Vanity pounds

MonkeyCatDog

I always feel bad obsessing over this. But I have been trying to lose the same 5-7 lbs for a year now! The fact that I can't seem to get rid of it seems to make the task even more obsessive for me! I'm not a big person so 5 lbs is a lot in regards to how I feel or how my clothes fit. I'm middle age and I know that doesn't help. Plus I've never been a skinny person, just average. I've always had to work to keep my weight down. I can't count all the changes I've made over the years; gave up soda 20 years ago, I eat so many more fruits and vegetables than I used to, rarely eat fast food, I've even drastically cut out desserts and cut back on alcohol (those are my favorite things ever). I exercise 4 times a week. But the same 3 lbs just come and go and come and go. And it seems like if I have one off day--one off meal!--they are back again.

I know there are people here struggling with big weight issues and I don't want to make my issue sound life threatening. But is anyone else like me? I'm so aggravated and annoyed and sick of the brick wall I'm hitting that I was looking for anything to get me over this. So I'm here, counting calories and becoming even more obsessive. Any other's in this club?

mathandcats

You mention these dietary changes and exercise changes... but do you count calories? Losing weight is about creating a calorie deficit, it doesn't make a different what items you are eating, from a purely weight loss perspective.

swirlybee

Those vanity pounds are always difficult to shed because weight fluctuates from day to day because of water retention. I can gain 5 pounds over the weekend and by Thursday, I've lost it all again without really doing any drastic changes. Then there's that time of the month. I am very close to my goal weight (about 5 more pounds) but I think I'm going to try to lose a total of 8 pounds to account for weight fluctuations.

gmallan

It's an interesting topic because they're the pounds you don't really NEED to lose and potentially losing those last 5 pounds might actually make you less healthy. Females bodies tend to be more happier with a bit more fat on them and for most females getting lean tends to require a lot of sacrifice. The leaner you want to get the more you'll need to give up those little indulgences. My point is that you probably need to decide whether it's worth it. Would you rather live in a body with an extra five pounds and be able to enjoy a glass of wine or two and a night out every now and then, or would you prefer to shed the pounds and give up those indulgences?

This infographic give a really good summary of the point I'm trying to make here

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/cost-of-getting-lean-infographic

From a practical perspective if you aren't losing weight then you're not in a calorie deficit. Also, you say you exercise four times a week, what kind of exercise?

kk_inprogress

gmallan wrote: »

It's an interesting topic because they're the pounds you don't really NEED to lose and potentially losing those last 5 pounds might actually make you less healthy. Females bodies tend to be more happier with a bit more fat on them and for most females getting lean tends to require a lot of sacrifice. The leaner you want to get the more you'll need to give up those little indulgences. My point is that you probably need to decide whether it's worth it. Would you rather live in a body with an extra five pounds and be able to enjoy a glass of wine or two and a night out every now and then, or would you prefer to shed the pounds and give up those indulgences?

This infographic give a really good summary of the point I'm trying to make here

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/cost-of-getting-lean-infographic

From a practical perspective if you aren't losing weight then you're not in a calorie deficit. Also, you say you exercise four times a week, what kind of exercise?

Interesting. I think I needed to hear this.

arditarose

I am! I hit maintenance about 3 months ago and decided yesterday to go for the last few vanity pounds. I got my deficit going! I have so much data, I'm pretty sure I'm on the path to losing .5 lbs per week. Kind of sad that it's going to take so long to go, especially since I'm short and don't have a very high TDEE.

First two days good. I'm a little under so I can enjoy my weekend better.

My advice: set MFP to lose . 5 lbs per week, be realistic about your activity level, weigh ALL FOOD ON A FOOD SCALE. There is no room for error with this rate of loss.

MonkeyCatDog

mathandcats wrote: »

You mention these dietary changes and exercise changes... but do you count calories?

Only loosely before. But that's what I'm doing here.

gmallan wrote: »

Females bodies tend to be more happier with a bit more fat on them and for most females getting lean tends to require a lot of sacrifice. Would you rather live in a body with an extra five pounds and be able to enjoy a glass of wine or two and a night out every now and then, or would you prefer to shed the pounds and give up those indulgences?

I lived for a long time at that lower weight. And I ate way worse than I do now. So I figure if I can just get back to it, then when the implemented changes, I can keep closer to the target.

gmallan wrote: »

Also, you say you exercise four times a week, what kind of exercise?

Weekdays I get up at 5am and do 25 min of cardio with another 10+ of strength training. On the weekend I will do longer cardio, closer to an hour with some strength training. Even on my off days I try to do a little bit of strength training on the dumb bells.

atypicalsmith

MonkeyCatDog wrote: »

mathandcats wrote: »

You mention these dietary changes and exercise changes... but do you count calories?

Only loosely before. But that's what I'm doing here.

gmallan wrote: »

Females bodies tend to be more happier with a bit more fat on them and for most females getting lean tends to require a lot of sacrifice. Would you rather live in a body with an extra five pounds and be able to enjoy a glass of wine or two and a night out every now and then, or would you prefer to shed the pounds and give up those indulgences?

I lived for a long time at that lower weight. And I ate way worse than I do now. So I figure if I can just get back to it, then when the implemented changes, I can keep closer to the target.

gmallan wrote: »

Also, you say you exercise four times a week, what kind of exercise?

Weekdays I get up at 5am and do 25 min of cardio with another 10+ of strength training. On the weekend I will do longer cardio, closer to an hour with some strength training. Even on my off days I try to do a little bit of strength training on the dumb bells.

You're doing fantastic. I am a lot older than middle age and didn't exercise until a few years ago, and then it was off an on. I noticed when I was on, I actually lost weight and felt better! And when it was off, I gained weight and became depressed. Now I'm not stopping. Just because you've never done it before doesn't mean you can't start doing it now. Best of luck to you.

Sandcastles61

You can definitely do it. Like Arditarose I am finally at maintenance, but the last eight pounds took as long for me to lose as the first 22 When we are shorties our deficiet is so small you really need to be diligent about weighing and measuring and logging every bite. Just keep the faith and trust in the process even if you only lose a half pound every two or three weeks like me. I also found I got less frustrated if I only weighed every couple of weeks. Good luck