I have a dumb question

LTKeegan

Everyone says on here that when you are smaller (less weight to lose... ie "those last 10lbs") , you lose weight slower. My question is why?


Is it because its harder to get a deficit and therefore you can't get a big enough deficit to lose weight quickly without being unhealthy? or do people mean you lose weight slower if you have less weight to lose even at the SAME calorie deficit?


I'm confused.


Edit to say:

I'm losing weight fine, I'm happy with my progress and I'm not worried. I'm just wondering about this because everyone on here always says "the last 10lbs are the hardest" They should be just as hard as every other lb if its calories in - calories out, but just slower since you can't have as big of a deficit.

jdb3388

You need to go to BMI-calculator.net
Ignore BMI, as it is a ridiculous equation with an equally ridiculous result. Go to the BMR calculator. BMR is Basil Metabolic Rate. Your BMR is how many calories your body naturally burns in a day, throw in some activity using the Harris Benedict Equation and you'll get the actual amount of calories your body burns on average per day over the course of a week. You must lose 3500 in order to lose a pound.

When a person weighs less, their body naturally burns less calories to maintain its self, therefore, as you said, it is harder to create a deficit. That same situation applies to exercising to burn calories. When you weigh less, your body burns less through exercise, so it is more exhausting to create a larger gap. You will always lose 1 pound for every 3500 calories that your body burns (but don't forget to account for the ones going back in, it has to be a net calorie loss) It is just harder to burn 3500 calories the less you weigh.

LTKeegan

You need to go to BMI-calculator.net
Ignore BMI, as it is a ridiculous equation with an equally ridiculous result. Go to the BMR calculator. BMR is Basil Metabolic Rate. Your BMR is how many calories your body naturally burns in a day, throw in some activity using the Harris Benedict Equation and you'll get the actual amount of calories your body burns on average per day over the course of a week. You must lose 3500 in order to lose a pound.

I know this much, I've been doing the TDEE method, I just keep hearing people say "its harder to lose weight when you get closer to your goal"

When a person weighs less, their body naturally burns less calories to maintain its self, therefore, as you said, it is harder to create a deficit. That same situation applies to exercising to burn calories. When you weigh less, your body burns less through exercise, so it is more exhausting to create a larger gap. You will always lose 1 pound for every 3500 calories that your body burns (but don't forget to account for the ones going back in, it has to be a net calorie loss) It is just harder to burn 3500 calories the less you weigh.

So it is the later. Sometimes people on this site make it sound like if you're small and burn 3500 calories, you wont lose fat for who knows why. Good to know I'm just not interpreting what they're saying properly.

meshashesha2012

i think it something to do with how evolutionary speaking our bodies havent changed much over thousands of years.

part of the reason humans have survived is because we are adaptable enough to survive cycles of feast and famine . this is also apparently why we have a tendency to love sugary fatty foods : these foods dont occur often in nature and the extra calories can be helpful when the next time of not having enough food is around the corner.

so basically your 2014 body has no idea that we have things called restaurants and grocery stores where we can easily get food. the closer you are to your body's optimal weight when times are good, then the more it's going to resist you losing more because you'd be more at risk for not making it when times aren't so good.

knra_grl

I think it's not necessarily harder but takes longer? When you lose you recalculate and MFP lowers your calorie goal accordingly to work with what you entered for your weekly goal (ie: 2lbs)

MFP will not go lower than 1200 calories - so this is where your exercise calories would really be needed so you can fuel your body.

I don't do the TDEE method so I have to read up on it to figure it out.

But when you are closer to your goal your weekly goal should be adjusted to like 1/2 lb per week by then. Also by this time your body might become resistant to giving up the last bit of fat it has? Not an expert but that's my take.

edit: if you have more lean muscle mass your calorie burn is higher no? I was of the understanding that more muscle = higher calorie burn.

Sovi_

i think it something to do with how evolutionary speaking our bodies havent changed much over thousands of years.

part of the reason humans have survived is because we are adaptable enough to survive cycles of feast and famine . this is also apparently why we have a tendency to love sugary fatty foods : these foods dont occur often in nature and the extra calories can be helpful when the next time of not having enough food is around the corner.

so basically your 2014 body has no idea that we have things called restaurants and grocery stores where we can easily get food. the closer you are to your body's optimal weight when times are good, then the more it's going to resist you losing more because you'd be more at risk for not making it when times aren't so good.

