[Shay]

Lekhika--They say the last few are the hardest to get off.

[melekalikimaka]

Hey fellow "shorties", I am 5'3" on the dot, nothing more, nothing less. I was reading this thread a few days ago but didn't have time to chime in. I had to chuckle when I read some of the comments regarding adding an inch or two when telling others what your height is--I would always say I was 5'4" tall. I have sister who is 5'2" and tells everyone she is 5'3"

I am also small busted and had a laugh about the A-and-a-half cup size, I so hear you on that one! It's really difficult finding a bra with the correct band size with small enough cups that won't pucker or stick out too far in front with nothing in them

As far as my lowest "adult" weight, I weighed 132 lbs on my wedding day, then probably gained 30+ within 6 months, then another 30 within the next year. It was no shock to my hubby though, I was big when he met me and he's no string bean either. It's been upwards and downwards for me everyday since then, with my heighest weight being 233.6. You know, seeing it in print is quite shocking to me to see that I allowed myself to gain 100 lbs!!! Fortunately I am on a downward trend again, and am just starting to feel a little better about myself when looking in the mirror.

One of my major gripes about buying clothing is that in petite cut clothing (jeans) I have to buy a size UP than I normally wear, and if I buy "short" cut jeans, they are about an 1" or 2" too long. I also buy capris and can sometimes get away with them being regular long pants, but most times they are like at ankle length. Where I live it's OK but sometimes I just want a normal-all-the-way-down-to-my-feet pair of jeans so my legs can look longer ya know? And it's really difficult finding womens sizes in petite lengths.... just a long list of things that are hard for us short, but wonderful women. I look forward to getting to know you all.

[Shay]

Welcome Melekalikimaka! I see you are a Weight Watcher. Are you doing it at home or do you go to meetings? Are you doing core or flex? I am doing WW at home. I'm not an online member I get my stuff from e-bay and having been a member in the past I have some old & new stuff. I'm doing flex.

I figure clothes will always be a struggle because we may not always be overweight but we will always be short. I've been recommending Kohl's for petitie plus size and I'm hoping it still holds true because I haven't been there in awhile.

[Karen31]

Hey Noelle,
Welcome to us Short Chicks! Congrats to you for doing so well with your WW. I guess I may just have to get serious about them again and see if I can get moving again! Look forward to seeing you around here. Take care.

[Karen31]

Hey Shay, Thanks for the tips on Kohls. I will have to check them out when we get down to the Springs sometime. That is about an hour drive for me! But there isn't much up here where we are. Just finally got a Walmart last month!

[Shay]

So I was thinking bc there are a lot of "short chicks" on this website what female celebrities are short too. I like to watch entertainment shows and read the magazines. Diversional for me and a form of escapism. Anyways so there is this website: www.CelebHeights.com and it has listed the heights of a lot celebrities. I only looked up women. Here is a small example of female stars that are 5'5" and under: Lindsay Lohan, Paula Abdul, Jennifer Aniston, Eva Longoria, Carmen Electra, Jada Pinkett Smith, Lil Kim.

I thought it was funny that I believe it was Jennifer Aniston was like 5'4 and 3/4 and Lil Kim, a rapper if you don't know who she is, is just a little bit above 4'9". Interesting.

[melekalikimaka]

Good morning ladies Thanks for the welcome. Karen, glad I found you here

That website was very interesting. You know though, all those "short" celebs are REALLY thin so they look a lot taller than they really are--well, plus those high heels

Shay, I'm doing the WW flex plan and go to weekly meetings. I have done WW in the past and this is actually my 4th go 'round. I'm hoping it sticks this time, I do have the support of 3 of my sisters though, so I'm not doing it alone this time. I have tried to do it on my own, but it just doesn't work for me. I am a scale addict (weigh daily), and even though I know I shouldn't let it dictate how my day goes, sometimes it just does a number on my head . I have heard rumors swirling that WW is going to announce some "changes" very soon.... but that's what they said about the "turn around" plan and it's pretty much the same as the original flex.... I'll watch and wait.

I will look for a Kohl's while I am on the mainland. We don't have one here, nor a Dillards, nor a Target (yet!) or Ikea.... there are so many stores we don't have here in Hawaii that I just go nuts when I travel

Anyway, I'm having a sort of rough morning with the hubby, and actually had a WW Smart Ones dessert for breakfast--not too smart, but not as bad as I could be. Anyway, I'm calming down now so I should get right back into a normal eating routine. Hope everyone has a smooth sailing kind of day.

[Shay]

Noelle,
This is actually my 3rd or 4th go around with WW too. It has been the most successful of all the diets I have tried. The menu planning and the points thing does get on my nerves after being on it for awhile. I do like the flexibility with the flex plan as opposed to core. I think it's too much to figure out if its core or not. Besides if I knew when to stop eating then I wouldn't be at the weight I am now.

[Karen31]

Hi Ladies,
Noelle, I can feel for you with having a hard time with hubby--- Mine has been off of work for the last 7 months! He is just a year away from retirement but I don't know if I'm ready for that yet! Sure hope we get the house sold and moved back to MO. before long where I will have family around me to help me stay sane!

