So, how hard were your last 10 pounds?
 

My weight loss is kind of grinding to a halt. August 4th I was 146, and I am now 144.4. I have been bouncing up and down a bit over the last 6 weeks.
I'm not ready to stop yet, I am still overweight according to BMI - although I do suspect not by a whole lot - there is that loose skin issue.

I did start a new, harder weight routine as of 9/1, but I really don't like to pin this on that. (Although it certainly could be causing the stall).

I eat 1400-1500 calories per day, and I really, really do not want to drop further, but I might just have to suck it up for a while and do so.

Did any of you big winners find the last 10 to be as hard as the old saying goes? And did you do anything to change it up?

I dont have any suggestions but just wanted to empathize! I am 5' 2" as well and have been stuck at 140-143 for the last several months. I need some tips and motivation to get down to 130!

Crap. I checked on here for tips, too, Fiberlover.

I decided to keep my last 10 pounds and 10 more of their friends. I was still overweight, but it was WAY better than morbidly obese, and it was a lifestyle I could maintain. So, yeah, I found them very very hard!

I'm always open to great ideas if anyone has them. As I'm losing my postpartum weight on my way back to "maintenance", I have a desire, if not yet a goal, to get those 20 pounds gone as well.

Anne

Just out of curiousity, if you've started a new weight lifting routine, have you tried raising your calories? I found the first time I did the New Rules of Lifting routines, which is all weight and strength training, I stalled and didn't start losing again until I increased my calories.

Since then I've done a lot of research and a lot of personal experimenting and I've found that if you're doing really solid weight lifting routines and lifting heavy, then you HAVE to have more calories.

I'd try it ... maybe just by 200 calories or so on the days you lift - as much of it protein as you can. It might be just the trick.

.

7 months to lose the first 55 lbs, 9 months to lose the last 15!

Seriously!

I also ended up increasing calories to lose the last bit - it's a mystery (since I wasn't doing heavy lifting or loads of cardio). I lost the first bit at around 1400-1500 a day...plateaued from March to July....lost the rest of it at around 1600-1800 a week (with a weekly treat meal).

My own pet theory, my body got tired of starving to death (going below maintenance calories for months and months) and decided to batten down the hatches. I thought I was maintaining, moved to maintenance calories (which were actually slightly LESS than I seemed to personally need). My body said "oh wow, lots of food coming in here! No need to hold on to those hips for later!"

I have no other way to explain it.

For the last three months of my weight loss, it slowed down to about 1.5 pounds a week. I remember losing seven pounds for each of the two months before I got to goal. So it slowed but didn't stop. :)

I didn't change my exercise routine, which was an hour on the elliptical every day and weights five days a week. My calories were already between 1200 and 1300 and I didn't want to go lower, so I played with carb cycling a bit. Mostly I just tried to be patient and knew that it would come off eventually, even if not as fast in the beginning.

I know it's worked for a lot of people here, but raising calories has never worked for me. :dunno: If I raise calories, I gain; if I lower calories, I lose. My body reacts exactly the way the calories in, calories out equation is supposed to work. Darn it! (I'm insanely jealous of people who can eat more and lose) But if someone is in a genuine stall, I'd encourage them to play with their calories -- raising, lowering -- and see how their weight reacts. We're all a Laboratory of One in this great weight loss experiment.

Above all, be patient and don't get discouraged, Lori! You're in that gray area right now where weight loss transitions to maintenance and sometimes it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. A lot of our members are right there with you and content to be maintaining, while still trying to get rid of the last ten. All in all, it's not a bad place to be. :D

changed my goal
 

I changed my goal weight. I spent 6 months getting down to 130-132 and then stalled :( there for the next 6 months.

I figured that my body just was flat out refusing to go down to that "magical" 125 I wanted so I settled for 130-132. I look great :D and I'm no longer starving, frustrated, angry, bitter, etc :mad:. And I can eat a treat :p meal once a week!

Dagmar :cool:

It's time to start using the measuring tape instead, or have your fat % checked every month to see if there is any change. If you don't notice any changes you it's time to cut calories, or at try cardio first thing in the morning before eating anything; this forces your body to tap into your fat stores.

