The less you have to lose the harder it is?

dianasmith6
dianasmith6 Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Some one posted that And it got me thinking.
People who are 200+ pounds Ive seen lose weight at a faster rate then those who are around 150. Or another way to look at it is people who need to lose 100 pounds lose weight faster than those who only need to lose say 20 pounds.
Also Ive heard "the last 10 pounds are the hardest to lose".
What do you guys think?
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Replies

  • skinnyfithealthyme
    skinnyfithealthyme Posts: 213
    Definitely true. See when you weight more, your BMR is more- so you can still eat a slightly bigger amount and lose weight sometimes. As you get smaller, your body requires less energy to maintain so you have to eat even less to keep losing weight. Now for me, I find that as I start shrinking it's a lot easier for me to stay on track, so I guess there's that to consider too.
  • leopard_barbie
    leopard_barbie Posts: 279 Member
    Yeah the smaller you get the harder it is to lose, but I agree with the above poster in that the better you look the better your willpower is. You see what you're capable of achieving and want to keep going!
  • ellie319
    ellie319 Posts: 139 Member
    there is actual scientific fact behind your theory.Excessive weight seems to literally melt off those who are overweight;whereas, a thinner person actually has a harder time losing that last 5-10lbs.Reason being is overwieght individuals have too much weight and are more than likely sedentary and any form of movement they do their body is more than willing to shed all that extra weight.Thinner peoples bodies are at a comfortable space and has become used to the exercises and movement your doing,hence its called plateauing.I reccomend throwing your body a curve ball! change up your routine
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    well, sure.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    It's not harder .... it's just SLOWER.

    Think about it .... large people need lots of calories to maintain their existing weight. Small people need fewer calories to maintain their weight.

    Large people generally expend more calories exercising ..... they are moving more weight around. Also, large people can have large calorie deficits & still have good nutrition. As you get closer to goal ... you need fewer calories overall .... your deficit will be smaller.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    The accuracy of the estimates gets a lot more important. We have no idea the actual calorie burns of a 300lb. person or a 140lb. person but it's a helluva lot easier to eat at an amount you're sure is a big deficit for the former than the latter, while getting adequate nutrition and satiety.
  • haylz247
    haylz247 Posts: 435
    this defo seems true!

    I'm finding it SO hard. I only want to lose another 27 lbs. I just wish there was a magic pill to blast the fat away fast!
  • rbn_held
    rbn_held Posts: 689 Member
    Definately harder to lose the closer I get to my goal.
  • curvyvegan
    curvyvegan Posts: 80 Member
    Definitely true. See when you weight more, your BMR is more- so you can still eat a slightly bigger amount and lose weight sometimes. As you get smaller, your body requires less energy to maintain so you have to eat even less to keep losing weight. Now for me, I find that as I start shrinking it's a lot easier for me to stay on track, so I guess there's that to consider too.

    I totally agree with this! I found it so hard to stay motivated at the beginning of this year with 36 pounds that I wanted to lose, and I couldn't really see much difference in my body at all in the first 10 pounds. It was like, what's the point? Now I'm 16 pounds down and have only 20 to go to reach my goal weight, it feels within reach now and I'm so excited to keep pushing forward. I've also started getting comments from people in the past week or two that I look slimmer, and that is soooo motivating!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,973 Member
    Read up on human physiology to see why.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • islandgirl1984
    islandgirl1984 Posts: 64 Member
    For sure... It's frustrating how hard it has been to lose "the last 10 pounds". I rarely eat out and rarely eat sweets, so it's difficult to tighten up an already pretty decent diet.I have to admit, though, that I wont give up my coffee! Lots of cardio and 2 hour a day workouts seem to be working. And stress reduction!
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    Definitely true. See when you weight more, your BMR is more- so you can still eat a slightly bigger amount and lose weight sometimes. As you get smaller, your body requires less energy to maintain so you have to eat even less to keep losing weight. Now for me, I find that as I start shrinking it's a lot easier for me to stay on track, so I guess there's that to consider too.

    The other reason, especially of you workout a lot, is that your body becomes very efficient at burning calories as you workout more and more. Therefore, at the same level of exertion, you will burn fewer calories per minute of working out. You have to amp up your game and push harder, or you need to workout for longer in order to burn the same number of calories.
  • Jeneba
    Jeneba Posts: 699 Member
    MUCH harder for me! I haven't had to lose weight in a while but put on 5 lbs when I was in school last semester. (That will NOT happen again this coming school year - nooooo wayyyyyy!) When I had to take of 25 lbs about 10 yrs ago, it just melted off. Now that I have only 4 to lose, NOTHING seems to work and I am always hungry. GGGGRRRRR!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    It's not harder .... it's just SLOWER.

    This. And the less you have to lose, the more you should focus on other ways to track your progress than just the scale. Measurements, how clothes fit, photos, etc.
  • CWSpiegel
    CWSpiegel Posts: 114
    It's all relative.

