What nobody tells you about losing weight
Replies
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IronIsMyTherapy wrote: »That every Single week (If even that long) you have to work harder to burn the same amount of calories.
That your cat takes longer to find a comfy position laying on you lol
idk if this helps but as your weight drops, your calories have to as well. If you're 150lbs and lose 15lbs, you weigh 10% less and your calories need to drop 10% accordingly. Assuming your activity is the same and you haven't gained muscle.
Not sure if that was actually meant for me. I was stating that you have to exercise harder because your body gets used to the exercise level and you burn less calories.
Not quite exactly.
It's just that as you have less mass, it takes less energy to move yourself around. Your body doesn't "get used" to the exercise; it's just not as much work to perform the same task. A calorie is a measure of energy. If you want to move a two-pound box of pickling salt a mile, it takes less work than a 20-pound bag of ice melting salt. Same salt, just a different amount of it. So as you lose mass, if you perform the same exercise, you have to do it longer to expend the same number of calories as when you were a higher mass. That's why you need to reassess your calorie target from time to time as you lose mass.
And you know what? It's AWESOME!
After you've lost a fair bit of weight, find something heavy and carry it around. I strapped 30 pounds of SCUBA weight on me and walked around. My knees hurt right away. But I used to ALWAYS carry that much weight around ALL the time.
I will gladly walk a little farther to not carry the extra, unneeded, unwanted weight.
Well, then maybe I'm just weird, because my body will get used to an exercise level within a week or less. My hrm tells me my heart is working slightly less hard, meaning I am burning less calories even when putting out the same energy level. I am not losing enough mass in 5-7 days for weight to be the big difference in calorie burn.
ETA it's walking, aerobics and minor strength training using a total gym.3 -
I kind of get what you are saying. Lately, in my mat Pilates classes, I feel bored and unchallenged, like I’m not working hard enough.
My watch says I’m burning the same amount of calories, but I feel like I’m on autopilot and surely not “earning” the calories, even though the electronic evidence is on my wrist.
Same with walks. I’ve recently increased my morning walk from 2.75 miles to six or seven, and it still doesn’t feel like much of a workout.
So perhaps when “ability” outstrips “work” it feels like we haven’t “achieved”.
Does that make sense?
It doesn’t help that my watch is always pushing me to do more. This month it wants me to do about 7,000 excercise minutes because it always tries to increase the prior month’s total. At some point it’s going to break the time space continuum, right?20 -
You can drop the weight but not the inches at the same time
People will have different opinions on your weight...since giving birth in March,I have lost weight.only started eating healthy and monitoring my weight beginning of August and currently i'm at 75.2kg..after birth I was at 91kg so i've lost quite a lot.My helper has commented on my visible weight loss and then just last week a colleague told me that i'm gaining weight...I couldn't even respond,I was confused such that i actually went to the loo and checked myself out in the mirror.It was a bit demotivating I must say
Whether true or not, what sort of rude coworker just goes up to someone and tells them they are gaining weight to begin with? I think you can safely file this person’s opinions in the garbage.25 -
IronIsMyTherapy wrote: »That every Single week (If even that long) you have to work harder to burn the same amount of calories.
That your cat takes longer to find a comfy position laying on you lol
idk if this helps but as your weight drops, your calories have to as well. If you're 150lbs and lose 15lbs, you weigh 10% less and your calories need to drop 10% accordingly. Assuming your activity is the same and you haven't gained muscle.
Not sure if that was actually meant for me. I was stating that you have to exercise harder because your body gets used to the exercise level and you burn less calories.
Not quite exactly.
It's just that as you have less mass, it takes less energy to move yourself around. Your body doesn't "get used" to the exercise; it's just not as much work to perform the same task. A calorie is a measure of energy. If you want to move a two-pound box of pickling salt a mile, it takes less work than a 20-pound bag of ice melting salt. Same salt, just a different amount of it. So as you lose mass, if you perform the same exercise, you have to do it longer to expend the same number of calories as when you were a higher mass. That's why you need to reassess your calorie target from time to time as you lose mass.