Being just under 5'2" I like to keep my calories between 1200 to 1400 to lose weight... even when I was lifting heavy for 45min to 1hr 6x a week and cardio 20min to 45min 6x a week. When I started that I broke through a plateau where I was at 130 lbs for a few years now my weight bounces around 114 lbs and 117 lbs... (at the moment I'm not being very careful about what I eat, but if I went back to 1200 cals a day I would lose .5 lb to 1 lb a week... when I was at 140 lbs I lost 10 lbs a month for the first 2 1/2 months.)

This is also sadly my experience. When I raise my calories, I gain, lower them I lose. Without fail. Each and every time. And Lord knows I've tried many, many times ;).

But about the last 10 lbs part, truth is, I've still probably got 10 lbs to lose. So, yeah, it's been quite hard. My calves remain quite heavy. I am positive at this point that whatever fat I have left on this body is ALL stored there. Really. And I know if I took it down another 10 lbs or so, the fat would HAVE to come off of somewhere, and the only place to do so, would be those thick calves of mine. But I am not willing/able/willing to eat less and/or exercise more. So my thick calves will remain. If at some point I decide to buckle down and truthfully, I don't see that happening any time soon if at all, I will attempt to get those last 10 off. And if I don't ever do that, well then, that's okay too.

The actual last 10 that I lost? Hmmm. Let's see. Again, this was totally my own doing. I hit the 133 mark and bounced back and forth for the summer, because I ate more on the weekends and was not consistient, like I said TOTALLY my doing. I don't have the actual numbers in front of me, but when I stopped the weekend thing and started the consistiency thing again, I got those last 10 off in a fairly quickly time frame.

I did lower my calories though and upped my exercise. Being only 5 feet tall, I just don't have the same caloric needs as the "average" person, sadly so.

Enjoy the wonderful life you've carved out for yourself. At least now as you try and get those last 10 off you've got a GREAT you in which to do so with. Yes, be patient. And do some experimenting and tweaking. Good luck. :)

I can sympathize Robin... I only wish I were taller so I could eat more! :D

When I came to terms with how small I really am that's when I realized I just didn't need that many calories and whoosh the weight started to come off.

I can tell you those last few pounds did NOT want to come off! I had actually given up too. And I even though about taking ALLI. But finally I just decided to keep doing what I was doing and be patient. l I even stopped looking at the scale. And, finally, one morning I got up and the scale was where i wanted it to be.

So, advice, Keep eating the number of calories you've had luck with and exercise. Your body will let go those last few pounds when it's ready.

I thought those last ten pounds would never go. but I persisted and was actually surprised when I stepped on the scale one morning and saw I was at goal.

I found that I also stalled on losing my last 10. I was already down to eating 1200-1300 calories a day, and I did 1- 1 1/2 hours of cardio each day, minimal strength training. I got sooo frustrated - why wasn't I losing? I looked at my diet carefully and realized I wasn't eating enough fat, healthy or unhealthy, and was eating <20 g/ day. I upped the fat and started losing again. Perhaps you could check the types of foods your eating and switch them around. Also, change up your workout routine. Try the cardio machines you don't normally use, try high intensity interval training, change your 2 day full body weightlifting routine to...something else... you get the idea. I'd also suggest you make sure you're getting enough water, sleep, minimize stress in your life. I know that realistically you can't always control those things, but they really do affect your weight.

Of course I've gained the last 10 back and have kept them for 2 years, but that is because I genuinely eat too much and can't control my food intake. Ignore that part. :p

But I think everyone has trouble with the last 10 - it's hard, and you have to be patient! I think the suggestion to take your measurements as well is a great one. That way you might see some concrete positive changes to keep you going, even if they're not on the scale.

I did go up about 100 per day. That's a bit why I am afraid to go back down in calories, because of the lifting.
I might just have to hang here for a bit and let my body adjust before it goes back down. Not seeing a whole lot of inches changes this month (yet ;) )