Well, I have been successful at losing weight. For the past year and a half I have been counting calories and working out on my elliptical 6 days a week. I allow myself one "free" meal per week...usually on a Saturday. If a holiday or event is happening that week that involves food, then I use my free meal for that event. It has worked for me and has been the only thing that has....I have lost around 55 lbs. I have struggled with my weight since my first child was born 25 years ago!!!

My problem now is that I cannot seem to lose the last 10-15 lbs. I am at around 160 and would love to weight 150 or less. My ideal weight would be 145. I am 5'7 and have a larger frame. I recently went on vacation and ate more than I wanted to and feel bad about myself. Although I was physically active and excersized on vacation, I feel awful and bloated right now...that time of the month too! I am starting to go into panic mode and I am obsessing and working out even longer!

Anyways, I feel like I have had to work so much harder than the average person to lose this weight. I work out for almost 2 hours per day. My elliptical says I am burning 1500 calories after an about 2 hours. I am eating right around 1500 calories per day. How could I possibly have gained weight?? I need some advice and some help!!!! I was 155 a couple of weeks ago and now am over 161. I will admit that I have been hungrier lately and may have gone slightly over 1500 calories, but with burning so many everyday, I didn't think it would matter. I have had my thyroid checked and everything is fine. I must just have a very slow metabolism??? HELP! I really want to wiegh 145 and be able to maintain that weight!!!

Welcome!

First, take a deep breath! A vacation is just a vacation. It isn't everyday life. You can relax and indulge a little. And then when you're back home, you can move back to how you were doing before. If you gain a little, no biggie. Just as long as you fall back into the healthy lifestyle you were in before, you'll be fine. And TOM! You know that we all get bloated and gain during TOM, regardless of what weight and what BMI we are at. It's just the way the female body works. So, relax. You're good.

Use that icky bloated feeling as motivation. Remember how you feel now, so next time you're in a similar situation, you can stop, remember how you felt, and ask yourself if you think it's worth feeling that way again.

In regardless to the weightloss.
I've had a similar problem - the last 10lbs or so are coming off MUCH slower than the first 30ish lbs. I think, as you get closer to goal, you sometimes need to lessen your calorie deficit. You may be at the stage were your body is used to that equilibrium you've set for it - it expects to consume 1500 cals and it knows you're going to burn 1500 cals, so it adjusts to meet this supply and demand. Maybe you need to go up to 1700 calories and change up your exercise? Instead of 2 hours, have you tried 30 minutes HIIT and weight training? Weight training, in the long run, will make you look smaller (more compact) and will lessen you body fat %, regardless of what the scale says. and 30 mins of HIIT will get your heart pumping faster than 2hrs doing any consistent cardio.

Have you considered taking a maintenance break? Maybe eating something like 2000ish calories (of good, healthy food) for a month or so? I know it seems counter intuitive, but your body just might need a break. And you might need the mental break too.

Congratulations on your loss, what an amazing achievement. I hope you are proud of yourself!

I have this problem too. Shifting the last 12lbs is really hard! I second what Meeel said. Weight training, which I did from the start, really helps change your body composition. I recently started HITTs and that has made a massive difference, I am burning fat left right and centre, so although the scale isn't changing much, my body composition is making huge leaps in the right direction.

Good luck!

Thanks a bunch, girls!!! I really need the support right now...I so appreciate it!! What are HITTS??? I am going to look into weight training too. So much of this is mental too. I have been battling this mentally and feeling like I am not good enough/deserving of it...that was the hardest part to get through. Keeping our minds in the right spot is so hard. Now I am dealing with the women around me who you just know want to see you fail. Suddenly, several family members and friends seem to be trying to "out do"me in the losing weight department. I hate this and hate competition...I just want to be the best me. I also hate the staring and glancing up and down looks from "friends" who are just waiting for me to put on a couple pounds. Really, has anyone else experience this??? It stinks!