These last seven pounds have been haunting me for the past three months and they just will not dissappear! I know it's normal to plateau, but this is ridiculous! I'm looking for ideas now. I have a few of my own, but I'm curious to know what all of you do when you're stuck?

I do not weigh myself during that time,that is hard to do, but not as bad as seeing that darn scale not move. If you are doing everything right it will come off. I have been on many diets and at some point on all of them you will hit a plateau.I see that you have lost 15 pounds , that is very good so keep on keeping on and do not give up. it will happen.

I don't know! I am in the same place. I've been trying to lose my last ten pounds since May. I managed to drop two pounds three weeks ago, but haven't lost a thing in the last two weeks. I am still losing inches, but the lack of progress on the scale is very frustrating. I don't know what to do about it. On Monday I'm going to have my body fat measured--if I don't see some progress there I'm going to be very discouraged.

I don't want to stop weighing myself because, for my sanity, I need reassurance that I'm not gaining. I only eat 1300 calories a day, so there's not a lot of room to reduce my calorie intake. I also don't feel like I can increase my exercise. I work out every day. I've got to be burning at least 400 calories on Tues and Thurs (according to the machines, I'm burning 650 calories but I know they aren't accurate) and 300 calories on Saturday and Sunday. I work out with a trainer for an hour on Mon, Wed, and Fri and there is no question that those workouts are hard enough; he is kicking my butt. I simply do not have the energy to exercise more. I also don't want to change up my routine because I'm at maximum with this one. If I switch to different cardio machines or change the order, I'm not going to be able to burn as many calories. So I just keep plugging away hoping I'll see some progress.

So when you figure out how to lose those last seven pounds, be sure to clue me in!

- Barbara

Blue - you may not be getting enough calories and so your body has stalled in its fat loss. Its recommended you cut 250 calories from maintainence level intake and burn 250 through exercise to bring it to the 500 cal deficit. If you're only eating 1300 and then burning 300+ you're bordering only 1000 cals and under a day and you're body may be going into a mild starvation mode.

Try eating a little more and focus on the inches and not the scale. Sometimes our healthiest weight is not the lowest figure on the scale.

I've been down to 110 pounds but I am healthiest at about 128-132 pounds (on a 5'6 medium frame)

It may also be that you're gaining more muscle than losing fat, especially if you're losing inches.

As for myself personally when I hit a plateau - I actually try to eat a bit more and I find that the weight shifts down again. Or I mix my calorie intake up so its high one day and low the next to keep my body guessing etc.

Livi

Blue- If you are losing inches, you are losing body fat. What you are doing is working, and you are not on a plateau. If you are getting smaller, stronger, and fitter, why are you concerned with the actual scale number? Is your target weight realistic? Get your body fat measured. When you're close to goal, eating right, and doing weight workouts as well as cardio, it's a much more realistic assessment of your body than just the scale weight.

You and I are just about the same height. At 123 pounds, I can count all my ribs, see defined abs, quad muscles, and lots of arm, back and chest definition. I was 116 briefly last summer and everyone told me I looked sick. I also was starving all the time. What matters is what your body composition and whether your lifestyle is maintainable, not just hitting that scale number. It sounds like you are progressing well.

Mel

HI blue my name is Barbara,too and I live near you,I am in San Jose. I know it is tough when that darn scale won't go down,I find that there are times when I have to stay off the scale as it is so frustrating at times, I have even gone so far as to lock my scale in the trunk of my car ,since I live on the third floor I think twice about going out to get it,I am not suggesting that you(or me)never weigh,just that sometimes it is better not to weigh every day. Wait a few days and you will most likely see a loss and you will never know about the days that you did not lose,by the way in Overeaters Anonymous the reccomend you weigh Once a Month!!! I could never do that. Good luck.

If I'm stuck or have gained? I come on here and pout and moan ... but seriously (actually I do)... however ... intellectually I know that I just need to keep at it. Some times it takes reassessing and some little bits of tweaking .... eating a bit cleaner .... lifting a little heavier.

I think Mel told me all that

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and support during what was clearly a low moment for me last week. I don't know how I got so focused on the scale--I guess because I still don't see the results I want in the mirror and I wanted to have an end in case I never do (and now that I have an end, I want to get there). It's also a very tangible, immediate way to judge results. Measurements and body fat percentages don't change from day to day; weight does (even if it's just water).

I am definitely not too skinny. I still carry a lot of fat in my hips and stomach and I really just barely have the beginning of muscle definition. When I flex, you can see some muscles, but when I'm relaxed, I still look pretty soft (you can't count my ribs--that's for sure!). At this point, I've given up on the perfectly flat stomach but I would really like to see the roll of fat I have there reduced a bit more. If I can get that to happen without getting down to 115, then I'll give up on 115 as a goal.

The good news is that when we took my measurements today everything except my arms was down from where it was last time and my body fat percentage has dropped as well, by about 2.5%. I'm at 27% body fat, so I think I still have a little ways to go, but I am making progress.

So I will keep plugging away. I am having trouble with the idea of eating more just because this calorie level worked so well for so long. But it would be nice to have some extra calories to work with. It also occurred to me that this fear is sort of silly; if it doesn't work I can always go back to 1300. So I think maybe I will try more calories for a couple of weeks and see what happens. I'm going to stick with weighing myself every day, though. I understand what everyone says about not weighing every day, but for me, knowing is better than not knowing.

- Barbara