Why the last 10 kilos are the hardest to lose … and what to do about it.

This is the scenario:

You have committed to healthy eating and a weight loss journey, and you have made significant progress in losing weight. You are 10 kilos from your ideal weight. These are the stubborn last 10 kilos that stick to your body like melted cheese.

Can you do something about it? Absolutely!

First, you need to know why it becomes more difficult to lose weight when you are leaner. And second, you must apply that knowledge to your weight loss program. The rest, as they say, will be history … and one with a happy ending.

Of course, this is just one approach to tackle this problem. Low Carbs fans have other alternatives, but this is the one I know of.

There are three main reasons why losing the last 10 kilos is difficult:

First, when you are fatter, you tend to expend more energy. Therefore, when you lose weight, your body tends to burn fewer calories for the same amount of physical activity.

Second, when you are overweight, you retain more fluids in your body. Once you start your weight loss program (or a healthy eating program), fluids are among the first things your body gets rid of.

Third, your metabolic rate (that is, the rate at which you burn your energy) slows down.

That is, when you have lost weight, your body adapts to the new energy consumption requirements that your body has in relation to your new weight. Makes sense?

To make matters worse, if you’re frustrated that you’re not losing as much weight as you used to at the beginning of your journey, your natural response would be to eat even less. But guess that? Doing so will slow down your weight loss even more.

This is because your body goes into starvation mode and begins to burn muscle and fat. Muscle is your body’s main fat burner, and the less you have, the less fat you can burn.

The next link in this chain reaction is that your metabolic rate begins to slow even more, as your body readjusts to use its energy reserves more efficiently, in case the “starvation period” continues for a long time. .

Then the thread breaks and you return to “normal” eating patterns, but the body’s metabolic rate remains “depressed.” The body burns less fat, even if you are eating healthy amounts of low-fat foods.

The result? Well, you start to gain weight even if you are fine.

As a bonus, people think “what’s the point?”, And go back to eating “no-no” foods in “absolutely no-no” amounts … And all the lost weight gradually starts to build up again.

And if you keep repeating this yo-yo pattern, your body will learn to store fat more stubbornly, in case another period of starvation hits. And the older you get doing this, the more difficult it becomes to lose weight.

But there are several things you can do to avoid this cycle:

1. First, you must accept that losing weight when you plateau is a slow process. So there is no point in getting frustrated when you lose significantly less weight than you used to. That’s the way it should happen.

This is a necessary psychological step to take as it will make you less anxious and more focused on your weight loss efforts.

2. Consequently, set smaller weight loss goals each week. Losing small amounts of weight at this stage will ensure that your body retains muscle mass which, in turn, helps you keep burning fat on a regular basis.

3. Eat low-fat recipes that fill you up. Remember that although there are hundreds of delicious low-fat recipes to try, you must eat them wisely. Combine for the maximum amount of food that contains the least amount of fat and calories.

4. If you want to take the opportunity to cleanse your system, you may want to try a raw food diet at this stage, as this can give your body a “metabolic advantage” by consuming less fat and more complex carbohydrates.

Processing calories from foods like whole wheat bread requires more energy than storing the energy from butter.

5. Exercise to “burn fat” instead of aerobic exercise. Exercising to burn fat, such as walking or biking regularly (5 days a week) for about 40 minutes, will keep your metabolism going. Aerobic exercise burns fat, but it is more well designed to give you cardiovascular fitness.

6. Give yourself a break. No, I don’t mean to binge on “no-no-eat”. Rather, indulge yourself in a couple of treats and don’t worry for a couple of weeks. Of course, keep your weight in check on a weekly basis. The trick is to eat more than when you were dieting, but less than when you were overweight.

7. Once your weight has stabilized, you can return to your low-fat regimen.

Repeat this cycle until you reach your desired weight.

As Rachel Hunter said in a television commercial: “It won’t happen overnight … but it will.”

Remember that your ideal weight is what you can maintain while eating 3 or more healthy meals a day, without exceeding your daily calorie and fat intake.

Also remember that before starting any weight loss program, you should always consult your doctor or healthcare professional.

Yours in health,

Jeff, the skinny chef.