When I started losing weight, I was always warned that the last fifteen pounds would be harder to get off than the previous 100 were. I laughed it off at the time, because I was doing so well, and continued doing well for months, and even a full year.

Well, now I'm hovering around 150 lbs - wouldya know, 15 lbs from goal - and I can't seem to shake the rest of this weight. Can anyone relate or have any tips for me?

Even though I'm only 152.5 lbs right now, I can't help feeling like I've been backsliding the past few weeks. The numbers keep going up and up, and I find myself making terrible eating decisions. I'm not giving up, by any means, but I can't help but feel a bit discouraged.

I jogged 8 miles today, for only the second time. I was really proud of myself. It was such a gorgeous day, that I just kept on going! I hope that helps get rid of some weight for my weigh-in tomorrow!

Hey epicskyline,

I feel you! I'm down the last 10-15 lbs and it is so much harder! I think it's because now our calorie deficit is much smaller so even underestimating a little will negate it. I ended up investing in a food scale this week so that I can measure calories more accurately - I hope this will help restart my weightloss

Yeah, I feel you on some level, but I think my problem was attitude. My lowest weight was 149 lbs, I guess I felt so good about myself that I just slowly stopped doing everything. I'm up to 158 lbs and this is the heaviest I'm going to be I've sworn to myself! I will not go back up to 160 lbs +, I will go DOWN to 130 lbs!

But I think it does get harder, you have to be really consistent and not slip up or it really counts. So my advice would be to be on plan ALL the time. No cheat days, no little treats, just 100% dedication. Once you reach your goal weight you can start relaxing a bit, but to reach it first you need to be in it to win it and not just trot along. You can do it, you've come so far!

I'm with you right now. I've stepped up my workouts and weight training and I was up 2lbs this week. I'm at 156 and want to be at 135. It's so hard not to get discouraged and even though I feel great I am still counting on that number once a week to be less than the previous week.

Epicskyline: that's great you jogged 8 miles, I'm impressed. I can only do about 3 but I do HIIT when I run.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks that got them through their last 20 lbs?

It took me several months to lose the last 5 pounds.

I decided to just stick with it and be patient. I also realized, that I am one who will always have to track my food and activity.

I'm glad I did. I truly believe it's why I've been able to maintain for 20 months now.

Thanks for the suggestions and commiserations, guys! So a big problem, as I mentioned, is that I am a waitress and lately I have been eating A LOT of food at work. And it is bbq, with tons of fried food and fatty meats and cheeses and sauces, not to mention the very, very tasty desserts, and just...bad. Just bad.

So what I did yesterday that seemed to work is that I wrote my weight on my hand, so that I had to look at it every time I thought about grabbing something to eat. It seemed to help. For work today, I wrote in my weight from yesterday and crossed it out and wrote my new, lower weight from today. Hopefully that will keep my motivated for one more day!

Epicskyline - I feel your pain! I've really been struggling with these last few pounds too. For weeks and weeks and weeks! I agree with Riestrella, it's time to buckle down. I love the writing your weight on your hand idea to help keep you on track at work, what a creative idea! And great job on the 8 miles, that's fantastic.

I am right there with you... I have been struggling with this last 20 pounds for a year. Ugh. I'm proud I've kept it off so far but I just can't believe how long I've been dinking around going up and down. If I'd buckled down I'd have been at goal months ago!

I keep starting over, being super-motivated, and then slipping off little bits "just something here", "just something there". Then after a couple weeks I check my weight and I'm back up a couple pounds. So frustrating.

I think the problem is I've reached a weight where I'm sort of comfortable - not really with my body overall, but at least clothed I think I look decent. So it always turns into "Oh what's one more day here or there, just have fun with your friends!"

I'm back up to 171 today, but refusing to update my ticker... oy.

EXACTLY!!!

That is meeeee EXACTLY!!! At 163-165 lbs I felt SOOOOOO good about myself! I fit into clothing beautifully, I looked great! I went on vacations and felt HOT! I took pictures for the first time in 5 years!!! I was skinnier than some of my "skinny" friends and still felt confident around the "supermodel" girls in the group. And I think that was enough for me. I reached a place where I felt great, and just stopped doing all the right things. After all the important milestone events of the year happened I went beyond feeling comfortable at that weight, and at some point decided that old habits wouldn't catch up with me this time around... NOW i'm 15 pounds heavier and not letting this go any further than this!!!!

For me it's all in the attitude... Those last 10-15 pounds that would have gotten me into the "safe zone" of a healthy BMI shouldn't have been any different than the previous 55, but I just got complacent. Pure and Simple.