    Weight may come off easier for a 300 lb person, but it's a lot harder for them to walk up a flight of stairs. As we get healthier, things come easier. So while they may an easier time dropping the first 100 pounds then I do trying to lose 15, pretty much everything in their life is a hell of a lot harder than in mine.

    Chris
  • sobriquet84
    sobriquet84 Posts: 607 Member
    yes, its simple mathematics.

    the less calories your body needs, the more difficult it is to have a calorie deficit.

    without a workout, my body requires 1860 calories a day to maintain the weight that i am right now. if i weighed 100 pounds more than i do, my body would require approx 600 more calories a day to maintain that weight.
  • Nikkibebe08
    Nikkibebe08 Posts: 127
    I'm currently 151lbs and I am trying to lose at least another 20lbs. It's been very frustrating as the weight is being very stubborn. :ohwell:
  • sobriquet84
    sobriquet84 Posts: 607 Member
    It's not harder .... it's just SLOWER.

    Think about it .... large people need lots of calories to maintain their existing weight. Small people need fewer calories to maintain their weight.

    Large people generally expend more calories exercising ..... they are moving more weight around. Also, large people can have large calorie deficits & still have good nutrition. As you get closer to goal ... you need fewer calories overall .... your deficit will be smaller.

    bingo.
  • littlelol
    littlelol Posts: 539
    i often think this x
  • kimad
    kimad Posts: 3,010 Member
    I totally agree as well.

    My last 6 pounds has been ridiculously hard, but I will be honest.... I have gotten quite happy and comfortable at this weight that I have started bending my rules and being lax on my workouts. Summer has been hard, but I can't use that excuse. When my holidays are over this weekend I am back at it 100%..... becuase I'd love to get into the 150's but more so, I DONT WANT TO GAIN WEIGHT BACK.... so tired of yo-yo'ing over the last 5 years.
  • jennaworksout
    jennaworksout Posts: 1,739 Member
    I think its probably true....i'm certainly living the last 10 pound nightmare, first 50 easy compared to this :grumble:
  • Fairysoul
    Fairysoul Posts: 1,361 Member
    True, I have been battling these last 10 pounds for four months!!!!
  • Sevio
    Sevio Posts: 181 Member
    I'm currently 151lbs and I am trying to lose at least another 20lbs. It's been very frustrating as the weight is being very stubborn. :ohwell:

    I hear ya on this one. I too am 151 and would love to lose 16 more. It's a PITA! Up down, up down I have been playing with the same 1.5 lbs for weeks now. UGHH!!
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
    I think if you look at that way, you will make it more difficult. Focus on eating healthy, focus on eating enough and not starving yourself and focus on exercising and you will do great!!!
  • prettygirlhoward
    prettygirlhoward Posts: 338 Member
    I agree! When I was much heavier and started to lose weight about 5 years ago, I lost 30 pounds quick!! But for some reason I can't drop these pounds as fast as I have before.
  • happypath101
    happypath101 Posts: 534
    For sure! That's why it's important to go by the measuring tape more than the scale.

    Also, it seems to me that:

    * When you have a lot to lose, it's tempting to give up because it's overwhelming. On the flipside, a little effort can pay off a lot.

    * When you are almost where you want to be, it's tempting to give up because you feel and look great and everyone tells you you don't need to lose weight. And, the effort it takes to drop just a few pounds is disproportinately large. On the flipside, you are motivated because you know what you can do and you've already got results to prove it.
  • invictus8
    invictus8 Posts: 258 Member
    Yes, it is slower the closer you get to your goal because your metabolism slows down so your body clings onto the last 5-10 pounds. But the procedure is the same -- counting calories and maintaining a reasonable deficit. Also, in terms of aesthetics the change is more or less the same: the last 5-10 pounds might take longer to lose, but the aesthetic difference is enormous!
  • stephdg89
    stephdg89 Posts: 37
    What sucks really bad is when you only have 10-15 lbs to lose to begin with. So the whole thing just seems soooo slow and like it's never going to happen. I started my weight loss journey only having 15 lbs to lose. I'm 5 down, 10 to go and I think it will take forever. I can only eat 1000 calories per day if I want to lose. :( I started it at 1200 and didn't lose anything until I lowered it even more.
  • kaervaak
    kaervaak Posts: 274 Member
    What sucks really bad is when you only have 10-15 lbs to lose to begin with. So the whole thing just seems soooo slow and like it's never going to happen. I started my weight loss journey only having 15 lbs to lose. I'm 5 down, 10 to go and I think it will take forever. I can only eat 1000 calories per day if I want to lose. :( I started it at 1200 and didn't lose anything until I lowered it even more.

    Have you done a body composition test? At calorie intake that low you're probably losing mostly water and muscle instead of fat. Read up on very low calorie diets (VLCDs).
  • tinyrah
    tinyrah Posts: 32 Member
    Last 10 is taking forever. I started tracking body fat %age and watch measurements too when I feel discouraged.

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