A little advice on the last bit of weight.

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Hello fello "lose-ers",

After eating at a defecit from January 21, 2013 to this year I've gotten down to 117lb. At my heighest weight I was 186ish. I'm only 5'2" and my current body fat % is 23.5%. My initial goal was to get to 120lbs and I hit that goal wahoo!! But now for me it's not just the number it's the BF% and ideally I would like to be between 18-20% BF. It's starting to become a struggle as far as just accepting that my weight can go any lower than it is. I fit in smaller clothes than I have been in over a decade. To lose the weight I kept between 1,200-1,400 calories. Naturally the smaller you get, the harder you have to work to make the fat dissapear. My BMR is about 1,218 and if I eat between 1,200-1,500 [1,500 being about maintenance for me], I don't lose diddly squat. I really don't know about the whole eating more and weight just coming off any more. I know it's about calories in calories out, eating at a deficit, excerise to be health is a bonus. I'm trying to get back into the gym and it's difficult with my new schedule. I have a kid part time in school with me full time school and managing a home. I know it's a crappy excuse but untill I get back into the gym to start weight training, I'm not sure what I can do with out eating less than 1,200 a day! Welcome to suggestions :)

Replies

  • kcshues
    kcshues Posts: 5 Member
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    Good on you! What an amazing accomplishment. I've not lost as much as you, but I've been plateau'd within 3 lbs of my goal, seems like forever. So I decided to jumpstart things by doing a 10 day juice fast and detox, after I watched an amazing and motivational documentary "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". You can find it online at www.fatsickandnearlydead.com. My granddaughter turned me onto it, she is on day 20 and has lost over 15 lbs, is full of energy and feels great. She's 29, a single mom with a 6 kid full time daycare, a special needs kid, and a part time coaching job. All I could afford was a ten day (as you know, eating healthy costs more, and I am dirt poor), but I knew I needed a detox after the excesses of the holidays. And I want to change my goal to 10 more pounds not three, to feel even better (haven't figured out how to change the weight goal in my profile, but it's there in my head). Sadly, I had a cheapie juicer, and today it tanked. I am bummed to the max, but am determined not to give up, will start haunting the thrifts for a good juicer. People buy them, find it to be too much work, and they sit in closets and cupboards...I may even put an ad in my local pennysaver looking for one. I don't know if you would be interested in something like that, but I've juiced before, and I know it works. In three days, I dropped between 2 & 3 lbs! There's a ton of info online about juicing....if you are on Facebook, there is a great page titled All About Juicing, with tips and recipes and a ten day plan. Whatever you decide to do, I so applaud you for hanging in there when the going is tough. I too, can't lose unless I drop below 1,000 a day, and juicing is the only way I can do that and not feel sick, altho the first 4-5 days can be tough as the toxins work their way out of your body. I'm pretty old, and have a chronic illness, so I can't get too crazy. Juicing maintains my nutrient levels in a way that nothing else does, and it's the only thing I've ever found that boosts my metabolism. My BMR and body fat are pretty much the same as yours. It's tough being an endomorph! Blessings on you!
  • gw132
    gw132 Posts: 1
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    I'm going to send you the p90x set.
  • navyrigger46
    navyrigger46 Posts: 1,301 Member
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    Good on you! What an amazing accomplishment. I've not lost as much as you, but I've been plateau'd within 3 lbs of my goal, seems like forever. So I decided to jumpstart things by doing a 10 day juice fast and detox, after I watched an amazing and motivational documentary "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". You can find it online at www.fatsickandnearlydead.com. My granddaughter turned me onto it, she is on day 20 and has lost over 15 lbs, is full of energy and feels great. She's 29, a single mom with a 6 kid full time daycare, a special needs kid, and a part time coaching job. All I could afford was a ten day (as you know, eating healthy costs more, and I am dirt poor), but I knew I needed a detox after the excesses of the holidays. And I want to change my goal to 10 more pounds not three, to feel even better (haven't figured out how to change the weight goal in my profile, but it's there in my head). Sadly, I had a cheapie juicer, and today it tanked. I am bummed to the max, but am determined not to give up, will start haunting the thrifts for a good juicer. People buy them, find it to be too much work, and they sit in closets and cupboards...I may even put an ad in my local pennysaver looking for one. I don't know if you would be interested in something like that, but I've juiced before, and I know it works. In three days, I dropped between 2 & 3 lbs! There's a ton of info online about juicing....if you are on Facebook, there is a great page titled All About Juicing, with tips and recipes and a ten day plan. Whatever you decide to do, I so applaud you for hanging in there when the going is tough. I too, can't lose unless I drop below 1,000 a day, and juicing is the only way I can do that and not feel sick, altho the first 4-5 days can be tough as the toxins work their way out of your body. I'm pretty old, and have a chronic illness, so I can't get too crazy. Juicing maintains my nutrient levels in a way that nothing else does, and it's the only thing I've ever found that boosts my metabolism. My BMR and body fat are pretty much the same as yours. It's tough being an endomorph! Blessings on you!

    OP, you don't need to lose fat, you need to build muscle, increase your calories to maintenance slowly and start lifting heavy, pick up New Rules, or Starting Strength and go from there.

    Rigger
  • ell_v131
    ell_v131 Posts: 349 Member
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    I think you have done great! There is no point in trying to lose more weight if you ask me, as you are a healthy weight. If I were you I'd focus on body recomposition. If you google it, great sites come up.

    It basically requires strength training and eating at maintenance or slight deficit (think 100 cals, maybe less at your small frame). You don't need gym membership to do resistance training. Google convict conditioning or nerd fitness, great bodyweight exercises. Exercise bands are a cheap alternative to add some more challenge to your workouts. It will be a very slow process but in a year or so you will be much happier with your shape!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    It is going to be extremely difficult if you don't get in some pretty regular exercise. Really, 20% for a female is "athletic"...you aren't going to achieve that by just eating less and less. Someone else said it and I'm echoing it...you need to build some muscle and work on body comp. Personally, I'd eat at or just below maintenance and start pumping some iron. No way your maintenance should be 1500 calories. My wife is 5'2" and pushing 40...she lifts weights (New Rules) 3x weekly and does 5Ks so she runs 3-4 days per week...she maintains right around 2300 calories per day.

    20% BF for a female is going to be pretty tough to maintain if you aren't hitting the gym pretty hard....unless you just don't really want to eat anything.
  • VelcroButt
    VelcroButt Posts: 34 Member
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    I know how tough it can be to get to the gym. Can you do some DVD's at home in the meantime?
  • fuzzymop55
    fuzzymop55 Posts: 70 Member
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    It is going to be extremely difficult if you don't get in some pretty regular exercise. Really, 20% for a female is "athletic"...you aren't going to achieve that by just eating less and less. Someone else said it and I'm echoing it...you need to build some muscle and work on body comp. Personally, I'd eat at or just below maintenance and start pumping some iron. No way your maintenance should be 1500 calories. My wife is 5'2" and pushing 40...she lifts weights (New Rules) 3x weekly and does 5Ks so she runs 3-4 days per week...she maintains right around 2300 calories per day.

    20% BF for a female is going to be pretty tough to maintain if you aren't hitting the gym pretty hard....unless you just don't really want to eat anything.

    Seeing as I'm an not active as your wife, I couldn't eat as many calories as her.
  • fuzzymop55
    fuzzymop55 Posts: 70 Member
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    All of you have given me sound advice, I really am looking forward to start lifting weights again. Thanks:)