For those of us with only 10-30 pounds to lose....

SocWkrBee

Thanks for bumping this up! It's good to see others who are in the same boat. I know this sounds crazy, but sometimes I think I would do better if I had more weight to lose. It is hard to find supportive people (in real life) when you only need to drop a few.

jamielynn020610

I'm with you guys. I have another 15-20 lbs I want to lose and I am stuck where I am at and I am not happy!

Jxnsmma

Im there too. Want to lose another 19 lbs... But if I cheat on the weekend, even if i work out daily and have ben an angel all week, i undo any progress. sigh.. I love when people say you can eat pizza and cheeseburgers to lose weight. My response is always "yeah you can now when you are 100lbs overweight, but those are NOT gonna take off that last 20"...

insert really sad, pathetic sweaty sigh here...

rmkramer003

I'm trying to lose 25 more lbs! First 10 came off in a month and now I am stuck.

This happened to me too. I've been hoving at 13 lbs lost.

usernamealreadytakenagain

Hi! Me too, I have just started and am trying to lose 8 lb

fitohgee

yes! the last bit of pudge is just on my stomach, and it is so hard to get rid of

That ^^
I have about 15 to go

BSchoberg

Right there with ya... and it's a killer, those last 20 pounds. Especially as we get older! Ten years ago, I would have already dropped my last 17 with the program I'm on right now. Ten years ago, I was stupid and didn't do it, so now I'm stuck having to work twice as hard for half the results!

My big change has been worrying about how long it will take. Yes I get discouraged when each weekly weigh in seems to bring very little change, but I'm not freaking out about it. I'm taking a longer view - I don't care about next month... I care about next year - that I'm still exercising as hard as I am now and doing more/better/faster/stronger and that I'm still healthy, even if I'm carrying an extra few pounds. But I figure even I can lose 17 pounds in a YEAR! LOL

Laoch_Cailin

For those of you who have lost a substantial amount of weight - congratulations. However, please note that once your weight crepes to near or average weight range, you will have to take diet breaks and return back to maintenance for a certain amount of time so that you can reestablish a more suitable environment for the endocrine system to lose an optimal amount of fat mass. If you continue a chronic calorie deficit, your body is no longer primed for fat loss and progress will be extremely minute. In summary, do cycles of 4-5 months at an appropriate deficit to reduce body fat coupled with a two weeks-several months (depending how long one has habitually maintained a deficit) before returning to a deficit again.

Just quoting this as no-one seems to have acknowledged it. Makes complete sense. I've got about 5-6lbs to lose. I'm trying eating 10% off my TDEE to get rid of this last bit. Been eating too little for too long.

hope8311

I set out to lose 30 lbs, I only lost 2 i work out and started eating healthy,....When others lose 10 lbs in a week I am baffled..However I didn't gain the weight over night..So am giving myself that much time to lose it...

leilamarchi

Me too; I've been wanting to lose 20 for like....years....but granted, I haven't been more than half-a**ing it. But I'd always get discouraged because I would put in that I wanted to lose a 1.5 lbs a week, the calculator would tell me 1200 calories and that my projected loss was 0.8 lb/week - but going lower than 1200 is supposed to be really bad for you! Sigh.

Well, I'm starting the 6-week body makeover which I've done before (like 8 years ago) with AMAZING results - it's a very restrictive, really-low-calorie (1000-1200) diet for six weeks, then you can start working things back in. And honestly...not THAT restrictive.... I think it's more restrictive for people who don't like to/don't have time to/don't know how to cook. Or people who feel the need to eat an extra teaspoon or more of salt with every meal. Me? I ate an unseasoned baked sweet potato today and was like....nature's freaking candy.

Anyway, I digress. It's a pain to lose those pounds. Maybe focus on living a healthier lifestyle/getting more active/how your clothes are fitting you, rather than being a slave to the number on your scale? That's what I'm trying to do too.

JSlattery79

I have about 15-20 pounds to lose.. it's so aggravating!!!!.. I have to like the gym double hard to burn as many calories as someone who is bigger.. :sad:

sandkrain

bump

justlistening

Me too!! I'm trying to lose 15 lbs and have lost 4 in the last 2 months and the losses have been slowing down quickly. I don't have a choice though. I just continue with my plan I don't want to be disappointed when I look in the mirror or see a pic of myself.

WAHMto5

I am also on my last 8~10 lbs to lose:) With a vacation and the Holidays coming, might take a bit!

newcl360

21 pounds (9.6kg) to get into my healthy BMI category.... it's a daily battle!!!

