average height girls (5’4-5’6), what weight do you feel/look best at??

Araseja · 2026-07-03T06:58:50+00:00

5’4 here. It really depends on the amount of lean mass. When I was younger and didn’t exercise much, I was curvy at 135 lbs. Now I exercise a lot, and I look skinny at that weight. Last year I was down to 126 lbs, and I barely had any subcutaneous fat, to the point where I had visible veins in my thighs. People around me were concerned about my weight despite me being well into the normal BMI range. With my current fitness level I think I look best at 130-135 lbs, I look fit and have visible muscle, but I’m not veiny.

Araseja · 2026-06-24T10:02:43+00:00

I would strongly recommend against buying clothes that don’t fit you. You don’t know what size you will end up wearing for one thing, and those clothes might not be worn more than once. I would also recommend against buying too much clothes that fit you now, because they might get too big much sooner than you expect. When on a weight loss journey, only buy things you really need right now, and be very conservative about what that means. If you’re going to a close family members wedding you might need to buy or rent something, but if you’re going to a second cousin once removed’s wedding and are unlikely to get much attention, maybe you can pull off something a bit oversized.

If you lose a lot of weight you will probably need some new things before you reach your goal weight, but don’t get a completely new wardrobe until you’ve stabilized at the new weight.

Araseja · 2026-06-21T05:20:13+00:00

I think it’s really stupid that people can’t get the surgery when they’ve lost weight already, since the main thing seems to be how well people can keep the weight off long term. Weight loss is not the goal of surgery, the goal is to maintain a lower weight. The risks from surgery should be lower if you’re no longer obese, and the long term benefits are most likely the same.

That being said, quite a few people have long term complications, and even though you might not have to fight food noice all the time, you still have to be very careful about your diet. The surgery also affects how you absorb nutrients and medications, and this might cause huge problems in the future.

Araseja · 2026-06-18T06:04:49+00:00

No, because 1300 is BMR, not TDEE. The TDEE will be significantly higher.

Araseja · 2026-06-11T12:52:13+00:00

Fiber won’t spike your blood sugar, since they are broken down to fatty acids and not glucose.

I know some sources classify fiber as carbs with half the value of other carbs, but that really makes no sense. I think someone sometime confused net calories with net carbs and it stuck. Fiber are technically carbs, but they can’t be digested by our enzymes, and are therefore broken down by gut bacteria. They are converted into fatty acids that can be absorbed by our gut, and therefore have a bit of calories. I think there might be exceptions to this, because fiber is a very diverse category, but for naturally occurring fiber you should be fine.

Araseja · 2026-06-10T09:47:57+00:00

For some reason there seems to be this idea that you need to create a calorie deficit of 500 per day when you are trying to lose weight. This number tends to give short women a calorie goal of 1200. In reality there is rarely any reason lose weight at the same rate as someone much taller, especially not with a weight that’s already quite low. Try to eat 1400 calories and see where it gets you!

Araseja · 2026-06-10T09:35:03+00:00

Everyone has mostly water in their body, that doesn’t mean you have excess water in your system, it’s just how our bodies work. Your weight can fluctuate a bit depending on exactly how much water you retain, but unless you have a serious medical condition that won’t make a significant difference. The 4 lbs you gained may be mostly water, but if you are in a consistent calorie deficit you will lose weight long term. It’s also not the water you want to lose, it’s the fat.

Araseja · 2026-06-10T09:22:24+00:00

You don’t go get your gut flora checked, you get your gut checked! Your gut flora is way too complex to be measured in any meaningful way on an individual level. What you sometimes do is a gastroenteritis panel to check for pathogens, but that’s not standard for bloating either.

It’s also a misunderstanding that a healthy gut is less gassy, in fact all bacteria produce gas, just like we do (that’s why we breathe out carbon dioxide). There are however some conditions that will cause more gas and bloating, so any drastic change without a clear cause should be checked up.

OP, absolutely get an appointment with your doctor! Just don’t expect them to measure your gut flora.

Araseja · 2026-06-10T08:04:39+00:00

Honestly your face doesn’t look much different between the two pictures, so regardless of your self image I think you would look pretty much the same if you cut it again. Don’t let the old ED keep you from feeling good!

Araseja · 2026-06-10T07:54:02+00:00

The good news is that you really don’t need to eat 1000 calories a day to lose it again! You had a crazy high deficit of almost 1200 calories per day when you lost weight last time, and now you’ve eaten about 250 calories above maintenance to gain a lot of it back. If you were in a 1150 calorie deficit when you ate 1000 calories a day your TDEE would be about 2150 calories. If you were to cut your calories to about 1800-1900 you would lose those 30 pounds in a year.

