The last 10 LBS trouble????

wmjrigo

Having trouble losing the last 10 LBS. For the past three days I've done some intense cardio burning about 1200 calories each day and my net calories have been in the negative or just a little above. I haven't lost any weight. Maybe I'm not eating enough, but I haven't been all that hungry. What should I do? any suggestions? Thanks

BflSaberfan

If you increased your exercise increase your calories. I increased my calories by 500 a day and lost 4 pounds this way.

erickirb

Having trouble losing the last 10 LBS. For the past three days I've done some intense cardio burning about 1200 calories each day and my net calories have been in the negative or just a little above. I haven't lost any weight. Maybe I'm not eating enough, but I haven't been all that hungry. What should I do? any suggestions? Thanks

Wow, as a man you should not be under 1500 cals/day at all and that being said, if you have less than 15lbs to your goal, your weekly weight loss goal should not be more than 0.5lbs/week. This will ensure that what, or most of what, you lose comes from fat and not muscle. On top of having a much smaller caloric deficit it is good to change up your workout routine every 4-6 weeks to keep your body guessing.

ladyhawk00

Congrats on your progress! You aren't eating enough. Here are a couple of threads that might help with the last few.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/181080-mfp-s-most-common-user-pitfall-to-avoid

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/20343-how-i-have-avoided-plateauing-length-warning

Meganne1982

Yeah, try eating more. Having your net in the negative or near that low may have your body convinced it needs to hang on to your fat to save you from starving.

TrainerRobin

The rules change up for those who are close to their weight goals. This may help you figure out a better approach: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TrainerRobin/view/myth-or-fact-calories-in-versus-calories-out-3500-calories-one-pound-and-should-i-eat-my-exercise-calories-62012

dorairwin

I have that rouble also... :laugh:

natskedat

Eating more is the answer. But don't increase your cardio to compensate. Just keep your cardio the same and increase the amount you eat.

BrianJLamb

The rules change up for those who are close to their weight goals. This may help you figure out a better approach: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TrainerRobin/view/myth-or-fact-calories-in-versus-calories-out-3500-calories-one-pound-and-should-i-eat-my-exercise-calories-62012

I like this post...thanks...it makes alot of sense.

hpsnickers1

Having trouble losing the last 10 LBS. For the past three days I've done some intense cardio burning about 1200 calories each day and my net calories have been in the negative or just a little above. I haven't lost any weight. Maybe I'm not eating enough, but I haven't been all that hungry. What should I do? any suggestions? Thanks

Working With Your Body - The Basic Strategy
By John P. Hussman, Ph.D.
All rights reserved and actively enforced.

http://www.hussmanfitness.org/html/TPAdaptation.html (this is a great site)

The law of unintended consequences
Your body is an amazing feedback system aimed at balance and survival. Humans are at the top of the food chain because they are able to adapt to their environment. Every action produces a reaction. Every change in its environment triggers a survival response. It's important to keep that in mind when you plan your fitness program. If you treat your body as an enemy to be conquered, you'll produce unintended results.

For example, if you severely cut off the supply of food to your body, it will defend itself by slowing down its metabolism to survive starvation. The body will shed muscle mass the same way that you would throw cargo from a plane that was low on fuel, and it will reduce its thyroid activity to conserve energy. The body will also actually defend its fat stores. In anorexia, muscle loss can be so profound that fat as a percentage of body weight actually rises. Extreme carbohydrate restriction also causes muscle loss, dehydration, and slower metabolism, which is why even successful Atkins dieters can have a significant rebound in weight after they stop the diet (don't worry – the advice on this site will prevent that from happening).

As another example, if you put your body under stress through overexertion and lack of sleep, it will respond by slowing down, reducing muscle growth, and increasing your appetite for junk food, carbohydrates and fat. If you feed your body excessive amounts of sugar and quickly digested carbohydrates, and it will shut off its ability to burn fat until those sugars are taken out of the bloodstream.

