The last 20 pounds to lose

slowregal661

Good morning

I am now down to the last 20 pounds I want to drop and i'm looking for your comments on my current workout/diet plan.

Here is a little background story to give you a better idea of where I started.

Height : 6'0
March 5th 2020 : 310.4 lbs
August 3rd 2020 : 239.6 lbs

My initial weight goal was 240lbs. I reached that weight goal last week.

Currently, i'm aiming for 220, which I know will take much more time, my body has adapted to the lower calorie intake.
I was stuck between 242 and 244 pounds for a good two weeks with no changes.

Last two weeks, I changed my diet, I now eat over 200 grams of protein a day, while eating roughly 2000 calories (I'm not writing everything down anymore, I just ballpark in my head with things I eat throughout the day)

I also started working out much more intensely and I added running to my workouts. Currently running a mile in 8min25 Working to run a mile in under 7min30.

At this point, should I even try to lose 1 pound a week? Or should I just keep on working out without even thinking about the scale.
Watching the scale not moving each morning makes me think I hit a plateau but i'm just gaining so much muscle and losing so much fat, I know i'm making great progress.

What is usually recommended when getting this close to the desired weight?

Thanks for your inputs!

speyerj

A lot of this is personal like your level of tolerance for continuing to eat at a deficit. Certainly losing 1 pound a month at your current weight is still a healthy rate of loss. But if you are at a point where you no longer have the patience to closely track your calories in, than sticking to a 500/day calorie deficit might not be something that you want to keep doing for the next 20 weeks it would take to lose the next 20 pounds.

Something I realized as I got closer to my goal weight - it doesn't matter if it takes me forever to lose the last 5 or 10 pounds, because I actually need to be eating this way forever. So I am
reportedly eating at maintenance, but because I'm getting a lot of exercise, I'm still losing - maybe 2 to 3 pounds a month. And that completely suits me right now. I view this time as an opportunity to see what maintenance looks and feels like - if I lose I'm happy, if I maintain, I'm happy. Along the way, I'm learning how many calories I need to eat to maintain.

You did mention that you thought you are gaining muscle and losing fat. You are likely losing fat. But you should know that building muscle is a process that is much, much slower than losing fat. And typically you need to eat at a surplus and perform strength training exercises to build lean muscle tissue and we are talking about a 6 month process - not 2 weeks. Not having movement on the scale for two weeks when you added running to your routine is likely caused by water retention - brought on by the new level of intensity in your daily exercises. It will pass as your body adjusts.

Whether to keep weighing daily is also a personal preference. Personally, I like the feedback, but I see it as just a data point among many. But if it's causing you to feel discouraged, then take a break for a bit. But I would monitor something. If you aren't weighing, then monitor your inputs and outputs (CICO) so you know you aren't going overboard on the input side of things, or keep measuring your waist and hips if that works better for you.

Congratulations of losing so much already. And as a fellow runner, I'm impressed with your pace. I am finally running at a 10:15 pace - I don't ever see myself getting as fast as you.

alligatorob

slowregal661 wrote: »

March 5th 2020 : 310.4 lbs
August 3rd 2020 : 239.6 lbs

Congratulations on the great weight loss!! And your exercising sounds real good.

I like what speyerj said about a few pounds a month loss being good at this point, it would be.

I am also in that place and feel like my maintenance may always be trying to lose that last pound. When I started well over 100 lbs back I set a goal of 160, but it was only a vague idea as to where I should be. This morning I was at 158, and now the right goal is much less clear to me. I think my goal is becoming just eating right, that is good enough. For me that probably means tracking calories or something like it for life, but I think am ok with that, trying to be anyway. It's better than regaining the weight. If I lose a few more pounds it won't hurt me, if I don't I will be fine too. Easy to say, not always easy to remember.

Slowregal I believe you have to think about how you can maintain your weight loss and keep eating right long term. Losing a few more pounds short term is not so important now. I know that is a new way of thinking, but its time.

You are right about the body adapting to fewer calories, your metabolism is probably down. I know mine is. At this point I am trying very slowly to up my calories while closely tracking my weight, trying to bring my metabolism back up. It has been a slow process.

Best of luck to you, and remember you are in a lot better place today than you were in March!