HELP! frustrated with last 10-15 pounds. losing motivation

hatethisweight22

ive been stuck at the 140 pound mark FOREVER... it seems.

i have about 10-15 pounds to go and because it wont budge i am in such a bad mood all the time.

i can barely walk today with all the exercise, my legs are killing me! and i feel like i just want to stuff my face all week because theres no point anymore.

i know the last pounds are the hardest to lose but i need some motivation and maybe some tips

TavistockToad

how many cals are you eating? what is your exercise routine?

hatethisweight22

how many cals are you eating? what is your exercise routine?

on most days i eat around 1000 - 1200 a day, sometimes i may go over a bit.

i walk about 4-5 times a week about 4 miles and i do insanity time exercise 1-2 day a week.

kingofcrunk

Hi! I'm struggling with my last few lbs too.

Try to stay positive about it. Keep doing what you're doing (you know you are putting in amazing effort and treating your body so much better than you ever have before) and it will happen for you. It might take a while, but motivation is the key!

If you're muscles are hurting, take a rest day tomorrow and give your body a break. It won't do any harm and you'll probably feel more positive about the whole situation afterwards.

I'm the worst for being negative about myself but I know deep down that If I keep doing what I'm doing I'll eventually see the results I want.

Good luck with the last few pounds xx

nxd10

a. Exercise makes you look fantastic and cut, but it doesn't help weight loss directly. It's about calories. It sounds to me like you're overdoing - and that would make you more impatient and frustrated.

b. Is your goal weight correct?

c. After I got into a good weight range, I got into a pattern where I would sit at one weight for a month, then drop 3-5 pounds in like a week, then sat for another month without losing, then did it again. I just went through the second drop last week and I'm only 8 pounds from my final goal (12 under my initial goal - yay!) I expect I'll sit at this weight for a while before losing again. For me, I've been pausing in weight loss at the same spots where I stuck on my way up. It's like my body likes the balance at those points and I hit homeostasis. I have AVERAGED exactly a pound a week, but that doesn't mean I've lost one pound EVERY week.

I'd relax a little on the exercise to the point where you're enjoying it again, stick carefully to your calories and measure, measure, measure, and just give yourself some time. You'll get there.

TavistockToad

how many cals are you eating? what is your exercise routine?

on most days i eat around 1000 - 1200 a day, sometimes i may go over a bit.

i walk about 4-5 times a week about 4 miles and i do insanity time exercise 1-2 day a week.

eat more. the less you have to lose the smaller your deficit should be.

Smuterella

Why are you only eating 1000-1200? This site warns you not to eat less than 1200.

psuLemon

how many cals are you eating? what is your exercise routine?

on most days i eat around 1000 - 1200 a day, sometimes i may go over a bit.

i walk about 4-5 times a week about 4 miles and i do insanity time exercise 1-2 day a week.

You are really starving your body. That is why it doesn't want to lose weight. What are you stats... height, weight age? Also have you considered doing any weight training or heavier resistance training?


Based on the past, most women I know eat 1700-2100 calories daily. If you use MFP's way, you should set your account to 1/2 lb per week and eat back 50% of your exercise calories. Also, open your diary so we can evaluate your macro's nutrition or lack there of.

tntgal2

Besides the other advice, remember that as you've gotten fitter and slimmer, your body is much more efficient at handling the exercise. It adapts. So if your walks are the same each day, consider ways to vary them. Do at least one walk with intervals where you are really pushing your aerobic ability. Add a longer walk on the weekend (maybe one morning with 7 miles), and eat back the calories that day. And consider adding strength training to your routine - muscle burns more calories than fat tissue, and looks better too. You've already had lots of success - just keep varying things and don't lose sight of how much better you look now and how much healthier you are.

DeirdreMum8

It seems crazy but like other said you really have to eat more! I loose the most when I eat well at about 1,600 total intake of calories with burning about 300, so I eat 1,900 and work of 300. That is what got me these last 10 pounds. I have 5-10 to go to get to my lifetime goal. Now I am stuck a bit again but I know I have gotten lazy with things like sodium and starch.

I am going to up my greens and raw foods and try to reduce sodium to get over this next hurdle. But I won't go below my calorie limit, I can't live that way long term and short term I don't loose.

Good luck!!!!:flowerforyou:

acogg

and because it wont budge i am in such a bad mood all the time.

Actually, it could be the other way around. It might not budge because you are in a bad mood. Stress releases a hormone cortisol which retains weight. Everyone is right, you may need to increase your calories to improve your mood. Are you taking any vitamin D or getting outside?

