support group for losing those last 10 lbs.

dawnemjh

Can I join you ladies!!! I am also struggling with the last 10 pounds or so. I have gained and lost the same 5 pounds for 8 months!!:sad:
I have tried low carb/paleo/low cal/zig zag and nothing seems to work. I am 5'8" and right now 164.8. In feb. I was 162. I started MFP in feb after gaining about 5 pounds when I started the new weight watchers program, (like Olivia), and keep gaining and lossing the same 4 or 5 pounds. One week 162, then 164, 165,163, 167,164. Thats what my weekly weigh ins look like for the past 8 months. Sooo frustrating.
According to my bodymedia I usually average about 2500 calorie burn and I have anywhere from 300-900 defecit. My average intake is about 1700-1900. I tried decreasing to 1400-1600 and that seemed to work for a week or two, but everyone has told me that thats too low since my burn is 2500 or more.
I dont know if I damaged my metabolism by eating low for so long, and it will take a while to improve, or if I need to try one thing for longer than 2 weeks. Any thoughts are welcome!!!
Also I drink tons of water and doctor has checked all labs and they are fine!
Thanks! dawn

olivia3263

Can I join you ladies!!! I am also struggling with the last 10 pounds or so. I have gained and lost the same 5 pounds for 8 months!!:sad:
I have tried low carb/paleo/low cal/zig zag and nothing seems to work. I am 5'8" and right now 164.8. In feb. I was 162. I started MFP in feb after gaining about 5 pounds when I started the new weight watchers program, (like Olivia), and keep gaining and lossing the same 4 or 5 pounds. One week 162, then 164, 165,163, 167,164. Thats what my weekly weigh ins look like for the past 8 months. Sooo frustrating.
According to my bodymedia I usually average about 2500 calorie burn and I have anywhere from 300-900 defecit. My average intake is about 1700-1900. I tried decreasing to 1400-1600 and that seemed to work for a week or two, but everyone has told me that thats too low since my burn is 2500 or more.
I dont know if I damaged my metabolism by eating low for so long, and it will take a while to improve, or if I need to try one thing for longer than 2 weeks. Any thoughts are welcome!!!
Also I drink tons of water and doctor has checked all labs and they are fine!
Thanks! dawn

I know it's scary, but if your bodymedia (wish I had one!) says 2500, I would try eating 2500 for a minimum of 2 weeks - try maintenance for a little bit, you've been doing it for 8 months, what's 2 more weeks? I actually wanted to try to gain so I would really know what my magic number was - but I couldn't hold out for that long. Once you're at a healthy bmi - and you are - you should only be at a .5 deficit, so if your bodymedia is right, you should be eating a minimum of 2250 calories to lose weight. Anything lower will not have any lasting results. I have VERY similar stats to you (5'8" and I'm 157 (well, 156.8-160 day to day) right now, but was stuck at 164 forever!!!). I'm friending you so maybe we can help each other

ktfitzgerald

Hey guys! I was trying to lose the last 7 pounds for 4 months. Then I started weight lifting and it just came off. And I've kept it off (and a bit more) for 4 more months. Now I want to gain a bit of muscle mass, but there aren't any groups for that. Can I join in ...Please!

sarah44254

I wrote a 6 day plan for myself involving increasing distance running (3-4 miles so far) as well as upper body / lower body weight lifting.

Today I did 50 mins worth of upper body, as well as 5 min cardio on treadmill before and after. Very proud Hoping I can really keep this up and see what my plan can do for me.

Calorie-wise I have been very very good for the past week or so.

splackk

I'd love to join a support group too! I'm so happy I can finally say I'm within 10 pounds of my goal :bigsmile:

But it definitely has gotten more challenging lately, weight coming off slower and gaining much easier on those not-so-good days, not surprising when even maintenance calories are down to about 1500... Not to mention I've been non-stop busy with applying to graduate schools this season plus spending 13 hours a day at work or commuting, it doesn't leave much time to exercise and I'm a royal mess without 8 hours of sleep.

For the time being, until applications are finished in about a month, I'm planning to just stick with what I've been doing and then work on increasing exercise, but I could definitely use some support or stress relief options!

