Heart Rate and Diet

Katiiee_gal

So I’m fairly fit. I ran a marathon last month. As I finished training for that, I’m doing insanity at the minute. My heart rate tends to reflect that and my RHR is always under 60.

However, I tend to find my HR drops considerably when I diet. I’ve only really been active on here a few days as I used to have this ages ago and want to drop a little weight.

My Garmin reports the lowest and highest HR within the past four hours. For me, the lowest hit 33. I’ve been in the 30s before and it’s always when I’ve dieted and doesn’t tend to feel good physically (drops lower with diet than when I’m purely physically fit).

Has anyone else ever noticed a connection between heart rate and diet? And at what point would you be concerned about a low heart rate? It’s hard to know when to worry when lower heart rates tend to be associated with fitness anyway. Thank you all.

psuLemon

Katiiee_gal wrote: »

So I’m fairly fit. I ran a marathon last month. As I finished training for that, I’m doing insanity at the minute. My heart rate tends to reflect that and my RHR is always under 60.

However, I tend to find my HR drops considerably when I diet. I’ve only really been active on here a few days as I used to have this ages ago and want to drop a little weight.

My Garmin reports the lowest and highest HR within the past four hours. For me, the lowest hit 33. I’ve been in the 30s before and it’s always when I’ve dieted and doesn’t tend to feel good physically (drops lower with diet than when I’m purely physically fit).

Has anyone else ever noticed a connection between heart rate and diet? And at what point would you be concerned about a low heart rate? It’s hard to know when to worry when lower heart rates tend to be associated with fitness anyway. Thank you all.

It's likely that you also drop your sodium when you diet. If you worry, have a chat with your doctor.

AnnPT77

My resting heart rate isn't that low (never seen accurate 30s, only the random time in the mid-40s, though mid-40s isn't unusual during sleep). When I was obese but before weight loss, my AM resting heart rate was usually in the 48-55 range. During and after weight loss, it was/is usually in the 48-55 range. (I was very active even as an obese person, for a while competing in rowing events, and training routinely. Not competing any more, but activity level is still similar.)

If you have very rare blips (high or low) in heart rate, it may be worth thinking what you were doing at the time, to consider measurement error. From experience, I know that if I row (boat or machine) without a chest belt, the amount of arm flexion causes my Garmin to lose wrist contact. The result is usually silly-low numbers. (I forgot my chest belt on yesterday's AM row. There are a couple of points where it reports my HR in the 30s for a while, and the average HR for the 10k row was 69, max 103. Yeah, no. Measurement error for sure.)

Nowadays (long in maintenance), I do notice that if I substantially overeat, my resting HR tends to be up from a few to maybe as much as 10bpm for a while afterward, perhaps even a whole day. (This is complicated in that indulgence usually includes both food and some moderate amount of alcohol, so I don't know which produces the effect.) That's the only diet-related thing I've noticed.

Psulemon has a good point about sodium.

I'd also wonder how far you tend to cut calories when you diet? Big deficits might cause a bit more downregulation in a variety of subtle ways. I don't know if there's evidence for that being one.

Personally, I wouldn't worry if there were no symptoms of HR irregularity (some Garmin models try to detect/report that, but aren't considered medically reliable in that way), or symptoms of problematic bradycardia. But if you're worried, yes, talk with your doctor.

Katiiee_gal

psuLemon wrote: »

Katiiee_gal wrote: »

So I’m fairly fit. I ran a marathon last month. As I finished training for that, I’m doing insanity at the minute. My heart rate tends to reflect that and my RHR is always under 60.

However, I tend to find my HR drops considerably when I diet. I’ve only really been active on here a few days as I used to have this ages ago and want to drop a little weight.

My Garmin reports the lowest and highest HR within the past four hours. For me, the lowest hit 33. I’ve been in the 30s before and it’s always when I’ve dieted and doesn’t tend to feel good physically (drops lower with diet than when I’m purely physically fit).

Has anyone else ever noticed a connection between heart rate and diet? And at what point would you be concerned about a low heart rate? It’s hard to know when to worry when lower heart rates tend to be associated with fitness anyway. Thank you all.

It's likely that you also drop your sodium when you diet. If you worry, have a chat with your doctor.

Hey! First time using this forum so I hope this posts correctly and quotes you for my reply!