Your brain is awesome!

jdb3388

There is a bit more of a science to it, but anyone in the world will lose weight if the follow the simple "calories in VS calories out" rule. If you really wanna get into the whole thing in depth we can talk about different types of carbohydrates and how insulin affects fat burning and all that, but I digress. 3500 Calories = 1 pound no matter how you slice it.

IronPhyllida

i think it something to do with how evolutionary speaking our bodies havent changed much over thousands of years.

part of the reason humans have survived is because we are adaptable enough to survive cycles of feast and famine . this is also apparently why we have a tendency to love sugary fatty foods : these foods dont occur often in nature and the extra calories can be helpful when the next time of not having enough food is around the corner.

so basically your 2014 body has no idea that we have things called restaurants and grocery stores where we can easily get food. the closer you are to your body's optimal weight when times are good, then the more it's going to resist you losing more because you'd be more at risk for not making it when times aren't so good.

Yup! Very well put... Those last 5kg are a mare and incredibly stubborn.....

LTKeegan

There is a bit more of a science to it, but anyone in the world will lose weight if the follow the simple "calories in VS calories out" rule. If you really wanna get into the whole thing in depth we can talk about different types of carbohydrates and how insulin affects fat burning and all that, but I digress. 3500 Calories = 1 pound no matter how you slice it.

This is more along the lines of what I'm wanting.

LTKeegan

i think it something to do with how evolutionary speaking our bodies havent changed much over thousands of years.

part of the reason humans have survived is because we are adaptable enough to survive cycles of feast and famine . this is also apparently why we have a tendency to love sugary fatty foods : these foods dont occur often in nature and the extra calories can be helpful when the next time of not having enough food is around the corner.

so basically your 2014 body has no idea that we have things called restaurants and grocery stores where we can easily get food. the closer you are to your body's optimal weight when times are good, then the more it's going to resist you losing more because you'd be more at risk for not making it when times aren't so good.

Props for thinking evolutionarily One of the hats I wear is as an evolutionary biologist, so I can totally dig what you're saying. Though not quite what I'm asking. Thanks though, its always awesome to hear other people thinking in terms of what are bodies are "programmed" to do

ndj1979

Everyone says on here that when you are smaller (less weight to lose... ie "those last 10lbs") , you lose weight slower. My question is why?


Is it because its harder to get a deficit and therefore you can't get a big enough deficit to lose weight quickly without being unhealthy? or do people mean you lose weight slower if you have less weight to lose even at the SAME calorie deficit?


I'm confused.

your body is a very adaptive organism and the reason it stores fat is so that it can uses it for energy when food is scarce..Really, this is just an evolutionary hold over from our "hunter-gather days"….way back in the day you might go days without any food; therefore, our bodies stored fat for energy in lean times..

Obviously, these days this mechanism is not really needed as food - in most area - is pretty plentiful….so when we start dieting and get to a certain weight/body fat your body says "oh no, my fat stores are getting low.." so it then adapts by holding on to it by slowing down metabolism and through a host of other mechanisms….

you can still lose it just take harder work and more strict adherence to diet, macros, and deficit...

LTKeegan

i think it something to do with how evolutionary speaking our bodies havent changed much over thousands of years.

part of the reason humans have survived is because we are adaptable enough to survive cycles of feast and famine . this is also apparently why we have a tendency to love sugary fatty foods : these foods dont occur often in nature and the extra calories can be helpful when the next time of not having enough food is around the corner.

so basically your 2014 body has no idea that we have things called restaurants and grocery stores where we can easily get food. the closer you are to your body's optimal weight when times are good, then the more it's going to resist you losing more because you'd be more at risk for not making it when times aren't so good.

Yup! Very well put... Those last 5kg are a mare and incredibly stubborn.....

My question is *WHY* are those last 5kg MORE stubborn than any OTHER 5kg

LTKeegan

Obviously, these days this mechanism is not really needed as food - in most area - is pretty plentiful….so when we start dieting and get to a certain weight/body fat your body says "oh no, my fat stores are getting low.." so it then adapts by holding on to it by slowing down metabolism and through a host of other mechanisms….

