[need2loseinGA]

So I am at 130 (give or take a pound). So really for that past several weeks I have just been doing the maintain thing. I do want to lose another 5-10lbs but I have ran into an issue. Its been hard for me to drop my calories much more than they already are (1400-1500 range). If I try to drop below that I get way way to hungry and end up snacking on everything in the house. Any ideas of what I can do to help with these last few pounds. I understand the last 5-10 can be harder to get rid of. And quite frankly if I can not shed them I will still be happy. But this last bit is around my mid section ick.

[Meg]

How about increasing either the duration or intensity of your exercise? You can create a calorie deficit through cutting calories and/or exercise. Since you feel that your calories are about as low as you can comfortably go, changing your exercise will be what's going to get those last ten pounds off. Exercise can also change the shape of your body and make you tighter and smaller, even if you never lose one more pound. Good stuff!

[need2loseinGA]

thanks Meg for the feedback. Increase intensity and/or duration of exercise.

[rockinrobin]

In addition to increasing the intensity and/or duration, you can also increase the number of days that you exercise.

[mandalinn82]

Yes, if you can't drop your calories any further, you can increase burn via exercise. Do you strength train? Building muscle will help raise the number of cals you burn in a day also. Have you tried interval training with your cardio (ie, 1 min as hard as you can go, 2 min recovery)? It helps raise the amount of calories burned throughout your workout, and is a nice change of pace too.

Food-wise, you could also shift focus to "eating clean" (lean protein, veggies, whole grains) and eating tons of veggies. That is the only thing that enabled me to drop my calories into the 1200-1300 level...I was eating so many vegetables that my stomach had no room to be hungry, it was full of all the veggie fiber.

[Beach Patrol]

Food/diet wise... increase protein intake & fiber intake. And the exercise thing everybody else is talking about...

[almostheaven]

I normally stay around 1500 myself too, and think I'm just too hungry on less. BUT, if I drink more water those days, I can get through on 1300 with no problems. So you might try increasing your water intake when lowering your calories and see if that helps you through the day. As well, like was mentioned, stick with good food choices where you can get the least calories for the most filling stuff.