Thank you for answering. Ironically it told me off yesterday for my sodium being too high. I know from the marathon training that I tend to know when my electrolytes are depleted. I used to have buy pickles for after my long runs. Now I don’t run so much, I don’t crave them anymore.

It’s a good idea for me to keep an eye on as I do drink a very large amount of liquid (often in excess of 4L). I’ll try swapping a squash for an electrolyte drink! Thank you

Katiiee_gal

AnnPT77 wrote: »

My resting heart rate isn't that low (never seen accurate 30s, only the random time in the mid-40s, though mid-40s isn't unusual during sleep). When I was obese but before weight loss, my AM resting heart rate was usually in the 48-55 range. During and after weight loss, it was/is usually in the 48-55 range. (I was very active even as an obese person, for a while competing in rowing events, and training routinely. Not competing any more, but activity level is still similar.)

If you have very rare blips (high or low) in heart rate, it may be worth thinking what you were doing at the time, to consider measurement error. From experience, I know that if I row (boat or machine) without a chest belt, the amount of arm flexion causes my Garmin to lose wrist contact. The result is usually silly-low numbers. (I forgot my chest belt on yesterday's AM row. There are a couple of points where it reports my HR in the 30s for a while, and the average HR for the 10k row was 69, max 103. Yeah, no. Measurement error for sure.)

Nowadays (long in maintenance), I do notice that if I substantially overeat, my resting HR tends to be up from a few to maybe as much as 10bpm for a while afterward, perhaps even a whole day. (This is complicated in that indulgence usually includes both food and some moderate amount of alcohol, so I don't know which produces the effect.) That's the only diet-related thing I've noticed.

Psulemon has a good point about sodium.

I'd also wonder how far you tend to cut calories when you diet? Big deficits might cause a bit more downregulation in a variety of subtle ways. I don't know if there's evidence for that being one.

Personally, I wouldn't worry if there were no symptoms of HR irregularity (some Garmin models try to detect/report that, but aren't considered medically reliable in that way), or symptoms of problematic bradycardia. But if you're worried, yes, talk with your doctor.

Hi. Thank you for answering! Usually when it’s that low, I’m laying down, and it’s accompanied by heart palpitations. It’s hard to describe but I just don’t feel well with it.

That’s why I was a little surprised I didn’t notice. I was having heart palpitations after my bath (usually happens for me if it’s hot) but that’s normally associated with an increase in HR for me (which it was as it was 80 earlier). I managed to pin down the time to when I was sat as a passenger in the car.

I can’t blame the watch either as I’ve notice it with both my last two Fitbits and my current Garmin. Thankfully, it’s not common.

I’m currently following the MFP 1200 recommendation and often eating back my exercise calories. Unfortunately I’ll have days where I exceed 10K step, including insanity, but with my sedentary job and weight (healthy BMI but higher than I’d ideally like), I’ll not even hit a 2,000 calorie burn. It’s frustrating for sure.

I think you have a very good point about the deficit. It doesn’t feel extreme if I’m not even burning 2,000 kcals.

I had treatment years ago for disordered eating and I did notice that if I didn’t eat all day and then went to bed, I’d have the heart palpitations and low pulse. I’ll keep an eye on the deficit and see if I start losing too harshly. It’s just hard when you don’t burn much to start with.

Thank you for all of your help

AnnPT77

Katiiee_gal wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

My resting heart rate isn't that low (never seen accurate 30s, only the random time in the mid-40s, though mid-40s isn't unusual during sleep). When I was obese but before weight loss, my AM resting heart rate was usually in the 48-55 range. During and after weight loss, it was/is usually in the 48-55 range. (I was very active even as an obese person, for a while competing in rowing events, and training routinely. Not competing any more, but activity level is still similar.)

If you have very rare blips (high or low) in heart rate, it may be worth thinking what you were doing at the time, to consider measurement error. From experience, I know that if I row (boat or machine) without a chest belt, the amount of arm flexion causes my Garmin to lose wrist contact. The result is usually silly-low numbers. (I forgot my chest belt on yesterday's AM row. There are a couple of points where it reports my HR in the 30s for a while, and the average HR for the 10k row was 69, max 103. Yeah, no. Measurement error for sure.)

Nowadays (long in maintenance), I do notice that if I substantially overeat, my resting HR tends to be up from a few to maybe as much as 10bpm for a while afterward, perhaps even a whole day. (This is complicated in that indulgence usually includes both food and some moderate amount of alcohol, so I don't know which produces the effect.) That's the only diet-related thing I've noticed.

