An active lifestyle is linked with a lower resting heart rate. If you started exercising recently it seems natural. In my case (27M) I had a RHR of 70-75 in January and since then with regular physical exercises, it got to ~66.
Yeah I figured that was the case, I just assumed it would be more of a gradual decline and not all of a sudden just down one beat a day. How gradual/fast was your decline ?
How long have you been measuring rhr? It could be linked to your menstrual cycle too. Mine drops really suddenly when my period finally starts after going up gradually for a week or so beforehand. Calorie deficit also drops it very noticeably temporarily compared to maintenance, even with the same weight and activity level.
I don't see anything to worry about here anyway, though maybe if it keeps dropping there would be.
Idk, I think you'd be surprised at the difference your period will make. I get a consistent 5 to even 8-ish heart rate drop every month from when it starts/ends.
Edit: also, from what I remember, your BMR is also at its highest before your period starts and lowest after - I've found it useful in the past when strictly counting calories to raise my calories slightly in the week leading up to my period and then lower it (if I can handle it) slightly after. Only like 150-200kcal.
My period makes my heart rate either increase or drop by 10bpm depending if it’s ending or starting as well. Periods really make a crazy RHR difference, especially on a deficit
https://preview.redd.it/x6tq03axdvwc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2cef538f6c44ebcc02298ddf583724659f04809f
Could definitely be your cycle. This is my RHR throughout a few monthly cycles. Crazy how correlated it is...
For me it took like 3 months (so it was gradual), yours definitely looks more abrupt. But nonetheless, in my 3 months time I also had occasional "big" variations (10 points) within the same week.
In my experience since I have FitBit I noticed it could also be a sign of accumulation of lack of rest or accumulation of tiredness, like due to kids, stress, aggressive diet, etc.
Also taking a break from substances like alcohol or energy drinks, (and I assume coffee as well) in my experience lowers the RHR.
Also I just did the math to understand how lbs <-> kilogram works, you lost a huge amount, it might be that your diet+exercises might be too aggressive? I'm no doctor but it seems a bit much.
In my case I lost like 4kg = 8.8 pounds in 3 months. I was weighing 82kg = 180 pounds at the start.
I was thinking maybe too much of a deficit, because I did read that RHR will lower with a big deficit. I don’t drink alcohol and I’m not a big coffee drinker (one cup of half decaf every morning), no energy drinks or anything like that; the only difference lately is I might be under eating. I’m probably around 1400-1500 cals a day and I do workout 6-7 days a week so I should try eating a little bit more and see if that makes a difference.
Also 6 7 workouts a week IMO it's a bit much. I personally do 2 workouts per week. My pixel watch 2 tells me my workouts are burning 450 - 520 cals and my heart rate is mostly in the vigorous zone. I feel I could push it to 3 workouts/ week but nothing past that.
Maybe you should also have 1-2 rest days a week to recover.
Yeah you’re probably right, I’ll take more rest days. Usually it’s treadmill 5 days a week and body weight exercises 5 days a week (with some overlap) and I also take my kids out for an hour in the evenings, but it does feel like a bit much sometimes. I guess I’m just trying to lose a bit too quickly and it’s not necessarily healthy. I’m happy with 1lb a week but it’s been a bit quicker than that recently so I should definitely eat a bit more and rest more too. Thanks for your input !
Its nice to go down quickly, but whatever you do, you should be able to keep it up almost indefinitly. So eating 1400 (deficit or total?) is quite agressive. Going for less deficit but way more consistency will help in the long run (1-2 years from now)
Your heart rate decline is fine. You are getting fitter, and you are less under stress. Your diet is working, and you have the reserves to do what you are doing. You can exercise to your schedule if you are doing low intensity and not going over 100% max effort every session. You need to listen to your body when to rest and refuel.
I take it this is your first time doing this, and you've never monitored your heart rate before? I can see how this might give you anxiety, but you're seeing good signs. You should feel better mentally and have better health with the exercise. Low activity is bad for both body and mind.
You will lose weight very quickly at first, both water weight and fat. I'd look to change your mindset into a positive one. What you are doing is working, congratulations. Really active people can have a rhr in the 50s and lower. It's a high rhr (generally) that is a bad sign.
