4 lbs from goal - need some advice

cmnold

When I started my fitness/weight loss journey on January 2 I set a goal for myself to lose 50 pounds by my 50th birthday at the end of October. That day is fast approaching and I still have 4 pounds left to go. I really want to hit my goal weight. My current eating/workout plan is..

Monday - Lo Carb; rest day
Tuesday - Standard Carb; 15 minute cardio warm up, 1 hour heavy weights
Wednesday - Lo Carb; optional training/cardio day depending on how I feel
Thursday - Standard Carb; 15 minute cardio warm up; 1 hour heavy weights
Friday - Lo Carb; rest day
Saturday - Standard Carb; 15-25 minute cardio warm up; 1-1.5 hour heavy weights
Sunday - Standard Carb; 45-60 minutes sustained cardio

The scale says I've lost 47 pounds but I've put on 10-15 pounds of muscle in the last 8 months. My body composition test says I'm 24% body fat (low end of the Fitness category) with 40 pounds of remaining fat (half of that is needed for essential organ function) and my BMI is 29%. I'm eating about 2000-2200 calories on my standard carb days and 1700-1800 on my low carb days. Calorie restriction doesn't really work for me because my metabolism drops and holds on to every pound. I'm losing weight on the carb cycling plan but it's slow - .25 - .5 pounds a week.

Does anyone have any advice for how to drop that last 4 pounds by the end of October?

KathleenMurry

Have you hit a plateau or do you just want to accelerate to the end?

I'm 126 lbs and currently losing at a consistent rate of 0.75 -1 lbs a week. I'm getting pretty big calorie deficits though. You may want to trick your body with the diet and change the carb cycling. Try calorie cycling or intermittent fasting. I would also increase the amount of cardio you do and the intensity. To keep myself losing every week while I'm already a low bmi and bf%, I have had to increase my mileage in running every week, as well as increase my pace every week. It's working well!

ElliottTN

If I were you in that final push I would switch around my weight days just a bit to some static stretching before and 30 minutes of some hiit as soon as you are done lifting.

Hard to say without an open food diary but I would keep my sodium levels a good deal under what my macros called for and make an effort to really increase my water intake. Just as a precaution to make sure I'm not holding on to any extra water weight (not sure about you but I've been known to go up or down well over 5 pounds just for holding on to extra.)

I would also introduce some black coffee in the mornings if you don't have a caffeine source already.

Just a few suggestions without knowing too many details about you specifically.

And congratulations on the muscle gain, if your calculations are correct than you've been able to outdo some pro athletes and bodybuilders in that time frame. While on a caloric deficit?

Joebob8

Congratulations!! I am in a very similar situation. I am on my last few pounds of fat loss to my October birthday goal. My advice is the same as what I have decided for myself: 1. Push a little extra every day. An extra sprint at the end of a workout, saying no to that piece of chocolate, tighten up what is already working for you and focus. 2. Modify your short term goal. I am so close to where I want to be at this point that weight loss has slowed down very significantly. For me to lose 1/2 a pound is a very big deal. I wanted to lose 5 pounds by my birthday and now im just focusing on 2.5 pounds instead. If you are only 4 pounds away that means you are already doing everything right and have a LOT to celebrate this year. Don't get psyched out by a number.