What's your plan for the last 15-20lbs?

Curvimami

Anyone else been on MFP for a while and have 15-25 lbs left to lose. How much have you lost thus far? What programs have you been following? What are your plans for reaching your goals this year? I started at 212 on MFP down from a high of 218 and am now at 180, my goal is 160 (may re-evaluate once I get there). How about you??? What are the tips for your success?

MrsBailey149

I started at 222 and am currently at 170. My goal weight is 155, so I have about 15 pounds to go.

Running and vidoes such as 30 Day shred have given me the best results in the past. However, I do a variety of things...elliptical, turbo fire, many jillan videos, zumba, etc... I typically eat between 1500-2000 calories/day. The weight came off really slow though. It took me about a year to lose the 50 pounds. But, I like to eat and wanted a lifestyle I could continue. 1200 cals a day is nothing I want to continue...

So what's my plan? Well, unfornately, I don't have any amazing bits of advice for you since I'm struggling with my final pounds as well. I plan to net around 1600 calories a day. For exercise, I'm going to run at least 4 nights a week and do P90x with my boyfriend about 3 times a week. When I have extra time, I'll do zumba on Sundays. I think variety is important, as well as stregth training at this point. If I reach a size 8 prior to reaching my 155 pound goal, perhaps I'll stop. I'm striving to look good, not necessarily see a certain number on the scale.

I think the closer to your goal, the slower it will come off. Realize it, accept it, and enjoy the process of making yourself as healthy as possible. Remember that there is no "end" to this. It's a continual process...so do something tht you can continue for the rest of your life.

Good luck!! I'm right here with ya on those last stubborn pounds! I"m hoping to reach my goal by the end of Aug. But, the sooner the better

gheldean

As I am in a similar place (after much longer, lol)....

I started in December 2011 at 311 lbs, and now am at 213 with a goal of 190 (technically <189 so I'm no longer even 'overweight' by BMI).

I have used the MFP provided calorie numbers, and in general eaten back my exercise (stationary bike/walking/road bike) calories at a goal of 2 lbs/week. This resulted in an overall (from 12/2011 until now) loss of ~1.3 lbs/week (which I'm quite happy with)

About a month ago, I changed it to 1.5 lbs/week (at 220) and continue to lose at a reasonable pace.

If all keeps up well, I am planning on changing to goals to 1 lb/week when I hit 200 and probably stay there (or at .5 lb/week) until my goal and then for maintenance, to account for variability in food/exercise calories.

Tips for success... eat less food and exercise more, that's all I tell everyone. With the one big point of tracking your food/calories, in my case, via MFP.

Duck_Puddle

I think the closer to your goal, the slower it will come off. Realize it, accept it, and enjoy the process of making yourself as healthy as possible. Remember that there is no "end" to this. It's a continual process...so do something tht you can continue for the rest of your life.

This^. My plan is to just keep doing what I'm doing. Eventually the weight will come off assuming I maintain a calorie deficit. If it happens next week, next month or next year-whatever. I'm focused on maintaining healthy eating and exercise for life, and letting the rest happen.

78brownie_wechanged

I think the closer to your goal, the slower it will come off. Realize it, accept it, and enjoy the process of making yourself as healthy as possible. Remember that there is no "end" to this. It's a continual process...so do something tht you can continue for the rest of your life.

This^. My plan is to just keep doing what I'm doing. Eventually the weight will come off assuming I maintain a calorie deficit. If it happens next week, next month or next year-whatever. I'm focused on maintaining healthy eating and exercise for life, and letting the rest happen.

Everything!

majope

My plan in a nutshell: eat at a small deficit, keep active, and switch up exercise as I get closer to goal.

I lost 30 pounds back in 2011 aiming for a pound a week (and averaging a little faster than that). My calorie goal was in the 1500s-1600s/day. Decided to lose some more this year, but since I was within 15-20 pounds when I started (didn't have a set goal then, have since decided on 18), I aimed for half a pound a week. That gives me a goal to net 1760 calories/day.

Now that I'm about 7 pounds from goal, I've started 30 Day Shred and added a third (and more advanced--ow) Pilates class to my week. I'm hoping this will carve off some inches as I lose the last pounds--heck, if I lose the inches, to heck with the pounds. Still going to do my usual running, which will continue after I reach maintenance as well, I just thought it was a good idea to change things up a bit and focus a little more on strength.

slugkiller

Sorry, no plan here but I am interested to see what else is put here.

