How to lose these last 5 pounds?!?!?!

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ksalvarezn
ksalvarezn Posts: 16 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I posted this under a different message board and didn't get a whole lot of response. I have been doing insanity (on the second month) and counting calories but I am stalled on the last five pounds. I still have fat on my belly and hips, my goal weight is 120 and I am 5'3'' I am discouraged which has caused me to take a lot of breaks from the insanity exercises. HELP!!

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  • nixerific
    nixerific Posts: 76 Member
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    I went through your dairy and what works for me is cutting the carbs. On some days you are eating around 200g, but try to stay under a hundred for a week and see if you see any results. You may want to also keep your protein closer to 100g a day too. Drink LOTS of water and avoid too much sodium.

    Also with Insanity, your body is probably retaining a lot of water due to stress. Once your second month is over after a few days you will probably see the weight start coming off faster. This was my experience with my first round on Insanity and with Insanity the Asylum.
  • downinaggieland98
    downinaggieland98 Posts: 224 Member
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    I was going to say less carbs as well. I notice a BIG difference when I am low carb and doing more strength training.
  • ksalvarezn
    ksalvarezn Posts: 16 Member
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    Thanks for the advice! I really am a sucker for carbs
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    Make sure you at assuming a small deficit somewhere around 10-15% below maintenance. Avoid sodium-filled foods and limit items that lead to extra water retention such as rice and certain grains.
  • ksalvarezn
    ksalvarezn Posts: 16 Member
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    Are there certain carbs that I should cut completely. We eat tortillas with most everything. Any healthier alternatives?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    Cutting carbs will make you reduce water weight, not so much in fat. Fat loss is all about a calorie deficit. Also, with insanity, I hope you are eating between 1800-2100 calories. The biggest mistake is people don't follow the nutritional guide from those programs where it's eating 20% below TDEE. Too many people believe a larger deficit means more weight loss but there are hormonal responses to prevent fat loss. I do the P90X/Insanity hybrid and I eat 2700 ish calories a day (although I am a man) but the majority of women, even your size, are eating 1800+ calories. You have to fuel the body to burn fat, otherwise you burn muscle.

    If anything, do moderate macro's like 35% c, 40% p and 25% fat and you will be fine.
  • nixerific
    nixerific Posts: 76 Member
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    I love tortillas. These are what I eat "La Tortilla Factory - Smart and Delicious Low Carb High Fiber Whole Wheat Small." They have 3 net carbs each and have plenty of protein.

    Also, I'm not sure about Psulemon's explanation that carbs reduce water is true. I'm going to need to see some sources on that claim. A quick google--I'm at work so I can't do too much searching--led to an article saying that at first you lose water weight and then you will lose some of your fat stores.
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
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    Cutting carbs will make you reduce water weight, not so much in fat. Fat loss is all about a calorie deficit. Also, with insanity, I hope you are eating between 1800-2100 calories. The biggest mistake is people don't follow the nutritional guide from those programs where it's eating 20% below TDEE. Too many people believe a larger deficit means more weight loss but there are hormonal responses to prevent fat loss. I do the P90X/Insanity hybrid and I eat 2700 ish calories a day (although I am a man) but the majority of women, even your size, are eating 1800+ calories. You have to fuel the body to burn fat, otherwise you burn muscle.

    If anything, do moderate macro's like 35% c, 40% p and 25% fat and you will be fine.

    I agree with this. If I were you, I wouldn't cut carbs unless you plan to do it indefinitely, because you will retain more water once you return to carbs. Plus, if, as you say, you can still see actual fat, you probably want to lose that, not the water retention. Moderate calorie deficit and resistance training are the ways to go imo! If you are lean, cycling carbs might work http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/fat_loss_carb_cycling.htm

    http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/ is an awesome calculator made for IF types, but I'm sure you could use the calorie and macros from the calculator without IFing
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
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    I love tortillas. These are what I eat "La Tortilla Factory - Smart and Delicious Low Carb High Fiber Whole Wheat Small." They have 3 net carbs each and have plenty of protein.

