Do things slow down when you're at the last 20-25lbs?

katcod1522

So far..since July I have lost 49lbs as of today. At a rate of about 10lbs a month. I have 21-23lbs to go to my goal...then maybe another 9lbs from there...but Im wondering if that last 20ish lbs is the hardest and slowest to lose? I'm not in a hurry (well...March 17th is my ideal timeline for my half marathon).

brushe

i have definitely noticed a slow down. i'm 15lbs away from my goal and seem to be plateuing. i read yesterday that as you get closer to your body's ideal wait the balance between efficiency in burning calories and continuing to lose vs. your body going into a survival/storing mode is very close one way or the other.

brushe

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

The important thing to understand is (and this is REALLY important) the closer you are to your overall healthy weight (again, your metabolism views this a a range, not a specific number) the more prominant the survival mode becomes (remember, we talked about efficiency). This is because as fat becomes scarce, muscle is easier to break down and transport. And thus, the reason why it's harder to lose that "Last 10 pounds".

katcod1522

So..what are we going to do about this??? Im sluggish on my runs..which I think has to do with the colder weather...and trying to rush thru so I can do the other 199 things I have to do every day. So...change up foods? Eat above cals for a few days? Ideas?

katcod1522

read that forum..makes sense. So..lets see if we can push through this

brushe

i'm trying to make sure i don't come in under my cals and if i go over a little bit, i'm not stressing. I changed my goal to 1.5 a week about two weeks ago to try to keep the muscle on. may change 1lb a week.

teagin2002

I would suggest introducing weights. It will change up your exercise routine and it might be the change your body needs.
Our bodies adjust to what ever we do after time and changing things up a bit will help.

I would suggest that 30 min of that walk 3X a week should be allotted to light weight training or training using your own body weight, like in the videos. So start with doing squats and lunges and stuff like that, then two to three weeks in grab a couple of 5 lb weights or water bottles and do the same exercise. The rest of the days can be the same 1 hr walk your body is used to.

Good luck!

sophjakesmom

YES!! I've had to adjust my expectations and keep my motivation up.

katcod1522

I run..and do intervals to keep my metabolism up..and I do weight/strength training on the bow flex 2 days a week..and use the kettle bell. I think I need to run harder..faster..since Im now 50lbs lighter to burn more in a smaller time frame. And try to eat all my calories!

frugalmomsrock

I have been stuck at 20-25 pounds from goal FOREVER. I did finally start losing inches again, so I was hoping that the rest would follow soon. I found a zig zag calculator, and I started that. I finally lost .4 as of today! I'm not counting it just yet since my official weigh day is Friday, but I'm hoping it means I'm headed in the right direction again-FINALLY.

http://www.shapefit.com/calorie-intake-calculator.html#

kellyscomeback

Not for me...yet. I eat back most of my calories, I'm eating healthier compared to 4-5 months ago and I try to change up my exercise routine weekly or every 2 weeks. I also take a day off and eat a little more than I normally would and it's usually on my rest day.

aweightymatter

Yes, absolutely! Now that I am no longer medically overweight, things have slowed down like crazy. I would like to lose another 25 pounds to put me a little lower in the "healthy" range, and now every pound is a struggle. I've taken off maybe 3 lbs over the last month and a half ... But hey, I figure that's better than nothing.

Right now I am trying carb and calorie cycling and some other tricks to try to speed things up.

Good luck -- and I would love to hear about what's worked for others in a similar situation.

99clmsntgr

Yes, the last 15-20 pounds for me to get to my goal was much slower than the initial 15-20 pounds.

To lend some credence to what Brushe was posting, I've upped my calories over the last month or so, now using MFP's "maintenance" total, and I've dropped 7 pounds in the last two weeks. I have a feeling that my body is releasing all the survival mode stores since I have more calories to burn, but that's just my uneducated guess.

It's funny, I never thought I'd be at this point, but over the past couple weeks, when I step on the scale I find myself telling my body, "I'm happy with you! Stop it!" Hopefully this will settle out soon...

katcod1522

I think Im going to try the calorie cycling thing starting on Sunday. Sounds like it may be the right direction