Help! How do you stay motivated when you only have 10 lbs to

jeannes85

Is there anyone else out there that eats (relatively) healthy and exercises 2-3 times a week...but still can't lose those 10lbs?

I'm only 5'1 and 120lbs but according to my ideal body weight measurements, I should be more like 105-110. It's so hard to lose weight when you are already within a healthy range and exercise regularly. I feel like for someone who is 120lbs to lose 10 lbs is SO much harder than losing 10lbs when you are 150 or above!

Sometimes I give up because I'm not unhealthy or big...I give up and tell myself I dont HAVE to have perfectly flat stomach...but I just want to look good in a bikini!

Has anyone gone from an already low weight to their tip-top 6 pack abs shape? Any advice on how to stay motivated??

kitchentales

I'm also trying to lose only about 5-10lbs, though I haven't made a dent yet and I just started. But here's a thought for you: how much of your weight is muscle? My boyfriend is solid muscle, and there is barely a speck of fat on him, but according to his BMI he's overweight, and his Wii Fit character is a lot rounder than the real thing. I don't know much, but I know muscle weighs more than fat, so you may be totally healthy and only seem like you're 10lbs "overweight" because of your muscle mass.

Good luck! And stay healthy and active, I think that's way more important than being the ideal weight for your height/age/sex/etc.

dawnslaughter

i am in the same boat. but it can be done. set your goal at a pound. loose that even if it takes all year its a pound lost not a pound gained. then once you lose it reset your goal at a pound. baby steps. dont set your self up to fail. you have done well already i stayed the same weight for 2 years now but i need to think again about losing the last 28 pounds aand thats why i have set my goal at 5 pounds :-)

jeannes85

thanks kitchentales! haha, I don't have much muscle. I go kickboxing about 2x a week so I do have some muscle tone...but to give you an idea, I can only do about 5 real pushups. haha!

You're right...I should focus less on weight and more on being toned. But sometimes I wonder even if you build muscle, if i still have a layer of fat on top...won't i look bigger? I guess key is to lose fat and build muscle at the same time.

amym9019

5'0" & about 120 lbs here, and I'm right there with you. I do cardio three to four times a week and eat healthy foods (for the most part.) I have been staying below my calorie goal with no issues...I dropped it down from 1200 to 1000 today. (I know, I know, less than 1200 isn't recommended.) But I'm trying to drop about 10 pounds or so as well, and it just doesn't seem to be happening. Logging my food & exercise here has motivated me some, but it's a bummer when I'm just not seeing the results I want. Hang in there.

doobabe

Those last 10 are always the hardest!
I have 10 to lose and it is more of a "getting in shape" thing for me- you wont notice results on the scale all of the time..... I work out 6 days a week so I find that I am building muscle which is throwing my weight off from week to week.......
BUT I hear ya- it is not easy when you are in the home stretch lol

cohollywood

I'm right there with you. I'm now within about 10 pounds of my goal weight, and have been stuck here for a little while. I know that every day I work out and every day I eat healthy, that I'm still improving my body and my health, so that's whats keeping me going - not so much the numbers.

I just started C25K, and I think that's helped me as it's a fitness goal and not so much a weight goal - so I go to the gym to run, and then do strength training on my off days to stay fit so I can keep up with the program.

Good luck! It is a lot harder once you get really close to your goal I think.

tobybrooks

Not sure - I have 8lb to lose and its mainly belly/back flab. I do like my wine, so I've cut that right back but I'm not prepared to stop completely because I don't have any other vices and life is too short! I am going to exercise more - maybe need to have a month of really blasting it but I'm not sure that it'll stay off.

Anyone else know how to do it?

amysj303

It is so much harder and slower to lose when you are close to goal.
I am at maintenance and trying to get into bikini shape but I think it will take more discipline than I have!
check out these threads for ideas about what others are doing:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153490-not-that-heavy-girls-trying-to-lose-weight?page=6#posts-2216352
and
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/113609-relatively-light-people-trying-to-get-leaner?hl=already+lean+trying+to+get+leaner
some other articles I found helpful:
http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-specialist/weight-loss-plateau.aspx?xid=nl_EverydayHealthWomensHealth_20101228
some steps people have to take for the last 10 pounds include high-intensity interval training, carb cycling and other tricks to get your body to burn the last of the fat stores. It's hard , your body really wants to maintain it's stores, it wants to survive and doesn't care about looking good in a bikini

htimpaired

I am your height and used to be your weight, and that was PLENTY thin enough because I tended to be towards the heavier end of the "healthy range" because of muscle mass. I don't think there is anything wrong with 5 ft 1 and 120, in fact, that's just about my goal (I am sitting at 132 at the moment).
Just focus on eating healthy, exercising because it helps you to feel strong and healthy...the rest will come. The one thing I would recommend from a health standpoint more than a weight loss standpoint-generally speaking it's a good idea to get some form of exercise in most days of the week, so you might want to increase your frequency of workouts.

doobabe

thanks kitchentales! haha, I don't have much muscle. I go kickboxing about 2x a week so I do have some muscle tone...but to give you an idea, I can only do about 5 real pushups. haha!

You're right...I should focus less on weight and more on being toned. But sometimes I wonder even if you build muscle, if i still have a layer of fat on top...won't i look bigger? I guess key is to lose fat and build muscle at the same time.

Muscle burns fat- so if you build a layer of muscle- the fat should dissapear.........

jeannes85

Thank you everyone for all the help!

Sounds like I need to work out a bit more and stop eating those darn free cookies at work.

carolinegeorgia

it can be done, I had 11lbs to lose, started on the 5th Jan and lost 8lbs, happy to lose 1lb a week cos I eat healthy and exercise at least 3 times a week. I'm 5ft 7" and weigh 143lbs, am a UK size 10, would love to go lower then 140lbs but did that before and it doesn't suit me, just stick with it ;-)

annakristi86

im kinda in the same situation.... im already pretty lean but i do wanna get into my best shape... i've been trying this for a while.. eating very little (1200 cal a day which for me is a joke)... losing wieght but then gaining it all back..... last time was pretty good i lost 6lb in 3 weeks... but then i had all kinds of things going on and was eating "free cookies at work" and wine and all that and gained it all back.... so what im gonna try now is a long-term approach.. because i think by starving myself (yes, 1200 cal a day is starving oneself in my dictionary) i just get my appetite and cravings that much more intense... so i wanna try a much more reasonable calorie limit... say 1500 cal a day which is more manageable and will still create the deficit i need to lose weight.. even if its only half a pound a week.... so im gonna try this after my vacation thats coming up good luck to u too!!!

lilsassymom

I am also 5'1 and I am aiming to get to 118---heck even 120. I am currently sticking around 124ish pounds. The last few pounds just doesn't want to come off. It is frustrating:grumble: ...