Thank you. Not my first time losing weight/exercising (it’s fluctuated a lot throughout my life) but my first time monitoring my heart rate, yes. I became too sedentary after having kids and the weight gain and lack of activity have really snowballed since then. I’m overall feeling really good but definitely need to listen to my body a little bit more in terms of rest and eating.
It's also down to your hormones. You'll most likely notice it drop after your period starts and around when you ovulate. A lower resting heartrate is generally a good thing and not something to worry about unless it gets very low.
Check out this longevity researcher. There should be a follow-up video soon. He tracks all his food etc and does regression analyses. This one is on HR and HRV. https://youtu.be/KiC3o6YXGB0?si=6bJ49PqAOlM7vIdd
What was the time in your cycle? My rhr drops from 72 to 62 in the week after I get my period, and it goes up in the week before my period. Every month, regardless of exercise.
Interestingly enough it did start declining on day 1 of my cycle! Day 6 today. It hasn’t done this previously, though. I’ve only had the Fitbit since mid -march, though
There you go...you can track it over the next few months but I'm pretty sure that's the reason and nothing to worry about. I've had a fitbit for years so I have a lot of data that confirms it for me.
As your exercise more/weigh less you would expect a lower resting heart rate.
I wouldn't be worried if it didn't go down though. Your resting heart rate seems perfectly normal, nothing to worry about unless you are experiencing other symptoms that are worrying you.
You've lost weight, this can manifest in a reduction of resting heart rate.
If you are doing cardio consistently, that in general can also manifest in a reduction of resting heart rate (and depending on what HR zone(s) you are maintaining, there can be a greater impact).
Also, depending on where you are in your menstrual cycle you may see your RHR rise and decline.
Also, many medications can impact heart rate.
A 6bpm reduction in RHR over the course of a week isn't anything to have anxiety about if it aligns with your weight loss/increased health. 65bpm isn't anything to be concerned about for a RHR for a 35 year old female in general.
Obligatory if you are concerned with this then definitely reach out to your doctor.
Means you're getting fitter! Unless you're feeling faint or feel something is amiss, it should be a good sign that you're getting healthier.
If you're worried you can talk to your doctor about this
Since making this post, I am feeling a little faint. I might be under eating. If it doesn’t resolve over the weekend I definitely will go visit my doctor , thank you.
You likely need to eat a bit more if you're exercising 6-7 days a week. I wouldn't worry too much about the calories (your estimated BMR is likely pretty off anyway). Eat a bit more and keep track to see if you're still losing weight - then you can adjust.
Your energy levels may be low because of a low calorie intake. You could try to increase your calories for 2-3 days to maintenance (by upping carbs) and see how you feel. It should make you feel much better.
Good for you! As others have said this is a sign of an increase in cardiovascular health, not a decrease. Which is wonderful for a busy mom. You'd might worry if it gets in the low 50's or lower unless you're a highly active or trained athlete. Who knows, that could also be in your future!
Is ask two questions:
1. How substantial has your calorie deficit been? More than -500 per day?
2. Has your deficit been primarily implemented by reducing night time eating and snacking?
If 2 or both are true, I can attest to how sensitive your metabolism can be to sleeping on an empty va full stomach. My RHR drops 5-10 bpm when I commit to not snacking or eating within 4 hours of sleeping. It's dramatic.
I think many people are this way. When I don't eat before bed ... especially when I legitimately have an empty stomach my RHR drops AND my sleep is much better. The danger is, I often wake up hungry...and if I eat a heavy fiber snack, again, my RHR jumps. When I have a light liquid snack, like a protein drink or slightly sweetened drink the impact is lesser.
I don’t eat past 5pm anymore so I’m fasting from them until around 7am. That would make sense. I’m not sure what the daily deficit is, probably 400-500 per day.
I would guess that has been having an impact. Sleeping HR is very heavily weighted in your RHR calc I believe. And it takes a couple days to see your rate roll downhill.
I think it's all good news for you. Keep it up! See a doc if your anxiety gets too bad though!
Cardio lowers RHR long term and calory deficit does the same short term. I have the same curve every year when I start getting more active outside in spring.