Psulemon has a good point about sodium.

I'd also wonder how far you tend to cut calories when you diet? Big deficits might cause a bit more downregulation in a variety of subtle ways. I don't know if there's evidence for that being one.

Personally, I wouldn't worry if there were no symptoms of HR irregularity (some Garmin models try to detect/report that, but aren't considered medically reliable in that way), or symptoms of problematic bradycardia. But if you're worried, yes, talk with your doctor.

Hi. Thank you for answering! Usually when it’s that low, I’m laying down, and it’s accompanied by heart palpitations. It’s hard to describe but I just don’t feel well with it.

That’s why I was a little surprised I didn’t notice. I was having heart palpitations after my bath (usually happens for me if it’s hot) but that’s normally associated with an increase in HR for me (which it was as it was 80 earlier). I managed to pin down the time to when I was sat as a passenger in the car.

I can’t blame the watch either as I’ve notice it with both my last two Fitbits and my current Garmin. Thankfully, it’s not common.

I’m currently following the MFP 1200 recommendation and often eating back my exercise calories. Unfortunately I’ll have days where I exceed 10K step, including insanity, but with my sedentary job and weight (healthy BMI but higher than I’d ideally like), I’ll not even hit a 2,000 calorie burn. It’s frustrating for sure.

I think you have a very good point about the deficit. It doesn’t feel extreme if I’m not even burning 2,000 kcals.

I had treatment years ago for disordered eating and I did notice that if I didn’t eat all day and then went to bed, I’d have the heart palpitations and low pulse. I’ll keep an eye on the deficit and see if I start losing too harshly. It’s just hard when you don’t burn much to start with.

Thank you for all of your help

Have you told your doctor about the palpitations? That would be a good idea.

1200 may be too low: I wouldn't recommend trying to lose more than 1% of current bodyweight weekly, and slower than that would be sensible if within 25-50 pounds of a sensible goal weight. Fast weight loss is a physical stressor. If not materially overweight such that excess weight itself is a health risk, fast lost increases health risks. Why?

At age 59, 5'5", 150-some pounds, 1200 (*plus* all exercise) proved too low for me. I got weak and fatigued - despite having felt fine, energetic, not hungry until I suddenly hit that wall - and it took weeks to recover normal energy/strength. I admit, I'm a mysteriously good li'l ol' calorie burner, so your actual numbers may differ even if at similar size . . . but the concept is still there: Fast loss can be risky, and hunger or energy level may not be warning signs, until it's too late.

kshama2001

Katiiee_gal wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

My resting heart rate isn't that low (never seen accurate 30s, only the random time in the mid-40s, though mid-40s isn't unusual during sleep). When I was obese but before weight loss, my AM resting heart rate was usually in the 48-55 range. During and after weight loss, it was/is usually in the 48-55 range. (I was very active even as an obese person, for a while competing in rowing events, and training routinely. Not competing any more, but activity level is still similar.)

If you have very rare blips (high or low) in heart rate, it may be worth thinking what you were doing at the time, to consider measurement error. From experience, I know that if I row (boat or machine) without a chest belt, the amount of arm flexion causes my Garmin to lose wrist contact. The result is usually silly-low numbers. (I forgot my chest belt on yesterday's AM row. There are a couple of points where it reports my HR in the 30s for a while, and the average HR for the 10k row was 69, max 103. Yeah, no. Measurement error for sure.)

Nowadays (long in maintenance), I do notice that if I substantially overeat, my resting HR tends to be up from a few to maybe as much as 10bpm for a while afterward, perhaps even a whole day. (This is complicated in that indulgence usually includes both food and some moderate amount of alcohol, so I don't know which produces the effect.) That's the only diet-related thing I've noticed.

Psulemon has a good point about sodium.

I'd also wonder how far you tend to cut calories when you diet? Big deficits might cause a bit more downregulation in a variety of subtle ways. I don't know if there's evidence for that being one.

Personally, I wouldn't worry if there were no symptoms of HR irregularity (some Garmin models try to detect/report that, but aren't considered medically reliable in that way), or symptoms of problematic bradycardia. But if you're worried, yes, talk with your doctor.

Hi. Thank you for answering! Usually when it’s that low, I’m laying down, and it’s accompanied by heart palpitations. It’s hard to describe but I just don’t feel well with it.