Wow you are busy..hang in there and if you can sneak in moments of deep breathing, prayer, and 20 minute "naps". Also I have some cheap awesome massage places wether it be a pedicure (ask for extra massage) or I go to the mall and get a 15 minute chair massage..it makes a world of difference. Take time for yourself whenever you can!! good luck..this is just a season of your life..a busy one..but it too shall pass ..try and enjoy what you can:-)

Thank you for the support :flowerforyou: Actually, taking a moment to try some deep breathing techniques sounds perfect, it isn't something I've really tried before but I do need to take a few minutes out to relax and get things straight now and again. I also found a 10 minute massage for 10 dollar spot right by my workplace that may be perfect for a midday de-stress haha. It's good to get some perspective and remember that things won't always be so hectic!

splackk

I'd like to join the thread too! I have about 10 lbs to lose, but they're also my 'first' 10 lbs so I haven't experienced any weight loss whatsoever. I've been logging consistently for about a month. I set my calorie goal pretty low (1000 cals) because I'm only 5 ft and eat back my exercise calories. Some days I go way over because of nights out, so I figured it would average out this way. However, my weight is not budging! I think previously I was eating in a way that was making me slowly gain weight, so even though I'm eating less now it's still not enough for weight loss.
Here's the plan:
-Cut out beer - just makes me bloated and sleepy anyway
-Start spin classes and heavy weights. Currently I run and do insanity.javascript:add_smiley
-Night snacking - I've improved this by changing to fruit, but still makes me go over calories because I'll have 3 or 4. Need to work on changing this habit altogether.

Hopefully this week will be better!

It looks like we're right about the same stats! I'm 5'1'' and this morning was 112 exactly, hopefully we can support each other as our goals are right about the same too :happy:

It sounds like you've got everything in order, good luck giving up the alcohol and keeping an eye on the night snacking! it's not far to go from here!

trammellsheryl06

These last five pounds are really challenging... I'm hanging in there though.

amys31

I'd love to join a support group too! I'm so happy I can finally say I'm within 10 pounds of my goal :bigsmile:

But it definitely has gotten more challenging lately, weight coming off slower and gaining much easier on those not-so-good days, not surprising when even maintenance calories are down to about 1500... Not to mention I've been non-stop busy with applying to graduate schools this season plus spending 13 hours a day at work or commuting, it doesn't leave much time to exercise and I'm a royal mess without 8 hours of sleep.

For the time being, until applications are finished in about a month, I'm planning to just stick with what I've been doing and then work on increasing exercise, but I could definitely use some support or stress relief options!

Wow you are busy..hang in there and if you can sneak in moments of deep breathing, prayer, and 20 minute "naps". Also I have some cheap awesome massage places wether it be a pedicure (ask for extra massage) or I go to the mall and get a 15 minute chair massage..it makes a world of difference. Take time for yourself whenever you can!! good luck..this is just a season of your life..a busy one..but it too shall pass ..try and enjoy what you can:-)

Thank you for the support :flowerforyou: Actually, taking a moment to try some deep breathing techniques sounds perfect, it isn't something I've really tried before but I do need to take a few minutes out to relax and get things straight now and again. I also found a 10 minute massage for 10 dollar spot right by my workplace that may be perfect for a midday de-stress haha. It's good to get some perspective and remember that things won't always be so hectic!

amen sister!!! There ya go..good attitude:-)!!!

amys31

These last five pounds are really challenging... I'm hanging in there though.

you can do it!!! Im trying zig zagging my calories..might be worth a shot?!

amys31

I wrote a 6 day plan for myself involving increasing distance running (3-4 miles so far) as well as upper body / lower body weight lifting.

Today I did 50 mins worth of upper body, as well as 5 min cardio on treadmill before and after. Very proud Hoping I can really keep this up and see what my plan can do for me.

Calorie-wise I have been very very good for the past week or so.

Great job!! Keep up the good work!:-)

amys31

Hey guys! I was trying to lose the last 7 pounds for 4 months. Then I started weight lifting and it just came off. And I've kept it off (and a bit more) for 4 more months. Now I want to gain a bit of muscle mass, but there aren't any groups for that. Can I join in ...Please!

