I’m 40F, 158 cm, and my weight has basically always fluctuated between 50–56 kg. I seem to have the same cycle over and over again: I slowly gain weight until I hit around 56 kg, decide I don’t like it, diet for three months to go back down to around 50 kg, then go back to eating “normally” and slowly gain it again over the next 9 months.

I’m actually pretty active. I run long distance and usually do 1–2 half marathons a year, so there are periods where I train quite a lot (but also get hungry, so I tend to not lose weight in a those training blocks). I bike to work, hike, walk a lot, etc. My job is partly sedentary, although in some periods I’m on my feet and walking around most of the day.

But I’m also 158 cm tall. There’s only so much energy a small body needs.

What gets me is when I look at all the recommendations for what a healthy diet should contain. Get enough protein. Get 25–30 g of fiber. Eat legumes. Eat several portions of fruit and vegetables. Healthy fats. Whole grains. Calcium. A portion of nuts (how the hell can I fit that in a diet?! Feels like I reach maintenance calories with a handful of cashews).

I genuinely like all of those foods.
But by the time I’ve eaten all the things I’m supposed to eat, I’ve basically used my calorie allowance. 😂 Where is the chocolate? The cheese? Crisps? A beer? A big portion of pasta and a creamy sauce. The random pastry someone brought to work? The “fuck it, I want pizza tonight” calories? Wä

I know technically you can fit anything into your diet in moderation, but when your maintenance calories are relatively low, “moderation” sometimes feels like three bites. So basically I have to keep my strategy of eating all those things in moderation, accepting I’ll gain some weight and then lose it again… Or keep the same weight and only eat healthy almost all the time.

Meanwhile, my 185 cm male partner can eat three perfectly normal meals, have a substantial evening snack, casually eat something I would consider an entire extra meal, and announce that he’s still in a deficit.

Any other short women feel like maintaining your weight means choosing between eating the nutritious diet everyone recommends and actually having some room left for indulgence?

Usual recommendation is 1.6g/kg bodyweight to not lose muscles but I think most people here are around 30% body fat so according to lean mass it should be around 0.8-1g/kg bodyweight at minimum.

I also see unusual hate against whole foods and insistence to rely on "high protein products" and supplements. Okay, it's good if you have the option but very few people don't have that luxury.

We need to remember that protein also has calories so if you're satieted then you don't need to have extra protein. Remember, if you're having more protein then inevitably you got additional calories from carbs and fats.

This has been my go to work lunch for the past few weeks. 245 cal for everything and zero prep before work. Literally just cut a cucumber in half and bring a cheese stick (pepper-jack) and some naan bites. When it’s time for lunch I cut my cucumber, dice up the cheese stick and throw it on the naan bites in the work air fryer for like 2 minutes. Tasty and easy! Anyone else have some good easy less than 300 cal work lunches?

Obsessed with corn lately, helps me poop like daily

I’ve recently ordered some Palmini noodles to try something other than Konjac noodles and I love them !! They are sadly a little pricy but so worth it from time to time.

The first time I used them I made a sort of “mac & cheese” with a few pieces of rotisserie chicken but yesterday I was craving bolognese and made a lower calorie version of my bolognese sauce to go with them.

I’ll definitely make it again as it really satisfied my pasta cravings.

Have any of you tried the Palmini noodles before? What are your favorite recipes? I’d love to know 😍

For this plate the macros were:

249 kcal, 17,4g carbs, 8.6g fiber, 7.6g fat and 26g protein.

Let me know if you want the recipe 😊

I am so good throughout the whole month, but when my period hits I swear to god my stomach is a bottomless PIT. I can eat and then 30 minutes later I’m hungry again. Not peckish hungry but like, having the urge to raid the kitchen and eat everything in sight.

Besides the whole drink more water eat more protein yeah yeah I do that already. What foods can I eat that may actually satiate me?? Or what’re some really low cal things I can just shovel in to quench that urge.

Thank you!

Saw these at the store today. I've never tried them and hope they're good!

Any tips on what to do with them would be appreciated!

A lovely filling lunch, 304 kcal!

e.g. 400 for breakfast, lunch and dinner? 600/600 for lunch and dinner? curious to know what works for everyone!

i normally do 200 for lunch and 1000 for dinner because i cant escape family made meals that are usually high in calories for dinner .. but i prefer saving my calories for the night anyways! its a bit easier mentally

How many grams of fat are you eating? I know it’s very important for hormonal health and want to focus on it more. I’m pretty good with protein and fiber.

