Why does losing weight become increasingly more difficult?

M

MC001

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Just wondering why it is so difficult to shift weight once you've slimmed down. I need to shift about 5lbs and am finding it it pretty difficult despite working out 3 times a week, 70% of which is cardio.

A few months back I lost about 10lbs in under 4-weeks. In the past two weeks I have lost about 1lb, despite working harder than before! My diet is pretty clean and I make sure I get enough calorie intake. I'm not keen on cutting down on calories as I don't think I'd be able to continue with my current regime.

I've also tried mixing up my routine and adding in new exercises etc, but progress is very slow. Any ideas?
 
Think of this... per lb of weight you drop, you need 5-10 less calories per day for maintenance. While you exercize you have 1 less lb on your body, so you burn 5-10 calories less per session. So you're in a 10-20 calorie swing per lb you lose. If you lost 10 lbs already, you have an extra 100 - 200 calories to burn to lose a lb than you did when you first started.

This is the half-life of weight loss.
 
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Hi, Thanks for getting back to me. I wont go into to much details as to diet but it is pretty much clean i.e. not much saturated fat, high in lean protein, plenty of veg, and no refined sugars or grains.

I have worked out that I need to be consuming approx 2700 to maintain, so, I am trying to get a defecit of between 500 - 700 to shift the extra lbs.

My Cardio routine usually consists of 3k on the rowing machine (approx 190 calories) 5k treadmill (approx 450 calories) plus 15 x 25m lengths swimming (no idea how much this is consuming calorie-wise).

I do this three times a week. Usually takes me 2 hours or so with 5 minutes rest between rowing and the run, and 15 minutes rest between the run and swimming.

I don't want to change what I'm eating calorie-wise, unless of course I'm not getting enough? Calorie-defecit maybe? That would explain why I'm hungry quite often, but I do tend to eat good meals e.g. grilled chicken, huge salad, brown rice etc.

Interesting info on how weight loss works. I guess that would explain why things have slowed down considerably though as the weeks have gone past.
 
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I'm experiencing the same thing and often find myself pondering the similar question. I think we both know the answer, but it's worth discussing.

As already mentioned, the body needs less and less as we continue to lose weight. Also, as the body approaches it's ideal weight, it tends to become increasingly resistant to letting you move past (lower) then that point....some people can do it, others hit a wall.

Think about it...right now you're probably ready to survive a few weeks of being sick or a month of famine. Your body doesn't know you have food at your disposal 24/7 or that you're trying to look ripped in your bathing suit....so it's quite happy carrying a bit of fat around the waist.

Same thing with exercise. Heck, I recall when my 12-mile bike ride or night of playing racquetball left me sore the next day...today I can go 3.5 hours and not even feel it. What it comes down to is that the body is amazing when it comes to adapting.


The other issue is....if you do starve yourself down and/or gets nuts on the cardio....you'll probably lose that weight, but will you have to utterly & endlessly maintain that intensity to maintain that leaness?

Do what you can, do what you want....but in the end it's best to reconsile that you should try to be the best you can be within the range of what you are comfortable maintaining. I know people who endure constant hunger pangs and do so much cardio that they'll need knee & hip replacement FOR SURE when they get older....but looking good in that bathing suit of getting uber-top performance is more important to them. Much like anything in life, it's about what's important to you. Strive to be your best, but keep things in perspective. Statistics show that only 5% of men say they are happy with their body

(and 80% of those 5% just said that to be cool, the other 20% of those 5% we're just lying. :D)
 
Yep, I guess my body is adapting quite well. I did a 10k run last night, in just under an hour, and although I was pretty tired afterwards, within an hour I felt fine and this morning I feel nothing at all. A couple of months back doing a 2k absolutely killed me!

My overall goal at the moment is to shift a few more lbs, probably about 6lbs will do it, and then start to bulk up. But not before going on holiday in four weeks ... and yes, I would quite like to be trim for the beach, but this has an overall long-term objective, which will be to bulk up.

Whether I can shift 6lbs before I go on holiday in four weeks is another thing - that would require 1.5lbs a week loss which at a deficit of 800 calories a day should be achievable. The question is, would a deficit of 800 be too much, and despite my high level of physical activity, is it likely to affect my metabolism much?
 
