[JessicaWalton]

Okay, I started my current weight loss journey at the end of June 2012. I went to a diet center that I had been successful at previously (I went there for a short while, then moved away and gained back the 15 lbs I had lost). Its a center based on a low carb, high protein diet. They give you b12 injections too. I quickly lost quite a few pounds, started at 210 and dropped very fast. I knew we would be moving out of state So after I had lost about 30 pounds I stopped going to the center, and started doing it on my own without the shots and support.

I was still able to lose weight. I last weighed myself in January and I was 147, which is 17 pounds away from my goal. I am having such a hard time staying motivated to get these last few pounds off. I have been eating bad carbs occasionally, and some good carbs pretty much daily. I really want to start back on protein only for about a week to jump start my metabolism again, but it seems like every where I turn someone is handing me some delicious carb filled food that I can't pass up.

Please HELP motivate me! Share your story. 17 pounds ( or however many, I havent weighed again because my scale got broken when we moved). These last few pounds are the hardest!

[novangel]

I'm stuck on the last 3p for a while now. I have no advice other than keep going but I am right there with you...

[Lunula]

Hi there! Well, I've been fighting the last few pounds for a long time. I started my journey in January 2011 - just by exercise (lots of fitness classes at the Y) and diet (WW Online). I dropped a lot in the first few months, went on some great vacations - gained a bit and then dropped that right away upon returning home.

I was stuck at 160 from Nov 2011 until Nov 2012 (I'm not kidding). I didn't follow my eating plan all that closely, but continued exercising and was able to maintain a 70 lbs weight loss. Now, I'm moving downward again. Still have 10, maybe 15 (we'll see how I feel when I lose that 10!!) to go.

I think the things that have kept me going are: first, my exercise program. I take classes at the gym and I've made friends with a lot of other people there, so it motivates me to go regularly. Also, I allow myself splurges all the time! For me, nothing is off limits, I just work really hard to manage the amounts I eat. I used to go into Whole Foods and get an entire bag of cookies from their cookie bar (OMG, so good). Now - I will go in and pick ONE cookie. I found that when I tried to force myself to not get any, I would go nuts and get 10! Now, I pick the "best one" and I enjoy the heck out of it.

Also - practice, practice, practice. I had to practice turning food down. I had to practice saying no. I had to practice forgiving myself when I went overboard. I had to practice treating every minute like a fresh start.

For me, it's just about making it routine rather than trying to muster the motivation to continue. After spending a year at the same weight and not giving up, I'm pretty darned proud of myself! So allow yourself to be proud of all your progress. Remember the way you used to feel about yourself before you lost the weight. Look at yourself in the mirror and be happy with where you are right now. I realized that even at 160, if I never lost another pound, I was still really happy with myself. Alternately, if I gained the weight back, I would NOT be happy with myself. Maintaining became more important than losing.

Hang in there & good luck!

[elvislover324]

All of you ladies (and men!) near goal are the inspiration for the people like me trying to get near our mini-goals!

I'm going to be selfish and say we all look up to you to see you finish so we might be able to too!!

I can't imagine how stressful it is for you to be so close yet so far away. I'm so close to one-derland that I want to kick and scream to get there quicker (not like it works, I tried!). But getting to one-derland just restarts my mission to get to goal.

You all have done amazing getting so close to goal, I wish you lots of luck getting there and then can't wait to read about you making it!