And you know what? It's AWESOME!
After you've lost a fair bit of weight, find something heavy and carry it around. I strapped 30 pounds of SCUBA weight on me and walked around. My knees hurt right away. But I used to ALWAYS carry that much weight around ALL the time.
I will gladly walk a little farther to not carry the extra, unneeded, unwanted weight.
Well, then maybe I'm just weird, because my body will get used to an exercise level within a week or less. My hrm tells me my heart is working slightly less hard, meaning I am burning less calories even when putting out the same energy level. I am not losing enough mass in 5-7 days for weight to be the big difference in calorie burn.
ETA it's walking, aerobics and minor strength training using a total gym.
You are also increasing your fitness level, which means you expend less calories to do the same thing
It's super fun /s
Haha. I'll take it anyways though, even if it means working harder for the same goal.10 -
After you've lost a fair bit of weight, find something heavy and carry it around. I strapped 30 pounds of SCUBA weight on me and walked around. My knees hurt right away. But I used to ALWAYS carry that much weight around ALL the time.
I will gladly walk a little farther to not carry the extra, unneeded, unwanted weight.
I was just talking about getting one of those weight vests to see what it was like the other day. When I run now, I can actually feel that I weigh less. I can feel that it is easier to move. It's kind of a weird sensation and it's pretty great when you realize what is happening.
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That eventually, you start counting calories in your head and knowing how much each meal is 'costing' you.
How delicious REAL food is.
How quick and easy it is to make yourself a delicious meal.
How your legs feel after a long walk.
How sitting at a desk (working from home during corona) feels like torture.
How sometimes it's hard to eat ENOUGH calories.
How water tastes.
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thelastnightingale wrote: »My fat feels different.
I'm not sure how to describe this or if anyone here has had a similar experience... My stomach felt firmer at maximum fatness. I'm not saying the skin is loose now or anything (well, maybe it's a bit looser, but that's not what I mean), but it feels... softer and squishier? I don't have to prod it to know it feels different, I just 'know' - but if I prod it, I can feel the difference.
There's less fat overall, but what is left feels like a different type of fat. A different texture. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just that it's different and it's a little bit weird.
Is it just me?
I get it!
My tummy hasn't gotten much smaller yet (about .5 an inch) but it feels firmer.
Is firm fat a thing?
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That when you lean on your elbows and hold your face in your hands you will be able to feel that your face is skinnier!6
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That eventually, you start counting calories in your head and knowing how much each meal is 'costing' you.
How delicious REAL food is.
How quick and easy it is to make yourself a delicious meal.
How your legs feel after a long walk.
How sitting at a desk (working from home during corona) feels like torture.
How sometimes it's hard to eat ENOUGH calories.
How water tastes.
I completely agree with the first but the rest nope. I ALWAYS ate and loved “ real food” ( fish, lean poultry, veggies, healthy oils) and made myself delicious meals. I just ate too much of it. I’m just someone who can eat a lot! A pound of salmon or chicken.several cups of brown rice, 6 bananas a day was typical. I do take long walks every day now but honestly that’s often torture. Love sitting at my desk way too much. And hard to eat enough calories? Omg, if only.
I’ve lost 75 pounds and kept it off for a year and a half so far. I think what this shows about what no one told me was “ what worked for others may not work for you. You have to find your own path” Glad you found yours!
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RelCanonical wrote: »When I was gaining weight, the last time I bought clothes, I was a size 14. I continued to think I was a size 14, even though my clothes were getting tight.
I then lost about 35 pounds. For someone my height, this is 3-4 dress sizes. Therefore, I thought I was a size 8. I went to go try on clothes for the first time in a while, since my stuff is getting loose.
I am not a size 8. I did drop 3-4 dress sizes, but I am a size 10-12 now. Denial was strong with this person. I was probably up to like an 18 before I started losing, but my brain did not connect.
