Dwindling down to my final pounds! Help!

heather_huggins

So, i've lost about 25 pounds so far, and i have about 15-16 pounds until my goal weight (20 to my ultimate goal weight, but i'm focusing on my goal weight first) anyways, i do cardio every day (jillian michaels 30 day shred, i'm on level 2 ATM) and walk my dog for 20-30 mins every night. i drink 3-4 32 oz bottles of water a day and have really been watching what i eat (i'm only human, so i do occasionally slip and have a cookie or 2) what i'm trying to get at, what can i do to boost my weight loss?? it was so much easier in the beginning, the weight practically fell right off me the first month with a loss of over 10 pounds (when i was doing Insanity) but i can't do Insanity anymore, it's too hard on my knees. i will take any advice i can get!! what are some ideas?? thanks for taking time to read this

heather_huggins

anyone?? "/

paijing

I find protein really satiating -- it keeps me full and prevents me from indulging in junk food! Eating casein protein fluff (or sludge, as the girl at muffintopless.com calls it) is an easy way to get a treat and stay full so you can keep your calories down. Another way is to take caffeine before your workouts to up the ante.

Good work on all the weight loss! Keep going -- it does get harder as you get closer to your goal weight, but you'll make it!

ka97

Change up your cardio. Over time your body adapts and becomes very efficient at doing the same thing over and over. Try something new - spinning, swimming, kickboxing, zumba....just something your body isn't used to.
Lift weights - you'd be amazed what a difference it can make.

John2347

Well if your weight loss has almost halted then you might actually need to eat more due to the increase of muscle on your body. For most people this helps once weight loss slows.

JustPeachy044

It gets harder the closer you get to goal.

Get lean protein levels up, keep sodium and fat down (except "good" fats from avocados, almonds, walnuts, etc.)

Lift weights! You are getting a lot of cardio, but you need to do something to build that muscle. As my fitness coach said recently, "burn with cardio, walk out of the gym, done" (pretty much). Lift weights, burn less while lifting but the burn continues for hours. Plus you build muscle." You need both, but I've heard pure cardio will not get you where you want to go...

Good luck! And Congrats on your progress.

heather_huggins

Well if your weight loss has almost halted then you might actually need to eat more due to the increase of muscle on your body. For most people this helps once weight loss slows.

i have changed my goals on here once i reached a plateau. i was eating 1300 cals a day and was at a stop for a month, so i changed some stuff and it upped me to 1640 cals a day. my issue is, if i burn calories during the day, it's hard for me to eat back those burned calories because i'm just not hungry to eat them especially when i'm drinking a lot of water, it really curbs my hunger.

Sarauk2sf

Not so much for weight loss but to help with body composition, I would suggest starting to strength train by lifting weights.

Sarauk2sf

Well if your weight loss has almost halted then you might actually need to eat more due to the increase of muscle on your body. For most people this helps once weight loss slows.

i have changed my goals on here once i reached a plateau. i was eating 1300 cals a day and was at a stop for a month, so i changed some stuff and it upped me to 1640 cals a day. my issue is, if i burn calories during the day, it's hard for me to eat back those burned calories because i'm just not hungry to eat them especially when i'm drinking a lot of water, it really curbs my hunger.

You can always drink some of your calories. Drink a glass of 1% or full fat milk - it will give you calories and protein and some good fats.

pvankline

I agree with the earlier reply about changing it up. Your body gets used to doing the same exercise. Strength training (not body building) will help with the lean muscle build and then increase your caloric burn. Great job so far!

heather_huggins

It gets harder the closer you get to goal.

Get lean protein levels up, keep sodium and fat down (except "good" fats from avocados, almonds, walnuts, etc.)

Lift weights! You are getting a lot of cardio, but you need to do something to build that muscle. As my fitness coach said recently, "burn with cardio, walk out of the gym, done" (pretty much). Lift weights, burn less while lifting but the burn continues for hours. Plus you build muscle." You need both, but I've heard pure cardio will not get you where you want to go...