That’s why I was a little surprised I didn’t notice. I was having heart palpitations after my bath (usually happens for me if it’s hot) but that’s normally associated with an increase in HR for me (which it was as it was 80 earlier). I managed to pin down the time to when I was sat as a passenger in the car.

I can’t blame the watch either as I’ve notice it with both my last two Fitbits and my current Garmin. Thankfully, it’s not common.

I’m currently following the MFP 1200 recommendation and often eating back my exercise calories. Unfortunately I’ll have days where I exceed 10K step, including insanity, but with my sedentary job and weight (healthy BMI but higher than I’d ideally like), I’ll not even hit a 2,000 calorie burn. It’s frustrating for sure.

I think you have a very good point about the deficit. It doesn’t feel extreme if I’m not even burning 2,000 kcals.

I had treatment years ago for disordered eating and I did notice that if I didn’t eat all day and then went to bed, I’d have the heart palpitations and low pulse. I’ll keep an eye on the deficit and see if I start losing too harshly. It’s just hard when you don’t burn much to start with.

Thank you for all of your help

I wonder if you are trying to lose too fast and not eating back enough exercise calories.

Jacq_qui

Hi there
The things that impact my RHR that I have noticed - dehydration, coming down with a cold/virus, being very tired or stressed, and hormones. That said they tend to push it up, not down. I've had quite low RHR at night in the 40s, I was very anxious in the day at the time and I think my HR was all over the place and nothing really was reliable. I did get it checked out - the nurse told me that since people started wearing HR monitors for fitness they've had loads and loads of enquiries from 'worried-well'. Not to say that if you're not feeling right you shouldnt' get it checked out. I don't know your height/weight, but 1200 is quite low. I don't think my body would like that much

dragon_girl26

kshama2001 wrote: »

Katiiee_gal wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

My resting heart rate isn't that low (never seen accurate 30s, only the random time in the mid-40s, though mid-40s isn't unusual during sleep). When I was obese but before weight loss, my AM resting heart rate was usually in the 48-55 range. During and after weight loss, it was/is usually in the 48-55 range. (I was very active even as an obese person, for a while competing in rowing events, and training routinely. Not competing any more, but activity level is still similar.)

If you have very rare blips (high or low) in heart rate, it may be worth thinking what you were doing at the time, to consider measurement error. From experience, I know that if I row (boat or machine) without a chest belt, the amount of arm flexion causes my Garmin to lose wrist contact. The result is usually silly-low numbers. (I forgot my chest belt on yesterday's AM row. There are a couple of points where it reports my HR in the 30s for a while, and the average HR for the 10k row was 69, max 103. Yeah, no. Measurement error for sure.)

Nowadays (long in maintenance), I do notice that if I substantially overeat, my resting HR tends to be up from a few to maybe as much as 10bpm for a while afterward, perhaps even a whole day. (This is complicated in that indulgence usually includes both food and some moderate amount of alcohol, so I don't know which produces the effect.) That's the only diet-related thing I've noticed.

Psulemon has a good point about sodium.

I'd also wonder how far you tend to cut calories when you diet? Big deficits might cause a bit more downregulation in a variety of subtle ways. I don't know if there's evidence for that being one.

Personally, I wouldn't worry if there were no symptoms of HR irregularity (some Garmin models try to detect/report that, but aren't considered medically reliable in that way), or symptoms of problematic bradycardia. But if you're worried, yes, talk with your doctor.

Hi. Thank you for answering! Usually when it’s that low, I’m laying down, and it’s accompanied by heart palpitations. It’s hard to describe but I just don’t feel well with it.

That’s why I was a little surprised I didn’t notice. I was having heart palpitations after my bath (usually happens for me if it’s hot) but that’s normally associated with an increase in HR for me (which it was as it was 80 earlier). I managed to pin down the time to when I was sat as a passenger in the car.

I can’t blame the watch either as I’ve notice it with both my last two Fitbits and my current Garmin. Thankfully, it’s not common.

I’m currently following the MFP 1200 recommendation and often eating back my exercise calories. Unfortunately I’ll have days where I exceed 10K step, including insanity, but with my sedentary job and weight (healthy BMI but higher than I’d ideally like), I’ll not even hit a 2,000 calorie burn. It’s frustrating for sure.

I think you have a very good point about the deficit. It doesn’t feel extreme if I’m not even burning 2,000 kcals.

