Close to goal & finding it hard to burn as many calories!

bhersh24
bhersh24 Posts: 49
in Fitness and Exercise
Since the end of January, I've dropped 20 pounds and I'm very happy with the results. I'm not so concerned about dropping lots more weight, but want to continue moving forward with the healthy lifestyle. In February I purchased a Polar HRM and love it. It's so motivating to see how many calories I'm burning and to know I'm getting a great cardio workout. Now that I've dropped the weight and am more "fit", however, I'm finding it hard to burn the same amount of calories. Two months ago a 45 minute walk would have me in my target heart rate zone the whole time. Now the same walk makes my heart rate top out well below my target zone. Running used to put me over. Now it puts me at the high end but within my zone. I know that this is a good thing, but it's also discouraging! I feel like I'm working hard but not getting the same results at the end of the workout. I'd like to tell myself that it's a low battery in my HRM but I know that's not true. Anyone have any tips? Tricks to get my heart rate up? Words of encouragement? Trying to not let this get me discouraged!!

Replies

  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Congrats on getting so much more fit! Sounds like your body is adapting to the workouts that you do. It's basically getting more efficient at the routines and burning less energy. You've probably got 3 choices.
    1. Keep going. If you like your current routine, just extend it. 30 min run is 45 mins, 5 mile run is 8 mile, etc.
    2. Supplement. A little caffeine helps before cardio. Black coffee, diet coke, or some thermo pill or another. Be careful tho.
    3. Switch it up. Vary your routine more. If you always run flats, find some hills or trails to run. Start sprinting. Or jump rope or bike instead of running/walking. Maybe HIIT or Insanity or something like that.

    Don't be discouraged. This is a good thing. Usually for me about the time the actual workouts become less demanding is the same time my regular metabolism speeds up so that I'm burning more cal when I'm NOT actually working out. So I am still heading toward my weight loss goal, sometimes even faster than when I was struggling thru the workout.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    Try doing some things that are more challenging than what you have been doing. Circuit training? Weight lifting? Kickboxing?

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