Of course!! its so great to hear success stories! Im glad to hear another woman that supports weight lifting! Any input or advice is great and it goes to show that strength training works! Welcome!

amys31

I'm trying to lose the last 10-15 too. I've tried something a little different, but I won't be able to tell you if it's working until the end of this week. So I just ran my first half marathon last sunday, and in planning for it, I decided to do a "full diet break" - http://www.leighpeele.com/diet-break-plan
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

I ate at or above maintenance (usually above) for the past 2 weeks. I wasn't losing eating 1600 calories a day (I'm 5'8 btw) and guess what - I didn't gain eating 2600 -3000 for 2 weeks. And I feel awesome.

So today is the first day back on my deficit and I'm only doing half a pound a week (netting 1675). If all goes as planned, I should start losing again, but I'm not going to weigh myself until saturday, so I'll let u know.

Welcome!! Awesome job on your half marathon...its tough I ran my first marathon last year and it takes so much dedication way to go!!!
Question: so you are netting(calories in - exercise..1675?) Im trying to increase my calories b/c I realized I was netting some days 1000 or so calories even though before exercise I was eating 12-1300..I think this is my problem. Am I configuring right? So when you were eating 2600-3000 that was net calories too? thanks :-)

Short answer - yes, right now I'm netting 1675 (actual calories are about 2200 - 2500 after exercise). Before when i was at maintenance I was netting 1990 (actual calories were about 2600 - 3000 after exercise + 100 or 200 some days).

Long answer - Before I found MFP I was doing WW for about 3 months - ate around 1200 -1400 actual calories a day, lost about 20 pounds and then seriously plateaued. I actually thought I was eating too much fruit and vegetables (because they're unlimited on weight watchers), but when I plugged my calories in to check, I was eating only about 1400, was not hungry, and was running about 25-30 miles a week. I started tracking with MFP and started eating around 1900 actual calories and lost 5 pounds like that! But then I hit another plateau and actually saw it go up a little (could've been just a fluctuation) but I got scared and lowered my calories again - not too far, but a little bit. I lost a little more, so I lowered a little more - and soon I was netting 1000 cals a day and had no energy in my runs (now running 30-35 miles a week) - and I plateaued AGAIN. So my race was coming up, so I decided to try out maintenance and this diet break thing. I started by raising to .5 pound a week loss for a week - I lost another pound, and then I upped to maintenance. I decided not to weigh myself the week before or after my half (my weight always goes a little wonky after long runs) and I didn't want my stupid diet head to get in the way of my performance. I think spending a good amount of time (at least 14 days) at maintenance or has done wonders for my body. My nails are stronger and long again, my skin and hair looks better, I have A LOT more energy, and I'm appropriately hungry. I don't think I could EVER eat only 1400 calories again. I'm really looking forward to seeing if now dropping my calories to .5 pound a week will work (I'm secretly hoping I lose more than .5 pound this week so I can raise my calories a bit more). From now on, I will never eat below my bmr (even on my day off from exercise - ps my bmr is more than my net calorie goal), and I will give myself a cheat day once a week, and I will do another full diet break within 12 weeks. At least that's the plan for now. I'll let you know how it all works out - hopefully I'll have good news for you:

Love it!!! thanks for the response it is refreshing to hear..especially from one runner to another ;-)

Ruthann2

I had upped my calorie intake from 1300 to 1450 hopefully this will help out I have notice that when I went from 1200 to 1300 I started losing I will see in a week if this is helping out

aussiesarah

Well I weighed in as usual this morning and I am still stuck!!!! The zigzagging last week didn't seem to work for me. . .

So I'm going to copy those of you that are upping the calories a bit and I'm going to change my MFP settings to losing 0.5lbs per week (instead of 1lb) to see if that helps.

In terms of the age old debate regarding exercise calories, have those of you that have had sucess with increasing your calorie deficit been eating them all back?

Thanks!

holly_v

Well I weighed in as usual this morning and I am still stuck!!!! The zigzagging last week didn't seem to work for me. . .

So I'm going to copy those of you that are upping the calories a bit and I'm going to change my MFP settings to losing 0.5lbs per week (instead of 1lb) to see if that helps.

In terms of the age old debate regarding exercise calories, have those of you that have had sucess with increasing your calorie deficit been eating them all back?