I had treatment years ago for disordered eating and I did notice that if I didn’t eat all day and then went to bed, I’d have the heart palpitations and low pulse. I’ll keep an eye on the deficit and see if I start losing too harshly. It’s just hard when you don’t burn much to start with.

Thank you for all of your help

I wonder if you are trying to lose too fast and not eating back enough exercise calories.

Seconded. I don't know what your height is, OP, but you said you're in a healthy BMI range. 1200 is the lowest MFP will go, and is usually an indicator that someone has chosen a rate of loss too extreme for their current size. In the healthy BMI range, weight loss should be slow and really shouldn't be any more than. 5 lb a week (250 calorie deficit per day).

lynn_glenmont

dragon_girl26 wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

Katiiee_gal wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

My resting heart rate isn't that low (never seen accurate 30s, only the random time in the mid-40s, though mid-40s isn't unusual during sleep). When I was obese but before weight loss, my AM resting heart rate was usually in the 48-55 range. During and after weight loss, it was/is usually in the 48-55 range. (I was very active even as an obese person, for a while competing in rowing events, and training routinely. Not competing any more, but activity level is still similar.)

If you have very rare blips (high or low) in heart rate, it may be worth thinking what you were doing at the time, to consider measurement error. From experience, I know that if I row (boat or machine) without a chest belt, the amount of arm flexion causes my Garmin to lose wrist contact. The result is usually silly-low numbers. (I forgot my chest belt on yesterday's AM row. There are a couple of points where it reports my HR in the 30s for a while, and the average HR for the 10k row was 69, max 103. Yeah, no. Measurement error for sure.)

Nowadays (long in maintenance), I do notice that if I substantially overeat, my resting HR tends to be up from a few to maybe as much as 10bpm for a while afterward, perhaps even a whole day. (This is complicated in that indulgence usually includes both food and some moderate amount of alcohol, so I don't know which produces the effect.) That's the only diet-related thing I've noticed.

Psulemon has a good point about sodium.

I'd also wonder how far you tend to cut calories when you diet? Big deficits might cause a bit more downregulation in a variety of subtle ways. I don't know if there's evidence for that being one.

Personally, I wouldn't worry if there were no symptoms of HR irregularity (some Garmin models try to detect/report that, but aren't considered medically reliable in that way), or symptoms of problematic bradycardia. But if you're worried, yes, talk with your doctor.

Hi. Thank you for answering! Usually when it’s that low, I’m laying down, and it’s accompanied by heart palpitations. It’s hard to describe but I just don’t feel well with it.

That’s why I was a little surprised I didn’t notice. I was having heart palpitations after my bath (usually happens for me if it’s hot) but that’s normally associated with an increase in HR for me (which it was as it was 80 earlier). I managed to pin down the time to when I was sat as a passenger in the car.

I can’t blame the watch either as I’ve notice it with both my last two Fitbits and my current Garmin. Thankfully, it’s not common.

I’m currently following the MFP 1200 recommendation and often eating back my exercise calories. Unfortunately I’ll have days where I exceed 10K step, including insanity, but with my sedentary job and weight (healthy BMI but higher than I’d ideally like), I’ll not even hit a 2,000 calorie burn. It’s frustrating for sure.

I think you have a very good point about the deficit. It doesn’t feel extreme if I’m not even burning 2,000 kcals.

I had treatment years ago for disordered eating and I did notice that if I didn’t eat all day and then went to bed, I’d have the heart palpitations and low pulse. I’ll keep an eye on the deficit and see if I start losing too harshly. It’s just hard when you don’t burn much to start with.

Thank you for all of your help

I wonder if you are trying to lose too fast and not eating back enough exercise calories.

Seconded. I don't know what your height is, OP, but you said you're in a healthy BMI range. 1200 is the lowest MFP will go, and is usually an indicator that someone has chosen a rate of loss too extreme for their current size. In the healthy BMI range, weight loss should be slow and really shouldn't be any more than. 5 lb a week (250 calorie deficit per day).