[CountingDown]

likenoother - I hear you, it is hard to find "fitted" shirts that don't make the girls look "prominent" and non-fitted shirts just make me look huge (or even pregnant).

Goal setting is so hard. Many of us were at our healthiest weight when we were much younger. While getting back down to 120 lbs (where I still felt chunky btw) is an unrealistic goal for me - or so I tell myself. I really think it is smart to set a higher goal now. When we get there, we can always re-evaluate and set another lower goal.
Not only is a higher goal more attainable, but it will be something we can celebrate. Success breeds success, and frustration breeds depression and backsliding - at least for me.
140 is a high number for my frame & height, but given my age and the fact that I am exercising regularly and actually developing some muscle tone, I think it might be a healthy weight for me. I'm feeling so much better at 169 than I did at 215, even THIS weight feels pretty healthy by comparison.

[NoVaVTFan]

Hi everyone!! I saw this thread and couldn't resist - I'm a short chick at 4'11" (sometimes 4'11" 1/2 depending on which doctor I'm at), and I definitely agree that 5 pounds on a short person looks like 15 pounds on a "normal" height person. I have always been a bit chubby and can't remember every being skinny, even when I was very very little, so I don't even have a goal of what is considered the normal for people of my height (I think someone said from 92-123 pounds or something along those lines), but my ultimate goal is 130. I was 130 a few years ago in college, and while I still didn't look skinny by any means, I liked the way I looked. I'd really just like to get more fit and get more muscle and less of this flab on my stomach, butt, and thighs. My highest weight was in April of this year at 187 pounds, and I really looked awful - I had no waist, and looked really stumpy. I'm around 147 right now (been going up and down around this the past few weeks) and I definitely feel that I look a lot better - I do have a waist again and a little less flab than at 187. Unfortunately, this last weight gain left a lot of extra flab around my midsection than I've ever had before but I'm working with cardio and some weights to get it off slowly but surely. I really know that I should probably try and get down to 120, but I felt happy at 130 before, so thats what I'm shooting for by October 2008. If I get there and don't feel happy, I might keep going but I'll just have to see.

On the clothes issue - I find it extremely hard to find clothes that really fit me. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but when I used to by petite or short pants, they used to fit me length wise fine. But lately I've been buying a lot of new pants as my sizes have gone down, and I find that the petite or short sizes are too long on me. Most are made for people up to 5'4" which is 4 inches taller than I am, so they are too long. I have basically come up with two choices for myself - once I get to my goal weight and decide to maintain, I will buy new pants for the last time and get them tailored professionaly, or I may splurge and buy my work pants from Lands End - like men's pants, you can choose what you want your inseam to be so I can actually get pants made for me are the right length. It is a bit more expensive, but is nice to have the pants fit. I usually don't care so much with jeans because I don't mind rolling up the cuff a bit, but it just doesn't look good with professional work pants.

I find it frustrating sometimes when I hear people who are 5'6" or above and they are 150-160 pounds and wearing a size 4 or 6 in pants. I'm 4'11" 147 pounds, and still wearing a size 12 (the size 12 pants are getting a little big on me but I'm not sure I'm ready for a 10 yet). It is my dream to get into a single digit pant size because I really don't remember when I was a single digit pant size since middle school. I am going to work really hard to get there by the time I reach 130.

[Shay]

Welcome NoVaVTFan! Although you and I are the same in height I think the way are bodies are structured are different. When I weighed 150 I could wear size 10 pants and 8's in skirts. When I was 180 I could wear size 12's. What's interesting is most of my weight is in my waist also. I definitely have a pair of jeans that I absolutely love that are petite but drag the ground a little bit. But as I said I was very fortunate to get about 7 pairs of capris from Kohl's a few years back that are actually capris on me. They range between 14, 16, and XL. The XL fit I just have make sure I wear a long shirt because they fit a bit tight across my tummy.

I'm still back and forth on my goal. Right now I will stick with 120.

[teacher1]

Hi everyone :0 Mind if I join in? I'm on the short side too. Out of high school I weighed 110. Then I slowly started gaining weight. I was at 130 when I finished college and started teaching. Then the pounds just kept packing on with grad school and work. I feel everyones pain what the shopping. It was no problem with I was skinny and short but now being chunky and short shopping is a nightmare. I look forward to chatting everyone

[Shay]

Hi teacher1! Of course you can join in. Welcome.

[gonzo walker]

Hi to Noelle and Karen!

Do we need to start a new thread? My husband was laid off in July, and hasn't gotten another job yet. This sounds like a trend. Like a friend said, it sucks canal water.

If you don't mind my asking, why are your husbands unemployed? Kent's position was eliminated - the company got caught up in the subprime lending upheaval. He hasn't gotten another job yet, we think, for several reasons: in spite of years of experience, he doesn't have a 4-year degree, and he's 55, so we think prospective employers don't want to invest too much in training "an old guy." So, in between posting resumes and following up leads, he's studying for various certifications, and has decided that once he's employed he may pursue a degree part-time.

Like I said, canal water.

Connie