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The lower your body fat % gets, the harder your body fights to hold onto that fat.
If you really want to lose it more, you should be doing 2-3 days a week of lifting, and 3-4 days of HIIT in between lifting days.

If you really want to burn off the tough fat, you need to fire your major muscle groups more. Squats, lunges, presses, pull ups and pull downs... etc.

As a personal recommendation, I would recomend increasing caloric intake, and reducing carb intake. Try eating less grains and instead eat more fruit for your carbs. And try increasing your caloric intake by eating more protein and fibrous vegetables.

Lowering the carbs will cause your body to release fat instead of store it. And eating more fibrous veggies and protein will boost your metabolism more.

The last pound is always harder than the first 10
 
limestix said:
The lower your body fat % gets, the harder your body fights to hold onto that fat.
If you really want to lose it more, you should be doing 2-3 days a week of lifting, and 3-4 days of HIIT in between lifting days.

If you really want to burn off the tough fat, you need to fire your major muscle groups more. Squats, lunges, presses, pull ups and pull downs... etc.

As a personal recommendation, I would recomend increasing caloric intake, and reducing carb intake. Try eating less grains and instead eat more fruit for your carbs. And try increasing your caloric intake by eating more protein and fibrous vegetables.

Lowering the carbs will cause your body to release fat instead of store it. And eating more fibrous veggies and protein will boost your metabolism more.
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This simply isnt true.

That's like saying multiple meals increases metabolism, which is, IMO, not true.

You will find some well-known and some not so well known "persons" who believe meal frequency increases metabolism, but it does not, IMO. Ever read some credible scientific research on Meal frequency and its effect on metabolism instead of basing it on some one's belief? Do it, and you will learn fast that the metabolism is a very complicated subject matter that DOES NOT come down simply to--->eating frequent meals, or it playing a major part in increasing metabolism.

Other than that, I too, believe in calorie shifting, manipulating the dietary nutrients, and manipulating exercise (as the powerful three). And, agree the lower the body fat gets, the harder the body "can" fight back. And you fight back with KNOWLEDGE. And, you dont have to be a rocket scientist to get it done.


Best wishes


Chillen
 
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MC,

For a gift my wife bought me a kayak...for fun, I immediately threw it in the swimming pool and began playing around. By the next day (and a trip to a few stores) I had an elastic leash attached to the back of the kayak and ran it to the diving board: I had created the stationary kayak!

As you can well imagine, it didn't take much to stetch the first couple feet out....but to get further away from the diving board I had to paddle at a greater rate and with more intensity: each incremental inch came with an exponential increase in intensity....THAT is what fat-loss is like (for me). I think the difference in people is the thickness & elasticity of our cords.

Now comes the next question: when we stop paddling, do we immediately revert back? (Yo-Yo diet). That depends on the diet. An Atkins diet is all about protein...but more accurately it's about carb-deprivation. Each gram of carb has 3 grams of water...hence the term caroHYDRATE. When we reduce the carbs, we recude the associated water and thus our weight drops. Is it pure nasty-white FAT...not really, and this is why low-carb diets generally, once slacked, result in weight-gain (which is the water returning as we replenish glycogen balance.

Fact is, you need carbs as part of a healthy diet AND especially if you are running, doing cardio and weight-training!

Newsflash: a gram of carb has about 4 calories AND a gram of protein also has about 4 grams of calories as well. In the end, it's not about what you eat but rather how much you eat. I'm sure you know this, but if you eat 5,000 calories worth of lean chicken you'll gain weight...and if you eat 1,200 calories of Doritos, Snickers and cookies...you'll lose weight. Calories in vs. Calories out. Sure, protein takes longer to digest so it keeps you "full" longer....but let's be honest about it...any of us serious people in this game are well beyond eating for recreation: food is a nutrient, the moment you start getting jiggy with it, you'll easily eat more then you "need".

Since you can run 10k and not get wrecked, you're in pretty good shape. Losing those 6 pounds is gonna take a lot of work. Cut your calories, the body will adapt. If you ask me, I'd say you need about 2 months or slightly more to burn that kind of real white-fat.

