Question:
Important information for shorties (5'3

Some background information before I go into the important part, but BEAR with me, because what I'm going to tell you is IMPORTANT: I'm 5'1", started at 227 lbs., had Open proximal RNY on 7/7/03, and have lost close to 80 lbs. (ok, it's 78 lbs., but 80 sounds so much better!). My weight loss has been pretty darn slow, and I have been told by some post-ops that it's because I didn't "embrace" exercise fully or consistently, and if I had been "walking" the whole time or doing other consistent exercise, I would have been at my goal by now. Meanwhile, I've read umpteen posts about others who have lost over 100 lbs. with NO exercise at all much quicker than I have, and have been wondering WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? WHAT COULD I DO DIFFERENTLY? Do these questions sound familiar to you at all? If so, read on! Don't get me wrong - I'm properly grateful that I have lost the weight I have, but the past 15 - 20 lbs. have been a LOT of work on my part, and not much to do with the surgery (since I don't dump). Suffice it to say that for the past 6 weeks, I have WORKED MY A$$ OFF at the gym with both intense weight lifting (4X per week), vigorous aerobics (elliptical trainer w/resistance 5-7X per week), and volleyball (once per week), and have lost just 3 lbs. for my herculean effort. Being somewhat despondent at my slow weight loss, I finally made an appointment with my doctor's nutritionist to talk about my diet, get my body fat percentage measured (using a bioelectric impedience machine), and get my Resting Metabolic Rate ("RMR") tested. I figured since the scale wasn't really moving, I could at least find out if all the time at the gym had really done anything for me. I was happy to find out that my body fat percentage is actually within the "normal" range, even though I'm still 3 points above the normal range with regards to my BMI! Me - normal?! This made me happy. Then I got my RMR measured. RMR is the amount of calories your body needs just to maintain life, without getting out of bed or doing any exercise. They measure it by having you breath into a machine for 10 minutes, and the machine takes readings of your oxygen output, etc, then plugs the data into an equation, which yields a measurement. While you can plug your vital statistics into calculators online, nothing else will give you a TRUE measurement of your unique RMR then this device. When the test was over, we found my RMR was incredibly low - only 1200 calories a day. This means that if I eat over 1200 cals a day, I will not lose weight. She said she'd only seen one other woman who tested lower then me, and she was 4'11". She further confirmed my suspicion that height does make a big difference in terms of weight loss (i.e., shorter women have a lower caloric intake for their bodily needs/processes). Most people 5'2" and up can take in upwards of 1600-1700 per day and still lose weight. She said the meausurement seemed really low, especially since I'd been working out as much as i had (as documented by the body-fat measurement), but when I told her that i'm hypothyroid, she said that low thyroid function definitely could make a difference, but the fact that I take medication *should* offset that. She said there was also a possiblity I hadn't been eating enough calories on a daily basis, and my body had become much more efficient with the decreased calories, much the way people who exist in a state of chronic calorie-restriction (i.e. third world countries) are able to subsist. All of this information meant to me the following: I either a) need to have my thyroid medication dosage increased, b) eat more calories, or c) a combination of both. However, the good news is one's RMR can change with (in my case) an increase in calories (for others, maybe by decreasing their calories), an increase in lean muscle mass (which I will continue to increase), and by proper regulation of thyroid hormone. Sorry for the long post, but I really thought this important information should be shared, and I strongly suggest you get your RMR tested if you're having trouble losing weight or seem to plateau a lot. Many health clubs offer this service, and it averages around $30 - $40 per session. Good luck to everyone! (Open PROXIMAL Rny, 7/7/03, 227/149/127) — sweetmana (posted on March 27, 2004)