Thanks!

i was eating about half of the calories back, sometimes i ate all of them but that was on days where i was working out hard so i could go out to eat.

i havent been so good at eating them back lately because i work out in the evening and i never know how many extra i will have. i need to start doing it again

holly_v

i have been forgetting to do the mini challenge of doing the least favorite exercise. i wonder why... :laugh: i will start my day with 10 push ups :grumble:

aussiesarah

Thanks Holly

I'm going to try to eat at least 50-75% of exercise calories back (on top of my increased deficit) so I'll let you all know how that works out for me.

melsinct

Increased calories broke my last plateau (that lasted 2 months) pretty quickly. I am almost into two months of this current plateau of being stuck at 147. To break the last plateau, I set MFP to lose 0.5 lbs/week and that worked. Being that my calorie deficit is now allegedly so small, I have increased my calories to what MFP considers my maintenance. I have been eating at "maintenance" for 1.5 weeks with no change. The question now is...am I maintaining or still in a plateau??? I am afraid to bring my calories any higher (I am at 1800 now) since I still want to lose a couple of pounds. I am a sedentary desk worker but have MFP set as me being "active" to incorporate my morning brisk walking without me logging it, however I do log my strength training, though that burns less than 100 calories.

I am going to give it one more week of eating maintenance, then start from scratch again. I'll set MFP back to sedentary and log every bit of exercise and see what kind of calories that gives me for the day. This is very frustrating as I am SO CLOSE to my goal!!!

Christi6604

Update - Since upping my calories (eating some exercise calories back) this week, by about 100-200 per day I've lost 2.6.

Full disclosure, I also started the Couch to 5k last week, so that may be contributing. I'm just not sure. I'm still tracking that activity like walking because my jog is sooooo slow and it only totals 8 minutes of the 40 minutes that I'm jogging. Maybe that shook my system up enough to start dropping again?

aussiesarah

Update - Since upping my calories (eating some exercise calories back) this week, by about 100-200 per day I've lost 2.6.

Full disclosure, I also started the Couch to 5k last week, so that may be contributing. I'm just not sure. I'm still tracking that activity like walking because my jog is sooooo slow and it only totals 8 minutes of the 40 minutes that I'm jogging. Maybe that shook my system up enough to start dropping again?

Good news! Hopefully the same will work for me, fingers crossed!

amys31

Update - Since upping my calories (eating some exercise calories back) this week, by about 100-200 per day I've lost 2.6.

Full disclosure, I also started the Couch to 5k last week, so that may be contributing. I'm just not sure. I'm still tracking that activity like walking because my jog is sooooo slow and it only totals 8 minutes of the 40 minutes that I'm jogging. Maybe that shook my system up enough to start dropping again?

that is great news!!! It could be a mixture of both..whatever it is awesome and thanks for reporting back!

amys31

Well I weighed in as usual this morning and I am still stuck!!!! The zigzagging last week didn't seem to work for me. . .

So I'm going to copy those of you that are upping the calories a bit and I'm going to change my MFP settings to losing 0.5lbs per week (instead of 1lb) to see if that helps.

In terms of the age old debate regarding exercise calories, have those of you that have had sucess with increasing your calorie deficit been eating them all back?

Thanks!

I think the zig zagging takes a few weeks or so depending on the person..you might want to keep trying?..Ive also heard that you have to tweak it a bit......Im eating back most of my calories on my high days..and about 1/2 on the low..will let you know how it goes.

amys31

Increased calories broke my last plateau (that lasted 2 months) pretty quickly. I am almost into two months of this current plateau of being stuck at 147. To break the last plateau, I set MFP to lose 0.5 lbs/week and that worked. Being that my calorie deficit is now allegedly so small, I have increased my calories to what MFP considers my maintenance. I have been eating at "maintenance" for 1.5 weeks with no change. The question now is...am I maintaining or still in a plateau??? I am afraid to bring my calories any higher (I am at 1800 now) since I still want to lose a couple of pounds. I am a sedentary desk worker but have MFP set as me being "active" to incorporate my morning brisk walking without me logging it, however I do log my strength training, though that burns less than 100 calories.

I am going to give it one more week of eating maintenance, then start from scratch again. I'll set MFP back to sedentary and log every bit of exercise and see what kind of calories that gives me for the day. This is very frustrating as I am SO CLOSE to my goal!!!

