Connection Between Low Heart Rate and Weight Loss? MARCHing on to a healthier me

[Hadoman]

Hi all.

I'm seeking advice about the connection between a low resting heart rate and the impact on weight loss.

At the beginning of March I started eating healthier and commenced a routine of daily exercise (just 1 hour a day for 5 days a week).

On 1 March 2018 when I started this "healthier me" program, my resting heart rate was 62 and weight was 110k/g. Now 27 days later my resting heart rate is an amazing 45 and I have lost about 6k/g over the 27 days.

I'm finding it very hard to drop any further weight. I'm wondering if the no further weight loss could be a result of my resting heart rate at 45?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Heart Rate Drop From 62 to 45 in 26 Days

[emili]

I am not sure if there is a connection per se, but your RHR is a combination of when you are at rest and asleep. if you are becoming cardio healthier, it would stand to reason that your HR would slow down. It could also impact how quickly you get into the cardio or fat burn zone which is typically where the most calorie expenditure happens. I would track your HR through your activity. If you are light walking you could at times hit fat burn. If you are running you could be in cardio or peak. If you are lifting weight you could be on the edge of fat burn or at fat burn depending on the intensity of the workout. You can also see if your calorie burn has lowered over the past several days doing the same activity. What I think you will find is that you lost the initial weight (the honeymoon phase) which is mostly water and some fat and you are now in a place where healthier eating isn't reducing your calorie intake enough to create a deficit so you have put yourself in maintenance. This means weighing and measuring your food to ensure you are eating below your maintenance so you can continue to lose fat.

[WavyDavey]

I agree with @emili. They can be both related to increased health, but not exactly correlated.

Also, she makes a good point about with a lowered heart rate, it takes increasing amounts of exertion to reach the cardio and peak zones. So you'll naturally tend to burn fewer calories with a lower resting heart rate. 

Great work @Hadoman, keep it up!

[Perry2]

Hello Hadoman. 

Yes, your lower heart rate has everything to do with having a harder time losing weight. 

From sitting at your desk on the computer, to sleeping, you burn far few calories.

Right now I am in the same boat. It is taking me twice as long, if not longer to lose the same amount of calories that I lost before, when my heart rate was 20+ beats faster a minute.

I had to redo my chart where I have my list of activities and calories, including sleeping.

Good luck to ya! 🙂 

[KristiDotson]

I would like to bring up this issue again.  I have always had a low resting heartbeat and difficulty losing weight.  I am now struggling to watch my daughter have the same issue.  What can be done to help her!  I am continually looking for new ways to help her find success.  I keep her on a extremely healthy diet and she is an athlete participating in volleyball, swim and soccer.  Please provide me with some guidance!

[sekhar1983]

Hello Hadoman,

I am seeing same kind of patteren now. Is this state is normal ? I just worried that low heart rate is good or bad 

[shipo]

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@sekhar1983 wrote:

Hello Hadoman,

I am seeing same kind of patteren now. Is this state is normal ? I just worried that low heart rate is good or bad 

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An exercise induced low heart rate is a good thing, period, full stop, the end.

On the other hand, if you have genetic Bradycardia, then that can well be a bad thing, but such isn't the topic for this discussion.

[NotherFormerFan]

Metabolism is complicated. Your decreased RHR is certainly not due to your increased cardiovascular fitness—the change is simply too dramatic. Instead your low RHR is a sign of decreased metabolism. Your body is responding to a caloric deficit by slowing your metabolism. Remember your body considers fat a good thing and wants to hold on to it!

Weight loss is also complicated. As others have pointed out, most dramatic/early weight loss will be water. You’ve lost six kilograms or about thirteen pounds, depending on your initial state, this is probably mostly water. 

I’ve been tracking my weight and HR for almost a decade. I’m no Fitbit fanboy but I do recommend a smart scale that can synch with your app (I have the Aria). One of the more grounding features is the weight trend line which smooths out the short-term fluctuations due to water. 

The fight for a healthier you is fought in the seconds of temptation, minutes of contemplation, and hours of exercise. Naturally, we crave results on the same timelines but that’s not how our bodies work. It’s easy to say, “it just takes time, keep it up!” but let’s be real… 99% of people don’t keep it up. We all have our reasons for falling off, most have good reasons for getting back on, few have found a way to enjoy the journey—not the destination.

[DeclanNigel]

Definitely. I have logged this correlation over a number of years. My periods of significant weight loss exactly coincide with a lowered resting heart rate. Mine ranges from a high of about 75 bpm (when eating normally or perhaps excessively) to a low of about 58 when partially or completely fasting,