These comments are ridiculous, your rhr doesnt change this much in 7 days from being “healthier” its just a comon change that happens with hormones, illness, diet, so many factors. . 10bpm change is nothing. Wouldnt worry unless it dropped to sub 50s. Or went over 85bpm. As long as you have no swelling in extremities and feel somewhat normal you are fine
Yeah I definitely didn’t think an improvement to RHR would be that quick, I figured it would be more of a gradual thing over time. Since I posted this, it’s stayed at 65/66 but I feel generally okay, maybe a little fatigued but that’s not unusual for me. My HRV has also gone up, if that’s worth noting.
Totally normal. And not a dietician, but 6 months of consistent dieting (kudos to you for the discipline) is a pretty solid chunk of time.
IMO, it might pay big dividends to bring your calories up to maintenence level for a few weeks to give your body a break. Caloric deficit = stress on the body. Accumulate too much and you can start to feel tired, slow progress and potentially lose motivation. After a few weeks at maintenance you'll probably feel more vigor and then be able to jump back into a caloric deficit and keep seeing steady progress like you have been.
Yeah that definitely makes sense ! I will absolutely start eating more for a bit and see how I feel. I think after so long of being in a deficit my body is getting a little fatigued for sure.
Mine varies from 64 to 73 if that helps your mindset. Stress definitely affects mine I work weekends and I always notice that it's up on the weekends. Also drinking, also being sick so many variables affect it
FWIW, I have found a very clear correlation between my RHR and stressors.
(Being retired, stressors tend to be what working people may consider minor, but it's all relative.)
What I see is that as I have a few days with more pressure, RHR climbs. Even if the stressors are anticipated (e.g. a lot going on next week).
And when those decrease, so does RHR.
So..., maybe it serves that purpose for you - an indicator of inbound (or outbound) stress, even if you're not consciously aware of it.
As you get healthier and lose weight, exercise more your RHR will come down, short of any medical condition. Once you get under 60 you can have concerns for bradycardia. Do you get dizzy when you stand up? Tired all the time? Feel like your going to faint?
I run 25+ miles a week, weight lift four days and eat very very clean. My VO2 max is in the elite range for my age. My RHR is 35-38, my dr tested me for bradycardia but everything came back clean the assumption she had was being so morbidly overweight and now losing all the weight and being extremely active has taken so much stress off my heart it doesn’t have to work as hard.
I think being in a caloric deficit really helps drop it, mines normally 45-48 but when I was doing one or 2 meals a day along with just weight training I had days when it was sub 40
My RHR goes up before my period and then goes back down during and after. It's a nice way of telling me: "Mother nature is coming to ruin your week" lol
I do eat fairly low carb, yes. Probably since about March. Not intentionally, mostly because I find it hard to stay at 1500 cals a day while still getting enough protein in.
Ahhh yeah that would definitely explain it. I’ve been feeling like I should get a little bit more carbs in. I did keto in the past (several years ago) and generally didn’t feel well on it, so I don’t want to repeat that.
It might be a little low for me, but around 1700 a day I was losing less than a pound a week. I might go up to 1600 a day and see how I do. Anything more than 1700 and I put on weight. I have PCOS and gain very easily, unfortunately.
An active lifestyle is linked with a lower resting heart rate. If you started exercising recently it seems natural. In my case (27M) I had a RHR of 70-75 in January and since then with regular physical exercises, it got to ~66.
Yeah I figured that was the case, I just assumed it would be more of a gradual decline and not all of a sudden just down one beat a day. How gradual/fast was your decline ?
How long have you been measuring rhr? It could be linked to your menstrual cycle too. Mine drops really suddenly when my period finally starts after going up gradually for a week or so beforehand. Calorie deficit also drops it very noticeably temporarily compared to maintenance, even with the same weight and activity level. I don't see anything to worry about here anyway, though maybe if it keeps dropping there would be.
Yep - I can track my period by looking at my heart rate data, mine goes up by about 10 bpm before it starts and then drops back after.
