Tips to lose that last 10 pounds?
 

So the past two days I've weighed in at 145. My goal weight- which is completely realistic as I still have a spare tire on my waist and padding on my thighs and bum- is 135.

I've found that the closer I get to goal, the longer it takes to lose weight. Losing a pound can take weeks, whereas when I started this journey I was losing 3 lbs per week.

What tips can you all give me to make losing this last 10 lbs go by more quickly, so I can get the weight loss portion of this done and move on to maintenance?

This will be interesting.

I'm not sure if I can tell you anything that you don't already know, because I've seen you give a lot of good advice to other people, but if you want to post a list of foods that you eat, I'll see if I have any diet advice for you.

You've mentioned in other threads that you do strength training, but which exercises do you do?

My strength training largely involves bicep curls, squats, lunges, deadlifts, snatches, overhead presses, tricep extensions, pushups, shoulder flys and rows. My big problem there is I'm not doing it consistently enough. We're getting ready to move and so many days I end up cleaning or laying floor or painting or something rather than working out.

Food:
Breakfast is either oatmeal or fruit except on weekends when I have time to cook and then it's scrambled eggs and a fried potato.
Lunch is usually some type of meat and rice or scrambled eggs.
Dinner is some type of meat with rice or baked potato or yam.
I drink only water.
I don't eat any processed foods at all- everything I eat is home cooked and fresh.
I do eat carbs at nearly every meal. My body is sensitive to carbs so it's possible I need to cut them for a while.

Thanks for any feedback!

Dee it could be the carbs. It could be the stress of moving or of wanting to lose the last 10 pounds.
If you have to cut more to lose will it be sustainable in the long run?
I really find this thread interesting.
How did you come to your goal weight decision?
Do you want opinions like my usual "Take 2 TBSP of Apple Cider Vinegar before bed."?

It's probably the carbs. I'm going to try cutting carbs for a while and see what happens.

Sustainable- I think so. I was 135 for years before my thyroid disease walloped my metabolism. As time went on I got sicker and sicker, less and less active, and developed some really bad eating habits. I drank a lot of alcohol, also. My thyroid disease is under control and I have my eating habits resolved and don't drink alcohol anymore so I think I can sustain the weight loss.

Mostly I was hoping people that had been through this battle might chime in and say what they did.

Food:

I recommend eating more vegetables and a wider variety of vegetables, not only potatoes and yams. Broccoli or spinach are good choices (but there are many good choices). When you eat the potatoes, I'd recommend eating the skin (if you don't already), since that's where most of the fiber is. I don't know what fruits you eat, but similarly, I'd recommend eating a variety (there are many good choices but berries and grapefruit are especially good).

I'm not sure how healthy the fried potatoes are (it depends on the amount of oil, type of oil, and temperature), but if you only eat them on weekends, it probably won't make a big difference.

What type of rice is it? White or brown? I guess you probably know that brown is healthier. You might want to try some other grains like quinoa, barley, or bulgur, which have more fiber and more protein than rice.

It looks like most of the fat you eat comes from the meat (and depending on the type of meat, you might not be getting enough fat). I'd suggest getting at least some of your fat from other sources. Some of the healthiest sources of fat are extra virgin olive oil, avocado, nuts, fish (wild alaskan salmon is a good one), and chia seeds. Avocado and chia seeds are also high in fiber, so that's another reason to eat them.

Do you get enough calcium in your diet? I don't think any of the foods you mentioned have much calcium. The easiest way to get calcium is dairy, but if you're lactose intolerant, there are other foods that have calcium, such as canned fish with bones, dark green leafy vegetables, some types of beans, and almonds.

Exercise:

That looks like a good set of exercises, so consistency might be the problem. It's a problem for me too (sometimes I'm too busy to exercise), so I'm not sure what to say. If you set aside a specific time for exercise each day, it might help.

Do you regularly increase the amount of weight that you lift (whenever the weights become too light)? A mistake that some people make is finding a weight they're comfortable with and sticking to it.

MJF- thanks for the suggestions. I will try to broaden my veggie variety- I have a gut dysbiosis that has made me sensitive to an absurd number of foods. I did have some kale with last nights dinner. I forgot to mention I eat a LOT of asparagus. That's probably tonight's veggie. And I have brussel sprouts waiting in the bottom drawer. I actually like brussel sprouts, they just take longer than most veggies to cook. I prefer them roasted, and that takes a while.

Most of my fat does come from animal fat, as you noted. I use a lot of grass-fed butter, and then just the normal fat in the meat itself. Unfortunately due to my gut issue, most oils are off limits to me due to their natural salicylate content. Eventually that should improve and I'll be able to add them back in. I can have a limited number of nuts, so I should make a point to eat a few a day for sure.

Calcium hasn't been an issue in my blood work - I do get some dairy (full fat cream, primarily) although I'm taking a break from that right now to try and kick these last 10 lbs. I do eat leafy greens. I can't have tinned fish (food sensitivities again) but I do eat beans also. I didn't actually know beans had calcium! I mostly eat black, kidney and lentils.

I've been trying to increase my weights, yes. I try to lift to failure within 8-10 reps. When I don't fail in that range, I up the weight. I could do a better job keeping track of the various numbers, though. I go off memory but that isn't always effective.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Hope it works out for you

I'm not advising to do what I did, but I figured I'd share what worked for me.

About 5 years ago, I weighed 109 lbs. (I'm v short.) I'd been at that weight for a couple of years, which was on the low end of my "normal." For most of my adult life, I've weighed around 115.

I was happy with my weight but was curious to see what I'd look like after some strength training and also dropping a few pounds. At the time, the only exercise I was doing was a brisk 30 min walk 5 days a week. (I should note though that I also had a v active job managing a busy Starbucks.) I added in a Beachbody routine that mixes cardio and strength training.

On the food front, I was already eating a pretty nutritious diet. I shaved off a few hundred calories a day from my diet and greatly restricted sugar, even dropping fruit. (From the start, I only intended this woe for a couple of months. I'd personally never cut fruit long-term.) I was already eating moderately low carb, usually around 60-120 grams a day. During this time, I kept it on the lower end of that range and perhaps went even lower; I don't recall that part well. I ate plenty of non-starchy veg & lean protein plus some good fats (most often from nuts).

I did this for about 7 weeks. The first four weeks, I didn't lose anything. In fact, I think I even went up a pound or two. Then the weight dropped off quickly and almost all at once. In the final three weeks, I dropped 7 pounds and went from a size 4 to a 2/0.

In the end, I didn't like being at that low a weight. It doesn't work on my frame, so I deliberately gained back to 109.

The weight I gained a few years later was not deliberate. :lol:

I googled and found this list of foods low in salicylate: https://atpscience.com/salicylate-fo...and-food-list/

Cashews are very low, and pecans are almost as low. Unfortunately avocados are high. Chia seeds aren't on the list, but they're high as well (googled it). Are you able to eat fresh wild Alaskan salmon? Salmon is one of the best sources of omega 3.

I didn't know either until I googled it yesterday. White beans are one of the highest calcium beans.

Sounds like a good plan! ( :