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

I have 10 more to go!

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.

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.

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!

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.

If you haven't already try switching to a lean protein, non-fat dairy diet with no carbs. That's what helped me when I got stuck, but make sure to allow yourself at least one cheat day once a week or you'll go crazy and eat back your weight. LOL .... Good Luck

Thanks for posting this wall dancer, its a tough fight to the finish. Exactly what u said.

Me too. I am 5 lb from my goal and have been stuck here for a couple of weeks now. I'm not disappointed though because I'm happy with my other measurements and am noticing muscle gain and definition. Even though the scale hasn't moved in about 2 weeks, my waist has decreased by about 1/4" over that time. Overall, I have gone from 202lb to 170lb and my waist has gone from 39" to 31 7/8. My fitness level continues to improve. I'm running (training) 5 to 5 1/2 miles at 7:30 min/mile pace and running weekly road races averaging under 7:10 min/mile for 3-5 miles. So...I'm not too concerned about the scale number.

It is hard. I have about 10 lbs i want to lose and it is all in my midsection area. It just wont go away (

As of this morning I have 9.5 lbs to loose to reach my ultimate goal of 140 but I think I'd prob look ok at 145ish but yeah the weight likes to stick when there's only a little to go!