be really helpful to me. I'm about 5'0-5'1 and as a calorie deficit eat 1200 a day which I don't mind. However, it hasn't gotten me anywhere. After a lot of research I'm considering a gradual increase to raise my maintenance number and hopefully be able to retry a deficit successfully. I want to lose fat and gain muscle which has been a very tricky balance, throw in I'm also vegetarian. Learning as much as I can has been very helpful but my body doesn't do what I calculate it should. The comments saying they're short and have a much higher calorie intake than I thought I even could has me wondering. Should I see a dietician? Is a gradual calorie raise needed?

Alright now… For anyone that isn’t American and hasn’t done the conversion, £85 is 38.56 kg. I think I was that weight when I was maybe 11 or 12. I got down to 48 kg once and looked sickly I am 156 cm so a little bit taller than her, but still that is insane.

I really just get jealous of the short girls (always have. One of my biggest issues with my body. I’d love to be 4-5 inches shorter). Yall make squats look easy peasy (esp going ass to grass) and y’all can see your gains much sooner. There’s just a lot less surface area for your muscles to cover. It takes a lot more for me as a tall girl to see any of my gains in the mirror.

Don't agree with 1 thing. I am personal trainer who is only 4 foot 9. I went to an RDA years ago to learn how to eat to stay lean with plenty of muscle mass. My normal weight range and you can look up charts. Is between about 87lb-110. I weight 91 which puts me at a bmi of 20. I am 49 ripped with lots of muscle. Not frail at all. No.

I'm 5'4'' and I only recently found out that height can be considered 'petite'. I definitely need more food than the typical 1200kcal daily intakes prescribed in these petite fitness spaces, and I train/exercise just like other taller folks. Maybe it's a bit harder for petite people to eat the same calorie-dense foods as taller people because while their appetites may be similar to taller people they need less food to maintain. So eating the same calorie-dense food but portioned for their maintenance calories might lead to more hunger. Thus I do believe that some tips like adding some high volume veggies to meals can help petite people satiate their hunger without gaining too much excess weight. But the other stuff (e.g. must cut out carbs, must exercise more than taller people, etc.) is pretty much nonsense.

Hmm I determined 1200 to be my deficit and 1500 to be my maintenance long time ago through trial and error. But I don't track religiously so I tend to call it "1200 tracked calories" assuming that theres stuff I forget, days where I ignore that, and also dont weigh my food but just estimate everything So I hope I'm good 😅

I am 5’1 and I remember when I first discovered MyFitnessPal and it told me to eat 1200cal to lose weight. That didn’t last long 😂

the people on that sub are reacting very rationally to this video 🙂

Is something wrong with me? I'm 5'0 and after tracking for several months my maintenance seems to be about 1100 calories, any more than that I gain weight. I have hashimoto's but it's treated and my hormone levels are normal. I'm pretty accurate with my calorie counting because I've had type 1 diabetes most of my life so nutrition tracking is second nature to me now (also well controlled, my A1C stays around 6). I'm pretty sedentary except for a short daily yoga routine and occasional hiking. I've always been a healthy weight but I prefer how I look when I'm about 10~ lbs less than I am now. I feel frustrated having to eat so few calories 😢

I'm 4'11 and I'm pretty fit but a comment that made me feel insecure was "one would think you have a 6 pack cuz you're so petite. I'm surprised you don't"

I’m 4’10 and 24, apparently me not being under 90 pounds anymore (because I was 90-92 pounds for so long and thought I was supposed to be) means I’m not petite but I’m still petite being 125 pounds and healthy / strong

A lot of these people need a therapy. And this is a topic of itself. In Germany, you don't have to pay for it but you have to wait. Could be years bc short of stuff. If you have a private health insurance ( we have 2 types of health insurance) then you're lucky, you can pay for your therapy and usally, bc thearapists gets more money from these people, they'll put you first on the waiting list. A assume if you don't have an health insurance like in the USA which will cover the costs of therapies you're more fucked if you cannot afford it? I guess this would be the same for every country with no health insurance where you have to pay for every health appointment... So I can kind of understand if they ask online for help bc it could be the only kind of "help" right nlw they can get I find it always funny if youtubers say, go See a therapists, physican and so on. As if it would be so easy... 😅

Great video! new subscriber, great channel! Im 5'2 and eat 3600-3800 calories a day. I eat way more than my 6'2 built boyfriend for example. I know I eat more than usual as i train a lot and now have my own fitness YT channel. Its not going to work eating that much for every woman my height of course...some girls my height may eat far lesss for example because out metabolisms depend on so much more than our height. Therefore i do believe its futile to have a specific workouts/diets for petite/shorter women. There is a lady with a company called Smalletics who does this and has a YT channel i follow. I actually really like her content but disagree with how she has made it bespoke to petite girls like she markets it when really it applies to anyone trying to get leaner/fitter etc. I have followed her for many years and shes lovely but does not cite any of the scientific literature she claims there is to describe petite women need to train differently. I think she does it as its her USP and makes her stand out amongst all the other female fitness influencers but i do like her content nonetheless.

Me a 5 10 grown ass woman watching this 😂

Could you make a video about weight loss plateau?

I just got downvoted like crazy, and personally attacked for telling someone that 1000-1200 isn’t enough food for their daily intake. They’re active lift, and cycle. Absolutely disgusting how they encourage each other.

Ha, 4/ 11 and 100 pounds. 5 ft, I'd kill to be anywhere near that!!!! She must not have any muscle or bone mass. I'm at 1300- 1400 calories and work out 5 days a week (3 weight training and 2 cardio days) And I still can't lose any more weight. And going through menopause sucks. I've lost 120 lbs in the last 4 yrs., but no where near goal weight .

Uh… I can tell you didn’t do your due diligence into your research of this group. That’s actually not true about this subreddit. There are a ton of women in that group, I’d say the majority, who are encouraging women to eat more, live a more sustainable lifestyle, and lift weights. Of course there’s always the loud people who are still on the starvation diet bandwagon, but the leaders in that subreddit really are trying to educate women on how to have a healthier and more balanced approach to fitness. A more toxic group for you to pick on would be the one called “1200 is plenty”. That is the actual scary one. You should check that one out and make a video about it

I’m 4’10- in my younger years I also thought I needed 1200 calories to maintain. Nearly a decade later, I am an avid powerlifter and also run/walk a lot. Not only do I eat significantly more now, but I just feel so much better and healthier. I think a lot of short women often victimize being petite- but the real demon is just how sedentary our modern society is. Building an aerobic and strength base is so important to your relationship with nutrition and aging.

I know several 5’2 construction workers that lose weight eating over 3000 calories per day

That sub is just edtwt in a different font. I actively avoid it.

When I hit 15k steps it was cuz I went to Epcot and walked around all day. 15k a day is a lot. Does she not have a car?

the lord giveth, the lord taketh away i can eat anything and not gain a pound i lost 2 toes tho ~balance~

Well done!

I had to use google convert your height to cm and I was surprised how short you are *shortie high five because we can actually reach each other's hands* Guess it's the magic of being on camera by yourself, nobody to compare it to. I gotta say that I do feel jealous when I see women who say their maintenance is like 1800 calories, Because that feels like a lot of room for fun foods. And while I don't know what my calories goals should be (I've never tried to properly track because it's too difficult due to me not cooking all my meals myself) it doesn't feel like there is much space. Some people who see me say I eat a lot for how I look but I just eat as much as I need to not be hungry. I don't think I'm hitting the protein goals or any goals that would keep me fuller and I'm trying to work on that while also not become obsessed with food and feel guilty when I have something just for fun. It's a real struggle sometimes.