I'm down from 213 to 180 since September 2012, and have 160ish in mind. I've been rubbish with consistency over the last few weeks - hence not losing anything during that time. At least its not gone up. My main problem is that I have not yet managed to change my behaviour around food - I slip right back in to bingeing when I feel like it; followed by more moderate days to stay at an even level. I definately need a plan to sort this habit out.

I run a couple of times a week, play other sports (archery, stoolball, tennis), walk the dog, zumba if no other stuff happening.

Good luck everyone

Curvimami

I started at 222 and am currently at 170. My goal weight is 155, so I have about 15 pounds to go.

Running and vidoes such as 30 Day shred have given me the best results in the past. However, I do a variety of things...elliptical, turbo fire, many jillan videos, zumba, etc... I typically eat between 1500-2000 calories/day. The weight came off really slow though. It took me about a year to lose the 50 pounds. But, I like to eat and wanted a lifestyle I could continue. 1200 cals a day is nothing I want to continue...

So what's my plan? Well, unfornately, I don't have any amazing bits of advice for you since I'm struggling with my final pounds as well. I plan to net around 1600 calories a day. For exercise, I'm going to run at least 4 nights a week and do P90x with my boyfriend about 3 times a week. When I have extra time, I'll do zumba on Sundays. I think variety is important, as well as stregth training at this point. If I reach a size 8 prior to reaching my 155 pound goal, perhaps I'll stop. I'm striving to look good, not necessarily see a certain number on the scale.

I think the closer to your goal, the slower it will come off. Realize it, accept it, and enjoy the process of making yourself as healthy as possible. Remember that there is no "end" to this. It's a continual process...so do something tht you can continue for the rest of your life.

Good luck!! I'm right here with ya on those last stubborn pounds! I"m hoping to reach my goal by the end of Aug. But, the sooner the better

Awwww, thanx Nicole!!! . You're doing a fantastic job!! Great motivation. So glad I have you in my support network :blushing: :flowerforyou: Thanx for posting. XOXO

Curvimami

As I am in a similar place (after much longer, lol)....

I started in December 2011 at 311 lbs, and now am at 213 with a goal of 190 (technically <189 so I'm no longer even 'overweight' by BMI).

I have used the MFP provided calorie numbers, and in general eaten back my exercise (stationary bike/walking/road bike) calories at a goal of 2 lbs/week. This resulted in an overall (from 12/2011 until now) loss of ~1.3 lbs/week (which I'm quite happy with)

About a month ago, I changed it to 1.5 lbs/week (at 220) and continue to lose at a reasonable pace.

If all keeps up well, I am planning on changing to goals to 1 lb/week when I hit 200 and probably stay there (or at .5 lb/week) until my goal and then for maintenance, to account for variability in food/exercise calories.

Tips for success... eat less food and exercise more, that's all I tell everyone. With the one big point of tracking your food/calories, in my case, via MFP.

Thanx so much for the tips. Appreciate it!

Curvimami

Sorry, no plan here but I am interested to see what else is put here.

I'm down from 213 to 180 since September 2012, and have 160ish in mind. I've been rubbish with consistency over the last few weeks - hence not losing anything during that time. At least its not gone up. My main problem is that I have not yet managed to change my behaviour around food - I slip right back in to bingeing when I feel like it; followed by more moderate days to stay at an even level. I definately need a plan to sort this habit out.

I run a couple of times a week, play other sports (archery, stoolball, tennis), walk the dog, zumba if no other stuff happening.

Good luck everyone

We seem to be in the same boat. Sweets are my weakness, I think they slowed me down significantly. Thanx for sharing :happy:

HapThompson

I'm at 182 today, down from 250 ish since September 2012 ('m not sure of my exact starting weight, but it was there or more). I was originally aiming for 175, but i'm very close to that now and not where I want to be yet, so I just decreased my goal again to 165 and i'll see how I feel at that point.

My weightloss has been fairly consistent until the last month or so. I regularly lost 2lbs a week but that has slowed to around 1lb per week. I haven't slackened off or anything, just have to work that much harder to burn the same amount of calories... As I get closer to my weight goal i'm trying to set other goals to keep me motivated - I recently started C25K and joined the gym so my exercise reqime has stepped up a bit and I want to be able to run a decent-ish time on the 5K some friends and I are signing up to do in September.

