Slow and Steady..

PinkPixiexox

Hi every one :]

I edited my goal weight today and it seems I now have 11lbs to go until I can switch to maintaining (For some reason, my tracker is showing 13.. but I'm going to ignore that!). This will take me to a final goal weight of 117lbs (SW - 157).

I have altered my calories so that I am losing at 0.5lb per week which has been going well so far but I'm at a point now where I know this is going to be a slooooooooow process. All being well, I should be aiming to get there in just over 5 months.

Who knows? Maybe I'll get to 120 and decide to call it a day and start maintaining from there - I guess it's all down to how I feel. But it's times like this that I want that magic wand and a little bit of fairy dust and ZAP - I'm at goal weight!

Has anyone else got those last few sloooooooooooooooooow pounds to lose? I would love to hear your tips on being patient

I hope you're all having a lovely positive week!

jessicarobinson00

Hi! I've been at 138 FOREVER!! I have been only weighing in every 2 weeks or so, but definitely not seeing it on the scale. I've been on MFP for 1 1/2 years so..I KNOW that I've been eating at maintenance and expecting to lose...it's not going to happen! Here's to us and those last few sticky lbs!! Time to kick it in gear/pick up a kick boxing class/swim laps at the local pool.

DeguelloTex

If it took me five months to lose the last eleven pounds, I think I'd have just abandoned the whole process. That just wouldn't have been feasible for me.

Really, I guess the main thing with patience is just to trust your numbers and know that you'll get there even if the fluctuations seem to wipe out big parts of your losses from time to time.

PinkPixiexox

DeguelloTex wrote: »

If it took me five months to lose the last eleven pounds, I think I'd have just abandoned the whole process. That just wouldn't have been feasible for me.

Really, I guess the main thing with patience is just to trust your numbers and know that you'll get there even if the fluctuations seem to wipe out big parts of your losses from time to time.

Well If I'm losing at a rate of 0.5lb per week - which is recommended for me now, then it would be 2lb per month.. 5 months, just over. No way am I going to abandon the process when I've come this far!

WBB55

I suggest having other "goals" in the meantime to help you not think about the scale. Have a goal to run a 10k, or increase the weights you're pressing at the gym, or other non-scale victories. NSFs can be even more rewarding than scale losses. Having a goal to eat 5 vegetables per day, a goal of eating fruit of each color in a week, a goal of hitting your protein minimums for a week -- and then for two weeks in a row every day... oh man the goals and games you can make up... they'll make 5 months just FLY by (ok, not really, but at least you're entertained and still engaged in the process).

PinkPixiexox

WBB55 wrote: »

I suggest having other "goals" in the meantime to help you not think about the scale. Have a goal to run a 10k, or increase the weights you're pressing at the gym, or other non-scale victories. NSFs can be even more rewarding than scale losses. Having a goal to eat 5 vegetables per day, a goal of eating fruit of each color in a week, a goal of hitting your protein minimums for a week -- and then for two weeks in a row every day... oh man the goals and games you can make up... they'll make 5 months just FLY by (ok, not really, but at least you're entertained and still engaged in the process).

FANTASTIC idea! I'm definitely going to put some of these in place!

DeguelloTex

PinkPixiexox wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

If it took me five months to lose the last eleven pounds, I think I'd have just abandoned the whole process. That just wouldn't have been feasible for me.

Really, I guess the main thing with patience is just to trust your numbers and know that you'll get there even if the fluctuations seem to wipe out big parts of your losses from time to time.

Well If I'm losing at a rate of 0.5lb per week - which is recommended for me now, then it would be 2lb per month.. 5 months, just over. No way am I going to abandon the process when I've come this far!

I didn't say it wouldn't work for you or that you should abandon the process. I said it wouldn't work for me. The difference is probably that .5 pounds is a much bigger chunk of your weight than it was of mine. (Which is another reason why those recommendations don't necessarily make a lot of sense.)

PinkPixiexox

DeguelloTex wrote: »

PinkPixiexox wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

If it took me five months to lose the last eleven pounds, I think I'd have just abandoned the whole process. That just wouldn't have been feasible for me.

Really, I guess the main thing with patience is just to trust your numbers and know that you'll get there even if the fluctuations seem to wipe out big parts of your losses from time to time.

Well If I'm losing at a rate of 0.5lb per week - which is recommended for me now, then it would be 2lb per month.. 5 months, just over. No way am I going to abandon the process when I've come this far!

I didn't say it wouldn't work for you or that you should abandon the process. I said it wouldn't work for me.

Oh, well.. fair enough.

PinkPixiexox

DeguelloTex wrote: »

PinkPixiexox wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

If it took me five months to lose the last eleven pounds, I think I'd have just abandoned the whole process. That just wouldn't have been feasible for me.

Really, I guess the main thing with patience is just to trust your numbers and know that you'll get there even if the fluctuations seem to wipe out big parts of your losses from time to time.

