When did it slow down for you?
 

I'm curious - for all those who reached goal weight or is close to it, when did it start slowing down for you? I've reached I believe a plateau at 145 (15 lbs from goal) and I'm SUPER frustrated. I've been here for the past month. Granted, the first few weekends of that month, I didn't do well. I gained the natural water weight. That didn't make me freak out - it's how long it took me to lose that water weight. And - in the past - even if i had a bad weekend, by Tuesday, Wednesday at the latest I'd be back to my previous weight, and then by Friday I'd be down another 2-3 lbs!

Now, for example, two weekends ago, my parents were in town, andddd it wasn't the ideal wknd diet wise. But it wasn't the worst either. Anyway, by Tuesday morning (they left monday night after dinner) I was up 152 (!!) from 145. Not trying to worry too much, I just went back on track, very strictly, even stayed on the low end of calories. Well, I expected by Thursday to be back to normal, but I was still at 147. I didnt' reach 145 again until Saturday morning, stayed on track this weekend and yesterday, and expected a loss this morning, but nope, STILL STUCK at 145. This is so frustrating! I had a wedding May 22 that I wanted to be in the 130s for.. will I make it!?! This is beyond frustrating!

I got down from 175 to 150 in about 5 months, but I stayed at 150 (with ups and downs) for over a year. Then I stepped up my efforts again and have been losing quickly. For me, I went through a long maintenance period before I started up again. I don't have plateaus, really. I sometimes need breaks and stay even for a while. I heard that plateaus are normal and part of the body's adjustment period.

I know you want to lose weight by a certain date, but the body has it's own timetable. I think you are being hard on yourself. You are losing weight, but stepping on the scale and expecting a certain number might set yourself up for disappointment.

Right at 50 lbs lost (163) for me. I still had another 25 to lose so it was painstakingly frustrating. Finally I just surrendered to whatever my body wanted to do and eventually it all came off.

I lost rapidly for the first three months and then slowed to about 4 lbs per month as soon as I hit 200 lbs. I feel like I have an awfully long way to go to be losing 4 lbs a month! :rofl: But I'm losing inches like crazy, so it's all good. ;)

I lost my first 30 lbs reasonably quick. But after that I hit a rut with easter and family visits and since then my loss has slowed down, even though I am back on the same plan I was before I got off track.

It seems to me as if your *plateau* is of the self-induced variety. You can't expect to eat *off plan* even one day a week AND have a weight loss. It just can't happen. One *off* day, can wipe out any deficit you've created the other 6 days.

As you get smaller (& you are!!!) it's going to take more consistency to keep on getting you that calorie deficit that's needed in order to have steady weight loss. If you're okay with the up and down thing, than that consistency is not as vital.

You've got to stick with your plan through the weekends. Treat them as any other day of the week, if not more so. Map out your food schedule in advance - each meal and snack. Consistency. 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 days in a row.... Do that and watch that *plateau* disappear.

Oh and you haven't mentioned exercise. You can increase that as well to help you along in the calorie deficit department.

I agree with RR- the closer you are to your goal- the less leeway you have to have a bad weekend. You have to really be OP to see the results. Maybe kick up a workout or two during the week also.

For me it was when I lost 15 lbs. I was on the calories counting diet and I tried zig-zagging but it didn't work. I then started looking deeper into the foods I was eating and that's when it hit me that I was consuming way too many carbs. From there I went on to the Atkin's diet and it jump started my weight loss again....slowly but at least I was losing again.

It's quite normal for weight loss to slow down when we get close to goal. Smaller bodies need fewer calories, so it's harder and harder to create a calorie deficit.

I agree with the others than there isn't any room for off-plan eating when we're close to goal, unless we're willing to accept a stall. Treat meals on weekends works for maintenance, but not for those stubborn last few pounds! Definitely kick up your exercise if you can! And be patient -- it will come off!

It's slowed down, definitely, but I'm still losing pretty steadily. Up until about last Christmas, I could reliably lose about 7-10 pounds per month, and it was much higher than that for the first hundred. But now, I just have no room for error, if I want to get these last 12 pounds off in the next couple of months. There are no cheat days, there are no extra treats. I'll be able to work the occasional indulgence in once I get to maintenance, and I stress "occasional."

Cheat days and off-plan days just really don't work for me, I've found. I've set things up so that it's pretty easy for me to stay on plan; going OFF plan usually requires I deliberately set out to do so, and that's exactly the way I want it, because I hate exercising will power. If I indulge in one of the things where I KNOW I'm weak, even if it's worked right into my calorie budget, I then have to exercise will power, because eating a little of it makes me want to eat a lot, and there are times when that's OK, but I'd just as soon avoid testing my will power as much as possible, so it really does work when I need it. And right now, any indulgence could easily delay my getting to goal.

I really don't mind, to be honest. I've lost nearly six pounds this month, which is pretty good for somebody who's as close to goal as I am, but it comes off in short bursts, meaning I can go a week or two with nothing but bouncing around over a range of a pound or two, with a small swing higher right before my cycle begins, and then over a few days, I will lose something like 2-4 pounds. So I get my share of time glaring at the scale, wondering why it seems to be going so slowly, knowing I truly have been absolutely on plan, but just having to remain patient until the weight shifts. And then I get to the end of the month, check my stats on FitDay, and see that while most of the month it felt like I was going nowhere, at the end, there's a nice, reliable, not-too-shabby loss recorded.

exactly, this became my mind set. I would rather sacrifice my sweet tooth to get to my goal. I could experiment with eating sweets when I reached maintenance mode but at the moment....I was on a mission to lose.

I got down to about 198 last June. Since June, I've lost a total of 8 pounds. I work out 5 days a week, and watch my food intake. It's been one hellva plateau

Just wondering what *watch* your food intake means.

I know for me, watching was never enough. I need to be more stringent than just watching. I need to actually count my calories or else they just *have a way* of sneaking in there and adding up. ;)

Though if you've been strictly on plan for those 10 months, it may be time to change up that plan.

Thanks so much everyone for your responses!! You've made me feel like I'm not alone and not going crazy - esp. the part about as you are getting closer to goal, not having one off day if you expect to see a loss. That's going to be tough, but at least I realize what I def. have to do now. It's esp going to be tough as the next few weeks include my birthday and multiple other celebrations.

And about the gym - I have stepped up my routine. I recently, in the past couple of weeks, have picked up running... I recently ran my longest EVER, in my whole entire life: 1 hr (6 miles!)