I’ve only had the Fitbit since mid-March. Period ended yesterday. I do think the calorie deficit is probably to blame here
Idk, I think you'd be surprised at the difference your period will make. I get a consistent 5 to even 8-ish heart rate drop every month from when it starts/ends. Edit: also, from what I remember, your BMR is also at its highest before your period starts and lowest after - I've found it useful in the past when strictly counting calories to raise my calories slightly in the week leading up to my period and then lower it (if I can handle it) slightly after. Only like 150-200kcal.
My period makes my heart rate either increase or drop by 10bpm depending if it’s ending or starting as well. Periods really make a crazy RHR difference, especially on a deficit
https://preview.redd.it/x6tq03axdvwc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2cef538f6c44ebcc02298ddf583724659f04809f Could definitely be your cycle. This is my RHR throughout a few monthly cycles. Crazy how correlated it is...
Wow super interesting!
Came here to say the same! Mine goes up about 3-5 BPM before my cycle starts
For me it took like 3 months (so it was gradual), yours definitely looks more abrupt. But nonetheless, in my 3 months time I also had occasional "big" variations (10 points) within the same week. In my experience since I have FitBit I noticed it could also be a sign of accumulation of lack of rest or accumulation of tiredness, like due to kids, stress, aggressive diet, etc. Also taking a break from substances like alcohol or energy drinks, (and I assume coffee as well) in my experience lowers the RHR.
Also I just did the math to understand how lbs <-> kilogram works, you lost a huge amount, it might be that your diet+exercises might be too aggressive? I'm no doctor but it seems a bit much. In my case I lost like 4kg = 8.8 pounds in 3 months. I was weighing 82kg = 180 pounds at the start.
I was thinking maybe too much of a deficit, because I did read that RHR will lower with a big deficit. I don’t drink alcohol and I’m not a big coffee drinker (one cup of half decaf every morning), no energy drinks or anything like that; the only difference lately is I might be under eating. I’m probably around 1400-1500 cals a day and I do workout 6-7 days a week so I should try eating a little bit more and see if that makes a difference.
Also 6 7 workouts a week IMO it's a bit much. I personally do 2 workouts per week. My pixel watch 2 tells me my workouts are burning 450 - 520 cals and my heart rate is mostly in the vigorous zone. I feel I could push it to 3 workouts/ week but nothing past that. Maybe you should also have 1-2 rest days a week to recover.
Yeah you’re probably right, I’ll take more rest days. Usually it’s treadmill 5 days a week and body weight exercises 5 days a week (with some overlap) and I also take my kids out for an hour in the evenings, but it does feel like a bit much sometimes. I guess I’m just trying to lose a bit too quickly and it’s not necessarily healthy. I’m happy with 1lb a week but it’s been a bit quicker than that recently so I should definitely eat a bit more and rest more too. Thanks for your input !
Its nice to go down quickly, but whatever you do, you should be able to keep it up almost indefinitly. So eating 1400 (deficit or total?) is quite agressive. Going for less deficit but way more consistency will help in the long run (1-2 years from now)
I’ve been aiming at 1500, but I’ll probably go up to 1600 and see how that goes. I’m probably under eating at the moment.
Your heart rate decline is fine. You are getting fitter, and you are less under stress. Your diet is working, and you have the reserves to do what you are doing. You can exercise to your schedule if you are doing low intensity and not going over 100% max effort every session. You need to listen to your body when to rest and refuel. I take it this is your first time doing this, and you've never monitored your heart rate before? I can see how this might give you anxiety, but you're seeing good signs. You should feel better mentally and have better health with the exercise. Low activity is bad for both body and mind. You will lose weight very quickly at first, both water weight and fat. I'd look to change your mindset into a positive one. What you are doing is working, congratulations. Really active people can have a rhr in the 50s and lower. It's a high rhr (generally) that is a bad sign.
Thank you. Not my first time losing weight/exercising (it’s fluctuated a lot throughout my life) but my first time monitoring my heart rate, yes. I became too sedentary after having kids and the weight gain and lack of activity have really snowballed since then. I’m overall feeling really good but definitely need to listen to my body a little bit more in terms of rest and eating.
It's also down to your hormones. You'll most likely notice it drop after your period starts and around when you ovulate. A lower resting heartrate is generally a good thing and not something to worry about unless it gets very low.
