Question for you who have lost last pounds

daneejela

Was it really harder to loose last 10-20 pounds comparing to pounds on the beginning? Or it's just a myth that we say to ourselves because we get less motivated?

How did you accomplish it? Did it required any extra interventions?

kpk54

No it wasn't harder. I might have lost 3 pounds my 1st week but then for the next 52 weeks it was anything from 0 to 2. I just kept doing the same thing until I hit goal. No "stalls/plateaus" and no special interventions. No specialty foods. No tricks. I never had a target date for goal which I think is a good thing because it probably would have been unrealistic. With no date in mind, I was never disappointed and never under pressure. I just kept eating "right" for me and getting a little exercise for health/fitness. I'm still doing the same with a few more calories and have maintained my loss over 3 years.

Meelisv

For me it has been WAY harder, in fact it still is.
How - precise logging and paying close attention to results.

lorrpb

It took longer for me because my deficit was smaller. At 300 lbs I had p!entry of room to create a 1000 cal deficit. By the time I got to 175, I had room only for a 250 deficit or less because my maintenance is only 1600.

kommodevaran

Yes and no - in terms of maths and numbers, and assuming you're not approaching underweight, they are just slower, because you have less fat on your body, and you can only lose around 1% of your body weight in fat per week (and this number also decreases as you lose); but your energy need is also lower, so your appetite will ideally adjust itself automatically; and you have to decide which pounds are the "last" pounds. You set your own goal weight. There is no objective definition of "the last pounds". Some people think you "can never be too thin", but a healthy weight is considered BMI 18.5 - 24.9.

When you are very overweight, you can lose fast "just" by eating a little less, you have a lot of wiggle room; cutting soda, for instance, can in itself make you lose - but if you're very overweight, you've probably aquired a lot of unhealthy habits and you'll need to implement a lot of big changes, and that is hard. You can lose several pounds in a short time, but it will take time before it's visible. Motivation to lose can be great if you're worried about your health - or you may be paralyzed from fear about your health, and comfort eat to try to make the emotions bearable.

Conversely, when you just have a few vanity pounds, your eating and exercise habits won't need more than simple adjustments, and your goal may be "bikini body", your health is already optimal, but "competition" is harder (you'll compare yourself to "thin" girls), and you'll have to be very accurate while at the same time not see much difference - or even, if your goal is extreme, apply some extreme measures to get very lean.

Starting is hard; continuing is also hard, but in a very different way. Make sure you have made "a lifestyle change"; this is your "new normal", so any impatience should be towards reaching your weight goal, not the day you can "stop the stupid diet".

I aimed for 60 kilos initially, because I had hit 58 last time I lost weight (and immediately started regaining because i couldn't keep up with all the things I thought I had to do), but this time I'm effortlessly maintaing around 56 kilos (with MFP's philosophy). I would turn your last question upside down (and sum it all up): If you're kind to yourself, you can go further. But being kind to yourself will also stop you before you go too far.

sofchak

kommodevaran wrote: »

Yes and no - in terms of maths and numbers, and assuming you're not approaching underweight, they are just slower, because you have less fat on your body, and you can only lose around 1% of your body weight in fat per week (and this number also decreases as you lose); but your energy need is also lower, so your appetite will ideally adjust itself automatically; and you have to decide which pounds are the "last" pounds. You set your own goal weight. There is no objective definition of "the last pounds". Some people think you "can never be too thin", but a healthy weight is considered BMI 18.5 - 24.9.

When you are very overweight, you can lose fast "just" by eating a little less, you have a lot of wiggle room; cutting soda, for instance, can in itself make you lose - but if you're very overweight, you've probably aquired a lot of unhealthy habits and you'll need to implement a lot of big changes, and that is hard. You can lose several pounds in a short time, but it will take time before it's visible. Motivation to lose can be great if you're worried about your health - or you may be paralyzed from fear about your health, and comfort eat to try to make the emotions bearable.

Conversely, when you just have a few vanity pounds, your eating and exercise habits won't need more than simple adjustments, and your goal may be "bikini body", your health is already optimal, but "competition" is harder (you'll compare yourself to "thin" girls), and you'll have to be very accurate while at the same time not see much difference - or even, if your goal is extreme, apply some extreme measures to get very lean.

Starting is hard; continuing is also hard, but in a very different way. Make sure you have made "a lifestyle change"; this is your "new normal", so any impatience should be towards reaching your weight goal, not the day you can "stop the stupid diet".