All the way through my weight loss i've found that my body sort of tells me when it's time to step up in terms of exercise / when it's right to do something new and push things harder and sticking to that has meant that i've steadily got fitter and built strength.

chelseascounter

No cheat meals

evansproudmama

I've been here for about two years and have yo yod back and forth but finally am sticking to it! I started at 205 and am currently down to 158 with only 18 pounds to my goal weight. I've changed plans dramatically from when I first started.

First Started- Just ate 1200 calories a day but didn't pay attention to the quality of the food I was eating and continued to have irresponsible and unhealthy eating habits (like telling myself I could eat whatever I wanted as long as at the end of the day the calories where under 1200 even if that meant binge eating on one meal and skipping the next yikes. I lost my first 15lbs this way

Middle of my journey- I found the primal or paleo way of eating and working out and focused on getting quality foods high in protein, low in carbs into my body and focused on my pilates form and perfecting that type of exercise as well as became a runner using the Couch 2 5k program on my smart phone. I lost about 15lbs in this phase of my jouney and truly started loving running which is saying a lot because I never in my life thought that I would be a runner!

Starting December of 2012- I watched a few documentaries and started researching the chemicals and perservatives they put in all our "health" foods and started focusing on not only the amount of food I was eating but the quality of it and found the clean eating way of life. I shoot to eat 80% clean while allowing myself to indulge 20% and of course if I am in a situation (like at a restaurant or at someones house) that I can't eat clean I don't stress myself about it. I aim to get a minimum of 10 8oz glasses of water a day if not more. I run, do pilates, began practicing yoga and do all sorts of Jillian workouts to keep my exercises mixed up and keep my body guessing.

Where I am today- As of today I have 18lbs to lose and have just purchased the book "The new rules of weight lifting for women" I still run but do less cardio as I am now focusing on tackling the last of the fat with building muscle and getting toned. My mindset is completely different then it was when I started, I am now focusing on how I look and feel and my over all health instead of the number on the scale. A month ago I decided to become a pescetarian (I only eat fish no other meat) due to not being able to afford quality beef and chicken as I would hope to. I still strive to eat clean 80% of the time though I do still drink alcohol regularly (happy to say I kicked the beer habit though)

My official plan from here on : I'm aiming to hit goals that are not related to the scale such as running a half marathon next January and focus on eating whole quality foods that will fuel my body. I am not there yet but I am closer then I was yesterday and that Is what I am focusing on, thats the plan and I know that if I just stick to it eventually my body will be forced to let go of that fat that was put on due to bad/uneducated eating habits and not moving enough.

Good Luck with your journey I'd like to add that it's important to remember that this is a mind journey as much as a physical one and that we are all always changing and growing so even when we hit our goal weights or journey will end but a new one will begin. Stay strong friends! :flowerforyou:

cbkb1234

I'm at 153 currently and need to go down to 135, I have 18 lbs to go , and I have no idea how to get there I've been keeping the same weight for almost 2 weeks now .

I think I will just start working out even more and go on a super diet! no salt (well lower my salt) only eat whole grains and fruits and veggies for dessert !

I was looking at some workout stuff to buy and there's a mini trampoline I want to buy because I could just jump on it when I'm bored and like watch tv or something, because I DO sometimes become a couch potato

evansproudmama

No cheat meals

I would recommend instead of no cheat meals just allow yourself to have what you want in moderation. The goal is not DEPRIVATION it's MODERATION because otherwise will crack and binge (horrible feeling!) Just eat right, move more and let yourself have what you want in small amounts when you think it's appropriate

astrampe

My official plan from here on : I'm aiming to hit goals that are not related to the scale such as running a half marathon next January and focus on eating whole quality foods that will fuel my body. I am not there yet but I am closer then I was yesterday and that Is what I am focusing on, thats the plan and I know that if I just stick to it eventually my body will be forced to let go of that fat that was put on due to bad/uneducated eating habits and not moving enough.

