Quote:
Originally Posted by berryblondeboys
It's so hard to know, but for most of us, it's very unrealistic to expect 2 pounds a week as we get nearer to the end.
At the beginning of my journey I was getting 12-13 lbs per month, then 10, then 8. When I was nearing my goal, I was so happy with a 3-4 pounds loss for the month.
There are a lot of reasons for it slowing down. First, it's harder to create the same deficit as in the beginning. You should only decrease your eating by so much (and for most of us under 1200 is too low. I can't seem to eat less than 1400 without feeling very hungry). So, if you can't decrease your food, then you need to increase your workouts. And again, there's only so much most of us are able or willing to do. I workout an hour a day 6 days a week. I wasn't willing to put in 2 hours a day just to take off the weight faster.
I know we all have "goals". I had mine for my first year and I have one now for getting back to where I was and for finishing up, but I also try to tell myself this, "I didn't put the weight on in 6 months. I don't need to take it off in 6 months".
Goals are good if they help us (it did help me stick to my plan), but they are bad if we see, "crap, I'm not going to get to 50 pounds lost by July 1st, so to heck with all of it." Well, what's better for us really? to not lose any or to lose close to 50 and get CLOSE to our ideal and more importantly, to get healthier in the process.
So... to expect to lose 2 pounds a week for the duration is very unrealistic. It "can" be done, but not many do it.
I agree with your post completely. Especially toward the end of one's diet, one can either exercise more (requiring more time) or eat less (tending to make one hungrier). Which is it? What a choice.
Fortunately, I stumbled upon a *temporary* diet designed to just get me to my goal weight, which is about 15-20 pounds away, at which point I'll switch back to calorie-counting. I'm eating less, but not any hungrier than I was before, and I'm losing about a pound every two days. I've also lost an inch off my waist in the last two weeks. I'm pleasantly surprised to have no more appetite than I have, but it's keeping me from having to exericse that much more.
So yes thats fine!