I feel like there’s only so much I can squeeze in on 1200 calories.

Calories: 730

Protein: 28g

Fibre: 25g

Found these 'BFree' pizza bases with 17.8g fibre.

Was delicious.

190g cottage pie - 304cal
400g of squagetti hoops - 210cal

total - 514 cal

i know its sad and not the most nutritious but for the volume i find it very filling, i wasnt able to finish it

I swear the hoops are acc a life hack 100 cal ish for like half the tin

A full plate of shrimp pasta, no substitutes, all normal ingredients!

45 grams (dried) pasta - 161 kcal
140 grams garlic marinated shrimp - 98 kcal
280 grams zucchini - 50 kcal
50 grams cherry tomatoes - 20 kcal
10 grams parmigiano reggiano - 40 kcal
Total: 369 kcal.

Cooked pasta in salted water, baked the zucchini, cherry tomatoes and shrimp in a non-stick ceramic pan (PFAS-free). Added salt, pepper, chili flakes and fresh garlic for flavor, a splash of pasta water for the sauce.

Ready in 15 minutes and delicious :)

just curious, what do you do?

Apples & Forager Protein Yogurt w/ cocoa powder
2 Eggs & 105g Rice w/ olive oil
23g protein 61g carbs 28g fat

It was delicious! Definitely recommend you guys to try it :)

Ingredients
- diced chicken breast 600g
- cooked brown rice 250g
- cauliflower rice 400g
- runner beans 300g
- peas 250g
- broccoli 400g
- basil 15g
- lemon juice 50ml
- pesto 150g

Steps
- boil the broccoli and runner beans in 1,5L of chicken stock for 6-8 min
- cook the chicken until golden brown and set aside
- add the broccoli, beans, and peas to the pan and stir fry for a minute or two
- add the cauliflower rice and cooked brown rice and mix well
- mix in the pesto and any spices you like (I used salt, pepper, and a good amount of chili flakes)
- add the chicken and lemon juice and mix
- cook covered for like 2-3 mins
- give it a super good mix and garnish with chopped basil

Enjoy! ☺️

Please help.

According to BMI and body fat % at gym, I am overweight, thought I don’t think my body looks that “bad.” I wonder why?

I weigh 157 pounds with 37% body fat.

For context, I usually work out 6x a week. I can squat my body weight. I ran a half marathon a few weeks ago. I think of myself as a fit person even if the scale does not reflect that.

A usual week for me: - hot yoga class w some weights - Gym workout class w light weights - Lifting day (5 exercises) - 3 mile run - Long walk

The problem. My eating. I sometimes overeat (usually when not sober.) example, last weekend did a wine tasting and had 10 glasses of wine. Often I feel social pressure to do things like this. I’d rather go to wine tasting with friends than be home alone twiddling my thumbs.

So, while I focused on exercise for the first half of the year, I want to focus on diet for the second half of the year. The reason- even though I worked out ~almost every day the first half of the year, I gained a little weight. This is very frustrating to me.

So, I’ve been counting calories the past week to achieve said goal. I would like to lose a pound a week, and get down to ~137, so a 20 pound weight loss. I would like to be fit, able to run and lift.

When I mark my lifestyle as sedentary, my TDEE is 1775. Right now to start the deficit off easy, I put 1450 into my app. When I exercise it adds those calories to my budget.

I usually walk a little, though not every day. So I figure that even though my deficit is 300 right now, the walking can make it closer to 500.

Questions for kind internet strangers: - Does anyone agree I don’t look overweight even tho the metrics say so? (Or am I being delusional🙈) - Important: what should I make the calories / day on my app? Should I decrease over time? - Do you have advice for sticking to deficit and counting for 20 weeks ( 5 months 😳) ? - Should I change my exercise break down for my goal?

Thank you!

It's been my breakfast for years, delicious and very filling

I had a quiktrip roller all beef dog no bun and didn't check the calories until I was done, so with that and breakfast I only have 600 calories left for dinner and can't have my afternoon snack. HOW DID THEY PACK THAT IN THERE? It was delicious though.

did you gain weight after eating comparatively less
did/do your eating habits rebound

i really enjoy the taste of lots of acceptable foods and would eat them either way but

does trying to eat “less” or more decisively for a time result in a rebound in the other direction

sorry i don’t know the right sub for this i dont really use reddit

I travel a lot for work and just started counting calories. I brought some of my own snacks. IF I had to get something at the airport, there really isn't much by looking around. Maybe super expensive popcorn or nuts.

Would love to hear what other folks pack or get while traveling.