This...The last 12/15lbs is stuck like glue - BUT - I look better now at 178 than I did at 165 previously...Same size jeans, smaller tops and my clothes fit better, I lift heavy things, I do P90X and swing humongous kettlebells, I run and I enjoy it!
I refuse to get stuck on the number on a scale - as mine fluctuates with up to 8lbs in a week....Just because...:sick:

chelseascounter

No cheat meals

I would recommend instead of no cheat meals just allow yourself to have what you want in moderation. The goal is not DEPRIVATION it's MODERATION because otherwise will crack and binge (horrible feeling!) Just eat right, move more and let yourself have what you want in small amounts when you think it's appropriate

well I guess I'm depriving myself of icecream then. I did cheat meals within my calorie limit the first month and still lost so I know it's possible. I've gone 3 weeks without a cheat meal and I'm proud of myself.

amypomm

I started at 222 also and now 1 year later almost I am 172. My plan is be active 5 days a week for 1 hour and eat between 1300-1600 calories a day and Hope I reach my goal in about 4 months. I only lose about 4 pounds a month. I also quit smoking and Im still losing weight, I was worried I wouldnt.

nxd10

I've lost 33 pounds (maybe 38? I changed scales in the middle). I am within my 5 pound 'goal zone' but want to be at the BOTTOM of it, not the top.

Yeah, keep logging, do more exercise. I'm more systematically walking (I used to walk at least 20 minutes/day, now I walk an hour after dinner) to build muscle and lose inches (inches come off faster at the end than pounds).

I'm going to start swimming. Again, inches not weight.

I haven't upped my calories but I am slightly more forgiving if I go over a bit. But it's a slippery slope. If I didn't log it would be easy for me to eat just a bit too much every day, even though I've logged every bite a whole year.

Curvimami

I've been here for about two years and have yo yod back and forth but finally am sticking to it! I started at 205 and am currently down to 158 with only 18 pounds to my goal weight. I've changed plans dramatically from when I first started.

First Started- Just ate 1200 calories a day but didn't pay attention to the quality of the food I was eating and continued to have irresponsible and unhealthy eating habits (like telling myself I could eat whatever I wanted as long as at the end of the day the calories where under 1200 even if that meant binge eating on one meal and skipping the next yikes. I lost my first 15lbs this way

Middle of my journey- I found the primal or paleo way of eating and working out and focused on getting quality foods high in protein, low in carbs into my body and focused on my pilates form and perfecting that type of exercise as well as became a runner using the Couch 2 5k program on my smart phone. I lost about 15lbs in this phase of my jouney and truly started loving running which is saying a lot because I never in my life thought that I would be a runner!

Starting December of 2012- I watched a few documentaries and started researching the chemicals and perservatives they put in all our "health" foods and started focusing on not only the amount of food I was eating but the quality of it and found the clean eating way of life. I shoot to eat 80% clean while allowing myself to indulge 20% and of course if I am in a situation (like at a restaurant or at someones house) that I can't eat clean I don't stress myself about it. I aim to get a minimum of 10 8oz glasses of water a day if not more. I run, do pilates, began practicing yoga and do all sorts of Jillian workouts to keep my exercises mixed up and keep my body guessing.

Where I am today- As of today I have 18lbs to lose and have just purchased the book "The new rules of weight lifting for women" I still run but do less cardio as I am now focusing on tackling the last of the fat with building muscle and getting toned. My mindset is completely different then it was when I started, I am now focusing on how I look and feel and my over all health instead of the number on the scale. A month ago I decided to become a pescetarian (I only eat fish no other meat) due to not being able to afford quality beef and chicken as I would hope to. I still strive to eat clean 80% of the time though I do still drink alcohol regularly (happy to say I kicked the beer habit though)

My official plan from here on : I'm aiming to hit goals that are not related to the scale such as running a half marathon next January and focus on eating whole quality foods that will fuel my body. I am not there yet but I am closer then I was yesterday and that Is what I am focusing on, thats the plan and I know that if I just stick to it eventually my body will be forced to let go of that fat that was put on due to bad/uneducated eating habits and not moving enough.

Good Luck with your journey I'd like to add that it's important to remember that this is a mind journey as much as a physical one and that we are all always changing and growing so even when we hit our goal weights or journey will end but a new one will begin. Stay strong friends! :flowerforyou:

Thank you!! Such a great post!

slugkiller

But it's a slippery slope. If I didn't log it would be easy for me to eat just a bit too much every day

For me I think this is key - keep logging no matter what stage I get to.

ashleymcn01

I needed to read this! I'm down 30lbs and only have 6 left to reach goal. I haven't dropped a pound on the scale in a month, but I have definitely toned up and know that the inches are coming off.

I work out roughly 4 days a week with the Fitness Blender videos, and have been eating at 1400 calories for about the past month. I've been thinking I should increase my calories to around 1700 to see if that will jump start my metabolism again. Has anyone else increased their calories so close to their goal once they have stalled?