re: Diet/weight loss scenario

Quit looking at the number on the scale. Absolutely the wrong motivation for any diet and exercise plan. All 5'2" are not created equal. At 118, some will look painfully underweight, and others amply padded. Entirely depends on frame, natural tendency toward muscle mass, etc. Fixating on the scale is seriously unhealthy.

Focus on goals: running a mile (or running it in a specific time), time/distance, or other fitness achievables. Shooting for weight is a pointless pursuit, especially when she is already on the low end of excess poundage.

If I had a dollar for every woman I knew who wasted precious hours of her life fixating on the scale, I could retire tomorrow. Tell her to go visit a chemo infusion ward and talk to some sisters dealing w/breast cancer, etc, often as young as their late 20s. She'll forget that scale shite. Live life, be healthy, and avoid haters who would tell you otherwise. Lots of batshit crazy orthorexic wannabees at certain gyms. Peak physical health does not equal mental health or happiness.

Just my 2c.