Good luck! And Congrats on your progress.

thank you very much. maybe i should try doing some weights...there's a 24/7 gym 7 miles away from me. i could check the prices there and possibly get a membership. do my cardio at home and lift at the gym. i don't really know much about lifting. is there some sort of routine i should follow, especially for a beginner?

heather_huggins

Well if your weight loss has almost halted then you might actually need to eat more due to the increase of muscle on your body. For most people this helps once weight loss slows.

i have changed my goals on here once i reached a plateau. i was eating 1300 cals a day and was at a stop for a month, so i changed some stuff and it upped me to 1640 cals a day. my issue is, if i burn calories during the day, it's hard for me to eat back those burned calories because i'm just not hungry to eat them especially when i'm drinking a lot of water, it really curbs my hunger.

You can always drink some of your calories. Drink a glass of 1% or full fat milk - it will give you calories and protein and some good fats.

yeah, i've never really thought about milk. sometimes it makes me a little queezy if i drink too much of it. but a small 8oz glass should be ok. i've just noticed some of it has a lot of sugar! so weird!

heather_huggins

I agree with the earlier reply about changing it up. Your body gets used to doing the same exercise. Strength training (not body building) will help with the lean muscle build and then increase your caloric burn. Great job so far!

thank you so much :happy:

John2347

Drink more water WITH each meal as opposed to BETWEEN meals, that way you will be hungry again later. Also like the above post mentions, lift weights. Cardio is good, but lift, lift, lift! The more lean body mass the greater number of calories you body burns at rest even if you haven't worked out at all. Good luck!

Feel free to friend for training advice since I am a trainer

heather_huggins

Drink more water WITH each meal as opposed to BETWEEN meals, that way you will be hungry again later. Also like the above post mentions, lift weights. Cardio is good, but lift, lift, lift! The more lean body mass the greater number of calories you body burns at rest even if you haven't worked out at all. Good luck!

Feel free to friend for training advice since I am a trainer

thank you! now, i do have questions haha! i've never really lifted before. are there certain exercises i should start out w/ as a beginner??

Sarauk2sf

Well if your weight loss has almost halted then you might actually need to eat more due to the increase of muscle on your body. For most people this helps once weight loss slows.

i have changed my goals on here once i reached a plateau. i was eating 1300 cals a day and was at a stop for a month, so i changed some stuff and it upped me to 1640 cals a day. my issue is, if i burn calories during the day, it's hard for me to eat back those burned calories because i'm just not hungry to eat them especially when i'm drinking a lot of water, it really curbs my hunger.

You can always drink some of your calories. Drink a glass of 1% or full fat milk - it will give you calories and protein and some good fats.

yeah, i've never really thought about milk. sometimes it makes me a little queezy if i drink too much of it. but a small 8oz glass should be ok. i've just noticed some of it has a lot of sugar! so weird!

The sugar is naturally occurring - it is basically lactose and should be treated as all other sugars - just one of the food items that make up the carb macro.

ETA: you can replace one of your cups of water with the milk so it does not fill you up more. Milk is predominantly water so counts towards your fluid requirements.

Sarauk2sf

Drink more water WITH each meal as opposed to BETWEEN meals, that way you will be hungry again later. Also like the above post mentions, lift weights. Cardio is good, but lift, lift, lift! The more lean body mass the greater number of calories you body burns at rest even if you haven't worked out at all. Good luck!

Feel free to friend for training advice since I am a trainer

thank you! now, i do have questions haha! i've never really lifted before. are there certain exercises i should start out w/ as a beginner??

If you have access to a gym or have home gym equipment, New Rules of Lifting For Women is very popular (I do not do it myself but a lot of folks on here do) - there are groups here for people following it that you can join if you want.

