Losing weight with BMI below 22 - painfully slow

fryfat

I'm a long distance runner and am trying to get my BMI to around 20.

I started with a BMI of 25 (6'4" 205lb) and the weight seemed to melt off until I hit 22, now it's painfully slow (currently 174lb). Even with 1-2 hours of weights/cardio per day, I have to stay under 2,000 calories or I seem to gain.

I know most people plateau in their diet plans and that's normal, but I'm wondering if it's extra hard to get the last few pounds off before hitting your ideal weight. I only have about 6 lbs left to lose, so it's frustrating.

IoveIy

It is definitely extra hard!

I only have 6 lbs. to lose to get to a BMI of around 19 and I'm netting 1200 calories a day to lose only .6 lbs. of fat a week. It's the best I can do without starving my body of essential nutrients, losing muscle, or slowing down my metabolism.

I also don't like to weigh myself because since my fat loss rate is so slow, it could easily be overshadowed by water weight fluctuation.

Just stick to your diet/exercise plan and remain patient....very patient! lol


P.S. http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ This is my favorite calculator for BMR, TDEE, and finding out how long you need to diet to get to your body fat % goal.

rsoice

Have you considered that at 2,000 calories a day you may be wasting your time with weights because your body has nothing left to build muscle with? Also, at 6'4/174 your BMI is actually less than 22 and you're right in the middle of ideal BMI? I think if you focus on your fitness level and ignore the numbers you might be a little happier with the results but that's just MHO

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/BMI/bmicalc.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.org/bmi-calculator/itt-20084938

Two different BMI Calculators

missdibs1

I find the less BF I have the slower my body loses it. These last ten pounds are coming off slowly I think this is normal.

WalkingAlong

I think the last few pounds are hard because if you're underestimating your calories by 25% (the average amount for trained loggers in one lab study), you're in maintenance thinking you should be under. You might be logging 1875 and eating 2500. Maybe 2500 was ok to lose before but now it's your maintenance calorie level. But people are loath to go lower because they think they're already so low because everyone believes they log pretty well, especially if they own a food scale.

fryfat

Have you considered that at 2,000 calories a day you may be wasting your time with weights because your body has nothing left to build muscle with?

I've considered that, but I'd also read that weights help you retain muscle when dieting. I'm not trying to gain muscle at this point, just lose the last few pounds.

IoveIy

I've considered that, but I'd also read that weights help you retain muscle when dieting. I'm not trying to gain muscle at this point, just lose the last few pounds.

That's true. Weights would help you retain what muscle you already have as much as possible.

jwdieter

Keep in mind that elite distance runners are light because they are both low fat and low muscle. Especially upper body. If your objective is not aesthetics, you can let the upper body burn off and have an easier time at lower weights.