ItsCasey

You definitely need to eat more. Even if you could lose your last 10 to 15 lbs by systematically starving yourself and exercising your body to its breaking point, you would gain it all back because, as your post indicates, you cannot keep that up forever.

amiscci

how many cals are you eating? what is your exercise routine?

on most days i eat around 1000 - 1200 a day, sometimes i may go over a bit.

i walk about 4-5 times a week about 4 miles and i do insanity time exercise 1-2 day a week.

eat more. the less you have to lose the smaller your deficit should be.

Yes I'd agree- eat slightly more. Keep exercising in moderation and choose an easier, but maybe longer, path to a long term goal.
I didn't have much (~25-30 lbs, I'm 5'5.5) to lose and the first 20 came off rather straightforwardly.
The last 5-10 pounds have taken forever.. took equally as long. As I got closer to my (several times revised) goal of 125lbs, I tried to get into more of a maintenance mindset-- that this WILL take a long time probably and that I'm now eating to a new lifestyle. I eased up and ate a little more (extra 100-150 calories, but still at a deficit of 200 or so a day) and started think less of it as a "diet" and more of my "new eating". I plateaued at times and continued to lose but much more but slowly. I'm now several pounds below my goal and it doesn't seem so difficult anymore to live with the food intake-- not a lot of splurges but I'm eating well, maintaining/losing a little bit very slowly and I'm trying to figure out my maintenance plan.

You can do it. Be patient. It's taken me nearly 10 months to lose that weight and the last 10 took 4 months of that time..
but slow and sure wins the race AND teaches you how to start a new path forward too.

amiscci

OH, and I meant to add that I am a relatively new Fitbit owner. Still figuring that out but surprised (?) to confirm that I find I'm
only burning about 1500-1600 calories on a normal a day. I do 3x a week with a personal trainer (45 min mostly resistance and weights) and it doesn't track those sessions well, but otherwise I'm very seditary. I knew that, of course :-) At 50 years old, and now at a lesser weight, I just don't burn calories like a furnace anymore and my mainentance calories will only be around 1500-1600 going forward (unless I really increase the workouts)-- thus the importance of finding a happy meal plan that is healthy and satisfying. I'm learning a lot about my body through this process and aim to keep it tuned up. Trying to increase excerise, eat tasty food and stay healthy.

how many cals are you eating? what is your exercise routine?

on most days i eat around 1000 - 1200 a day, sometimes i may go over a bit.

i walk about 4-5 times a week about 4 miles and i do insanity time exercise 1-2 day a week.

eat more. the less you have to lose the smaller your deficit should be.

Yes I'd agree- eat slightly more. Keep exercising in moderation and choose an easier, but maybe longer, path to a long term goal.
I didn't have much (~25-30 lbs, I'm 5'5.5) to lose and the first 20 came off rather straightforwardly.
The last 5-10 pounds have taken forever.. took equally as long. As I got closer to my (several times revised) goal of 125lbs, I tried to get into more of a maintenance mindset-- that this WILL take a long time probably and that I'm now eating to a new lifestyle. I eased up and ate a little more (extra 100-150 calories, but still at a deficit of 200 or so a day) and started think less of it as a "diet" and more of my "new eating". I plateaued at times and continued to lose but much more but slowly. I'm now several pounds below my goal and it doesn't seem so difficult anymore to live with the food intake-- not a lot of splurges but I'm eating well, maintaining/losing a little bit very slowly and I'm trying to figure out my maintenance plan.

You can do it. Be patient. It's taken me nearly 10 months to lose that weight and the last 10 took 4 months of that time..
but slow and sure wins the race AND teaches you how to start a new path forward too.

Nettie96fb

I'm down to my last 10lbs...I've just taken 3 weeks off over Christmas, gained 1/2lb in that time, I'm back on track and the weight is falling off me this week, I'm training and counting again, try taking a couple of weeks off, not gorging yourself, just lighter exercise, and not so strict in the food dept...see how that goes..good luck

MyChocolateDiet

well don't give up. some people have said that upping their calories got them past plateus. just start researching whether upping your calories, lowering them, changing your workout, or anything else might work for you. for now just put yourself on cruise control continuing whatever you are doing until you sort this out and decide which you want to try first.

a friend of mine who was superfit and exercising a lot and vegetarian gave in to my requests for her to at least have some protein after years of my bugging her. finally she added chicken breasts to her diet and ended up losing her final few pounds, her saggy parts tightened up, arms and face area and skin all over became taughter and firmer and softer. don't know why or how, I was only concerned that she hadn't had enough protein at any meal I had had with her over the years and I'm not a dr. nutritionist or anything else, I was just a concerned friend and these were just her results.