This is probably an auto-correct issue, but just pointing out to anyone who might misread this because of the space after the period that weight loss for someone in the healthy BMI range likely shouldn't be more than .5 (0.5) lb a week.

dragon_girl26

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

dragon_girl26 wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

Katiiee_gal wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

My resting heart rate isn't that low (never seen accurate 30s, only the random time in the mid-40s, though mid-40s isn't unusual during sleep). When I was obese but before weight loss, my AM resting heart rate was usually in the 48-55 range. During and after weight loss, it was/is usually in the 48-55 range. (I was very active even as an obese person, for a while competing in rowing events, and training routinely. Not competing any more, but activity level is still similar.)

If you have very rare blips (high or low) in heart rate, it may be worth thinking what you were doing at the time, to consider measurement error. From experience, I know that if I row (boat or machine) without a chest belt, the amount of arm flexion causes my Garmin to lose wrist contact. The result is usually silly-low numbers. (I forgot my chest belt on yesterday's AM row. There are a couple of points where it reports my HR in the 30s for a while, and the average HR for the 10k row was 69, max 103. Yeah, no. Measurement error for sure.)

Nowadays (long in maintenance), I do notice that if I substantially overeat, my resting HR tends to be up from a few to maybe as much as 10bpm for a while afterward, perhaps even a whole day. (This is complicated in that indulgence usually includes both food and some moderate amount of alcohol, so I don't know which produces the effect.) That's the only diet-related thing I've noticed.

Psulemon has a good point about sodium.

I'd also wonder how far you tend to cut calories when you diet? Big deficits might cause a bit more downregulation in a variety of subtle ways. I don't know if there's evidence for that being one.

Personally, I wouldn't worry if there were no symptoms of HR irregularity (some Garmin models try to detect/report that, but aren't considered medically reliable in that way), or symptoms of problematic bradycardia. But if you're worried, yes, talk with your doctor.

Hi. Thank you for answering! Usually when it’s that low, I’m laying down, and it’s accompanied by heart palpitations. It’s hard to describe but I just don’t feel well with it.

That’s why I was a little surprised I didn’t notice. I was having heart palpitations after my bath (usually happens for me if it’s hot) but that’s normally associated with an increase in HR for me (which it was as it was 80 earlier). I managed to pin down the time to when I was sat as a passenger in the car.

I can’t blame the watch either as I’ve notice it with both my last two Fitbits and my current Garmin. Thankfully, it’s not common.

I’m currently following the MFP 1200 recommendation and often eating back my exercise calories. Unfortunately I’ll have days where I exceed 10K step, including insanity, but with my sedentary job and weight (healthy BMI but higher than I’d ideally like), I’ll not even hit a 2,000 calorie burn. It’s frustrating for sure.

I think you have a very good point about the deficit. It doesn’t feel extreme if I’m not even burning 2,000 kcals.

I had treatment years ago for disordered eating and I did notice that if I didn’t eat all day and then went to bed, I’d have the heart palpitations and low pulse. I’ll keep an eye on the deficit and see if I start losing too harshly. It’s just hard when you don’t burn much to start with.

Thank you for all of your help

I wonder if you are trying to lose too fast and not eating back enough exercise calories.

Seconded. I don't know what your height is, OP, but you said you're in a healthy BMI range. 1200 is the lowest MFP will go, and is usually an indicator that someone has chosen a rate of loss too extreme for their current size. In the healthy BMI range, weight loss should be slow and really shouldn't be any more than. 5 lb a week (250 calorie deficit per day).

This is probably an auto-correct issue, but just pointing out to anyone who might misread this because of the space after the period that weight loss for someone in the healthy BMI range likely shouldn't be more than .5 (0.5) lb a week.

Yes, thank you! The auto correct feature on my phone is pretty awful...I seem to spend a lot more time correcting the "corrections" my phone makes than actually writing my post, it seems.

Fflpnari

Mine goes low along with my bp. I keep my sodium intake steady between 3200-3700mg daily. My heart rate will go into the high 30's on a regular basis. I also have a small deficit. The lower my intake is the lower my HR goes. when i over eat my resting HR will go to the 50's.

lgfrie

My RHR and BP are considerably lower while dieting. In fact here are the exact numbers, because I've been on a maintenance break for a month and and am also pretty obsessive about recording and tracking HR, BP, etc., both before & during the maintenance break.

Eating 1800 calories: RHR: 50-53, BP 126/80
Eating 2350 calories: RHR: 59-60, BP 132/85

Before I started dieting & exercising in May 2019: RHR: 84, BP 140/90

domeofstars

I have noticed this too, as well as a drop in blood pressure. It makes me wonder if I'm losing heart muscle mass.