Maintainers - how hard was the last 10lbs?

kiela64

I'm thinking of making a healthywage for the year to lose 20 or 25lbs. I have about 30 left to lose to be in a normal BMI, and 20 or 25lbs over the year is about or under a loss rate of 0.5lb/week, which seems doable. I've already lost 40 in 2018 (well 47 with a few lbs of re-gain over the winter months). It's a challenge, for sure, but I feel like my past success is evidence that it's not a waste or a bad investment. But the notorious "last 10 lbs" made me wonder if it's really harder than the first 10? What was your experience?

JennJ323

I found it much harder.. It took me probably 6-8 months to lose the last 10lb.. where as it took probably 2 months to lose the first 10lb. But that was just my experience. I've been in maintenance for some time now and find that a little tricky too. I feel like I should be working on losing weight.. but I don't have to, it's a weird feeling to transition in to.

Cassandraw3

It is much harder. I started out with a goal to lose about 20-25 lbs. For me, it took 2.5 months to lose the first 10. The next 10 took about 5 months. After hitting my initial goal then gaining a few during the holidays, I have decided to drop my goal down another 5 lbs. Based on how hard the last couple pounds were to lose for my first goal, I plan on it taking about 4 months to lose the couple pounds (about 2-3) I added over the holiday with the additional 5 lbs I would like to lose.

The lower your body fat, the harder it is to lose. With a smaller calorie deficit, your logging has to be on point or it can be easily eaten with logging errors. I think the goal you have set for yourself is absolutely doable. You've done a great job so far. And while the last 10 lbs are harder, they also have a bigger visual impact than the first 10. Think of a paper towel roll: the first couple of sheets don't make much of an impact on the size of the roll, but the last few make a big impact.

cwolfman13

It's not really about the actual pounds...it's about the level of leanness...once you're relatively lean you don't have the body fat stores to lose very fast. My last 10 Lbs weren't hard at all...190 to 180...but I'm healthy lean at 180, but not super lean...going from 180 to 175 or 170 would be much harder because at that point I'd just be trying to get really lean.

RunStart34

It is hard. I still have the 10 lbs to lose as of now. Plus 5 more i regain 2018. I tried to keep at a maintenance in 2018 since i lost about 40 pounds in 2017. I feel like it doesn't matter to me how long it takes as long as it comes off. I am fine losing 1-2 pounds a month. I'll eventually go down. This has been a life style change. The fact that I only gain 5 lbs in the whole year is actually a good thing for me. So I am back at losing these extra pounds for 2019!!!

sardelsa

For many, yes it can be. It also depends how lean/low you are going, how much of a deficit you are going for and how many calories you have to play with. For many they don't have a lot of wiggle room and may have to be more accurate with their tracking and some extra calories can add up and throw things off. Plus water weight can mask progress when you get closer to goal.

For me personally I don't really notice a difference. I get fairly lean but not too lean, plus I take diet breaks as needed. Also by the time I get to goal I am so used to being in a deficit I actually find it a bit difficult to break the habit and transition to consistently eating more.

pierinifitness

Thanks for all who shared here. As someone soon to enter maintenance-land, I now know of the challenges thanks to you. The way I see it, maintenance or not, I'll do best for the rest of my life taking the structured approach I've taken thus far of logging and knowing calories consumed and calories expended from exercise and activity level greater than the sedentary setting I have. To MFP and Garmin Forerunner 35, we're going to be together for a long time!

funjen1972

It actually was easier for me. I already had the base knowledge and knew how to do it. It was a simple math equation instead of mystical Hocus pocus.

Additionally, as I lost weight I became more active. Being lighter and fitter made activity seem easier - I was able to walk or run farther and faster, I lifted more, etc.... The extra activity certainly helped make the loss easier.

Regardless, it will come off if you are diligent. You've got this!

kiela64

Thank you for sharing!!

funjen1972 wrote: »

It actually was easier for me. I already had the base knowledge and knew how to do it. It was a simple math equation instead of mystical Hocus pocus.

Additionally, as I lost weight I became more active. Being lighter and fitter made activity seem easier - I was able to walk or run farther and faster, I lifted more, etc.... The extra activity certainly helped make the loss easier.

Regardless, it will come off if you are diligent. You've got this!

That's the part that makes me feel so much more confident now and like I could actually "bet" on myself. I knew next to nothing about nutrition or calories. I'm still working on nutrition, but now I at least understand the basic through experience of more protein = less fatigue/headaches in my life, more fat = more satiation. Including more veggies, alas, is an ongoing challenge

sardelsa wrote: »

For many, yes it can be. It also depends how lean/low you are going, how much of a deficit you are going for and how many calories you have to play with. For many they don't have a lot of wiggle room and may have to be more accurate with their tracking and some extra calories can add up and throw things off. Plus water weight can mask progress when you get closer to goal.

