Long time no post for me! Truth is i haven't been very OP the past few months since I went on vacation and felt unworthy/ashamed of posting. can't exactly give advice if i can't follow it can i? plus being around the board would remind me of my bad ways and make me feel guilty! anyways i'm trying to get more OP and now that i'm down to those last 15 pounds to goal, its nearly impossible to move the scale.

granted i could be more strict with my diet and work out more (currently only 2 times per week) but i guess its just that this was the way i had been operating before and i was losing. now that i'm down to the last few pounds i'm plateauing and need to work harder to get the weight off. i swear for the last 2 months i've been between 137-135, and not a pound under 135. its like this invisible barrier that won't let up!!! i guess i just need more motivation to eat totally OP and work out more. but i'd also like to hear tips you ladies on how you lost those final pounds. i feel like i'm so close yet so far. *sigh*

and to further my whining, why is it those trouble spots are just so damn troublesome!!!! i've lost 20 pounds now, and only 2 inches off my waist (currently 34 inches *boo*)!! meanwhile i've lost 2.5 off my THIGH! i feel like i'll never be able to acheive a flat stomach. i am your typical apple shape. ok end of whining.

Have you taken a look at the amount of calories you are consuming? When you weigh less, it is harder to lose. Also, is your goal realistic? How tall are you?

It might take staying OP and exercising more to lose the last bit.

Pika, it's nice to see you back! Have you been eating a lot of stuff with bad carbs and sugar? If so, you might want to do a week of Phase 1 to jump start you back into the plan.

I'm nowhere near my end, but I do know that most people have a really tough time with the last couple. I'd try to change it up a lot...more and different kinds of exercise, different patterns of food, different types of meals...more water, less salt, etc. Keep changing it up and eventually your body will give in and give up the fat!

Keep us posted and PLEASE keep posting! There are many of us here who are not totally or even a little OP, and we keep posting...you have a lot to say even if you aren't "following the rules"!

well i am only 5'1 so i think 120 is realistic. my dr. says it is, but personally i'd like to be 115. but at this point i'd be elated just to be under 135!

i just find it hard to find that hardcore attitude i had in the beginning. and of course towards the end its when you need it most. i am also a little scared at the thought of what i will be allowed to eat when i reach my goal weight. i think i will look at november as a new start, maybe phase 1 it for a little bit. (with halloween coming the rest of this week is a write off. )

thanks for the support ladies!

Ah, Pika, I know you can do this. Being scared is a normal part of any life change, especially one this major! Remember how scary it was to go to Phase 2? I think Phase 3 will be very similar to Phase 2. The same things, just more fruit and more starch. Every so often, I will have some phyllo dough. Otherwise, I'm not planning on changing much. Eventually, I suppose I will have to figure out how to plan some cheats, as I figure one day I'll want something different or special. But I don't plan to change much, and that's really okay for me! I love how I feel on this diet. My eyes and head sometimes have cravings for non OP things, but my body never does. And it only takes a second to remind my body of the headaches and pains I'll have, not to mention the three day detox I'll have to do, to keep me from eating them. I hope it's that way for you.

Actually, a friend asked me yesterday what the first thing I will eat when I get to goal is. I was dumbfounded. Another friend responded for me by saying, "I don't think that's what she's thinking about at all!" I realized what the first one wanted to know, so I told her that I'm looking forward to having some berries and vanilla yogurt in a phyllo dough cup. But that I'm not planning on having it as soon as I reach goal...it's not that important to me. I am looking forward to feeling healthy, fitting into my flirty size 14 GAP skirt, having a baby, and getting a bike (my last mini goal). I'm excited about my new life to come. Will I be scared? Heck, yeah! But excited and nervous and happy too. I hope you feel more and more like that as you get there!

and lots of hope that things can start up for you again. Maybe some journaling will help you get to the bottom of why you are having trouble? Explore those feelings!

Hang on! I guess keep doing the good stuff that you are doing. I wish there was some easy way to make those scales budge. I was actually looking on the internet at diet patches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm feeling a little desparate and frustrated too.