Last 5 pounds

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Chriswind
Chriswind Posts: 18 Member
in Motivation and Support
I'm down to the last 5 pounds and the scale hasn't been moving.....no my goal is not too low, I've been there several times before. It's been over a week and the scale hasn't moved. Anyone have any success stories for the last 5 pounds?

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  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    A week is not very long.
  • lambchoplewis
    lambchoplewis Posts: 797
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    You are doing good just to maintain!!! I know how you feel about the last lbs. Look at it as a percent not absolute lbs. Example: if you weighed 100 lbs, 5 lbs is 5% of your body weight - that is a lot to lose. I you were 200 lbs, 5 lbs is only 2.5 % of your body weight. The problem is that the % gets bigger as you get smaller!!

    That being said, be glad the scale is NOT going up. I have to weigh every day, log food and exercise. I stopped this and voila - 10 lbs crept on. I am back on plan and know it will take a while to get those lbs off.

    Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.
  • popsicklestar
    popsicklestar Posts: 166 Member
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    I used to go over my calories often by 100 or 200 sometimes, nothing crazy. I would go over for special occasions. I was still losing weight. However, when I got to the last 5, I stopped losing. My deficit was now only about 300 calories a day, so all the little overages kept me at maintenance. So, I decided to get stricter and try really hard to not go over my calories and the scale started moving again. It's coming off super slow, though. With a deficit of 300, it takes almost two weeks to lose a pound, and you'll only lose that pound if you don't cheat and mess up. Also, because you're only losing a pound, any water retention may mask your weight loss, so you may not even see it on the scale. When it comes down to it, if you're not losing weight, your deficit is not high enough, so you need to lower your calorie goal, or if you were like me, stop going over your calories. It takes a lot of time to lose weight when you're close to your goal, so you have to be really strict, really consistent, and really patient.
  • Ejourneys
    Ejourneys Posts: 1,603 Member
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    Ditto to popsicklestar: "It takes a lot of time to lose weight when you're close to your goal, so you have to be really strict, really consistent, and really patient."

    This includes being consistent and patient during all the fluctuations on the scale. Just keep on keepin' on.

    I reached five pounds from goal on Oct. 14, three pounds from goal on Oct. 20, and two pounds from goal on Oct. 31. That doesn't count all the fluctuations up and back down. Not long before reaching the five-pound mark I went through a 48-day plateau.

    Sure I feel impatient sometimes. But I also feel awesome. I'm in no hurry -- I'm giving my body the time it needs to adjust.

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