Why does WL Slow.......

Thanks for posting.  I have learned to make my 30 minutes more challenging after realizing that fact.  I changed the incline and increased my speed.

Scott

As I complained to my trainer about my weight loss slowing to a crawl, he upped the intensity of my workouts - YIKES!  I had just thought I was working hard before - little things like he will incorporate like 30 secs as fast as I can on the bike - then 30 secs slower - then fast again.  Or on the rower - after each minute he will make me go up a level in resistance - he calls it "hard water rowing". 

I have such a hard time pushing myself when I do cardio by myself. Looking at this post helps!  

The two major components of our metabolism are the basal or resting metabolim (what it takes to run our bodies while we sleep) and our active metabolism which is what we burn by doing things. Resting metabolism is most closely associated with our lean body (or muscle) mass and ideally doesn't change much as we lose weight - this is why many programs emphasize strength or resistance exercise in order to preserve as much muscle mass as possible. There isn't much to be done about the loss of active metabolism from the weight loss other than to increase our activity levels or decrease our intake (which is already at a fairly low level for most of us during loss.) One can go heavy into body building to increase muscle mass, and hence basal metabolism, but one also needs to think in terms of sustainability - that extra muscle needs to be maintained or it turns to fat (call it 'fat in escrow'), so long term we probably shouldn't be doing more of that than is needed to maintain good functional strength for lifestyle.

Based upon the calories needed to maintain stable weight, I have lost around 600 calories in total metabolism from my pre-op days

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!   yes! I have been overweight for so long (and only going up, up, up) that I had forgottena bout thsi aspect. Gosh, I can't WAIT to have to readjusts my exercise! Thanks for the reminder post!

i EXPECT IT TO SLOW DOWN , I don't care as long as I get to goal , so it takes  a little longer as long as I get healthy this is a life long journey, , I can eat a little less and exercise more  and it might be slightly faster

of course if you weigh less you use less energy to move it is the basic law of physics

i have no doubt frisco's comments are true.   but i was the oddball whose weight loss sped up as i got closer to goal; having been slow at the beginning.   why?  my theory is i became naturally more active when about 70 lbs were gone.  think about how less likely you are to walk a couple of extra miles during the day at 250 lbs than at 120.     d

And the double-whammy is that as you get more active you get more efficient so you burn fewer calories - not just from carrying less weight, but because if you keep doing the same activity over-and-over you get really efficient.

Helps to mix up your workouts...

Hey JubJub......

Click on that site and than click on the cycling calculator and punch some of your numbers in it and see if it is even close to your calculations....

frisco

Based on my numbers (I use a special power meter on my bike to calculate the actual kilo-joules that I produce - so my calories burned are based on how much power I actually produced).

I looked at my ride on Sunday... 50 miles, 193 minutes spent cycling.  16 mph average.  I plugged my weight and 16 mph into the calculator and 193 minutes, and it said 3,401 calories burned.

Nice.  But my Power Meter says I actually burned only 1,733.  I've found this to be true for every calculator, they seem really high for estimating calorie expenditure, compared to actually measuring your real output.  Cycling is probably the easiest sport to measure with real instrumentation.

That said, the ideas you put forth are totally sound with respect to weight loss slowing as weight drops... you make your exercise easier the more weight you lose.  Believe me, cyclists fight for every pound - they hate carrying an extra ounce up a hill.

I'd adjust the calories these calculators come up with down by 25-40%

Livestrong has a way to type in your activity and it gives you different ways to calculate - they're all over the map... it's crazy - the same activity can vary from 400 - 1200 calories per hour depending on what source you look at.

Keep in mind too, that I've only been cycling for a year - someone who has been doing it for years may burn even fewer calories than me...

Thanks for looking that up.... about what I figured...... like most calculators..... divide by half is more like it.

In my mind I'd like to think my 60min walks are a bit less than 200cals and my 60min bike rides were in the 300 range.

I actually wear a 20lbs. weight vest for walking now because I don't think my walks were doing anything...... to easy, and I'm not about to start running....I'd rather ramp up the cycling..... more fun !

frisco