How Do I Lose My Last 10lbs

2

Replies

  • QueenBishOTUniverse
    QueenBishOTUniverse Posts: 14,121 Member
    Also wondering how the not caring about the scale weight is working for you. Are you losing now? Is your body changing to look better? Are you almost at goal?

    There's nothing wrong with tracking scale weight. I check my scale weight every day and have a wonderful giddy feeling when I see a new low BUT I also don't (or try not to) let it upset me when the scale doesn't move because I know it's not the only thing that matters.

    I'm still 18 pounds from my goal weight of 160 BUT I may stop with the weight loss entirely at 170 and just start focusing on doing a recomp to drop body fat. I know it's probably going to take me MONTHS to get down to 170, and 160 may not even be a reasonable goal for me, I'll evaluate as I go.

    My body has changed drastically since August, and even in my plateau, I was still seeing major changes in my overall shape and getting in to smaller pants. I actually got more compliments on my "weight loss" during the plateau than I did during the first three months when I was actually losing weight.

    I think the biggest thing that helps *for me* is the fact that I learned a long time ago that weight wasn't a good indicator of my overall health. I'm actually an inch shorter than you. My doctor in highschool told me very plainly that anything under 150 lbs on MY build and with MY muscle mass would be underweight, and I had another growth spurt in my early 20's that added several inches to my shoulders and rib cage sooooo, I'm always going to be heavy, maybe even always "overweight" according to BMI, but if I can wear a size 6-8, run for miles and miles, and have a low bf% and rock a bikini, who cares what the scale says?
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
    Ya im just going to eat at a deficit and work on my plan - see what happens. I won't be stepping on a scale til the Spring. Won't be eating at much of a deficit either 10-15% off TDEE that's all. Lets say size 7 is my goal instead of 10lbs weight loss. Right now im a size 9/10.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    There are other things than scale weight to look at.

    Measurements, how you feel in your clothes, how you look in the mirror.
    How is your energy level, etc....
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
    I hear we shouldn't complicate things. I sense complication when reading most people's suggestions..............I feel that eating at a deficit, doing some cardio and heavy weights is the least complicated as i can be. Sure im gonna avoid some certain foods but that's because im an all or nothing kinda person. If i open a bag of chips, i don't eat 10 chips, I eat the whole bag.........
  • QueenBishOTUniverse
    QueenBishOTUniverse Posts: 14,121 Member
    I fully support KISS methedology (keep it simple stupid)!
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
    There are other things than scale weight to look at.

    Measurements, how you feel in your clothes, how you look in the mirror.
    How is your energy level, etc....

    Well when i weighed 140lbs I felt awesome in my clothes, i looked super hot in the mirror and my energy level was high!
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    There are other things than scale weight to look at.

    Measurements, how you feel in your clothes, how you look in the mirror.
    How is your energy level, etc....

    Well when i weighed 140lbs I felt awesome in my clothes, i looked super hot in the mirror and my energy level was high!

    Then shoot for 140
    But if you were to lift, develop muscle, and still be say, 148......
    Wouldn't that be pretty cool??
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
    There are other things than scale weight to look at.

    Measurements, how you feel in your clothes, how you look in the mirror.
    How is your energy level, etc....

    Well when i weighed 140lbs I felt awesome in my clothes, i looked super hot in the mirror and my energy level was high!

    Then shoot for 140
    But if you were to lift, develop muscle, and still be say, 148......
    Wouldn't that be pretty cool??

    Yes it would be cool but it's gonna take way longer and it's a more difficult process.
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
    Was just wondering too - wouldn't it be even harder for me to burn just fat vs. fat/muscle to lose weight because im on INSULIN for T1 diabetes???? The growth hormone/the fat storing hormone!!! Does know this change any one of your minds about me just solely aiming to lose the last 10lbs even though it will be fat/muscle loss......
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
    There are other things than scale weight to look at.