Another thing....I've been told by good source that an entire hour of exercise only burns about 1-ounce of fat, and there's 16-ounces of fat in oine pound. On the flip-side, cutting 500 calories out of your diet results in losing 2-ounces per day: it's easier to diet the fat off then exercise it. STILL, it's good to exercise and hit those major leg muscles that LimeStix made reference to.

Make no mistake...it's a tough battle and you just have to find what works for you. The tough part is that what works for you today may not keep working....the body adapts in the most remarkable ways.

In the end we're generally a product of our genetics...but just like my stationary kayak we can move in different directions, but only with great effort & continued intensity.

This is the part where I say Good Luck! and give you the smiley: :D
 
BikeSwimLaugh said:
Another thing....I've been told by good source that an entire hour of exercise only burns about 1-ounce of fat, and there's 16-ounces of fat in oine pound. On the flip-side, cutting 500 calories out of your diet results in losing 2-ounces per day: it's easier to diet the fat off then exercise it. STILL, it's good to exercise and hit those major leg muscles that LimeStix made reference to.
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Hmm, with that in mind then, would I be right in considering:

6 hours cardio per week = 6 ounces
800 calorie defecit per day = 3 ounces (Per week: 3 x 7 = 21)
Total = 27 ounces or 1.68 lbs (approx ... of course)

This of course doesn't factor in any of the lifting I do, which although is moderate, still burns a proportion of fat/calories.

To reach the above in the timeframe I have would mean being very strict - no slacking or snacking!

I'll be keeping a close eye on how I go, and if it doesn't quite work out then so be it, but it'd be interesting to see if I manage to make much progress over the next four weeks.

Thanks :)
 
Your math makes TOTAL SENSE and in theory it should work.....but the body works in mysterious ways!

For me, it wouldn't work that way. Only through extreme deficit and extreme exercise do I make progress....whereas others do a fraction as much and get more results.

I dunno what to tell ya...just do the best you can, be reasonable with expectations and hope for the best. It's the old "change what you can, learn to accept what you can't"...but to that I say, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and fight for what you want no matter what anyone tells ya! :D
 
Today I totally caved in and stuffed myself like nobody's business. I don't know what it was, whether it's because I've been working out hard and my body is telling me it needs more, or I just got greedy. I think its probably a bit of both. In particular I felt a craving for sweet things ... and I indulged.

Does anyone else get days when they have an irrespressible hunger? I honestly could continue eating throughout the evening as I am still hungry but will instead refrain from doing so.

Luckily, since my last post I have actually managed to shift 2.3 lbs in 8 days ... so progress is being made. I just hope todays little setback wont have put too much of a dent in my progress! :rolleyes:
 
Skipping a meal has always triggered this ferocious hunger you speak of. :)

Also, one hour after my 1:45hr sessions at the gym...I have a hard time controlling my hunger and appetite...I eat and eat and when I'm done eating a 1k cal meal, I am still hungry...and yet still lose weight :confused:

Other than that, my hunger is normal (for someone who works out 4-5 times per week).

It's ok to indulge once in a while...keeps the hungry monster away.

:p

Eric
 
I think I definitely made up for yesterday at this evening's gym session. I'm sure I burnt between 1300 - 1500 calories. As usual I started off with various lifting exercises followed by a 5k Row, 10k Run and a 5K Cycle. I was in there for over 3-hours! And yes, I am shattered ... This weekend I will do nothing but relax. I need it.

Tonight was definitely the hardest I have worked out in YEARS. I'm suprised my fitness levels have improved at the rate they have considering I have only been going to the gym for 7 weeks (although I started shifting weight about 4 weeks earlier theough improving my diet). Goes to show just how robust and adaptive the human body really can be.
 
MC001 said:
Today I totally caved in and stuffed myself like nobody's business.

Does anyone else get days when they have an irrespressible hunger?
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Absolutely....

After several days of calorie deficit and working-out....there comes a point when the body just says 'enough' and slams you with an irrepressible hunger....it just comes to terms with what's going on and is trying to get some calories in ya!

Do yourself a favor: listen to your body....but within reason. Now and then we all give-in to an indulgence, it's just part of life. It doesn't mean you failed or had a set-back either....it's all good, just pick up where you left off and keep moving on.
 
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