weight loss slowing-gonna take forever!

You need to eat wiser and train harder.

DO NOT eat less.

Your "metabolism" is how many calories your body needs to maintain its current weight.

This includes calories for skin and hair production, cell renewal, heart beat, breathing, blinking, digesting food, making blood cells, etc. This is called your BMR and is the calories you would consume if you stayed in bed all day.

If you don't eat enough (below your BMR), then your body has to start making decisions about what has to go AND what sources of fuel it can use.

Muscle requires more calories to maintain than fat, so, in famine, it is a drain on resources and will be consumed in favour of fat which, while bulkier, "costs" less. So, if you're not eating enough (and not eating enough of the right food), you will be fighting a losing battle.

Also, less crucial systems like hair and skin replacement go first, too, all in an effort to keep you from starving to death and a prolonged severe deficit in calories is, to your body, the inevitable cause.


It is crucial to constantly adjust your caloric intake based on your BMR to stay ahead of the "starvation zone".

You may find a very, very brief period of gain straight after a severe deficit, but don't lose heart and keep at it. Once you're properly fuelled, you'll be heading in the right direction again!



Also, it's worth changing your routine every 6 weeks or so. Your body soon gets used to the same exercise so to keep it working hard, you have to keep it guessing

WEll yes and no... it's not about calorie defecit totally... as you could eat 3 mars bars a day for your 1800 cals... and that's rubbish...

it's about what you eat, when you eat it and how much.

Eat 2 large fish portions with a load of corn and peas followed by an apple and a bannana is going to do a lot more for you than 1 mars bar and a pack of crisps.

you may be making up your calories very badly... which isn't going to help.

There's also the argument of training at lower heart rate %ages for maximum 'fat burning' however i know very little about this.

Don't forget when working out your calories.... 2000 cals is for a normal everyday person... IF you add into that doing 1.5hours cardio that day, you can still do 2700 cals and still be BELOW what you need.

Anything less than 15% defecit and you're running a risk of 'shutdown'

However again... LOL.... some people function better on less... some on more... Some will lose it easily, some will struggle.

Only time and experience will teach you what works for you.

I don't do calorie counting myself... i lost nearly 5st a few years ago, put some back and have dropped 1.5st this year. Mostly through not eating shite, working hard and possibly something i use called Thermopure. (from myprotein.com)

Food Standards Agency have a website, eatwell, which has plenty of useful, easy to understand information on maintaining a healthy, well balanced diet.

tozi, you say you do 6 hrs xweek of medium intensity stuff-75/85% max heart rate.

You really want to drop the intensity to below 60% MHR for fat burning, up above 65% you are using the fuel stored in muscles (glycogen) and only then when this is depleted you start to burn fat. You need to train your body to become more efficient at burning fat. That is why a long easy cycle or long slow run is going to drop lbs off you and be easier to maintain over the long run.

Of course there is a place for high intensity but you are most likely using all your muscle stores and hitting a bit of a wall, then not taking in enough 'good food' to replace the energy used. It becomes a bit of a cycle.

Best approach (I guess)

1. Less intensity for longer to get the weight down.
2. High intensity as you get near target weigh.
3. Strength/toning work through out (swimming, weights, gym class etc).
4. A little protien with every meal/snack (keeps you feeling full for longer).

totally agree with Kev; i gave up smoking 7 weeks ago (can recommend hypnotherapy) and put on 8lbs in 10 days. i work abroad and cant go riding but i go to the gym at least 5 times a week; i stopped using weights and concentrated on cardio and fat loss. my weight was up and down for a few weeks as i was snacking due to the not smoking; but i have lost nearly 2kg in the last 2 weeks; just doing fat burning exercises at around 60% effort. I have off days; i smoked for about 22 years; so sometimes i snack a bit too much. What i'm realy trying to say is; don't get drawn into calorie/carbs/BMI watching; weigh yourself no more that twice a week; eat properly and exercise as often as you can. I'm a former british soldier and when i was serving could drink most people under the table; smoked like a trooper and had a crap diet; however; i never failed a fitness test and enjoyed a good beasting in the gym.