    Measurements, how you feel in your clothes, how you look in the mirror.
    How is your energy level, etc....

    Well when i weighed 140lbs I felt awesome in my clothes, i looked super hot in the mirror and my energy level was high!

    Then shoot for 140
    But if you were to lift, develop muscle, and still be say, 148......
    Wouldn't that be pretty cool??

    Confused. I thought no one could develop muscle while in a deficit. Im sure as hell not going to eat at a surplus!
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    There are other things than scale weight to look at.

    Measurements, how you feel in your clothes, how you look in the mirror.
    How is your energy level, etc....

    Well when i weighed 140lbs I felt awesome in my clothes, i looked super hot in the mirror and my energy level was high!

    Then shoot for 140
    But if you were to lift, develop muscle, and still be say, 148......
    Wouldn't that be pretty cool??

    Confused. I thought no one could develop muscle while in a deficit. Im sure as hell not going to eat at a surplus!

    Well no, not saying eat at a deficit or surplus....
    Maybe just eat at maintenance.....prolly take longer.....

    But I would say go with the deficit approach
    While in deficit it would be hard to build muscle.
    You can still build strength and develop the muscle while in deficit.

    So that way when you do lose the weight, you don't look like a smaller version of what you are now. Typically what joggers see when they lose weight
    But you are "smaller" (maybe...more muscle has more density than fat), but your muscles are more defined.
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    I hear we shouldn't complicate things. I sense complication when reading most people's suggestions..............I feel that eating at a deficit, doing some cardio and heavy weights is the least complicated as i can be. Sure im gonna avoid some certain foods but that's because im an all or nothing kinda person. If i open a bag of chips, i don't eat 10 chips, I eat the whole bag.........

    I agree. You're approaching the "process" well. The issue people are seeing was the sort of arbitrary, "I don't care about reducing body fat %. I just care about losing 10 lbs."

    Most people have been here for awhile, and I'd go so far as to say the majority of people looking to lose weight actually want to reduce body fat %. Reducing BF% is best for both health and aesthetics... so why focus on a scale weight?

    Tracking scale weight is fine; but throwing out advice and/or becoming overly rigid about a number on the scale is potentially dangerous.

    You could easily be as "hot" as you looked at 140 at a higher weight. Lifting weights at a deficit can produce minor muscle gains ("noobie gains," if you've never lifted consistently before). Lifting weights at a deficit can also help keep LBM--you'll get stronger, you'll keep your muscle (which is what produces "tightness," "firmness," etc.). You'll shed fat. As a result, body fat % will drop without necessarily dropping a significant amount of LBM.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Your goals are conflicting, and you are unwilling to take the steps necessary to reach them.

    Want to lose 10 lbs? Eat less. Want to have the body of the girl in your avatar? Start lifting heavy, get implants, and invest in a lot of bronzer.
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
    Your goals are conflicting, and you are unwilling to take the steps necessary to reach them.

    Want to lose 10 lbs? Eat less. Want to have the body of the girl in your avatar? Start lifting heavy, get implants, and invest in a lot of bronzer.
    Um no. I want to lose 10lbs is the only goal i have. I will be eating less and I will be lifting heavy though. Just not getting implants and not investing in lots of bronzer.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    Your goals are conflicting, and you are unwilling to take the steps necessary to reach them.

    Want to lose 10 lbs? Eat less. Want to have the body of the girl in your avatar? Start lifting heavy, get implants, and invest in a lot of bronzer.

    Her first post says she is not the girl in the photo nor desires to be that girl.

    OP, why is that person your photo, then? :huh:
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    Hey, The girl in my profile pic is not me nor is her body a goal of mine. My goal is to lose 10lbs and to have the look of "my body" 10lbs lighter. Catch my drift? I want to give myself 4 months to lose 10lbs. Im starting at 150lbs and want to get to my prepreg weight of 140lbs. So that's 2.5lbs lost per month and YES i will take more weight lost per month if my body wants to do that!!!lol. I am 5'9" and i plan to eat 1500cals per day and do cardio and weights three times a week. Both cardio and weights on the same days. Weights will be heavy not light.