It's sometimes painful when reality hits you in the face. I would always think I gained 10 pounds over the holidays, only to find I gained 25. ugh.
I can relate to this. Thanks for explaining it so clearly.
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12Sarah2015 wrote: »With only 5 pounds left to a BMi of 23.0, my stomach is still too big..... Ahhh.
Maybe something causes bloating that you eat because it sounds like otherwise it is going great! Lately I am reading about sodium again, nightshades, lectins, dairy, gluten....Maybe see if something applies...3 -
springlering62 wrote: »... Perhaps when “ability” outstrips “work” it feels like we haven’t “achieved”.
Does that make sense?
It doesn’t help that my watch is always pushing me to do more. This month it wants me to do about 7,000 excercise minutes because it always tries to increase the prior month’s total. At some point it’s going to break the time space continuum, right?
It makes perfect sense. I think there is definitely a sense that as we get fitter and so can (and want to) do more. This seems to me one reason why varying exercise is so important. To begin with, to get back into it, I was doing the same things (a variety) every day, but increasing weights and intensity, but I am now starting to try to vary it more, so that my body doesn't get used to one thing. I am finding an exercise plan useful for this (no-one who reads my posts regularly will be surprised to know that this is from Bodyfit by Amy) but I am also really valuing my rowing machine. I can vary my workout on that very easily, to make 15 - 20 minutes always include a push, by upping stroke rate, or doing a longer time at a stroke rate, or increasing intensity. Once I start to commute again I shall have less exercise time so having a range of things I can do in the time available will be important.4 -
salleewins wrote: »12Sarah2015 wrote: »With only 5 pounds left to a BMi of 23.0, my stomach is still too big..... Ahhh.
Maybe something causes bloating that you eat because it sounds like otherwise it is going great! Lately I am reading about sodium again, nightshades, lectins, dairy, gluten....Maybe see if something applies...
or insulin resistant?
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IronIsMyTherapy wrote: »That every Single week (If even that long) you have to work harder to burn the same amount of calories.
That your cat takes longer to find a comfy position laying on you lol
idk if this helps but as your weight drops, your calories have to as well. If you're 150lbs and lose 15lbs, you weigh 10% less and your calories need to drop 10% accordingly. Assuming your activity is the same and you haven't gained muscle.
Not sure if that was actually meant for me. I was stating that you have to exercise harder because your body gets used to the exercise level and you burn less calories.
Not quite exactly.
It's just that as you have less mass, it takes less energy to move yourself around. Your body doesn't "get used" to the exercise; it's just not as much work to perform the same task. A calorie is a measure of energy. If you want to move a two-pound box of pickling salt a mile, it takes less work than a 20-pound bag of ice melting salt. Same salt, just a different amount of it. So as you lose mass, if you perform the same exercise, you have to do it longer to expend the same number of calories as when you were a higher mass. That's why you need to reassess your calorie target from time to time as you lose mass.
And you know what? It's AWESOME!
After you've lost a fair bit of weight, find something heavy and carry it around. I strapped 30 pounds of SCUBA weight on me and walked around. My knees hurt right away. But I used to ALWAYS carry that much weight around ALL the time.
I will gladly walk a little farther to not carry the extra, unneeded, unwanted weight.
Well, then maybe I'm just weird, because my body will get used to an exercise level within a week or less. My hrm tells me my heart is working slightly less hard, meaning I am burning less calories even when putting out the same energy level. I am not losing enough mass in 5-7 days for weight to be the big difference in calorie burn.
ETA it's walking, aerobics and minor strength training using a total gym.
@cppeace
No you aren't weird, you just mistake a heartbeat counting device for a calorie counting device.
As you get fitter it's not that you heart works less hard - it just does more work (blood pumped) for each heartbeat.6 -
IronIsMyTherapy wrote: »IronIsMyTherapy wrote: »That every Single week (If even that long) you have to work harder to burn the same amount of calories.
