Shorties Losing It

Hi all,

I just joined this group. I'm 4'11 and weigh 229. I started reading Jim Karas' Petite Advantage Diet book last week, where he states that petites have to eat way less than taller people to lose weight. Has anyone else read the book? What did you think?

hmm, I have heard of the book but not read it so I am interested in hearing what your and other's thoughts are...

My first instinct to the idea that smaller people need less calories than larger people is "no kidding"- the taller you are the more muscle mass you have, the more blood you have to pump, etc. and the more energy you need to do certain activities. This is even true weight wise- as you loose weight you burn less calories doing the same things.

Not trying to dis the book- but the only idea that I have heard people talking about in regards to this book is the fact that short people don't necessarily need to eat 2,000 calories as their RDI.

I would love it if you could elaborate on what else is covered in the book because I really want to know!

Pretty much, just the we need to eat less aspect. He is really down on cardio exercise which I found surprising. I did like the menus that he has in the book, I think they give a good example of the amount of food needed to lose weight. I never really thought about height in relation to weight loss before. It really opened my eyes to the amount of calories I am overeating daily. I checked the book out from my library, I may purchase a used copy for the menus.

height is a huge factor in calorie needs. All of the organs, bones, and muscles are larger for a tall person than a short person which is why I hate the general guideline of 1200 calories for everyone. It just doesn't fit for a lot of short people. The largest organ is the skin and tall people have much more skin than a shortie. For many people 5'3" and under the calorie needs would be under 2000 unless they are extremely active. Height is in all of the professional calculations for estimated calorie needs.

As a general rule of thumb, losing 2 pounds a week is a healthy rate of weight loss. If you aren't losing any weight then you need to cut back on calories or you have reached your weight. Really make sure you count everything you put in your mouth. It is easy to forget the salad dressing or the mayo on the sandwich. Measure your food for at least a couple of weeks if the calories still seem way off. People almost always under estimate when not measuring anything, there have been studies on this.