How much did your body change in the last ten pounds? I feel weird, because I am blown away by The fact that I only have ten pounds to go and that I am well within a normal BMI, but I feel like my body has a lot of changes that still need to be made. Some things I accept, like I will always have stretch marks and stuff, but other things I am not as okay with and I worry that ten pounds is not going to make enough of a difference, even with toning and muscle building.

I cannot help you with that, I do not know but I wanted to say that you did a great Job on your weight loss. You lost so much weight and have admiration for what you accomplished.

Congrats on your success! Keep going!
I can say that the last 10 for me were definitely the hardest and I did see some changes.
Mainly, the last ten is when I began seeing what everyone else was seeing. I felt more toned and I was starting to like what I saw.

remember 10 pounds is a much bigger percentage of your body than it used to be.

I can tell you that the last 5 pounds I lost, which I did in about a week's time, made a far more dramatic difference than I could have imagined! It all came off the chest too, which is fine by me!! Suddenly all those too-tight shirts in my closet fit! It's wonderful!

Can I choose for my next 5 to come off my thighs please?

Seriously though, I know what you mean. I wonder what the last few are going to do for me. I haven't been disappointed yet, though. I know that whatever comes off makes me more who I am supposed to be. I think lifting has helped with this tremendously. My body has taken on a nice shape before I have lost all the fat.

My biggest beefs are my tummy pouch and thighs. If the fat can just come from there, I will be happy.

I would like 8/10 to come off of my stomach, then a pound off of each upper arm, please. ha.

OK. I'll pass on your message.

I'd like a lot gone from my tummy and thighs, please, if you could mention it. Thanks.

Rachael, on a more serious note, I just re-read your original post and sometimes I miss stuff. I missed big stuff this time.

Don't ignore the tremendous difference "toning" will make if you really put your mind into training. I'm telling you, the difference is unbelievable. I have been 135 pounds and I did not look anything like I look now at 150! And I was young then!

It's a personal choice, of course, but it pains me when women want to just keep losing weight to attain that image they have set for themselves. The truth is, muscle is beautiful, and sometimes I think that's what women are really after. It's the muscle that is firm and gives the body beautiful shape and at a heavier weight too. I never would have believed it until I experienced it for myself.

I have a mental hang up with my weight right now. I need to reach at least 145 to get over my mental hang up with being a normal BMI and 135 to get over my mental hang up of really wanting to be able to say I've lost one HUNDRED pounds! But if it weren't for those two mental blocks I'd quit losing and would just love the me I have become. Every part of me is firm, except that darn belly. Even my thighs, which are slightly larger than I'd like, are firm and even cellulite free.

It changes a lot, Rachael, it changes ALOT!!

First of all, good job. Great job with the work you have done. I can only imagine how light and happy you must feel.

I imagine you are much younger than I, (everyone is!)..but, I must tell you, the last 10 #s is everything. For me, it was the last 7 #s...As I fight my way back down to 130#s, I can tell you, it was the difference of having a waist, having every single piece of clothing I looked at look good on me; it was everything. I know from reading this forum that exercise, toning, weight lifting, etc. makes a HUGE difference. I blush to tell you is that all I did was to lose the weight and do the exercise that I find fun, i.e. gardening, dancing, etc..and the last few pounds were still that significant, so YOU GO, GIRL!

rachael, in my "goal" post I included pictures of myself at 155 and 145 in the same clothing. I'm not sure how much of a difference you can see, but I think it's noticeable.

Just try not to build up your expectations until they're unreasonable. I'm not sure how much weight I'd have to lose until I was happy with my waist, but I'm pretty sure it would be tough to maintain at my age. I'm still thrilled that I made it to my goal and things seem to be going OK 5 weeks into maintenance.

Yeah, this is one of the reasons why "skinny" girls annoy us so much by complaining they gained "like 5lbs" because on their frame it's just so noticeable. I had a 5'10" 110lb friend for a while and she got a lot of stick for being so small, but she'd blow up at her TOM and put on 5lbs and nobody wanted to know about how fat she felt. One day she showed me some comparison photos cos she was so tired of everyone brushing her off, and 5lbs on her was like she got pregnant! 5lbs was enough that she couldn't zip up her pants. 10lbs as a percentage of your current weight is double what it was when you started, and not just that the amount of you that is fat weight is so much smaller. What I mean is, at 255 your muscles, skeleton, fluids, organs, etc. make up a really small proportion of your total. At 145 your skeleton and such is most of you, so the last 10lbs is a massive difference cos there isn't that much "negotiable" weight left to choose from. Your body has to choose to lose weight from your hips, thighs, belly, etc. becuase it can't lose any from your hip bone. When you're bigger your body can choose to pull weight from calves, neck, forearms, all those places we don't really look.

I didn't really do it in that direction, but when I was recovering from anorexia the first 10lbs I put back on was so important.

Thanks you guys.

I definitely don't want to just lose and lose, as I know toning will make a huge difference. When I was thin when I was younger, I was not toned at all. I weighed 116 at my lowest and I looked like a skeleton, but because I wasn't toned I thought I needed to lose 5 more pounds. Ridiculous.

What a good point! I have ten pounds to lose, too and that's an encouraging though as to why it's so hard.

The hardest part for me was accepting that I was okay and didn't need to be 'fixed'. I have friends who are 20 pounds lower than what their BMI says they should be and they are constantly in the gym nagging and fighting. Get down to a safe weight and make the commitment to yourself to accept who you are and your body. It's a real challenge after losing weight, because you are still in 'this needs changing, do this, change that' and getting out of that mentality can be difficult.

Real women do have cellulite, and dashes of f-a-t, and they are healthy and necessary for things like 'ovulation' and 'bone support' and 'functioning immune system'. I thought that getting down to 170 would make me look effortless in a bikini. Not the case. The cosmetic, Hollywood version of a body is not realistic or healthy and should not be tried at home.

Accepting your bod is the hardest part, it really is. Losing the weight is a massive fight but easier than the psychological bit. You look amazing, you have done something incredible, and you are a goddess! Flaunt.

Even models and actresses do not look in real life the way they do on screen and in photoshopped pics. One of the weird things about randomly encountering famous people is how "hrm, she kind of looks like ___" always, but always turns out to be the person she "kind of" looks like.

Comparing yourself to manufactured images is a game you cannot win.