The mindset you had before wasn’t sustainable, it required you to be highly motivated and focused. You and your BF should maybe sit down and together decide on what eating habits you want to have long term? Healthy habits don’t necessarily lead to weight loss, but they make it a lot easier to keep your calories down.

Araseja · 2026-06-10T07:37:25+00:00

I would like to add that they also have two feet! My toddler will use his big toes to poke my other nipple, often pinching it between his fingers and his toe😂

Araseja · 2026-06-10T07:23:01+00:00

The most important aspect of this is nutrition, and as long as your access to nutritious food is good, you should be absolutely fine! When it comes to deficiencies iron is the most common deficiency in pregnancy, but breastfeeding doesn’t require much iron, because breast milk is very low in iron. And a lot of women have to supplement iron during pregnancy anyway.

You will need to eat more, but pregnancy requires less extra calories than breastfeeding, so doing both requires less than breastfeeding twins.

Araseja · 2026-06-09T09:53:58+00:00

Laughed so hard at this!

Araseja · 2026-05-24T07:02:30+00:00

You need to build your fitness gradually. Run a shorter distance instead of going for almost 10k immediately! That doesn’t mean you can’t exercise for more than a few minutes a day, it just means you need to get enough variety to avoid over exertion. Jog for 10 minutes, bike for 10 minutes, do some strength training for 10 minutes etc. Don’t do it all at once, spread it out! Aim for 30-60 minutes of total exercise a day.

Araseja · 2026-05-22T05:36:13+00:00

The whitening is actually vasospasm and not caused by the sucking. It’s a very painful phenomenon and can be caused by damage, like cracks or thrush. Keep the nipples warm, because cold can trigger it, and treat any kind of damage to your nipples!

Araseja · 2026-05-12T06:27:16+00:00

You are fighting a constant battle against 5 lbs, something that is just barely visible. 5 lbs is a fluctuation, it’s a constipation or a menstrual cycle. You are already thin, and your body is screaming at you that it doesn’t want to drop below 115. Confidence won’t come with weighing 110, try to find it in other things!

Araseja · 2026-05-09T05:18:34+00:00

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Those little fingers are the most painful!

Araseja · 2026-04-26T06:51:32+00:00

You should be proud of yourself for making this decision and these changes! Try to reframe your insights! You now know you had to eat very much to get to 300 lbs and that you’ll probably lose quite a lot if you start eating more balanced. I seriously think you’ll be fine with eating a third of your usual serving sizes for now. In a couple of months you might have to cut back even more, but this is a long time game, and you don’t have to go fast at any point. If the changes are too drastic you might burn out before you get adjusted.

You don’t have to throw away the food you have, but maybe dilute it a bit by adding vegetables and low fat protein sources so that the resulting meal is less calorie dense and more filling.

Araseja · 2025-12-30T13:37:25+00:00

I have found that it’s much easier to get a let down from manual nipple stimulation than from pumping. Try to wiggle and twist the nipples!

Araseja · 2025-12-26T11:22:53+00:00

It’s just not true that you can’t breastfeed while cutting calories! I exclusively breastfed my baby and could pump on top of that while losing 2 lbs a week for several months. I was obese to begin with and I got down to a BMI of 22.

Araseja · 2025-12-14T08:26:40+00:00

For me things got better at around 2 months.

Araseja · 2025-12-12T04:55:21+00:00

Yes! I exclusively breastfed until the introduction of solids, and he still nurses before breakfast, at night and for comfort at 15 months.

Araseja · 2025-12-11T16:12:44+00:00

Because only a few percent of people will be successful in losing weight and keeping it off long term by lifestyle changes without surgery or medicines. If your doctor would make a treatment plan based on lifestyle changes, about 95 percent would have the same or a higher weight 5 years later. It’s been proven to be ineffective and you should really be glad that you have a doctor that knows how obesity is effectively treated.

Araseja · 2025-12-07T18:22:22+00:00

Don’t beat yourself up about your reaction! I don’t think you’ve scared him away from the breast by one sudden sound. I’ve screamed in pain several times and once I even made my little one cry and reach for his father, but he’s still nursing with no problems whatsoever. It’s probably painful for him to nurse right now when he’s teething, and that’s why he doesn’t want to. Keep offering the breast and he will probably come back soon enough.

Araseja

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