I aimed for 60 kilos initially, because I had hit 58 last time I lost weight (and immediately started regaining because i couldn't keep up with all the things I thought I had to do), but this time I'm effortlessly maintaing around 56 kilos (with MFP's philosophy). I would turn your last question upside down (and sum it all up): If you're kind to yourself, you can go further. But being kind to yourself will also stop you before you go too far.

So much ALL of this... especially the thought about how this is a lifestyle change and not just a "hurry up and be done with this diet" mentality. I also like the input about being kind to yourself - it's so true.

sijomial

Not harder at all.
Nothing special required - just a suitable calorie deficit.

rybo

Depends on how lean and how realistic your goal weight is. If you're not looking to have a really low bf% or a goal weight that is beyond what you can realistically maintain, it's not too bad. Granted it is going to be slower as you approach. Many people find that slowing down and smaller window of error to be very difficult. Others, like those who posted here didn't.

richardgavel

It wasn't for me, but that was mainly a matter of timing. I started losing in September and got lose to goal as spring and summer started, which meant more outdoor workouts which meant more burn for me. I did create a smaller deficit, so it was slower. But because of the extra burn, I was able to eat more.

gothchiq

It is very hard, yes. Just be patient/stubborn and keep working out and log very accurately.

daneejela

Thank you guys for the awesome answers! Just to clarify, my goal is, I think, healthy - get to the weight of BMI 21 (which is somewhere in the middle of healthy range). That is around 138lbs for the 5'8" height (I might be slightly innacurate because I am converting from metric system by heart now). At the moment I am at 158 (down from 178) maintaing it last two months. I am mentaly preparing now to continue with these other 20lbs. I am behavioral oriented, but I guess I am having self doubts because I have already lost my upper half of extra weight in the past, but I have never went beyond it.

sijomial

You can always lose it in stages if you think that might help with the self doubt of going into new territory?
If 20lbs is daunting then you could aim for 5lbs, maintain a while, take off another 5lbs and maintain a while etc. etc...

Those spells at maintenance can be good practice for your maintenance behaviours when you get to eventual goal.

jemhh

Much harder for me.

AnnPT77

Not harder for me as a practical problem: I even overshot goal by 3-4 pounds unintentionally. The last bit of loss was (intentionally) slower, and psychologically quite different from most of the weight loss though.

I was slowly increasing daily calories, then watching for a net effect (through the "noise" of daily fluctuations) before making another change. The earlier part of the calorie-adding was about slowing loss to keep it healthy, in parallel with "am I there yet?" self-assessment.

Even though I believed I had a solid experience-based estimate of maintenance calories, there was still a little anxiety about increased eating (Oh, Noez, what if I GainItAllBack??!?).There were the usual shocked friends telling me I'd lost too much (had I? really, had I? Hmmmm....). There was worry about whether I actually would be able to maintain when I got there - so many people fail.

So, easy on the practical front, but new challenges on the psychological front - harder in that sense. 18 months or so into maintenance, things aren't perfected yet, but they're OK.

Edited: typos

katnadreau

I'm on my last 7 lbs, it's been hard for be to break the mentality that I need to keep eating at such a high deficit, because I really want it gone!! But I'm doing a lot better at eating at my .5 lb weekly loss goal it also helps that my favorite jeans fit pretty well, so a slower loss will ensure they fit longer. I don't have $90 for another pair any time soon

daneejela

kpk54 wrote: »

No it wasn't harder. I might have lost 3 pounds my 1st week but then for the next 52 weeks it was anything from 0 to 2. I just kept doing the same thing until I hit goal. No "stalls/plateaus" and no special interventions. No specialty foods. No tricks. I never had a target date for goal which I think is a good thing because it probably would have been unrealistic. With no date in mind, I was never disappointed and never under pressure. I just kept eating "right" for me and getting a little exercise for health/fitness. I'm still doing the same with a few more calories and have maintained my loss over 3 years.

This is so awesome! This is how I started and how I approached my weight loss at the beginning and had success. Recently I started to make goals for the future, from simple things like buying a new wardrobe, to the big ones like starting a family, and then I got impatient and I've lost that "zen" approach Thanks for sharing and inspiring!

rainbow198

It wasn't harder for me to lose those last pounds. It just took longer and I needed even more patience since I chose not to have a high calorie deficit.

I had no pressure (a specific date, event etc.) so that was great for me mentally.