Harder to lose weigt when you dont have much to lose

sineadmm

I've read that so many times!! But how much harder is it?!
Do I have to do gruelling exercise regimes? Eat like a rabbit?
I'm currently eating 1200 cals a day and exercise a bit(not as much as I'd like to) but more than I ever did.I weigh 130lbs!
Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks in advance.

emahjain

i know what you mean from experience. i always found i was more strict with my diet and exercise than my friends and family but i found and you might too because there isn't much for you to lose you may not get the results as quickly as some will. the best thing is patience. keep going with the diet and the exercise and you should get the results you want eventually. don't weigh yourself too often, once a week is enough.
best of luck.

deedeehawaii

I blogged about this very thing a short time ago. Here is my take on the topic (from my blog):

As we know, it takes a calorie deficite of 3500 to equal a pound of weight loss. If you eat 500 calories a day less than what you need to maintain your current weight, you will lose a pound a week. (500 x 7 = 3500)

You can google for "how many calories to maintain weight", and find sites that give details.One site is: http://www.dietbites.com/Pyramid-Diet/

According to that site, a 240 pound person needs to consume 3600 calories a day to maintain that weight. A 140 pound person only needs to consume 2100. It is way easier to eat less than 3600 calories a day than it is to eat less than 2100 calories. That explains why weight loss is slower the less you weigh. For example, an 1800 calorie diet is going to have much more of an affect on someone who needs 3600 calories a day to maintain that weight than someone who only needs 2100 calories a day. (1800 calorie deficite vs 300 calorie deficit.)

To increase the daily calorie deficit needed to lose, you can eat less and/or exercise more. It is pretty simple math, actually.

NOTE TO MYSELF: DON'T GET FRUSTRATED WHEN THE WEIGHT LOSS IS SLOWER THE CLOSER TO MY GOAL I GET.

BrenNew

I've read that so many times!! But how much harder is it?!
Do I have to do gruelling exercise regimes? Eat like a rabbit?
I'm currently eating 1200 cals a day and exercise a bit(not as much as I'd like to) but more than I ever did.I weigh 130lbs!
Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks in advance.

It IS wicked hard to lose when you don't have much to lose. I've been trying to lose the last few pounds to reach my goal for over a year now, and all I'm doing is yo-yoing with the same 5 pounds! :sad: :grumble:

spritie

There are also factors such as how overall lower caloric intakes can push you into 'starvation/storage' mode, so you do need to keep eating, however slow or frustrating it becomes.

Also when you get to the lower amounts of body fat hormonal factors such as leptin play a role. (Leptin being a hormone produced by adipose cells which influences metabolism).

jaycee76

I found in the past (not this time because I have quite a bit to lose) you need to keep your metabolism going with calories so the best weight loss is burning them off with lots of exercise. I think it appears harder to lose when you are near your goal because you can sometimes tell yourself (well I mean me actually) 'oh its ok to just have a bit extra today because I am nearly at goal anyway' IYGWIM?

Dont go for the silly option of eating next to nothing or your body with just store when you do and although that probably seems ok now (while you are young) as you get older you will find that your body becomes less efficient and you will spend your whole life dieting!

kaydtc

Deedeehawaii - I am very impressed with your explanation, that is so logical and much clearer in my head now. Many thanks!! :-)

Rachel12345

Hi!
I have this problem too. What has worked, and still works for me is to eat small amounts of food but regularly. I have a hot mug of lemon juice in the morning and one mug of green tea during the day which are fine once you get used to them! Try to cut out sweets, chocolate and fizzy drinks, and exercise as much as you can. It's very difficult to make yourself go to the gym but most of the time, once you're in there it's fine, honestly : ) I'm not so strict during the weekends and treat myself to small portions of chocolate and glaases of coke and have larger meals, but i think the best thing to remember is: if you've had a bad day eating/exercising-wise it's fine but don't give up, start again the next morning and keep going. Doing this over a long period of time has made me drop from 133lbs-120lbs.
Good luck! : )