    Also, I'm not sure about Psulemon's explanation that carbs reduce water is true. I'm going to need to see some sources on that claim. A quick google--I'm at work so I can't do too much searching--led to an article saying that at first you lose water weight and then you will lose some of your fat stores.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/how-many-carbohydrates-do-you-need.html

    Here's a good source, he cites sources too, if you want primary literature!

    Damn, this article isn't what I thought, I'll edit again with a better one

    Re-edited: http://www.justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/

    The source isn't all that amzing, but provides good sources!
  • nixerific
    nixerific Posts: 76 Member
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    At 35% carbs for a 1500 calorie diet you would eat about 131g of carbs. This is still significantly lower than what you have been eating compared to the 200g days. I think 131 is very doable. I'm interested in seeing your results.
  • hiker359
    hiker359 Posts: 577 Member
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    It may not be the carbs you're eating so much as the kind of carbs. Cut out anything processed (breads, pastas, and torts) and focus on getting all your carbs from fruits and vegetables. If you must have tortillas, make sure they're whole wheat and that there's no hidden sugar (High fructose corn syrup or anything else that ends with -ose in it.). Sugar is nasty when it comes to those last 5 pounds. If you need the calories, eat brown rice and/or sweet potatoes.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
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    Cutting carbs will make you reduce water weight, not so much in fat. Fat loss is all about a calorie deficit. Also, with insanity, I hope you are eating between 1800-2100 calories. The biggest mistake is people don't follow the nutritional guide from those programs where it's eating 20% below TDEE. Too many people believe a larger deficit means more weight loss but there are hormonal responses to prevent fat loss. I do the P90X/Insanity hybrid and I eat 2700 ish calories a day (although I am a man) but the majority of women, even your size, are eating 1800+ calories. You have to fuel the body to burn fat, otherwise you burn muscle.

    If anything, do moderate macro's like 35% c, 40% p and 25% fat and you will be fine.

    I agree with this. If I were you, I wouldn't cut carbs unless you plan to do it indefinitely, because you will retain more water once you return to carbs. Plus, if, as you say, you can still see actual fat, you probably want to lose that, not the water retention. Moderate calorie deficit and resistance training are the ways to go imo! If you are lean, cycling carbs might work http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/fat_loss_carb_cycling.htm

    http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/ is an awesome calculator made for IF types, but I'm sure you could use the calorie and macros from the calculator without IFing

    I would pretty much agree with this too. It's really about a small deficit and patience. Weight loss is very slow at this point, way slower than when you had more fat reserves. When I was trying to get my waist down for the contest I was in this last March, it took me 3 months for that last bit. When you get to this point of leanness you can't eat at a big deficit anymore. Everything now happens slowly. Patience Patience Patience, and a small deficit and keep working out. Focus on the small deficit and keep working out, day in and day out, nothing else matters and there is nothing exciting about the process. Then one day you reach your goal.

    Then what? LOL This is hard too.
  • ksalvarezn
    ksalvarezn Posts: 16 Member
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    Thanks for all the advice! I will limit my complex carbohydrates for sure. With insanity I've been eating about 1700-1800 calories and burning 400 a day. I know I have to be patient. I'm not big on "dieting" that cuts out food groups or includes fasting, etc. so I suppose I will just need to be patient and let the deficit do the work. I really want abs!!!!!!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    Can you open you diary so we can make recommendations?
  • ksalvarezn
    ksalvarezn Posts: 16 Member
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    I made my diary public! Thanks
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    Two things jumped out... one, you are very high in carbs.. I would suggest replacing some of the breads with lean cuts of meat (steak, lean group meat, bison <-- my favorite, duck) or seafood (salmon, lobster w/o butter, crab). Also, even though your goal is 1800 calories, most days you are 1400-1600... I would suggest being more consistent. Also, the last 5 lbs of fat can take a very long time. I was around 12% body fat for a while. I am hoping to hit single digits soon though.
  • JennieCakes72
    JennieCakes72 Posts: 64 Member
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    Did you ever lose the last 5 pounds? Was cutting back on carbs the key?

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