The Last 10 pounds...HELP!

skinney1357

Hi Everyone,
SO I have been on MFP for about 3 months now. I started at 177 and I am now down to 157! I should feel great but that last 7-10 pounds are being super annoying. The first month the weight just fell off and now I am having trouble. I went from losing 2 pounds a week to barely losing a pound. I have recalculated my calorie intake each 10 pounds. I was at 1290 calories a day and I am now only allowed 1200 (according to the MFP calculator). I am thinking that maybe I am exercising too much? I get the right calorie intake but I still work out about an hour a day. Do you think cutting the exercise down will get me back on track? I am just super afraid that if I start slacking (even though I guess its not technically slacking) will make me gain weight back. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated!

bonnienm

Make sure you're eating at least part of your exercise calories and if you're still at a plateau try increasing your calories for a few days and then decrease back to 1200. I did that a few times and it helped kick start my metabolism again.

Panda86

As your get into better shape, your body becomes more efficient. So the smaller you are, the less calories you burn because your body doesn't have to work as hard... Maybe watch your food a little more. Even if you are staying around your cal goal, but eating things high in fat like pizza, fast food, etc, it may slow your weight loss down. Also, I have heard that if you consume alcohol, your body burns the alcohol before the fat. I don't know if you do any of these things, but if you do, watching those might help. Best of luck to you, congrats on your weight loss so far, and don't lose heart! You CAN get those stubborn lbs off!

jessicakate26

These are seriously the hardest to lose!! I lost 8lbs with MFP right before my wedding and was loving my body and the way I felt...lets just say that after the honeymoon it all came back (lame!)...so I am in the same boat as you...really wanting to lose that last 10 or so lbs!

So onto my little tid bit that I was going to share...I found that really mixing up my exercise routine and eating helped a lot! I found that the weight wouldnt come off quick with the last couple lbs...so I found some new exercises and new recipes and it kinda 'shocks' your system!

Good luck! You can totally do it...you've come SO far and thats amazing!!!!

lculian

I agree, the last 10 are the hardest to lose. I started hitting plateaus in May, so I actually upped my calories to 1400, I know this sounds backwards, but it really helped. I upped my calories and eat at least half of my exercise calories, sometimes all of my calories. I was able to keep losing at a pound a week. However, it didn't always show up on the scale that way. Don't get discouraged, your work does catch up with you.
One of the things I have tried to be mindful of is my metabolism. That was the second reason I upped my calories, I want to make sure that my body is burning as much as possible and not going into a slow down, or even worse starvation mode!
The best part of slowing down the weight loss to 1lb a week is it has helped with over all toning. My skin is tighter and my stomach is finally looking smooth and slender:)
Hopefully this helps:flowerforyou:
I plan on increasing my calories again at the end of this month. I want to see how efficient my body is now that I'm heading into maitenance!!

Good luck

skinney1357

Thanks for all your help! I think I am going to get a little stricter on my counting calories and food journal and I am going to try a new workout routine! Thanks for all the help and I will let you know if it works!

ldybugg

the closer u are 2 ur goal the slower it becomes. so 1lb a week is really good. ive got 7lbs to go and its hard sometimes because i really push it at the gym and eat well but its ssssssssssssssslllllllllllllllllllllooooooooooowwwwwwwwwww. i know ill get there and my body fat is goin down so im ok w it. i know it will happen.

BrahminsDad

I'm with you. I dropped 20 lbs in 14 weeks. Now I haven't lost a pound in 4 weeks. I picked up the 30day shred for my change of exercise. I am giving it a month before I try adding more calories because I am so capable of falling back into old habits. Fear is a strong motivator for me.

SkinnyGal08

I know just how you feel I am in the same boat as you and I thought it was just me but to know someone else is going through thwthe same thing is a big weight off my shoulders the last 10lbs I want to lose seem to be taking forever I exercise and do weigh training atleast 4 or 5 days and idk if I should go back to strict dieting to lose it or what to do but august 2010(the end of the month) will be a year since I've been on my journey and I've lost 80 something lbs I would love for these last 10 or 15lbs to come and sometimes I get sad and it hurts cause I'm like what do I do and I am very parnoid if I eat one normal thing ill gain weight its like the girl I was is still in my mind I just wish she would leave-- I will be praying for you as you do me also knowing that we've came so far and if we put our whole hearts into anything is possible I wish you the best of luck-- always hold your head high its not easy but worth every bit!! Take care!

skinney1357

Fear is a huge motivator. Everyone says to reduce exercise and I just can't help thinking that if I don't exercise all the weight will come back!

skinney1357

Wow Alex08 that is amazing! Congrats on your journey! You can do it and maintain it. I think many people are in the same boat as us and it does help to know that we are not alone!

kitmyers

My suggestion is that you need to increase your calories. If you are working out a bunch, your body needs fuel. It will revert to keeping what it has if you don't feed it. Just my opinion.

alantin

My suggestion is that you need to increase your calories. If you are working out a bunch, your body needs fuel. It will revert to keeping what it has if you don't feed it. Just my opinion.

I second this. And it's not an opinion. It's a fact!
Upping your calories to maintenance levels (and obviously eating all of your exercise calories!) for a week should give a good kick to your metabolism. After that you should drop the rest relatively slowly (a pound a week or so). It helps you lose the rest in fat and not just in weight. The last pounds of fat are hardest to lose because it is getting scarce and the body doesn't want to let these energy reserves go if it isn't sure that sufficient nutrition is reliably available.

Eat enough and with patience, the rest of the weight will come off in fat. It feels backwards but that's how it is!

Don't worry about gaining weight by increasing the calories. It is simple math. You don't gain fat if you burn all that you take in. You might retain more water, though, and it would show on the scale, but that's just it. Water.

Edit:
I don't think, reducing exercise is a good way to go! Just make sure, you get enough fuel for it!