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March 26, 2004
Thank you for posting this! I'm 5'3 and started at 251. I had my open RNY 2/25 and at first felt my weight loss was so slow compared to others....but now it's starting to move again and I came to terms that I'm going to lose on my own agenda. As of today (4 1/2 wks postop) I am down 18 glorious pounds and very happy. What you describe is so what I went through preop- I WAS on a 1200 calorie a day diet for 14 months...plus on Fastin...plus worked out for 1 hr, 5 times a week, and it took me that whole 14 months to lose 38 lbs. It was so frustrating. I of course gave up, gained it all (and then some back) over the next few years. Then the year before my surgery I followed a plan sponsored by my employer...had a personal trainer 3 x week, saw a nutritionist weekly....and worked my tail off....and in 12 weeks lost only 3 lbs too. I really do think I have the metabolism of a sloth! Maybe that's why I'm excited over my 18 lbs/4 week loss...because preop, that would be a 4-5 months loss for me!! Congrats on your loss......and thanks for the info!
— M. Me

March 26, 2004
As you mentioned, peoples bodies learn to live on fewer calories, as in the example of third world countries. I was under the impression that our bodies did this after WLS. We adjust to the lower caloric intake over time, much in the same way.
— RebeccaP

March 26, 2004
I have to agree with what you have written. I am 5'3" and started at 242. Down 68 lbs and weight loss stopped after 8 months. I did have my RMR tested at a local hospital (they have a weight loss program and were offering a special deal to employees of the hospital system.) According to my test, I could maintain my weight on close to 1700 calories! I should easily lose on 1200 calories per day. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!Never did happen. My visit included time with a dietician, and I took in my food journals. Most days I was right at or just over 1200 calories a day. Exercised like a fiend. Added weight training after that with no change. Added more cardio to that - no change. I also have hypothyroidism, but am on an adequate dose of medication - for me. (My TSH would indicate I am actually hyperthyroid, but since I feel fine with no symptoms of hyperthyroidism, my doc is leaving the dose alone. Thank heavens.) I don't think this is new for me. Years ago I did Optifast. I weighed less, but was accused of cheating every week at the weigh-in - others would lose 3-4 lbs per week. I would stay the same or lose maybe a pound - on 450 calories per day. I was walking more than the program called for, riding my biccycle (with a 40lb. kid on the back), and working full time at a hospital, running my butt off on the floor. I guess years and years of restricted calories have done me in! More proof that diets don't work. Thanks again for the great post.
— koogy

March 26, 2004
Glad you found out about the RMR, but I wanted to mention about your loss expectation. It isn't as much how tall you are as it is how much you have to lose. The surgery is designed to take 18+ months to get the weight off of you. You have now a year left to lose 22 pounds. The worst thing about this site (and there are a billion good things to the one bad) is that people put some sort of weird expectations on their loss. I lost 100 in 6 mos because I had 200 to lose. A shortie with 200+ to lose will lose 100 in 6 mos or so as well. I agree shorter people need less calories, but the main issue is that most people will lose 1/2 of what they need to lose in the first 6 mos, then 1/2 of what's left in the next 6 and then a whole year for the rest. Everyone else is just lucky.
— mrsmyranow

March 26, 2004
Sorry, Myra. I disagree with you. I've seen plenty of people that have 100 lbs. to lose do it in 9 months or less. I see it on here all the time. And I don't know where you got the idea that the surgery was "designed" to have you lose your weight in 18 months. How quickly you get to your goal is simply a product of your metabolism versus what you take in and what you expend. We do, however, have an 18 month "window" in which our bodies supposedly continue to lose weight. My post was "designed" to illustrate that. As I mentioned, there are many people who only had 100 lbs. to lose and lost it in 8 or 9 months (or less), and I was simply seeking to find out why my loss seemed so slow. I have found the answer, and wanted to share the important information with others: that knowing your RMR can be a vital tool if you're a short person, or if you plateau a lot or have stopped losing. However, thanks for your post.
— sweetmana

March 27, 2004
Dear Sweet One, It infuriates me that people think they know why others don't lose weight. Don't we like to blame the victim? That makes it more comfortable for others to justify their belief system. I have always eaten less than others, exercised more than others and tried harder than anyone else I know. I believe with all my heart that the time will come when science uncovers the mystery of obesity as it relates to me. Unfortunately, I don't think it will be in my lifetime.
— [Deactivated Member]