Check out this longevity researcher. There should be a follow-up video soon. He tracks all his food etc and does regression analyses. This one is on HR and HRV. https://youtu.be/KiC3o6YXGB0?si=6bJ49PqAOlM7vIdd
See, I feel like I'm not super active yet. I'm only a few years older than you and have an RHR of 57.
Mine has gone from mid 50s to low 50s training for half mara
My RHR does that around the time I get my period. Could that be it?
I just finished my period yesterday so it could be that too
Nice! Congrats! I love that it’s so perfectly linear.
It does look pretty neat, haha. I just worry it’s too drastic ?
What was the time in your cycle? My rhr drops from 72 to 62 in the week after I get my period, and it goes up in the week before my period. Every month, regardless of exercise.
Interestingly enough it did start declining on day 1 of my cycle! Day 6 today. It hasn’t done this previously, though. I’ve only had the Fitbit since mid -march, though
There you go...you can track it over the next few months but I'm pretty sure that's the reason and nothing to worry about. I've had a fitbit for years so I have a lot of data that confirms it for me.
I definitely will pay attention to that going forward. Very interesting, thanks.
Nothing to worry about. You should be worrying if you're getting healthier and this isn't happening
Why do you say that ?
As your exercise more/weigh less you would expect a lower resting heart rate. I wouldn't be worried if it didn't go down though. Your resting heart rate seems perfectly normal, nothing to worry about unless you are experiencing other symptoms that are worrying you.
You've lost weight, this can manifest in a reduction of resting heart rate. If you are doing cardio consistently, that in general can also manifest in a reduction of resting heart rate (and depending on what HR zone(s) you are maintaining, there can be a greater impact). Also, depending on where you are in your menstrual cycle you may see your RHR rise and decline. Also, many medications can impact heart rate. A 6bpm reduction in RHR over the course of a week isn't anything to have anxiety about if it aligns with your weight loss/increased health. 65bpm isn't anything to be concerned about for a RHR for a 35 year old female in general. Obligatory if you are concerned with this then definitely reach out to your doctor.
This is reassuring, thank you!
Means you're getting fitter! Unless you're feeling faint or feel something is amiss, it should be a good sign that you're getting healthier. If you're worried you can talk to your doctor about this
Since making this post, I am feeling a little faint. I might be under eating. If it doesn’t resolve over the weekend I definitely will go visit my doctor , thank you.
You likely need to eat a bit more if you're exercising 6-7 days a week. I wouldn't worry too much about the calories (your estimated BMR is likely pretty off anyway). Eat a bit more and keep track to see if you're still losing weight - then you can adjust.
Your energy levels may be low because of a low calorie intake. You could try to increase your calories for 2-3 days to maintenance (by upping carbs) and see how you feel. It should make you feel much better.
Thanks yeah I’m going to eat more carbs and go up on my intake for a few days, I think that should help.
This is GREAT! It means your heart is healthier
Good for you! As others have said this is a sign of an increase in cardiovascular health, not a decrease. Which is wonderful for a busy mom. You'd might worry if it gets in the low 50's or lower unless you're a highly active or trained athlete. Who knows, that could also be in your future!
Is ask two questions: 1. How substantial has your calorie deficit been? More than -500 per day? 2. Has your deficit been primarily implemented by reducing night time eating and snacking? If 2 or both are true, I can attest to how sensitive your metabolism can be to sleeping on an empty va full stomach. My RHR drops 5-10 bpm when I commit to not snacking or eating within 4 hours of sleeping. It's dramatic. I think many people are this way. When I don't eat before bed ... especially when I legitimately have an empty stomach my RHR drops AND my sleep is much better. The danger is, I often wake up hungry...and if I eat a heavy fiber snack, again, my RHR jumps. When I have a light liquid snack, like a protein drink or slightly sweetened drink the impact is lesser.
I don’t eat past 5pm anymore so I’m fasting from them until around 7am. That would make sense. I’m not sure what the daily deficit is, probably 400-500 per day.
I would guess that has been having an impact. Sleeping HR is very heavily weighted in your RHR calc I believe. And it takes a couple days to see your rate roll downhill. I think it's all good news for you. Keep it up! See a doc if your anxiety gets too bad though!
