Did those last 20lbs make a difference?

AshleyLynn6278
AshleyLynn6278 Posts: 4
edited November 10 in Health and Weight Loss
I am curious for those who have lost there last 20..if that made a huge difference. Ive lost 48lbs so far! Am very proud of myself, I have 20 more to go to get to my goal weight but I am not sure if I am going to have to go lower since I do have more body fat to lose. I know its different for everyone. I am 5'2 small frame and currently 140lbs. I was just curious if those last 20lbs made the difference for you.

Replies

  • 39flavours
    39flavours Posts: 1,494 Member
    Hey I'd like to hear people's responses to this too. I'm 5'3 and 142 lbs. I'm wanting to get down to 125, the closest I've been was 131 last year and at that weight I was definitely still wobbly with body fat of 29%. Exercising obviously helps when you get near goal to really bring out the best but I still felt at that weight that my muscle tone was lost under the flab.
  • jdb3388
    jdb3388 Posts: 239 Member
    Women are going to have a higher body fat %. 24% is a little steep but its not unreasonable. You idealy wanna be around the 15%-17% mark. At this point you should concentrate on the fine tuning. You go from being obese to average weight by counting calories, but to really be fit, at some point, you have to start watching your macros. It's a lot more complicated when you have to not just count calories, but you have to keep your Protein, Fat, and Carbohydrate ratios in check. I like to use a site called "IIFYM.com". They have a calculator that will do all the math for you, but its hard work.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    rowanshepherd3 wrote: »
    Hey I'd like to hear people's responses to this too. I'm 5'3 and 142 lbs. I'm wanting to get down to 125, the closest I've been was 131 last year and at that weight I was definitely still wobbly with body fat of 29%. Exercising obviously helps when you get near goal to really bring out the best but I still felt at that weight that my muscle tone was lost under the flab.

    20 pounds should make a huge difference at that weight and height. If you're weight training you might not have to lose as much weight to be happy with your body.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    Sounds to me like someone is fishing for excuses, right?
  • lemonsnowdrop
    lemonsnowdrop Posts: 1,298 Member
    I'm 5'1 and 106 ish pounds and the last 15 pounds made the biggest difference in my whole dang weight loss journey. 5 pounds less makes me look too thin. At our frame/height, small amounts of weight can make a difference.
  • crystalflame
    crystalflame Posts: 1,049 Member
    I started with 30 lbs to lose. The first 10 didn't make a huge difference. The next 10 took me down a clothing size. The next 5 took me down another clothing size. The last 5 make the difference between a bit flabby and that flat-ab look. Genetics and fat distribution play a role too, and you'll have to assess if you're happy or not at your goal weight.
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
    it all makes a difference, so ya.
  • naturesfempower
    naturesfempower Posts: 107 Member
    Go to the store and look at 20 lbs of butter, then imagine that on your body. Does it make a difference?
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
    edited January 2015
    rowanshepherd3 wrote: »
    Hey I'd like to hear people's responses to this too. I'm 5'3 and 142 lbs. I'm wanting to get down to 125, the closest I've been was 131 last year and at that weight I was definitely still wobbly with body fat of 29%. Exercising obviously helps when you get near goal to really bring out the best but I still felt at that weight that my muscle tone was lost under the flab.

    Obviously it is going to depend on body shape as much as or more than muscle. But for what it's worth, I am 5'3, and the difference between 125 and 130 on me is *immense.* (assuming no recomp through strength training, even.) That's the single biggest leap for me, besides from 110 to 105 where I go from looking a little too skinny to scary chicken status.
  • EDollah
    EDollah Posts: 464 Member
    The last 20 pounds makes a bigger difference than the first 20, certainly mathematically. Just to keep it simple, if someone 400 pounds loses 20, they've lost 5% of their weight. If they lose 20 pounds from 200, that's 10%. I acknowledge it's a bit more complex than this example.

    Let me use another numerical example. Let's say 200 pounds puts you at 20% body fat. Lose another 20 pounds and let's say all that's lost is fat for this example, then you're down to 11% body fat. Go google the difference between 20 and 11% body fat, it's rather dramatic.

    I can completely understand the desire to say "good enough" but that last 20 pounds is definitely worthwhile. That's my mantra as I seek to shed my last 20 as well.
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
    jdb3388 wrote: »
    Women are going to have a higher body fat %. 24% is a little steep but its not unreasonable. You idealy wanna be around the 15%-17% mark. At this point you should concentrate on the fine tuning. You go from being obese to average weight by counting calories, but to really be fit, at some point, you have to start watching your macros. It's a lot more complicated when you have to not just count calories, but you have to keep your Protein, Fat, and Carbohydrate ratios in check. I like to use a site called "IIFYM.com". They have a calculator that will do all the math for you, but its hard work.
    What do you mean ideally? Under 20% is for athletes, like weight lifters, average body fat is like 25%, the low end of the normal body fat range (from a medical perspective) is 20%. See this body fat chart: http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/
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