    Is this the way I should kill my last 10lbs of fat?

    I would suggest you are going to need to reset your expectation. You will not lose 2.5lbs / month.. Maybe if you had 40 or 50 to lose, but not with 10. There is no healthy sustainable way to do what you are saying by eating at TDEE -10 - 15%. Considering you yourself said you aren't even counting calories you have no idea how many calories that will even be much less if you are going to hit them.

    Figure out a good calorie range, aim for .5/wk at the most loss, do your workouts and make sure you are eating enough to fuel them. Trying to set too aggressive of a goal without a solid plan of action = setting yourself up for failure.
  • QueenBishOTUniverse
    QueenBishOTUniverse Posts: 14,121 Member
    Ok, I believe earlier you said it had been quite some time since you had done any real lifting. While normally it is true that you can't put on muscle in a deficit, the caveat to this rule is "noob gains" which, since you haven't lifted in a while, applies to you. It also applied to me, that's why I stalled out for six weeks when I started up.

    What this means is that for the first month or two, you may see a slight uptick on the scale as your body adjusts to the new routine. This may just be water retention, but it may also be a slight increase in actual muscle mass. Past this point however, you should begin to see the scale start moving down again as long as you are maintaining your deficit.

    A couple other things to keep in mind:

    Your deficit should stay SMALL, with only ten pounds to lose, and with the exercise you are planning, trying to work at too high of a deficit is going to wipe you out. As far as what a good deficit will be for you, only you can figure that part out. 1800 calories is probably a good starting point. If you start feeling tired/weak/cranky all the time, you'll probably need to consider upping it. I would wait at least TWO MONTHS before even thinking about dropping it below 1800 though, because that is already a lowish number for someone your height.

    Your weight loss is going to be SLOW, think 6 months to a year. This is the main reason most people are suggesting you track body fat instead since for most people wanting to lose that last little bit of weight, what they really mean is they want to lose that last little bit of fat, and that will often be easier to track and monitor than the actual weight loss.

    As far as how insulin impacts your goals. I would do a search in the forums for other threads that may have addressed this topic. If you can't find any previous threads then I would suggest posting a new thread that solely addresses that issue so that you can get advice from people who have dealt with it themselves, and of course talk to your doctor, because they will actually have the medical expertise pertaining to that issue.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Her first post says she is not the girl in the photo nor desires to be that girl.

    That's what she said. Everything else implies essentially the opposite.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    Her first post says she is not the girl in the photo nor desires to be that girl.

    That's what she said. Everything else implies essentially the opposite.

    Ah, nice catch.
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
    some of mfp people are so complicated. sticking to deficit, cardio and heavy weights.
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
    im not working at this for 6 months to a year! im going to give myself 4 months to lose 10lbs by deficit. i chose the girl in profile pic because i think she looks good, thats all. Once the 10lbs is gone, then i continue exercise and eat maintenance. keeping it simple guys!
  • janpuzzle31
    janpuzzle31 Posts: 48 Member
    I have recently lost my last 10 pounds and the last 7 of those was lost using mfp. I am 5' 8", so a similar height to yourself and have moved my weight from 154 to 144 pounds, which I am delighted with. I eat a primal diet, so unprocessed and very little sugar and have had my daily calories at 1570 for the last 7 pounds. This has produced a weight loss of about 1 pound every 2 weeks. I don't lift in the way you do but I do try and fit in 2 or 3 cardio and a pilates session every week. I let mfp calculate my daily calories, though I did change the macros to reflect my type of diet (which is lower in carbs). For me the beauty of using mfp has been the simplicity i.e. I set the goals at 0.5 pounds a week, entered my weight and exercise levels accurately and it has delivered. That has given me some faith in the program.
  • nazish17
    nazish17 Posts: 61 Member
    Your plan seems solid to me :)