Slow and steady wins the race so i'm told.......

hablondi

Me - 13 lbs to lose to get to pre-pregnancy weight. 18lbs to lose to get to pre-wedding weight. 24lbs to get to the weight I was at when I was in the best shape of my life.

I have been yo-yoing the same 10lbs up and down for about 2 years now. Would go on a super -restrictive diet to try to get it off quick and would fall of the wagon for months.

This time I am using a fitbit and really trying to not go below a 500 calorie deficit to see if I can maintain it for the long-term.

zannyzanzanzibar

I have 20lbs to go & so far it's coming off steadily, but I know it'll get harder. My goal is 160 so not that low but I am 6ft & I know I look decent at that weight. I might go down to 150 eventually but I'll find out when I get there!

yaomihaha

Totally agree. It is so hard to not to cry and give up sometimes. I used four months to lose the numbers which some people can do in one week.......

05saleengirl

I have 12 lbs to get to 130 and I'd like to try to get to 120, or at least build more muscle. It IS tough. The first 100 lbs were off "effortlessly" so it seems. This last bit...is trying my patients....not to mention having hypothyroid does not help either!

jacquelyn_erika

I have about 12 lbs to lose...although, I like where my weight is now...I think it is more that I want to tone the butt and thighs! I am afraid if I lose much more weight, I won't have any boobies left! :frown:

I am right there with you. I know for a fact if I lose the rest of the weight I want, my boobs are long gone. See ya!

misfitswayoflife

me too. I need to lose maybe 20 pounds. 30 at most. I lost ten of them last summer. got a boyfriend, got too comfortable, gained it back, trying again

wgn4166

I have 10 more to go!

snapril68

I started on Aug 27th and the first month lost 8lbs. My starting weight was 130lbs and was down to 122. Got stuck there for awhile and then cut out all carbs and switched to non-fat dairy, lean meat, and veggies while staying on my 1200cal diet. After 10 days of eating like this with no cheat days I finally allowed myself 2 cheat days then went back to my strict diet. Apparently that worked because now I'm down to 118. Only have 4 more lbs to go before I hit my goal weight ..... Finally ..... Seems like it is harder to lose just those last few lbs. Hoping i'll hit my goal weight by the end of the month!

Shelgirl001

Just a bit over 20 pounds to lose now, and I haven't been below my current weight in at least 10 years. It's definitely harder to lose it now, in my 40's.

roguestates

Yup, 30 lbs to go and it's been super slow... 2 lbs in 7ish months after the initial drop? It's funny how when I was younger at 130#, I was trying to lose weight, and now I'm working hard to get back to 130#.

californiagirl2012

It's SO HARD to lose those pounds! You're not very big..so your body needs less calories to exist...which means your deficets(sp?) are small, even on low calorie diet. I feel like I run a marathon (or more) for each pound lost! Patience patience patience..and work work work!!!

Haha. Anyone else in the 10-30 club?

I was there. It is HARD because your deficit does need to be more shallow as you become leaner. The last lbs shed slower. It's like watching grass grow. But it can be done. If I did it at age 50 with all the female aging issues against me anyone can do it!

Here is what I keep in mind, even form maintenance now:

Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.

Girls, start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.

Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.

If you are a girl you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.

My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulking and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

To say eat more is wrong.

To say eat less is wrong.

To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.

All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.

Some people can eat at a big calorie deficit and some people can't. Everyone is different. Even a small calorie deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones as such, add a new workout routine, and those will make more spikes. This is a huge waiting game and requires much patience. Add in emotional eating issues and then you have more complications.

Also people play mental accounting games with calories just like with finances. Make steps to make sure you are making accurate measurements. Packaged foods can have MORE than they say but not less (they get in trouble if less so they would rather error with MORE).

If you typically intake sodium at a certain rate your body adjusts, but if you make a sudden change then you will see a spike.

Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

clarkeje1

Same. Stuck at 150-160 and goal is 130. Been like this for about a year.

chroniclesofthinoholic

So i guess with my last 6 pounds I have to probably start lifting to tone...because I seem to always go up and down ...need to join a gym december!

jessgumkowski88

I want to lose like 30ish pounds and it was REALLY hard for it to start coming off for me, the first 4lbs were instantaneous almost and then my weight went up like 2lbs and stayed there for a while.....

Now that I started insanity, however, they've been flying off I love the scale now (it still makes me nervous though... I try to not weigh myself more than like once a week or once every two weeks)

honestykay

I have 2 lbs to get to my first goal and 7 lbs to my final goal. I have only lost 1 lb in the last 3 months. It drives me crazy. I really want to tone up but that doesn't seem to be happening very fast either. I work out at least 5 days a week and stay under or at my calories. I could use any advice or motivation.