Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (Full Version)

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solomonsprayer -> Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (8/25/2008 5:06:38 AM)

I'm curious about why it seems to be harder (for me) to lose weight once I've gained a significant amount above my age-body-gender health standard?

When I was in shape, it seemed easier to lose weight (or simply maintain it) and I seemed to be less prone to eating bad. Once I got out of shape and fat, it seems so much harder to lose weight.

Is this common and/or normal? [sm=crazy.gif]



csl7037 -> RE: Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (8/25/2008 5:42:00 AM)

No, maintenance is WAY harder for me than losing. I have a terrible time staying focused when I'm where I should be and it's a slippery slope. So frustrating.



Miss Giggles -> RE: Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (8/25/2008 7:43:37 AM)

general rules are men lose faster than women and the less weight you have to lose, the slower it comes off. Usually the last 10 pounds.

Of course everyone is different.

You could have been watching your diet better when you were in shape or have had a faster metabolism due to the exercise. Plus if you gained a significant amount of weight than you will have more aches and pains and it may make it harder for you to exercise.



DreadPirateRandy -> RE: Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (8/25/2008 1:41:06 PM)

Usually when you have a lot to lose, the easier it is to begin to lose. For instance, if you began correcting your diet and working out on a daily/regular basis, you would probably begin to lose weight. It's rather easy to lose a couple of pounds in the beginning, but afterward, it gets more difficult.

My first bit of advice would be to stop worrying about the reading on the scale. Usually people get so caught up in what a scales says, that they begin to neglect focus on the quality of their workout and diet. Forget the scale. Focus on proper quality exercise and diet. That is the only way to see results.



agapetos -> RE: Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (8/25/2008 2:27:23 PM)

quote:

once I've gained a significant amount
The reason why you find it hard (from what I understand about your post) is that you get to within the right weight range for yourself and then (for whatever reason) gain weight.

Each time we go on a diet our body learns to survive on less and will go into starvation mode faster than it did the first time we ever tried to lose weight.

That's part of the reasons why diets are so bad. You need to stop dieting and just eat a sensible eating plan that you can live with for the rest of your life. Doesn't mean that you can't ever treat yourself to a cream cake or pizza, just not all the time.

quote:

Forget the scale. Focus on proper quality exercise and diet. That is the only way to see results.
Great advice. A far better way is to go by how your clothes are fitting you! Many people can become frustrated because the scales don't move for weeks and weeks, but if they bothered to think about what they're wearing, the chances are they'd find their clothes were looser!

You may want to check with a doctor that you don't have any underlying conditons that are affecting your weight lose. Also, remember that as we get old it can become more difficult to lose weight.



dianetavegia -> RE: Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (8/26/2008 7:51:02 AM)

Those last 10 pounds can be almost impossible to lose. I wanted to lose 26. Began in January and still haven't lost those last 10 lbs. In fact, I gain four, lose four, gain four, lose four....... and that's above the last 10.

It's harder to lose weight during the menopause years, too. I've NEVER had a problem staying within a very nice weight until now.



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nikki4th -> RE: Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (8/26/2008 4:16:04 PM)

Lean muscle mass burns more calories than fat, so when you're "in shape" your metabolism runs a little faster.

The more overweight you are, the more calories you burn just existing. For example, a 5' 9" man weighing 300 lbs would have a BMR (Base Metabolism Rate) of about 2900 calories/day, and would burn 163 calories per each mile walked. When that 5' 9" man gets down to 175 lbs, he will have a BMR of about 200 cal/day and burn about 95 cal/mile walked.

Makes sense because he's doing a lot of work dragging that extra 125 lbs around with him.

This also helps explain why the weight comes off slower as you approach your target weight.



solomonsprayer -> RE: Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (8/28/2008 12:10:41 PM)

Hmmm, as for the weight coming off faster in beginning...I'm not really finding that. I'm finding that it's taking forever to burn fat. But maybe after three weeks, then things start rolling and I'm in a groove with working out, feeling good and seeing results.

