How to stay motivated for the last 10-20 lbs?

crewgirl86

Help! I have slowly but surely lost almost 50 pounds in the past 2 years. I am now at 157 as a 5'7 female in my early 30s. Although I am now in a healthy BMI range, I would love to continue dropping body fat and toning, and think I'd be happy with about 15-20 more pounds of weight loss. Since I feel like I've been dieting for years (quite literally, I have! with some breaks....) I am having a hard time staying motivated, even though I know the end is near.

I am hoping to start lifting (purchased the book Strong Curves and am excited to get started with it) and have developed some other exercise habits over the past couple years and am excited to keep up with those, but I am wondering if anyone has any other suggestions on ways to keep things fresh and motivating for the last 15-20 pounds? How do you motivate and support yourself? I have recently taken a "break" from dieting, and so I don't think a break is what's needed at this point.

Thanks so much!

kommodevaran

Weightloss is going to be slower and slower as you near goal weight. But the end is not near - weight loss is just dress rehearsal for maintenance. If you're ready to throw in the towel, assess whether your diet/exercise regimen is sustainable.

batorkin

The last 10-20 will be harder to lose than the first 50. The problem is you are looking at your diet as a temporary thing, and taking regular breaks from it. That won't work well for the last 10-20 pounds and people who can't make a life long change usually regain the weight back over the next decade.

You need to start viewing this as a life long change, especially if you aim for a "toned" look. You will need to hit the gym regularly, for the rest of your life. You will need to eat fewer and healthier calories, for the rest of your life.

Target a 0.5 pound a week loss, and get in a routine. Treat it as a life long change and get rid of the "almost there" and "taking break" mindsets. By the time you reach your goal, that 0.5 pounds a week will naturally turn into maintenance only and you'll start maintaining your weight naturally.

cmriverside

Yeah, I'm 5'7" 140 and that last 15 pounds took nine months, at a 250 daily deficit. Lots of days I went over. It's pretty hard to eat at a deficit when you're already in that healthy weight range.

Once I got here and was able to eat at maintenance it has been fairly easy most of the time. Turns out I can eat quite a bit more than Myfitnesspal would suggest I eat - so if you go slightly off-course, don't worry about it. It takes as long as it takes. Just keep your eye on the prize.

Congrats on that 50 pound loss! You know what to do.

sardelsa

The last 10-20 lbs (especially once you get to the last 5-10) can be frustrating, you have to be more accurate with your calories (so using a food scale to weigh is a good idea if you aren't already) and patience is key. Keep in mind water weight fluctuations are more noticeable the closer you are to your goal.

Also Strong Curves is a great program and will help you preserve muscle as you lose, you may notice an increase in weight when you start training (muscles retaining water) just keep at it.

What can help.. enjoying your exercise and not doing too much too fast (so that you burn out), planning ahead of time, meal/snack prep, fitting in treats so you don't feel deprived, saving up calories for a special occasion or one day on the weekend, taking diet breaks when you need them (not stopping tracking but just increasing calories to maintenance for a few weeks), oh and use other ways to measure progress besides the scale.. the mirror, progress photos, measurements, how clothes fit, gym progress and performance. Good luck!

ladyhusker39

I'm coming up on my last 20 lbs or so after an extended break. I'll be starting back after the holidays, so this question is on my mind as well.

Motivation can be so fleeting so I'm not sure that's the way to go at this point, at least for me. I think it's more about having a specific plan and just following it. That also helps take the emotion out of the process. I don't have a specific time frame. I'm thinking it will take most of next year to drop the next 20 lbs. Cutting 250 calories on average per day seems pretty doable without too much fuss, so that's what I'm going to work on.

I think I'd like to keep eating at the level I am now and create my deficit through a little extra physical activity and maybe cut back on after dinner snacking a few days a week. With so little to lose rather than stress over tracking everything strictly, I'd rather give myself more to work with.

That's my thinking anyway. I'll experiment for a couple of months and see how it goes. I can always adjust if I need to.

Good luck to you. After a while it can start to feel like a chore, but it's be so worth it for me.

nowine4me

Try something completely different for 6 weeks. It really doesn’t matter what, it will just give you something new to focus on. Like try going vegetarian or low carb or whatever. I did IF and It worked, but because I stopped eating breakfast and cut out 250 a day. For me, a new focus brings new energy.

JeromeBarry1

In January 2017 I told a friend that I'd get to my goal 29 lb lower "sometime" in 2016. That turns out to have been highly optimistic and untrue. At this rate, I'll get to my goal in 2019. That is, unless it gets slower.