Anyone have trouble with the last part of weight loss? I had no trouble at all losing the first 20.. then it slowed down. Now that I need to lose at least 25-30 lbs I am stuck. I say stuck.. I was at 153 for a little while (due to over indulging and not watching my calorie intake) and I lost those 3 lbs no problem. Now I am doing perfect and haven't seen the scale budge over 150. I had this problem before and that is what lead to me over indulging and just not caring anymore.
I am however working out everyday and I do notice a change in my body. My pants are even getting too big but no movement of that number on the scale. Just wondering if the last few pounds are really that hard to lose or if that is just something people say.

Um.. yes before I went on pregnancy hiatus after I got under 200 pounds I noticed that the scale got very very very slow. To be honest I felt better, looked better, and did indulge more often so that was an issue.

You do notice on this board that most people have a hard time with the last 20 to 30 pounds especially those of us who had 100 pounds or more to lose. You have to do a lot of tweaking and changing it up and persistence to get the last bit off. I figure it might take me the rest of my life to try and get to goal weight but I'm okay with that.

That is also me. I feel amazing and it makes it so hard to stay on plan! But I am staying on plan and still that number will not move! It is annoying. I went for extra healthy food shopping today so hopefully that will help some. I want to feel amazing this summer at the beach, for the first time!

What is your exercise routine?

Right now I do exercise dvds (strength training one day, cardio the next). I plan to start running again once it gets nicer outside. Maybe that will help it. If the weather would ever get better!

I find that at at the last little mile, I really need to buckle down with a digital food scale, unfortunately.

Ya the last part is hard! It's hard physically and it's hard mentally and it's hard emotionally (at least for me). It was so hard for me, in fact, I took 2 months to maintain and am just now attempting to finish up.

glad to know it isn't just me then! It is so hard to stay on plan when you feel so great. I am just gonna stick it out though, I know the pounds have gotta go eventually if I stay on track.

I found that interval training works well to bust through a plateau or a different type of exercise can help too, you might need to deviate

Thanks! I have only been doing this exercise plan for less than 2 weeks though.. I was kinda being lazy from dec-feb. I can not wait to run outside. I may start going for a walk during the day to see if that helps me out. as long is it stays nice which I am sure it will.. winter can not last forever right! What type of exercise do you typically do?

I run, but I used to alternate running and then do a Jillian Michaels video the following day. I used to like her "no more trouble zones"video. However I am recovering from a C-section since i had my last baby in late October and I'm not comfortable doing abdominal exercises yet. Plus with a five-month-old I don't get to do an exercise routine every day I try to work in every other day just for running.

I'm nowhere close to goal but just mentally thinking about getting past 199 has literally put my brain in some mode that has slowed my weightloss to a ridiculous crawl. I was losing 3.4-3.6lbs religiously and then when I realized I was closing in on 210 and less, I'm lucky to get 1.6-2.0lbs. I'm not eating any different and doing the same exercise, water, etc. It's definitely a mental slowness, not a physical one. So....now I tried to pretend I don't care about these last few pounds and it's still not working!! Talk about mind over matter!

It took me forever to get past the 200 mark! You'll get there eventually. My weight loss used to stall for a long period then I would lose like 5 pounds very quickly... I wish it was still that way but I did go off plan so maybe it'll speed back up again.

fattymcfatty- congrats on your baby! I wish mine was still 5m.. she is going on 3 and it seems like yesterday she was a baby. I also had two c sections and it is still pretty uncomfortable for me to do the abdominal exercises. Must be scar tissue or something... I run with both of mine too so that kinda is why weather is a big deal. Not worth two sick toddlers.

Yes, it's tough and takes a long time...when you're doing it the right way. Don't try to hurry it. I was within 5 pounds of goal, about 2 years ago, but I had been eating around 800-1000 calories a day. Honestly, my body looked no different; just a smaller version of my fat self. I was still very jiggly due to lack of any real muscle stimulation. For that, and other reasons, I became depressed and ate my way up to 144, which isn't a total failure, since I used to weigh 230. This time, I'm going to focus on FAT LOSS, not weight loss. I need major repositioning. Ultimately, I want to be 20% body fat. I'm currently 33%

ASh2007...Congrats on the weight loss! That is fantastic!

First, don't sweat the scale numbers. If your pants are getting loose, you're losing inches. It is harder to lose as you get smaller. I've been fighting since October to lose 12-13 lbs (125 down to 112).

But, I agree with the advice here. I moved from a plateau by:

1. Buckling down on the food. Weigh/measure/count calories for everything. You might be eating more calories than you think (I know I was). Eating clean may help a bit, but it's basically calories in vs. out that count.

2. Lifting weights...resistance training has been key for me. Push yourself to lift as heavy as possible. Kettlebell is great too.

3. 12-15 minutes of HIIT/Tabata style exercise a few times a week (on top of weight training) or 20 minutes of slow and steady cardio after my weight workouts. I use an elliptical and I do exercises that require no equipment with results (knees up running, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, burpees or a combination of all). YouTube's "Fitness Blender's" videos have some good ones.

4. Refeeds...eating 300-400 above my calories once a week helped move things along. Moderate choices of course, but it's like calorie cycling which can help a stall. And, the psychological benefits are healthy too.

Good luck with reaching your goal!

SilverSky...I feel your pain. It's true, when we cut weight and without eating enough protein, you lose muscle, not just fat. You should try weight lifting with this next cut. You won't build much muscle on a calorie deficit, but you will see some visible changes in your body composition. It is suggested you eat at least 1g of lean protein for your body weight. I am so disappointed that I didn't start lifting 2 years ago.