March 27, 2004
I also had my RMR measured at my surgeon's office. It was done coincidentally at my one year post-op visit. Don't necessarily correlate height with a low RMR. I am 5'7" and mine is 1340. My surgeon said I was her lowest patient ever, and hers was the only RMR lower than mine that she had ever seen which was 1200. Her practice does a tremendous number of bypasses every year. She is about 5'4", and quite slim. The other thing you need to know about RMR's is that that number is only 70% of the calories you can take in without expending energy, so technically you should be able to add another 30% of calories to that number. My sister who is 5'8" and also a post-op 18 months and at goal, has an RMR of 1600 calories. We both workout vigorously 3x a week at a gym. A 1 inch difference in height and both at goal in slightly under a year, she starting at 260 and me at 255. My point being, don't necessarily blame the slow weight loss on your height, but possibly your metabolism and partially the quality/quantity of exercise you do. As you get closer to your goal, your weight loss will slow down no matter how much exercise you do. Look at my weight loss log on my profile. The frequency and intensity of my workouts has not really changed in a major way, but as I got closer to goal, the weight loss really declined, and now I have basically been maintaining for the last few months. Best of luck. You will eventually get there.
— Fixnmyself

March 28, 2004
Hi, thanks for the info and I will ask my dietion about this I am 4 feet 10 inches, However even though this work for you it may not work for others..one thing to consider is people's culture and back ground. I am African America and I was told in the beginning the african america's lose slower than and other culture, and i was also told that men typical do better with the surgery (that I have trouble believing). See I was blessed and cursed with high blood pressure and was a diabetic. before starting surgery i weight 234, i lost 21 pounds on my own before surgery which brought me to 218, I am now 130 ( well 132 still swollen from tummy tuck) If you look in my profile I only lost 18 pounds in the first month of surgery where i was seeing a lot of other people lose 40 in the first month of surgery. I decided to look more closely on how and what to eat, if you ever look at the high blood pressure charts or you ask your dr, african american have a high rate of getting blood pressure and are more prone to being a diabetic, the reason for this is because of what we eat...as good as it is "soul food" is what gets us, mostly everything if fried and breaded or battered, we smother our food in gravy and we also add alot of salt to or foods, "spice it up" if you may..i am not knocking it because i love soul food but one day I was just thinking of a way to make healthier soul food, collard greens are very good for you but you cannot add the ham-hock for the added flavor, same goes for baked chicken, so i did find a way to eat healthier and keep my blood pressure under control. if you ever think about it you can understand how different culture choose their diets. i have a Filipino friend who told me the way she lost weight was she at alot of rice, as i told her rice was her thing for losing weight but rice to me is an enemie (way too may carbs) but most Japanese,Chinese ,Filipino use rice and you rearly see an over weight person in their culture. I hope the RMR works for me because it would be a good tool to use in maintaining weight, keep up the good exercise, i go to the gym but I work 2 jobs go to school part time and raise 4 kids and I am a single parent so it is very hard for me to get to the gym. I will talk to my dietion with the info you gave me...again thanks alot
— Lovett

March 28, 2004
Thanks for all that data and info A Sweet One, however, this does not just apply to short people. People who starve themselves in the past suffer from "conditional caloric intake" as you mentioned, which falls under "Eating disorders" - a lot of us suffer from this - an area of research not yet fully examined - which could even start in the womb.
— Anna M.

March 28, 2004
80 pounds in 8 months is fabulous. Congratulations. My best suggestion is that you bask in your success. I am soooo glad my doctors answer when I asked about goals was "lets Just see where your body gets comfortable." I am 5'0" when I stretch really hard. I am down to 130 at 18 months out. I am thrilled. I started at 260. I may or may not lose more. I a not really trying to. I am focusing on being healthy. I exercise to have a strong heart and healthy strong bones. If you focus on eating and moving for health. I hope you can celebrate your success, because you have really achieved a lot.
— **willow**

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