A diet plan for petite women isn’t the same as the standard eating and workout program. After all, when you’re under 5’4”, the challenges you face in your effort to control or lose weight are different and, in many ways tougher than they are for taller women.

Why Is Weight Loss Harder for Shorter Women?

When it all comes down to it, the reason a diet plan for petite women is different from one for a taller person is because of metabolic differences.  A woman whose body is smaller in height will also have a smaller body weight in her ideal healthy zone. This means that she will also need to consume a smaller number of calories in order to maintain that healthy mass.  That said, it also means that it is easier for her to overeat, making it easier to gain weight.

What’s more, when taking the average American diet into consideration, the odds are stacked against her.  Consider the size of entrees served in many restaurants.  They often contain 1,000 calories or more.  For a smaller woman, that can represent 83 percent of her daily caloric need.  With that factor taken into account, it becomes much clearer how challenging this can be and how a diet plan for petite women must be designed differently.

The Exercise Factor in a Diet Plan for Petite Women

Beyond the food component of a diet plan for petite women – which is an important factor – there is also exercise to be considered.  Exercise is an important part of a healthy weight loss strategy not only because it is vital to a healthy lifestyle but also because it is the critical habit to have in place to prevent weight gain once it’s been lost.

The issue is that a petite woman’s body also burns fewer calories than that of a taller woman, including when exercising.  Therefore, she can’t necessarily count on a workout doing as much for her as it might for her taller friend. Treadmills and tracker devices love to provide estimates of calories burned throughout a given workout or day.  However, those estimates tend to be high at the best of times, and considerably worse for shorter individuals.

It’s very important to stick to what you learn from a diet plan for petite women specifically and not be steered off course by inaccurate equipment.

ShareFit Has You Covered with This Diet Plan for Petite Women

Our program features a weekly meal plan, workout guides and even a shopping list and other prep resources specifically for petite women. Our recipes are easy to make using normal ingredients and without needing tons of time or any hours in chef school. You’ll create delicious meals you’ll feel great about eating.

Every day, you’ll enjoy three meals and a snack as well as a treat allowance that can be used toward whatever you want (though we recommend that at least half of it be used for healthy snacks to further fuel your body to keep up your energy throughout the day. The other half can be used for actual treats such as a glass of wine after a hard day at work).

This diet plan for petite women recommends water and zero-calorie beverages such as black coffee, unsweetened teas, and club soda, unless you want to use your treat allowance for drinks that contain calories.

Ready to get started? Your first step is to check out your shopping list to make sure you have all the ingredients you need for the entire week. Once you’ve done your shopping, step right up to the Short Gal’s Weekly Weight Loss Meal Plan for every recipe you’ll need to fill your nutritional and caloric requirements in a quick, easy and yummy way. From there, you’ll check out the Short Gal’s Weight Loss: Daily Cardio Challenge and the Short Gal’s Weight Loss Bodyweight Workout for Strength because no weight loss program that works long-term is complete without these two critical exercises. Once you’ve reached your weight loss goals, finish the program with this Guide to Maintaining a Healthy Weight When You’re Petite.

Diet Plan for Petite Women Shopping List

Produce:

• 4 Apples
  • 4 Bananas
  • 4 Avocados
  • Romaine
  • Spinach
  • Green Leaf Lettuce
  • 4 Red Bell Peppers
  • 4 Green Bell Peppers
  • 1 Red Onion
  • 3 Yellow Onions
  • 3 Cucumbers
  • Baby Carrots
  • Celery

Packaged/Prepared

• 1 Can Artichoke Hearts (packed in water)
  • 1 package Microwavable Brown Rice
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 can garbanzo beans
  • 1 bottle light greek vinaigrette (or balsamic vinaigrette, 60 Calories or less per 2 tbsp)
  • 1 jar Light/reduced fat mayonnaise
  • 1 jar prepared marinara sauce
  • 1 bottle buffalo sauce (such as Frank’s Red Hot)
  • 1 bottle BBQ sauce (60 Calories or less per 2 tbsp)
  • Fresh Pico De Gallo (or desired salsa)

Dairy/Eggs

• Half and Half
  • Multi-serve container nonfat greek yogurt
  • Shredded Parmesan Cheese
  • Crumbled Feta Cheese
  • Crumbled Blue Cheese
  • 2 dozen eggs

Meat

• 3 lbs chicken breast
  • 1 package Aidell’s Chicken Sausage (desired flavor)
  • ¼ lb sliced deli turkey breast