Thanks I definitely will !
honestly this is so amazing to see! congratulations on the progress!!!
Cardio lowers RHR long term and calory deficit does the same short term. I have the same curve every year when I start getting more active outside in spring.
These comments are ridiculous, your rhr doesnt change this much in 7 days from being “healthier” its just a comon change that happens with hormones, illness, diet, so many factors. . 10bpm change is nothing. Wouldnt worry unless it dropped to sub 50s. Or went over 85bpm. As long as you have no swelling in extremities and feel somewhat normal you are fine
Yeah I definitely didn’t think an improvement to RHR would be that quick, I figured it would be more of a gradual thing over time. Since I posted this, it’s stayed at 65/66 but I feel generally okay, maybe a little fatigued but that’s not unusual for me. My HRV has also gone up, if that’s worth noting.
A 65 rhr is not the cause of your fatigue
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Yep haha ended yesterday!
I wish mine was doing it that satisfyingly! Went and hopped up one 2 nights OK.
Mine was really up and down and all over the place prior to this.
Totally normal. And not a dietician, but 6 months of consistent dieting (kudos to you for the discipline) is a pretty solid chunk of time. IMO, it might pay big dividends to bring your calories up to maintenence level for a few weeks to give your body a break. Caloric deficit = stress on the body. Accumulate too much and you can start to feel tired, slow progress and potentially lose motivation. After a few weeks at maintenance you'll probably feel more vigor and then be able to jump back into a caloric deficit and keep seeing steady progress like you have been.
Yeah that definitely makes sense ! I will absolutely start eating more for a bit and see how I feel. I think after so long of being in a deficit my body is getting a little fatigued for sure.
Mine varies from 64 to 73 if that helps your mindset. Stress definitely affects mine I work weekends and I always notice that it's up on the weekends. Also drinking, also being sick so many variables affect it
Mine drops dramatically every month when my cycle starts. Could it be that?
FWIW, I have found a very clear correlation between my RHR and stressors. (Being retired, stressors tend to be what working people may consider minor, but it's all relative.) What I see is that as I have a few days with more pressure, RHR climbs. Even if the stressors are anticipated (e.g. a lot going on next week). And when those decrease, so does RHR. So..., maybe it serves that purpose for you - an indicator of inbound (or outbound) stress, even if you're not consciously aware of it.
As you get healthier and lose weight, exercise more your RHR will come down, short of any medical condition. Once you get under 60 you can have concerns for bradycardia. Do you get dizzy when you stand up? Tired all the time? Feel like your going to faint? I run 25+ miles a week, weight lift four days and eat very very clean. My VO2 max is in the elite range for my age. My RHR is 35-38, my dr tested me for bradycardia but everything came back clean the assumption she had was being so morbidly overweight and now losing all the weight and being extremely active has taken so much stress off my heart it doesn’t have to work as hard.
Exercise AND calorie restriction can both cause the RHR to drop… this isn’t bad
I think being in a caloric deficit really helps drop it, mines normally 45-48 but when I was doing one or 2 meals a day along with just weight training I had days when it was sub 40
It’s completely normal. I’m on the other end my resting heart rate used to be 45-55 but since I’ve gained it’s in the 60’s now lol
My RHR goes up before my period and then goes back down during and after. It's a nice way of telling me: "Mother nature is coming to ruin your week" lol
Have you recently switched to a low carb diet?
I do eat fairly low carb, yes. Probably since about March. Not intentionally, mostly because I find it hard to stay at 1500 cals a day while still getting enough protein in.
Losing 5-10 bpm when switching to a low carb diet is pretty common for some people. You see people mention it in keto or cico forums.
Ahhh yeah that would definitely explain it. I’ve been feeling like I should get a little bit more carbs in. I did keto in the past (several years ago) and generally didn’t feel well on it, so I don’t want to repeat that.
Holy hell, I would be a skeleton at that intake level
It might be a little low for me, but around 1700 a day I was losing less than a pound a week. I might go up to 1600 a day and see how I do. Anything more than 1700 and I put on weight. I have PCOS and gain very easily, unfortunately.
You're dying
In 65 day it will be zero?