Frustrated about body size and TDEE

[johnjs37]

Has anyone felt frustrated by the fact that you are in a petite body and therefore don't get to eat as much as other people do? I love food and maybe this sounds dramatic but I feel this sense like I am slightly robbed of the experience of being able to enjoy food as much as non petite people and/or men because my body cannot more readily use the energy in the food. Like, I view eating as an experience and petite people don't get to experience the joy of this as much. I find it unfair, as if someone told me I can only go on a vacation trip for 5 days while a taller person gets to experience 7 days of a vacation. I don't know if this makes sense or sounds ridiculous but I just wanted to see if anyone can relate to this feeling.

Another frustration I have about food is that the world is not set up for petite people, in terms of portion sizes. For most people the average restaurant meal is oversized but for petite people it is dramatically oversized and it is so easy to gain weight simply by adapting to the portion sizes the world offers. A bigger person won't be as effected by this. Like even a simple cheeseburger and fries is over half the calories we need in a day. I just feel like if we aren't paying serious attention weight will just naturally pile on.

 

[legolas2106]

@johnjs37 i have thought this as well. and it’s not just portion sizes at restaurants. it’s also the serving sizes on nutrition fact labels that are based on 2000 calories a day

 

[kabriana]

@legolas2106 Oh there is ALL sorts of stuff in our world that is not made with the petite female body in mind.

Cars are the scariest given our daily use of them. IIRC, Volvo is the ONLY car maker that uses female crash test dummies, which is terrifying.

 

[waldowang999]

@kabriana Is that really true? I work for an auto company and I know that our cars are routinely tested at different weights and sizes for multiple things. The airbag will deploy differently based on the seat sensing the weight of the person sitting in it. And I know that we had a recall years ago where simulations found that a problem could occur with a driver around 95lbs, and there was a correction issued. So it's not all bad news

 

[horncr07]

@waldowang999 The problem is the lighter test dummies that other companies use aren't actually modelled on women's bodies. They're just smaller male forms. Which doesn't accurately convey data about women's experience in crashes.

The dummies need to be created from scratch instead of just scaling down the male forms. Only Volvo has decided that the safety of 51% of the population actually matters.

The other companies decided to use the cheaper and readily available dummies as they decided women's lives and health are less valuable than the savings they make just testing male adult and child dummies.

 

[waldowang999]

@horncr07 I feel like I should know this, but what are the biggest differences with the dummies? My knowledge of the dummies comes mostly from media like Mythbusters, where they use stickers measuring force on various 'body' parts. Obviously bone structure is different, but how big a factor does that play since it's internal? And the seat belt / chest area obviously has some differences, but if all dummies are made of plastic then I don't see how that'd measure things anyway. All bodies will have different fat distribution, so idk if they can even factor that in.

 

[horncr07]

@waldowang999 There are dozens of differences between dummies modelled on women and scaled down men's. Lots of stuff to do with airbag positioning and force and seatbelt positioning around breasts etc.

You'd have to ask the companies who make the new female ones what differences they made.

 

[legolas2106]

@kabriana oh yikes i didn’t know that!! i know with my car that if i want my seat close enough for my feet to reach the pedals my knees are practically touching the panel under the steering wheel which is annoying. and don’t get me started on never being able to reach top shelves in the grocery store as well as the cabinets in my own home

 

[horncr07]

@legolas2106 You might be safer getyig some pedal extensions for your car. It's what I'll have to do when I buy a car as I can't sit arms length from the steering wheel AND touch the pedals. It's unsafe to sit closer than that and it sounds like you are driving in an unsafe position.

Short pedal extensions are fairly affordable, at least in my country

 

[johnscalera]

@horncr07 Do you share your car with someone at all? My boyfriend is 9 inches taller than I am and all legs so we both have to do chair adjustments when we hop in. I’ve been hesitant to do this on mine because then he’ll be so far back his arms are totally straight.

 

[horncr07]

@johnscalera I don't have a car yet but when I do get one my husband won't be driving due to his medical conditions, so I don't have to worry about switching the pedals.

If you only need a small extension like I do then taller people may be able to use them while only scooting back a little bit.

I also think you can get some that are easily removed and replaced but I'm not 100% sure.

 

[jenmoore]

@kabriana It's not made with any female body in mind.

 

[johnjs37]

@legolas2106 Yes exactly! And there is this mental desire to what to eat all the food that is on your plate in front of you, especially if it is tasty. But if we do this, we will gain weight while a taller person or a man may not.

 

[legolas2106]

@johnjs37 this sounds dramatic but it’s truly an average-height man’s world and we’re just living in it

 

[jojoan3830]

@legolas2106 Not dramatic at all, check out the book Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez

 

[aplolgeticfreak]

@jojoan3830 that book has been sitting in my cart for months. i wanna read it but i know it's gonna piss me off lol so i'm holding off on buying it for right now.

 

[legolas2106]

@jojoan3830 lol no idea why you got downvoted (probably by a man that lurks). take my upvote!

 

[nickole256]

@johnjs37 I actually wish portions in restaurants were smaller because of this. Like i can go to taco time and get a mini meal and be happy but once it’s on my plate compulsion takes over. I want it all!

 

[dawn16]

@legolas2106 you can always raise your tdee if it’s important to you to eat more though, i eat around 2300 a day and i’m 5’3 113lb. i just get like 15k steps in a day and strength train 3x a week

 

[legolas2106]

@dawn16 i’m working toward becoming more active but i’m not quite there yet. i used to be very sedentary and depressed. i no longer dread working out and i can make myself do it but i still don’t find myself motivated to do more than 30 mins of lifting/body weight x 4 days a week and walking 30 mins a day. so i am trying to eat just a little less than maintenance right now to tone up