Why are the last 10 lbs hardest to lose?

HoneyRose77

It seems like I've been on a roller coaster ride where I get within a couple of lbs of my goal and then I shoot up again, like something inside is self-sabotaging me. And yet, I feel great, I like how I look, my clothes fit better, I can wear my favorite, I like how I look in the mirror. What is the catch? Very frustrated!

abatonfan

Because the margin of error between a calorie deficit and calorie maintenance is much smaller. I've been working on the "last ten pounds" for close to 6-12 months. I lost about 80-100lbs (still don't 100% know my highest-recorded weight), and losing that weight resulted in a 515kcal reduction in my total amount of calories burned per day ("CO" or "TDEE"). When sedentary, my TDEE was 2100kcal at my starting weight, and it is currently at 1585kcal.

So, let's say I decide to eat 1200 calories throughout my entire weight loss journey. When first beginning, I would have created a 900kcal deficit. Now, I would only have a 385kcal deficit. Now, my margin of error between weight loss and weight maintenance is much smaller. For instance, I could go out to eat and order some grilled chicken and vegetables -if the chef used 2Tbsp of olive oil in the dish that I did not know about (or logged), I consumed an additional 260kcal ontop of whatever I ate that day. As a result, I would only have a 125kcal deficit at my current weight (and that is assuming that there are no other discrepancies in my logging -being off by one additional Tbsp of olive oil would cause me to be eating at my maintenance calories), but if I made the same mistake at my starting weight I would still have a 640kcal deficit (and have much more room to be off in my logging before my weight loss slowed down or stopped).

trjjoy

It is more than likely because you are eating at maintenance. Cut some calories and move a bit more.

donutbears

If you feel great, like how you look, and your clothes fit the way you want then don't stress about numbers on the scale.