For me personally I don't really notice a difference. I get fairly lean but not too lean, plus I take diet breaks as needed. Also by the time I get to goal I am so used to being in a deficit I actually find it a bit difficult to break the habit and transition to consistently eating more.

Cassandraw3 wrote: »

It is much harder. I started out with a goal to lose about 20-25 lbs. For me, it took 2.5 months to lose the first 10. The next 10 took about 5 months. After hitting my initial goal then gaining a few during the holidays, I have decided to drop my goal down another 5 lbs. Based on how hard the last couple pounds were to lose for my first goal, I plan on it taking about 4 months to lose the couple pounds (about 2-3) I added over the holiday with the additional 5 lbs I would like to lose.

The lower your body fat, the harder it is to lose. With a smaller calorie deficit, your logging has to be on point or it can be easily eaten with logging errors. I think the goal you have set for yourself is absolutely doable. You've done a great job so far. And while the last 10 lbs are harder, they also have a bigger visual impact than the first 10. Think of a paper towel roll: the first couple of sheets don't make much of an impact on the size of the roll, but the last few make a big impact.

If I aim for 20lbs, I'll be in the bottom of the overweight category for my height. If I aim for 25, I'll be just on the edge of a normal BMI. Not trying to go super low. I'm very confident about losing 20lbs, but the 25 is a bit more of a challenge, and could possibly be that 5lbs that's really stubborn and challenging. Maybe I'd better go with the 20lb bet and leave the rest for my personal challenge without a due date.

As of thus far I've been able to "get away with" some estimation. (For example, my mom made the soup I'm eating. I scooped out a 2 cup bowl and I know the ingredients and about what proportion is what. But there could be 1/3 cup of beans in my bowl or 1/2 cup and I'm not entirely certain. I can get the recipe and put it through the calculator and divide by portions, but I was lazy and just guestimated what's in my bowl right now). But I weigh my peanuts and yogurt and cereal to the gram. I'm assuming I'll have to get a bit tighter with these things over time.

becca_rup23

I'm struggling with this too! I lost 70 lbs relatively quickly (in about 2ish years) but the last 2 years I've still had 30 lbs to go. I've gotten down about 10, while training for a half marathon, but bounced back up once I stopped running as much. I think the calorie deficit has been a lot harder to manage as well as just not seeing the weight go down as fast, which can be discouraging. I wish you luck and hope we can both meet our goals this year!!

ceiswyn

The last 10 lbs seemed to take me FOREVER. Partly because you’re limited in how fast you can lose when you’re that close to goal, but partly because being ‘almost done’ is so hard psychologically. I constantly seesawed between ‘I’m basically done’ and ‘how am I not done yet?!’ and started to struggle with binge eating as a result of the relaxation/frustration.

Best of luck with it!

nooie19

It was hard for me but it was mostly mental. My rate of weight loss slowed down but I was still losing. What helped me was
1. Trying to focus on other goals within my control like my exercise routine and food choices.
2. Reminding myself of all the positives. I was already at a healthy BMI and I had already lost more weight than I have in years. Also it’s a very good thing when weight loss slows down because your body is adjusting to a leaner body. And isn’t that the goal?

NewLIFEstyle4ME

nooie19 wrote: »

It was hard for me but it was mostly mental. My rate of weight loss slowed down but I was still losing. What helped me was
1. Trying to focus on other goals within my control like my exercise routine and food choices.
2. Reminding myself of all the positives. I was already at a healthy BMI and I had already lost more weight than I have in years. Also it’s a very good thing when weight loss slows down because your body is adjusting to a leaner body. And isn’t that the goal?

I LOVE the way you think...YAY YOU!!!!

maronesax1972

Interesting question. I’ve been at it for six months and have surpassed my goal weight. I added an extra 10 pounds of loss to my goal in November as i wanted to stay on a slight deficit and recomp slightly.

Well, after much research and feedback from folks here, I studied my macros hard and have set a goal to follow them as closely as possible. I find myself eating small bits of food at the end of the day to get as close as I can. Since doing so, and continued light cardio and heavy lifting...the last few pounds are literally falling off. To me, counting and following your macros can be the difference maker for losing the last 10lbs.

imxnianne

Same boat.. 130 atm, just need 10lbs left. I want 13 so when water weight comes back in, I won’t feel as bad 😂