why are the last 10 lbs the hardest to lose?!

  • I've read so many threads here where people have the same issue as I do now. I have 13 lbs to lose. I feel like that one snippet on "Poltergeist" where the lady is looking down a hall way and suddenly it gets longer. LOL I was so happy to be close to my ideal/goal weight that now it feels like its so far away.
    Maybe its because I want it so bad that it feels like a long process.
    Okay thats my vent for the day. LOL
  • Check out the Featherweights Forum, we understand!
  • hey, I hear ya. In the last 3 months, I have lost a total 7 lbs... where previously, I had been losing 5 a month. I actually hit my original goal weight... but decided I wanted to drop a few more because I don't quite look how I envisioned at the start of this, lol. It's tough, but I think the key is just realizing that these lifestyle changes are going to last a lifetime, and if it takes a long time to get to goal... we should just enjoy the journey.

    Make sure you celebrate every new pound. You'll be where you want to be in no time!
  • Sigh.

    I can relate. Who knows? On one hand, I feel like a big success, keeping most of the weight off for 5 years and counting, yet on the other hand I can't seem to cross that hurdle.

    Maybe being 145 is just so much more manageable to maintain, whereas 130-135 requires more than I'm just willing to give?
  • Yes, yes what Julie said!

    Come join out chat thread!
    http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/feat...-november.html

    It's difficult but not impossible.
  • I think for me it was a combination of factors. As I weighed less, it meant I needed to eat less to lose the weight (since my maintenance level went down with my weight). Combine that with the fact that I was just tired from being on calorie deficit for a long time, meant it was really difficult to keep my calories down.

    I got to about 2-5 lbs above my weight goal and basically maintained it there for a couple of months to recharge. Then, I went on one last push for 2 weeks of eating down to where I needed to lose 2lbs a week. It was probably more aggressive than I should have done, but in some ways it was easier for me to just restrict myself completely for 2 weeks than to do on a slow loss over months.

    I lost 5 lbs in the two weeks (2 lbs below my goal weight) and now I've been maintaining that for the last month and it's been fairly easy. From having maintained my weight at slightly higher levels for couple of months I know exactly what my maintenance calories are.
  • The way I see it is: I weigh less so I need less to live (sad, but true). The only way to continue to achieve the caloric deficit needed to continue to lose weight is to drop calories and/or increase calorie expenditure through exercise. There is a practical lower limit to calorie intake, so increasing calorie "burn" through exercise is the main option. And that is constrained by time and (for some) inclination. Add to that, if you've lost weight WITHOUT exercise, your basal metabolic rate is likely lower than it would have been WITH exercise.

    It just gets harder to establish that calorie deficit. Especially if you are also tired of being on plan all the time and migrate off plan a bit here and there.
  • I've stuck to my plan. I'm using "Lose It" (on my Iphone) and Fitday to track my calories and stuff. I have gone under what they give for my calories at whatever weight I'm on. I use the "Lose it" more then the fitday. Fitday every now and then to see what the pie graph shows when it breaks everything down that I ate.
    I might have to get more exercise in. But yeah, my commitment to my weight loss hasn't shifted at all.
  • It hit that point too. Part of it was we went on a month long road trip, so I was fine with "practicing maintaining" (aka, just not gaining!) on that. The other part was that I looked so much better and was so much happier with the way I looked that my motivation for losing that last 10 was really low.

    Now I really wish I had. I'm pregnant again so at least I'm at a healthier weight than I was for my 1st three pregnancies, but it would have been nice to be at goal.
  • I understand! I have exactly 10 pounds to go until my goal. It's so slow going these days; however, I'm not working out nearly as much as I was in the beginning.

    I know that I need to kick it up in order to lose these last 10. I've gotten lazy for some reason... I'm still on plan and I'm still losing, but I'm not going full force as I was when I started.

    It feels like I'm running a marathon.