I'm in the final stretch and it's getting TOUGH now.

I had 1 serving of David Sunflower Seeds and gained 2.8 pounds last night... while still at my calorie goal for the day.

Sodium will play with the scale like CRAZY lol.

But yes... seems everyone and you know the right stuff for now. Good job.

Just remember, WATER WEIGHT. Especially when picking up more food. Even if the extra food has NO sodium at all, you'll still retain extra water to process it... I'd actually go through it in detail (put that college education to work!) ... but then you might not eat at all lol.

Don't take this as 'science', but 'my story'...
I did mean to do 1lb/week, but eating a net average of 2000 calories a day, I found myself losing at 2lb/week.
I stuck to that for around 20 weeks for 40lb loss.
I planned to go another 5lb or so more, but seemd to hit a plateau where previous calorie levels were keeping my weight consistent.

What I found particularly interesting was that a bit of strength I'd lost (doing an ultramarathon knocked my squats down even more) was returning.
A logical guess would be my body's BMR was lower - which gives more energy to go to muscles and explains a lack of weight loss.

I decided I was happy enough where I was - so for the next five weeks I've added an extra 250 calories a day each week. Through that time, I consistently lost about .5lb/week. So it would seem my body was adjusting up at a similar rate.
I expeect if I went back to a deficit, I could lose a fat again without going down to really low calories, but happy enough on my 'lean bulk' (thus five weeks adding 250 calories) for a bit.

And finally...

(...and this may be a gender thing...)

...but I do not understand the quest to reach an arbitrary number that is just 2-5 pounds less than someone is now...especially if it's particularly elusive. Wouldn't it make more sense to focus that energy on increasing strength? Or some other metric of health? Or even some positive lifestyle change/habit not even related to weight/fitness/health? Sure, I understand not being satisfied with where someone is at a particular time and setting a goal accordingly, but there seems to be a lot of effort/energy/focus being spent on some very specific goal weights to the exclusion of other more meaningful metrics.

/soapbox

I think you are correct...it's a gender thing. Not all females but lots are the same way...ran into one today...she is at goal but wants to lose another 2-3lbs...:huh:

It blows my mind as well. I hit goal today..bam done...I've been reverse dieting for almost a month now. Couldn't wait to hit that number...Yah food...

Because being happy with how you look doesn't really depend on the number on the scale. I know I'm still trying to lose my last 3 pounds, but ideally I'd like to lose more... I'm just trying to be realistic and know it's hard enough as it is, at some point I would just like to be able to eat more, lol (plus I'd lose more calories maintaining lower)... so I'll probably stop at 3.

What is your carb intake like? I've noticed that when I have low carb days that I get light headed. As soon as I start adding it back in, it goes away.

Nope, I don't always eat back my excersize calories.

Thanks for the advice Dana, and the congrats. I really do feel like I have succeeded, it's just this end game bull**** is throwing me.

Any thoughts on the light headed ness? I felt like I was gonna pass out this morning. My diary is open if anyone cares.

Hydration, low blood sugar, low blood pressure. anemia. All things that can cause or contribute to light headedness. Could be worth a quick trip to the Doc for some blood work and a blood pressure check

I really do feel like I have succeeded, it's just this end game bull**** is throwing me.

Well, rest assured that this isn't the end game then...you're just arriving at the starting line of the real race. I'd personally put more of my focus and energies on nutrition and fitness rather than worrying about a few Lbs...3-5 Lbs is basically natural day to day body weight fluctuations.

I really do feel like I have succeeded, it's just this end game bull**** is throwing me.

Well, rest assured that this isn't the end game then...you're just arriving at the starting line of the real race. I'd personally put more of my focus and energies on nutrition and fitness rather than worrying about a few Lbs...3-5 Lbs is basically natural day to day body weight fluctuations.

I don't know how men feel about those 3-5 pounds, but I, as woman, do feel the big difference when trying on jeans and dresses.

I really do feel like I have succeeded, it's just this end game bull**** is throwing me.

Well, rest assured that this isn't the end game then...you're just arriving at the starting line of the real race. I'd personally put more of my focus and energies on nutrition and fitness rather than worrying about a few Lbs...3-5 Lbs is basically natural day to day body weight fluctuations.

Yup, ^this.