    Try it and see what works, if it doesn't then you can always just revise your plan Hun, Best Of Luck, you know your body better than any of us here so you will figure what works for you x


    Best OF luck:flowerforyou:
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
    I have recently lost my last 10 pounds and the last 7 of those was lost using mfp. I am 5' 8", so a similar height to yourself and have moved my weight from 154 to 144 pounds, which I am delighted with. I eat a primal diet, so unprocessed and very little sugar and have had my daily calories at 1570 for the last 7 pounds. This has produced a weight loss of about 1 pound every 2 weeks. I don't lift in the way you do but I do try and fit in 2 or 3 cardio and a pilates session every week. I let mfp calculate my daily calories, though I did change the macros to reflect my type of diet (which is lower in carbs). For me the beauty of using mfp has been the simplicity i.e. I set the goals at 0.5 pounds a week, entered my weight and exercise levels accurately and it has delivered. That has given me some faith in the program.
    Awesome, im just heavy lifting to try and maintain some of my current LBM instead of losing muscle too with the weight loss. Not going all out to be the perfect muscular me or anything. Alot say that if u just lose weight without lifting heavy, then u just look like a smaller version of your current body. YA! So what i say! lol
  • janpuzzle31
    janpuzzle31 Posts: 48 Member
    I have increased my muscle definition in my abdominal area and see an overall improvement, so for me lifting weights was not important.
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    Barbara, is that you?
  • I'm 5'9'' and have the saem exact weight goal as you. I'm eating about 1800 calories and its been good
  • arl1286
    arl1286 Posts: 276 Member
    I'm 5'10, somewhere between 140 and 150 pounds. I usually run 4 times a week, lift 2 or 3 (depending on my schedule). I eat 1500, but that's my NET. So I eat back all of my exercise calories. So I usually end up eating around 1900 calories per day.
  • Momjogger
    Momjogger Posts: 750 Member
    what kind of lifting are you going to be doing..compounds?

    I just did my first workout a while ago. (I did StrongLifts 5X5 a year ago) This is what i did today:

    Front Squats 60lbs 3X10
    BenchPress on machine 40lbs 3X10
    BackRows 60lbs 1X10

    On Tuesday i will do this:
    Front Squats 65lbs 3X10
    OHP 40lbs 3X10
    Deads 120lbs 1X10

    nice. not bad.

    as long as you are following a progressive overload strength training program, you'll definetly be losing body fat and losing weight.

    Dont forget! AND eating at a deficit!

    don't eat too much at a deficit though. looking at your stats, i think that you're pretty tall, and if you lower your body fat, you'll probably achieve the body you want, regardless of weight.

    this is staci. on the left, she is 131 lbs. on the right, she's actually 142, eleven pounds heavier.

    Screen-Shot-2011-07-21-at-92311-AM-1.jpg

    read her story: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

    Great story but not for me to do. She started out very skinny - im not skinny by any means. I don't have the equipment, time or money to be able to go to a gym and work my way up to deadlifting 315lbs. PLUS she looks awesome at 130lbs! She even looked good at 117lbs. With my life, my work out schedule needs to happen at home or to be able to include the baby in it without spending money. I've only got so much stuff in my basement gym. I will say it again, goal is just to lose 10lbs.

    way to set yourself up for failure..

    but good luck to you ...

    What? How is eating at a deficit, doing cardio and weight lifting setting me up for failure?

    You are NOT going to fail. It sounds like your plan will work for you with your lifestyle and goals. Keep up the good work and eat enough. You got some great advice at the beginning of the post and like many of these streams, things tend to go downhill fast. LOL.
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
    I'm 5'9'' and have the saem exact weight goal as you. I'm eating about 1800 calories and its been good

    Hi, nice! What else are you doing besides eating 1800cals?