THIS! Is what I want explained!!

ndj1979

Obviously, these days this mechanism is not really needed as food - in most area - is pretty plentiful….so when we start dieting and get to a certain weight/body fat your body says "oh no, my fat stores are getting low.." so it then adapts by holding on to it by slowing down metabolism and through a host of other mechanisms….

THIS! Is what I want explained!!

your body slows down fat burning when you get to a certain body fat% would be the explanation at its most basic level….

LTKeegan

Obviously, these days this mechanism is not really needed as food - in most area - is pretty plentiful….so when we start dieting and get to a certain weight/body fat your body says "oh no, my fat stores are getting low.." so it then adapts by holding on to it by slowing down metabolism and through a host of other mechanisms….

THIS! Is what I want explained!!

your body slows down fat burning when you get to a certain body fat% would be the explanation at its most basic level….

Can you explain it at the not basic level? This is the question I was trying to ask in my post, but clearly did a piss poor job of it.

WestCoastWild

Your body has to do less work (burn fewer calories) to maintain itself the less you weigh. If you walk a mile at 400 lbs you will burn WAY more than if you walk a mile at 130 lbs. So, the less you weigh, the harder it is to burn off those calories.

donseennu

in very simple terms, let's say calorie burnt is like Milage. a Bus can burn more calories (less mileage) than a car. This is because Bus is a lot heavier and it uses more fule to travel the same distance as a Car. Car in other terms is smaller which has burns less fule (calories).

this is just a visual example to understand the concept. so any person with more body weight will burn more calories for the same amount of work compared to less heavy person. and when the heavy person starts to lose weight, his burling rate will also reduce (increase in millage as in bus/car).

in order to lose that last few pounds you need to do some weight training and build lean muscle. (like tuning your car into sport model ) muscle burns more calories at rest, i.e. your body will be burning even when you are doing nothing.

hope it helps.

LTKeegan

I have experienced the same. I was seeing a steady loss in weight and it suddenly stopped. no matter how much i worked hard (work out) it wasn't going anywhere. Here is what i realised what was causing it.

Apparently i wasn't eating enough food for the amount of workout (calories burnt/ increase in metabolism), so my body was trying to save as much energy (fat/calories) as it could.

After releasing this, i started to eat enough calories to maintain the ratio and i see the change.

Also some people may be referring to last few body fat% loss when they say last few lbs of weight.

Oh, I'm still losing weight at a steady pace, I'm just curious about what people are talking about on here.

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

Simply put there is less room for error as you get closer to your goal weight. Because the number of calories gets smaller as you get smaller, a sustainable deficit can also be harder to maintain. You still want to give your body enough fuel to sustain your activity level, but overall less calories are needed so it makes it a very tedious balancing act. The reason why you hear many suggest to change your goal to 1/2 lb/week is for this reason. It's still a sustainable goal and can make adherence easier.

With that being said, there are many people that have no problem adhering to an aggressive deficit in that last phase of weight loss. Whether that is a healthy option or not is debatable and we don't need to get in there. It just really all depends on how you want to do it, what is sustainable, and what your overall health/fitness goals are.

SezxyStef

I will be frank...I don't find that at all to be honest.

As you can see by my ticker I am in the last 10lb range...6lbs to go.

I am losing on average 0.66lbs a week...right on track...I should be at maintenace by the first day of summer...:drinker:

This may be because I am doing HIIT 2x a week now (since Jan 6) but I did gain 4lbs on vacation...and it's gone now...

I have been 95% accurate with my logging since August 19th when I bought a kitchen scale.
I do TDEE-15% usually staying at 1700 calories a day...sometimes a bit lower, sometimes a bit higher.
I don't have to play with exercise calories due to using TDEE.
My deficet is sustainable as I don't eliminate food and eat what I want just in reasonable portions.
I watch my protien macro closely as I do lift heavy 3x a week and try to meet 120g a day.

Maybe I am just doing everything right...(thanks to what I learned here) but it is what it is.

I think it is only as hard as you make it on yourself, if you set reasonable goals, make it a sustainable plan from the start...those last 10 shouldn't be any harder than the 2nd 10 (I say 2nd cause the first 10 usually flies off)

LTKeegan

I will be frank...I don't find that at all to be honest.

As you can see by my ticker I am in the last 10lb range...6lbs to go.