Jennical

Bump!

krivedal

Best investment in myself I ever made? Meeting with a fitness trainer! He taught me what all those machines were for and gave me guidelines for how to workout on my own. Even if you can't continue with someone long term, even a few sessions will get you started.

heather_huggins

Well if your weight loss has almost halted then you might actually need to eat more due to the increase of muscle on your body. For most people this helps once weight loss slows.

i have changed my goals on here once i reached a plateau. i was eating 1300 cals a day and was at a stop for a month, so i changed some stuff and it upped me to 1640 cals a day. my issue is, if i burn calories during the day, it's hard for me to eat back those burned calories because i'm just not hungry to eat them especially when i'm drinking a lot of water, it really curbs my hunger.

You can always drink some of your calories. Drink a glass of 1% or full fat milk - it will give you calories and protein and some good fats.

yeah, i've never really thought about milk. sometimes it makes me a little queezy if i drink too much of it. but a small 8oz glass should be ok. i've just noticed some of it has a lot of sugar! so weird!

The sugar is naturally occurring - it is basically lactose and should be treated as all other sugars - just one of the food items that make up the carb macro.

ETA: you can replace one of your cups of water with the milk so it does not fill you up more. Milk is predominantly water so counts towards your fluid requirements.

interesting. i did not know that!

heather_huggins

Best investment in myself I ever made? Meeting with a fitness trainer! He taught me what all those machines were for and gave me guidelines for how to workout on my own. Even if you can't continue with someone long term, even a few sessions will get you started.

i could possibly do something like that to get myself started up, to get a better understanding of the equipment lol

Sarauk2sf

I also have another suggestion. If you have been at a calorific deficit since your join date - take a 10 - 14 day diet break where you eat at maintenance. Dieting is stressful on the body and it can get hormones out of whack.

See link for more details:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

heather_huggins

good luck!! the closer i get to my goal the harder it is. it takes me a month or 2 to lose one pound at this point! have you readjusted your mfp goals since you lost? it may assign you more cals. if you switch it to lose 1/2 lb a week it might help jumpstart your metabolism

i just recently switched it from 2lbs to 1lb a week. i completely forgot i was even at 2lbs so i had been a plateau for a month and when it upped me from 1300 to 1640, i've lost 2lbs since it switched me. a friend on here told me to switch it to 1/2lb once i get down to 10 more lbs to go. i've been anxiously looking at the scale every single morning hoping for more than just a .2-.4 lb loss no such luck..

heather_huggins

I also have another suggestion. If you have been at a calorific deficit since your join date - take a 10 - 14 day diet break where you eat at maintenance. Dieting is stressful on the body and it can get hormones out of whack.

See link for more details:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

i tried to find what "maintenance calories" were, meaning how many should i eat a day? and i could not really find it. it's such a long article! would you happen to know?

Sarauk2sf

I also have another suggestion. If you have been at a calorific deficit since your join date - take a 10 - 14 day diet break where you eat at maintenance. Dieting is stressful on the body and it can get hormones out of whack.

See link for more details:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

i tried to find what "maintenance calories" were, meaning how many should i eat a day? and i could not really find it. it's such a long article! would you happen to know?

The best way to find out maintenance is to go back and calculate your weight loss over the long term, multiply each pound by 3,500, calculate your calories eaten and add these two together and divide by the period you are looking at - this should be maintenance (which will include exercise)

Alternatively, you can estimate what it is. here is a link to a good estimation tool:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

orishp

Double post

orishp

In MFP in goals, i believe it tells you what your daily caloric expenditure is, if you have your settings for 1 lb loss/week it would be your current goal + 500 calories (so your total calorie deficit is 3500 cals in a week, 3500 cals = 1 lb)
You could also google TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and you'll find many formulas to calculate this.

I agree with the advice to lift weights, I am doing new rules of lifting for women. Do you have a YMCA nearby, cheaper than a gym and has everything I need

I have been trying to lose the last lb to get to my goal for a while, so yes, its so much harder as you get clOser