Well If I'm losing at a rate of 0.5lb per week - which is recommended for me now, then it would be 2lb per month.. 5 months, just over. No way am I going to abandon the process when I've come this far!

I didn't say it wouldn't work for you or that you should abandon the process. I said it wouldn't work for me. The difference is probably that .5 pounds is a much bigger chunk of your weight than it was of mine. (Which is another reason why those recommendations don't necessarily make a lot of sense.)

I'm hoping I'll have weeks where I'll lose more than .5 pounds! That'd be GREAT!

marissafit06

I found a .5 loss harder than a 1 pound loss. I really struggled with eating at a deficit and progressing with my lifts and cardio. Some weeks I didn't have much of a loss and after about 6 weeks I took a diet break that lasted for about 2 months. I'm back to losing weigh and I've transitioned to focusing on fitness goals in addition to a weight goal.

GL!

suziecue20

PinkPixiexox wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

PinkPixiexox wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

If it took me five months to lose the last eleven pounds, I think I'd have just abandoned the whole process. That just wouldn't have been feasible for me.

Really, I guess the main thing with patience is just to trust your numbers and know that you'll get there even if the fluctuations seem to wipe out big parts of your losses from time to time.

Well If I'm losing at a rate of 0.5lb per week - which is recommended for me now, then it would be 2lb per month.. 5 months, just over. No way am I going to abandon the process when I've come this far!

I didn't say it wouldn't work for you or that you should abandon the process. I said it wouldn't work for me. The difference is probably that .5 pounds is a much bigger chunk of your weight than it was of mine. (Which is another reason why those recommendations don't necessarily make a lot of sense.)

I'm hoping I'll have weeks where I'll lose more than .5 pounds! That'd be GREAT!

I'd have to go for 1lb a week if I was as close as you are and probably achieve 0.75lb average but that's just because I haven't got the patience to wait 5 months lol You're doing great anyway

msf74

WBB55 wrote: »

I suggest having other "goals" in the meantime to help you not think about the scale. Have a goal to run a 10k, or increase the weights you're pressing at the gym, or other non-scale victories. NSFs can be even more rewarding than scale losses. Having a goal to eat 5 vegetables per day, a goal of eating fruit of each color in a week, a goal of hitting your protein minimums for a week -- and then for two weeks in a row every day... oh man the goals and games you can make up... they'll make 5 months just FLY by (ok, not really, but at least you're entertained and still engaged in the process).

I think this is a great response.

Also, to give you a different perspective consider this viewpoint:

If the last 10lbs are the hardest then...

PinkPixiexox

msf74 wrote: »

WBB55 wrote: »

I suggest having other "goals" in the meantime to help you not think about the scale. Have a goal to run a 10k, or increase the weights you're pressing at the gym, or other non-scale victories. NSFs can be even more rewarding than scale losses. Having a goal to eat 5 vegetables per day, a goal of eating fruit of each color in a week, a goal of hitting your protein minimums for a week -- and then for two weeks in a row every day... oh man the goals and games you can make up... they'll make 5 months just FLY by (ok, not really, but at least you're entertained and still engaged in the process).

I think this is a great response.

Also, to give you a different perspective consider this viewpoint:

If the last 10lbs are the hardest then...

Brilliant article - so, so true. Thank you.

bwogilvie

WBB55 wrote: »

I suggest having other "goals" in the meantime to help you not think about the scale. Have a goal to run a 10k, or increase the weights you're pressing at the gym, or other non-scale victories.

This is good advice. I took seven months to lose my last 10 pounds. I considered it learning to eat at maintenance, and put more of my effort into running longer (check), cycling faster (check), and getting back into hiking (still need to work on that one!).

mymodernbabylon

bwogilvie wrote: »

WBB55 wrote: »

I suggest having other "goals" in the meantime to help you not think about the scale. Have a goal to run a 10k, or increase the weights you're pressing at the gym, or other non-scale victories.

This is good advice. I took seven months to lose my last 10 pounds. I considered it learning to eat at maintenance, and put more of my effort into running longer (check), cycling faster (check), and getting back into hiking (still need to work on that one!).

I did the same. and it truly has made maintenance a lot easier as I didn't have to add many calories to get there.

bkerr30

WBB55 wrote: »

I suggest having other "goals" in the meantime to help you not think about the scale. Have a goal to run a 10k, or increase the weights you're pressing at the gym, or other non-scale victories. NSFs can be even more rewarding than scale losses. Having a goal to eat 5 vegetables per day, a goal of eating fruit of each color in a week, a goal of hitting your protein minimums for a week -- and then for two weeks in a row every day... oh man the goals and games you can make up... they'll make 5 months just FLY by (ok, not really, but at least you're entertained and still engaged in the process).

This is awesome. I have approx 9 more pounds to lose so these non scale victories sound great!