Advice on the last 15lbs

Heidi_20

So, I am 5'5" and weigh 160lbs (SW 196lbs). My goal is to be at 145lbs. TDEE-20% worked wonders for me for a nice consistent loss for the past 4months. But now that I am on the last 15lbs and I am starving!!! Should I be cutting my loss to 15% or 10%?? When do you usually start the TDEE-10%, when you are on the last 10lbs??? Just looking for advice for the last leg of this journey!!!

CariS001

I've always read that as you get closer to goal, your % deficit should decrease. Try aiming for 10-15%. The last 10-15 are SLOOOOOOOOOW (ugh!)

aliciab307

I'm on my last 15 lbs as well but right now I'm taking a diet break and finding my true tdee. Once that happens I'll start at a 15% cut then within the last 8-10 lbs I'll do a 5-10% cut. If you are still at 20% its too steep of a deficit. Try 15% then when you get to the last 10 lbs do 5-10% your choice

Heidi_20

Thanks ladies for the advice!!

CM9178

I agree, with 15 lbs left, try a 10 to 15% deficit.

SolanumSunrise

I am also 5'5". I started at 175 and today I'm at 147 working my way to around 140. I didn't start tracking my calories until I joined MFP in December 2012. I've increased my calories twice since then based on consistently being hungry. The first time was about a month after I added exercise in to my fitness routine and found that I was always ravenous. The second time was when I got to about 150 and found myself being hungry too often. I had been losing about 1 lb. per week so I figured I'd be happier if I ate a little more even though I'll lose weight a little more slowly. To cut my weight loss down to around .5 lbs per week I started eating 200 calories more every day (which put me at at 10% deficit) and I've felt better, and I've had more energy when I work out and my calories burns have increased per my HRM. That was at the beginning of this month and I've already lost another 3 lbs so I may increase my calories again next month if it turns out I'm still losing 1 lb per week.