This website will show you how to work with your body to quickly produce the changes you want. In order to do that, you need to take actions that push your body to adapt – to build strength, burn fat, and increase fitness. You need a training program, not an exercise routine. You need a nutrition plan, not a diet. You need a challenge, not a few good habits you usually try to follow except when you don't.**

And start incorporating some weights/strength training into your routine (if you aren't already). All that cardio and severe calorie restriction is just going to eat up your lean muscle mass and slow your metabolism. It's time to use cardio as a supplement.

My weight loss was 'those last 10lbs'. I didn't go crazy on cardio or even exercise. I ate less calories (but healthier foods). Then I switched my focus over to weights and strength/resistance about a month ago. I'm still losing and my body is looking amazing (finally burning off belly fat too).

9lbstogo

Well done on your progress so far. Don't increase your workouts, this will only create more problems (I know this from experience - I was 'stuck' for 2months with only 10lbs to go!).

Try changing the intensity of your cardio by doing HIIT - read www.intervaltraining.net for all the info on this. I use this and it has really helped.

wmjrigo

Very good info. THaNKS!

jacquejl

bump

ATT949

I don't see anything unexpected in this.

I did two days of serious workouts last week (my thighs were in the worst pain I've ever had due to exercise) and I gained weight.

Check the tail end of these values:

http://cbeinfo.net/weight.htm

I don't think it's coincidence that I gained weight for a while after I did a lot more exercise. However, that anecdote and as the saying goes "The plural of anecdote is not data."

Insofar as "the last 10 pounds" - there's no such thing.

You, like most of us, have set a goal weight. But our body doesn't know anything about "the last 10 pounds", the first 10 pounds, the next 10 pounds, etc., does it? Our body takes in inputs (food, emotion, water) processes them, consumes them, and excretes some of them. It can't "think ahead" that this is the last 10 pounds.

My take on this - I understand the desire to lose "the last 10 pounds" (I'll be there in a few months) but I wouldn't do anything to change my routine to get there. Just keep doing what you've been doing*.

Of course, if you still think in terms of "the last 10 pounds" and you ascribe to the theory that "the last 10 pounds are the hardest" then there's an easy solution - drop your goal weight by 10 pounds and, voila, you're not dealing with "the last 10 pounds", are you?

Q. E. D.



*Last week I switched off of elliptical + dumbbells routine that I've been doing since December. I exercised too hard, injured myself, and "lost" a week during which I slipped back into the 230's.

BflSaberfan

I don't see anything unexpected in this.

I did two days of serious workouts last week (my thighs were in the worst pain I've ever had due to exercise) and I gained weight.

Check the tail end of these values:

http://cbeinfo.net/weight.htm

I don't think it's coincidence that I gained weight for a while after I did a lot more exercise. However, that anecdote and as the saying goes "The plural of anecdote is not data."

Insofar as "the last 10 pounds" - there's no such thing.

You, like most of us, have set a goal weight. But our body doesn't know anything about "the last 10 pounds", the first 10 pounds, the next 10 pounds, etc., does it? Our body takes in inputs (food, emotion, water) processes them, consumes them, and excretes some of them. It can't "think ahead" that this is the last 10 pounds.

My take on this - I understand the desire to lose "the last 10 pounds" (I'll be there in a few months) but I wouldn't do anything to change my routine to get there. Just keep doing what you've been doing*.

Of course, if you still think in terms of "the last 10 pounds" and you ascribe to the theory that "the last 10 pounds are the hardest" then there's an easy solution - drop your goal weight by 10 pounds and, voila, you're not dealing with "the last 10 pounds", are you?

Q. E. D.



*Last week I switched off of elliptical + dumbbells routine that I've been doing since December. I exercised too hard, injured myself, and "lost" a week during which I slipped back into the 230's.