That your cat takes longer to find a comfy position laying on you lol
idk if this helps but as your weight drops, your calories have to as well. If you're 150lbs and lose 15lbs, you weigh 10% less and your calories need to drop 10% accordingly. Assuming your activity is the same and you haven't gained muscle.
Not sure if that was actually meant for me. I was stating that you have to exercise harder because your body gets used to the exercise level and you burn less calories.
That depends on the exercise you do. If you mainly do cardio, yes. If you strength train, probably the opposite. Every lb of muscle you gain is a calorie burning furnace. If, for example, you lost 10lbs of fat and gained 10lbs of muscle, you will absolutely have a higher maintenance caloric requirement. I'm not saying this is the case with you, but too many people new to fitness think "cardio" when they want fat loss. If they enjoy it, more power to em but adding muscle is the smart long term play to maintaining a lean physique. Not disagreeing with you, just expanding on it.
@IronIsMyTherapy
Your furnace doesn't actually get very hot!
Each lb of muscle burns roughly 6cals per day at rest to maintain itself.
Yes muscle burns more than fat but the numbers and differences are small as each lb of fat burns 2cals/lb/day.
Obviously using your muscles is very different (activity & exercise) and that's where the big differences in people's weight maintenance calories comes from.
Interesting read - if only we could add on another kidney.....
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/energy-needs-body
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After you've lost a fair bit of weight, find something heavy and carry it around. I strapped 30 pounds of SCUBA weight on me and walked around. My knees hurt right away. But I used to ALWAYS carry that much weight around ALL the time.
I will gladly walk a little farther to not carry the extra, unneeded, unwanted weight.
I was just talking about getting one of those weight vests to see what it was like the other day. When I run now, I can actually feel that I weigh less. I can feel that it is easier to move. It's kind of a weird sensation and it's pretty great when you realize what is happening.
I was thinking about this the other day. An average 3 month old baby weighs 10lb. I’ve lost 23lb since August, that’s like losing 2 and a bit 3 month old babies from my body, which is a huge amount. Just wish I could see it when I look in the mirroe! But I’ll get there I’m sure.11 -
katescurios wrote: »After you've lost a fair bit of weight, find something heavy and carry it around. I strapped 30 pounds of SCUBA weight on me and walked around. My knees hurt right away. But I used to ALWAYS carry that much weight around ALL the time.
I will gladly walk a little farther to not carry the extra, unneeded, unwanted weight.
I was just talking about getting one of those weight vests to see what it was like the other day. When I run now, I can actually feel that I weigh less. I can feel that it is easier to move. It's kind of a weird sensation and it's pretty great when you realize what is happening.
I was thinking about this the other day. An average 3 month old baby weighs 10lb. I’ve lost 23lb since August, that’s like losing 2 and a bit 3 month old babies from my body, which is a huge amount. Just wish I could see it when I look in the mirroe! But I’ll get there I’m sure.
You might enjoy this thread
:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/660835/ive-lost-an-elephant-penis/p1
I've lost a small bale of hay, or two average 2 year olds
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That having gone from 135kg to 86 kg (healthy BMI will be 77kg) I feel fatter than before in some ways.
Whereas I used to be fat all around I can now clearly see various parts of my body and external fat deposits clinging to them if that makes sense. It’s weird. Not necessarily discouraging, but weird.18 -
That keeping the weight off is probably harder than losing it in the first place.
It's a totally different mindset and skill set to try and stay at one weight (within reason and normal fluctuations). It's kind of like marriage: getting married and staying married are totally different, the later takes a LOT more work than you think going into it! 39 -
@AwesomeSquirrel I came here to post something similar!
Over the last few days, I've been struck by the realisation that I feel simultaneously thinner and fatter. I don't know how to explain it. Perhaps you're right, and I can better see the fat clinging to various parts of my body. It's just... weird. Feeling fat, feeling thin... that makes sense. Feeling both? I don't get it. And yet, that is how I feel right now.12
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