Fat Loss: Why is it so slow?

Abdomen and Lower Body are two of the most common places where most individuals store body fat in addition to arms. While the density of fat stored by different individuals in different areas of the body varies, abdomen is the one that generally leads the way for most people.



Although, there is no specific diet which has thus far been proven to reduce fat from any one area of the body, blindly following any random diet may do more harm than good for some. Reducing body weight itself is not difficult for most people, however keeping it off for the rest of their lives is the hard part. A majority of people losing weight have regained it back (some even more) after a few years. There has been some research showing that dieting often or a lot of times during a lifetime may result in a substantial gain in body fat percentage over the years.

Reducing body fat percentage and keeping the fat off for a very long time requires good adherence and consistency. To know more about measuring body fat checkout Lean Body Weight. Also, knowing about current calorie consumption and required calorie intake helps a lot. Usually for losing one pound of fat a deficit of 3500 calories is sufficient, while some people only look towards creating this deficit by under eating (a lot) for a prolonged period of time which is not at all healthy, combining diet with a well structured exercise program that suits your goals and is well tolerated is a good place to begin.

If aiming for losing 1 pound (0.5 kg) per week, a deficit of 3500 calories per week or 500 calories per day is usually followed by most. However, you can even take it slower and aim for losing 1 pound per month and create a deficit of 800-900 calories per week. There is no specific time line for fat loss which is written in stone. Weight/fat loss programs may most certainly be followed with an individualized approach. Some parameters which may affect a fat loss program include current weight, height, gender, medical/health status, current calorie intake, physical activity levels, nutritional deficiencies (if any), etc.



Another important factor for fat loss is water intake. While most people do assume that they take in enough water, it may or mat not be sufficient for them. Water is helpful in eliminating waste, transporting nutrients in the body, maintaining electrolyte balance, maintaining kidney function, etc. If water intake is low it would not only impact the kidneys in a negative way but also hinder any fat loss goals you may have.

To know more about calories and macros checkout Calculating Current Macros and Calories
If you've hit a plateau on your fat loss program checkout Breaking a Fat Loss Plateau

Note: Before starting/changing an exercise and/or dietary/supplement program consult a qualified doctor/health care professional.

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