I disagree here, only because I've been there. My body doesn't know I want to only lose another 10lbs, but it does know there is no longer a large percentage of fat to take from. It also adjust to the diet, and exercise you do. So after 8 months of doing the same diet and exercise my body didn't think it needed to lose any more weight and just stopped. For months - no results. After being incredibly frustrated I upped my caloris and switched my exercise routine to a much more intense one. I lost 4 lbs in 1 week!

ATT949

I disagree here, only because I've been there. My body doesn't know I want to only lose another 10lbs, but it does know there is no longer a large percentage of fat to take from. It also adjust[sic] to the diet, and exercise you do. So after 8 months of doing the same diet and exercise my body didn't think it needed to lose any more weight and just stopped. For months - no results. After being incredibly frustrated I upped my caloris [sic] and switched my exercise routine to a much more intense one. I lost 4 lbs in 1 week!

If I understand you correctly, you hit what's regarded as a plateau and you changed your diet and exercise regimen and you started losing weight again. I've heard that's a good way to get past a plateau and I'm glad for you that you got it resolved.

The information that we have from the OP is that he hasn't lost weight after three days of intense workouts and that he's trying to lose his "last 10 pounds".

It's great to see that your approach to overcoming an 8 month long plateau has worked for you but you've done nothing to convince me that the OP should change his routine in response to his frustration of not having lost weight in the past 72 hours.

BflSaberfan

I disagree here, only because I've been there. My body doesn't know I want to only lose another 10lbs, but it does know there is no longer a large percentage of fat to take from. It also adjust[sic] to the diet, and exercise you do. So after 8 months of doing the same diet and exercise my body didn't think it needed to lose any more weight and just stopped. For months - no results. After being incredibly frustrated I upped my caloris [sic] and switched my exercise routine to a much more intense one. I lost 4 lbs in 1 week!

If I understand you correctly, you hit what's regarded as a plateau and you changed your diet and exercise regimen and you started losing weight again. I've heard that's a good way to get past a plateau and I'm glad for you that you got it resolved.

The information that we have from the OP is that he hasn't lost weight after three days of intense workouts and that he's trying to lose his "last 10 pounds".

It's great to see that your approach to overcoming an 8 month long plateau has worked for you but you've done nothing to convince me that the OP should change his routine in response to his frustration of not having lost weight in the past 72 hours.

Oops I misread his post I thought it said 3 weeks. I agree...more time is needed. In any case his calories should never be even close to negative. AT the very least it should be 1500 for a man.

wmjrigo

I don't see anything unexpected in this.

I did two days of serious workouts last week (my thighs were in the worst pain I've ever had due to exercise) and I gained weight.

Check the tail end of these values:

http://cbeinfo.net/weight.htm

I don't think it's coincidence that I gained weight for a while after I did a lot more exercise. However, that anecdote and as the saying goes "The plural of anecdote is not data."

Insofar as "the last 10 pounds" - there's no such thing.

You, like most of us, have set a goal weight. But our body doesn't know anything about "the last 10 pounds", the first 10 pounds, the next 10 pounds, etc., does it? Our body takes in inputs (food, emotion, water) processes them, consumes them, and excretes some of them. It can't "think ahead" that this is the last 10 pounds.

My take on this - I understand the desire to lose "the last 10 pounds" (I'll be there in a few months) but I wouldn't do anything to change my routine to get there. Just keep doing what you've been doing*.

Of course, if you still think in terms of "the last 10 pounds" and you ascribe to the theory that "the last 10 pounds are the hardest" then there's an
easy solution - drop your goal weight by 10 pounds and, voila, you're not dealing with "the last 10 pounds", are you?

Q. E. D.



*Last week I switched off of elliptical + dumbbells routine that I've been doing since December. I exercised too hard, injured myself, and "lost" a week during which I slipped back into the 230's.

It's more like it seems that's all you need to lose, not necessary the "last ten pounds" of what you thought your goal was. I think you'll understand when you get there. I'm not trying to be rude.

MissMedusa

Awesome strategies here- thanks for sharing, y'all.