I am losing on average 0.66lbs a week...right on track...I should be at maintenace by the first day of summer...:drinker:

This may be because I am doing HIIT 2x a week now (since Jan 6) but I did gain 4lbs on vacation...and it's gone now...

I have been 95% accurate with my logging since August 19th when I bought a kitchen scale.
I do TDEE-15% usually staying at 1700 calories a day...sometimes a bit lower, sometimes a bit higher.
I don't have to play with exercise calories due to using TDEE.
My deficet is sustainable as I don't eliminate food and eat what I want just in reasonable portions.
I watch my protien macro closely as I do lift heavy 3x a week and try to meet 120g a day.

Maybe I am just doing everything right...(thanks to what I learned here) but it is what it is.

I think it is only as hard as you make it on yourself, if you set reasonable goals, make it a sustainable plan from the start...those last 10 shouldn't be any harder than the 2nd 10 (I say 2nd cause the first 10 usually flies off)

Thanks Im glad your last 10lbs are going well, I hope mine will as well (I hit 9lbs to go this morning).


I'm not struggling, I was just wondering now that I'm sub 10 lbs to go WHY people keep saying that its harder and the answers I've gotten fit into both categories of "its harder to get a deficit" and "something physiological changes"


I want to know if something physiological DOES change and if so, I want someone to explain it to me using science (or send me a link to a paper).

If its just that its harder to get a deficit, then thats fine too. I will keep chugging along at my deficit and keep seeing slow and steady weight loss.

lynn_glenmont

I will be frank...I don't find that at all to be honest.

As you can see by my ticker I am in the last 10lb range...6lbs to go.

I am losing on average 0.66lbs a week...right on track...I should be at maintenace by the first day of summer...:drinker:

This may be because I am doing HIIT 2x a week now (since Jan 6) but I did gain 4lbs on vacation...and it's gone now...

I have been 95% accurate with my logging since August 19th when I bought a kitchen scale.
I do TDEE-15% usually staying at 1700 calories a day...sometimes a bit lower, sometimes a bit higher.
I don't have to play with exercise calories due to using TDEE.
My deficet is sustainable as I don't eliminate food and eat what I want just in reasonable portions.
I watch my protien macro closely as I do lift heavy 3x a week and try to meet 120g a day.

Maybe I am just doing everything right...(thanks to what I learned here) but it is what it is.

I think it is only as hard as you make it on yourself, if you set reasonable goals, make it a sustainable plan from the start...those last 10 shouldn't be any harder than the 2nd 10 (I say 2nd cause the first 10 usually flies off)

Thanks Im glad your last 10lbs are going well, I hope mine will as well (I hit 9lbs to go this morning).


I'm not struggling, I was just wondering now that I'm sub 10 lbs to go WHY people keep saying that its harder and the answers I've gotten fit into both categories of "its harder to get a deficit" and "something physiological changes"


I want to know if something physiological DOES change and if so, I want someone to explain it to me using science (or send me a link to a paper).

If its just that its harder to get a deficit, then thats fine too. I will keep chugging along at my deficit and keep seeing slow and steady weight loss.

I have wondered whether some of the impetus behind the "stubborn last 10 pounds" concept comes from (1) people who only had about 20 or 25 lbs to lose in the first place, so that a large percentage of their first 10 or 15 lbs loss was water loss as glycogen stores were depleted, so that by comparison the last 10 lbs are hard and (2) people whose goals are below a healthy weight, so those last 10 lbs present some extra problems.

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, in the form of a lengthy plateau or regain or just for things to start seeming a whole lot harder. I had a little stubborn fluctuation for a few weeks a couple of months back, but I knew I was eating a lot closer to maintenance and getting a lot more sodium than usual, so it was explainable. I keep fearing the inexplicable "I'm tracking and exercising and averaging a 500 calorie deficit every day but it's been two months and I haven't lost a pound!" plateau.

I'm still 25 lbs away from what I think will be my last 10 lbs (I keep reassessing as I go along, so far mainly in terms of what feels like an achievable goal to aim for, but I think as i get closer I'll reassess based on how I feel, what kind of numbers I'm seeing for cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure, and how I look), so I have yet to find out whether the "last 10 lbs is hardest" adage will hold true for me.