Hang in there...it will be tough for those final pounds...try zig zagging your calories...eat one day above maintenance and then 2 slightly below maintenance. so for me this week: Saturday I ate 1200..sunday I ate 1324...Monday I ate 1615..today I am going to drop back down to 1350 ...I will report back and see how it goes!

TavistockToad

One thing i have noticed about a lot of people in this group is that you do a LOT of exercise, but eat very few calories (ie 1200 isnt really enough in most cases). the best way to lose the final few pounds is to eat ALL your exercise calories and hit your calorie goal each day!

jbreilly

Hi! I would love to join your group too if you are still inviting members! I am trying to lose the last 10-15 lbs. Currently I am 5'4" at 139 and would love to maintain at 125lbs. Hitting 120lbs would be a miracle! This is my first month on MFP (lost 2.5lbs since joining MFP) and I have really been inspired by everyone. It seems like a lot of the members in this group are close to the same point I am.

Currently, the only exercise I am doing is running. I run about 4 days a week somewhere between 3 -7 miles per day. I am running a 10K on November 6th so I am trying to follow a training plan. After the 10K I do not know what I want to do - I have the P90X videos so I am thinking of working that in with a running routine. Anyone have any suggestions?

I am also interested in the conversations your group is having concerning daily calorie intake. Do you eat exercise calories or not? Should you eat the entire 1200 calories daily? I eat at least 1200 calories on days I exercise but get confused on what to do on days that I don't. Anyway, thought your thread could help answer some questions and provide some motivation!

Good luck to all!

momofJandA

Good morning everyone!!! I would love to join your group.
About me:
I am 34, 5'2" and weigh 126. My original goal was 125, changed it to 120 and in all honesty would like to get down to 115, but a toned 115 not just a skinny 115. I run 5 miles 5x a week and do about 30min of strength training after my run in the morning. I have 2 children- Jacob is 3.5 and Ava is 19 months. I work full time as a teacher- so my exercise happens at 5am in the morning while the kids and husband are sleeping.
I was at a plateau all summer and then dropped 6lbs in 2 weeks when school started again. I've been basically stuck since then. My body responds really well to a lower carb food plan, sticking to it is another story though. I am also still breastfedding my daughter. Hmm . . . I think that's it- feel free to add me!

dietfree2012

Good morning! My name is Latoya and i would love to join your group! I have 12 pounds left to lose and i have a feeling it will be very hard!! I have lost 33 pounds so far with 23 of those while on MFP. During this journey i have hit 2 plateaus; one that i just recently broke. Question: do you guys follow the MFP equation 100% ? If you dont that can be the problem. that is what it was for me. i dont know if this is true for everyone but this is how it worked for me. my calorie count is at 1280 calories to lose a pound a week. instead of following this 100% i would exercise and not eat those calories back or not exercise and eat way too much. it has to balance out...we cant eat too much or too little. for me, 1280 calories a day is really hard...so when i can i try to burn with exercise and i eat my calories back becuase i love to eat and im usually hungry!! whatever i do, rather its exercise and eat calories back or not exercise and only eat 1280 calories...if i stay at 1280 calories i lose a pound a week.. with that being said..i still struggle because discipline is hard for me, lol! this is why im here...so my goal for the week is to move as much as possible and try to always end up at or around 1280....my weight today is 147.4....i want to see 146 this week...goal weight is 135.

lizlee8

bump for later
x

easfahl

Hey everyone, I'd love to join too. I'm 5'4" and currently have 10 pounds to lose. I've been waffling between 138 and 140 for about 2-3 weeks now, trying to get down to 130. I usually try to eat ALL of my exercise calories back but it's sometimes difficult on a weekend with nice weather and I do as many of my sports as possible. So really I've kind of been unintentionally zig-zagging my calories due to nice fall weekends. That hasn't seemed to help. I have been reading how increasing your calories has been working for some of you. I'm really debating trying that. It's just kind of scary.

amys31

One thing i have noticed about a lot of people in this group is that you do a LOT of exercise, but eat very few calories (ie 1200 isnt really enough in most cases). the best way to lose the final few pounds is to eat ALL your exercise calories and hit your calorie goal each day!

I agree...thanks for the input:-)