It just seems very slow to me for some reason. I'm going to be seeing a personal trainer soon, so maybe they'll give me the right exercises to do. ...I mostly just do cardio. No weights, nor other resistance stuff.



Konstantinos -> RE: Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (8/29/2008 12:59:37 PM)

physically speaking, its easier.

emotionally, depends. if the only thing you changed are your etaing habits, then i guess its harder.



IonMoon -> RE: Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (8/30/2008 2:38:37 PM)

There are a lot of factors. It just depends. Often people who are larger lose larger amounts of weight more quickly than someone smaller. Part of this is just because the proportion of weight being lost is less significant. The body can typically shed 10% fairly easily. 10% for someone who weighs 300lbs is a lot different than 10% for someone weighing 150.

When people are larger, they typically (not always!) also have pretty bad eating habits (eating mostly junk and lots of calories) and sedentary lifestyles. So, the body responds to small changes...

But, being large, sedentary, and not eating right can all lead to a low metabolism... so that can make it difficult to lose.

I know I recently lamented to my dr (well, it has been about a year) that after I gained some weight, it was taking a lot more effort to lose than it used to. He said that the weight I had put on and being a few years older... had probably slowed metabolism down a bit. So, in my case, at least, it was considerably harder to lose weight once I had gained some than it had been before I gained it.

I had to cut my calorie intake much more than I used to and increase my exercise quite a bit to get the same results that I had in the past with less effort.

The good news- once I got my weight back under control, my metabolism seemed to speed back up.

Tara P



solomonsprayer -> RE: Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (9/3/2008 8:06:06 AM)

Two things that really make it tough for me is that I get very hungry after I work out and will pig out, which probably makes my workout useless.

I also find that I get sore and tired out and need a day's recover time. ....

The initial process for me just takes longer personally.

Like I said, once I get rolling for about 1 month....I don't feel as tired, I can go longer in workouts, and I can control my eating better, then I start to lose faster.

...I agree too that being sedentary is a big issue....You cannot just jump start your metabolism if you're used to sitting around all day in a short time ....That's another erason it's harder for met o lose in beginning.



pumpkin -> RE: Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (9/3/2008 8:49:53 AM)

it seems that it is difficult for a person to lose more than 30% of their body weight in total.
I get these figures from articles I have read, but have no idea where they were, and from the tv show that recently aired about the world's largest/heaviest man.

He originally weighed somewhere around 1200 pounds. He decided to go the way of the zone diet rather than have surgery. He lost weight and is now in the 800 pound range. The doctors they were interviewing were skeptical that he could lose much more weight, let alone get to his goal weight of 220 pounds without surgical intervention.

I know that when you once start something weight loss related, it seems to go fairly well for a time, and then the loss backs off, and things become much much harder... and the progress slows, and a lot of people give up.

It's hard work, and people don't seem to understand this... plus it can take a great deal of time, something else which people don't seem to understand.



Miss Giggles -> RE: Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (9/3/2008 9:55:57 AM)

I watched that show too, but he has some swelling in his legs that is part of his weight, he'd weigh less and could possibly start to walk again because the swelling itself was around 100 pounds. But I also watched the documentary on the Brookhaven obesity clinic in which once you get to a certain weight, you aren't able to stand because your body can't support the weight or else your bones could break.



pumpkin -> RE: Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (9/3/2008 1:39:57 PM)

yeah, the lymphedemas that the "largest man" had were horrible looking, and I can't imagine dealing with them... but, the one doctor said that they couldn't/shouldn't operate to remove them because it "wouldn't do any good" (or so I seem to remember) It just must be terrible to have that.

I was amazed that he has lost the weight that he has.

I also have watched the brookhaven shows.

I find those shows sad yet encouraging at the same time. =)



HighPlainsDrifter -> RE: Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You Are Fat Already? (9/3/2008 4:32:26 PM)

The lower your weight goes, the harder every pound fights to stay on, at least in my experience. At my heaviest, I could lose 6-7 pounds a week, easy. Now that I'm closing in on the mid 200's, a pound or two a week is a significant victory.



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