What helped you lose "the last 10?"

coffeexxeyes

10 more pounds to go. I currently don't have any intense cardio in my routine, so I'm hoping that adding spin once/twice a week gets these last 10 pounds off slowly.

What helped you?

apullum

Being extremely accurate and patient. It took me over 6 months to lose the last 10 pounds.

Weigh every last bite of food. Weigh your oil, your veggies, everything. Your deficit is very small, and every estimate or logging error makes it even smaller.

Make sure your exercise calories are not inflated. If you have any doubt about how accurate your exercise calories are, then assume the estimate is high. This is why many people advise eating half of them.

If you're using MFP's calorie calculations, you eat back exercise calories; therefore, you should not be using exercise to create a larger deficit. If you add more exercise, it will give you more calories to eat, and it might also make you hungrier and cause you to gain temporary water weight. Add exercise if it helps you meet your fitness goals, not because you want to lose weight faster.

sardelsa

The last 10 lbs can be slow for many, water weight can mask progress, also you don't have as much wiggle room in your deficit as you used to and it can be easy to go over your goal. Many people find they have to be super accurate with their food scale... weighing and measuring, everyday, consistently.

For me I just kept track of my weight and kept eating a bit less the leaner I got. Also using a trend weight app to sort through the fluctuations, being patient and using diet breaks as needed. I personally don't track my calories although I would recommend it if you are having trouble losing.

nowine4me

My last #10 was to get from 135 to 125 (pretty lean at 5-7”), I did it by going 100% plant based for 3 months. No meat, dairy or proceeded foods. It stayed off when I stayed on that path, but ultimately couldn’t make it work and still have a life. As I added back in that stuff, I creeped back up.

ETA: not recommending that route, just honestly answering the question.

poisonesse

For me, after losing 40 or so pounds, I went into maintenance for about 6-8 months. Figured I needed to learn to keep it off before hitting goal. Went back into it again and lost another 10... rinse and repeat. I'm now below goal, been on maintenance since March of this year... come October or so, I'll get back into the loss end of it and try to drop another 10 pounds. Right now, my BMI is normal, but only at 23.6... not low enough to make my foot tap. But I also need time to learn to maintain, so I don't just put it all back on again as I would (and HAVE done) if I just lose it all and then try maintenance. But hey... this is just what works for ME! PS... down a little over 60 pounds now.

JohnnytotheB

On the flip side, I never did. Every time I get close I think my brain says, "it's good enough" and I stop. I also then gain a bunch of weight back. My point with this post is to remind you and everyone not to get complacent. Even after you unload that last 10, it's a lifetime of work, albeit not hard work but focus to keep it off and continue to improve. Good luck in your journey.

AnnPT77

Truthfully, pretty much the same way I'd lost the previous 40 pounds, just slower and therefore with more patience needed.

Cardio, including intense cardio (not toooooo often**) is good for your heart, circulation and health, so it's worth doing, especially if you find a modality you enjoy. It will burn some extra calories and give you some wiggle room on intake, plus has the potential** to help your energy level. OTOH, some people find that exercise, or perhaps specifically intense exercises in some case, will increase appetite. Since that last is individualized, there's no real way to know until you try it.

** "Too much" cardio, or "too much intense cardio" is not some objective bright line. All that I mean is that for any given person at their current fitness/conditioning level, there's some duration/frequency/intensity of exercise that is energizing for the rest of one's day(s) (perhaps after a brief "whew" feeling right after exercise). Much more cardio than that will potentially be fatiguing, causing a person to rest more and move less in daily life because they're tired, and that reduced movement wipes out some of the calorie benefit of the exercise. As the person gets fitter, the duration/frequency/intensity of exercise can gradually increase, and still not be too fatiguing. So "too much cardio" is a relative thing, not an absolute.

brenn24179

it took me 3 months to lost 25 lbs and another 4 months to lose 5 lbs and another 4 months to lose 5 more. Yep it came off slower and then I gained 5 lbs back and stayed there and still cant get that other 5 lbs off but it is ok to stay here with 30 lbs off, happy.

coffeexxeyes

Thanks y'all! ❤ it's refreshing to hear that this slow down seems to be completely normal. Let's keep it up!

pjwrt

coffeexxeyes wrote: »

10 more pounds to go. I currently don't have any intense cardio in my routine, so I'm hoping that adding spin once/twice a week gets these last 10 pounds off slowly.

What helped you?

I walked 8 miles today on hard packed trail and streets in 85 degree heat (which is blistering hot up here). Basically, 200 minutes.

Weekdays, I spend lunch on the road bike for my hour (sneaking a sandwich before lunch--it's good to be king).

Weekdays, I'm up at 5am (3 hours before work) and work out in my modest home gym for an hour or so.

Biggest thing: I don't eat much and zero junk food.

Well, you asked....