What makes those last few pounds so hard to lose?
Notthatapple
Posts: 7 Member
I've been consistently losing until these last ten pounds. The last month I've been up and down the same two pounds! So frustrating. I'm 5"1' with a goal of 130 so I'm not trying to have an ultra low body fat percentage. Is there some secret science to taking off weight as you get closer to goal? I've changed my settings to .5 pounds a week just like I've read to do. Many people have suggested I cut down on my carbs and sagar but didn't need to do that to lose the first 30 pounds. Please help!
0
Replies
-
Same here! Anyone know? I'm at the last 10lbs too!0
-
Have you tried switching up your workouts? Maybe your body is bored. That happened to me and I still have a way to go... so I can imagine at the end you have to go crazy! And by crazy just do what you haven't done so you can just shake those last 10 lbs off.
As far as food wise, changing that a little bit. Maybe the amount of fats/carbs/protein you are eating. Play around with that. Ensure you aren't drinking your calories as well.
I hope this helps. If not, I'm sure someone will write something useful! Good luck and great work!!!0 -
I'd change your settings manually to include less carbs and fat and more protein. You may just be eating to many calories also so you could change it back to 2lbs a week. Good Luck.0
-
While I am super chubby right now, I wasn't always. I used to row. Rowing has weight limits and I had to be under 128 at 5'4". Before race time I would change my habbits like this. Cut out carbs except at breakfast or right before a really hard workout. And add at LEAST an extra 1000 steps to your day. This is on top of your regular workout routine. You don't have to kill yourself, you can jog a bit on that walk, but go for an extra walk that is at least 1000 steps. Takes about 2 months to see changes. Your body doesn't like loosing that fat. Take it slow and WALK it off. Do the other exercise normal. But just add that leisurely walk.0
-
It's hard to create a calorie deficit when you're already relatively light. Your body needs less calories to function, so it's very easy to blow your deficit with just one or two high calorie days. You have to be really diligent with your consumption for those last few pounds. I gave up on them and am more focused on lifting heavy and lowering body fat%.0
-
The reason it is so hard to lose the last few pounds is because your body sees that as an emergency energy storage so it is very reluctant to get rid of that. You have to convince your body it doesnt need that storage. In order to do that you are going to have to add 100 calories or so and see how your body responds. I know it sounds crazy but it almost always works and I can say for certain it worked for me and my team. If you dont gain or lose after 2 weeks up your calories another 100 and see how it responds again.0
-
^^ I feel like it doesn't work that way...0
-
^^ I feel like it doesn't work that way...
That's because it doesn't.0 -
As your body's fat stores get lower and lower, your body is more and more reluctant to give them up. Remember that your biology could care less about how you look: it cares about survival.
So how do you lose those last few pounds? You kind of have to trick your body a little bit.
1) Use very small deficits to achieve your goal. The larger the deficit, the more your body will want to hold on to its fat stores. We're not talking about 500 calories a day, we're talking about 100-200 tops if you're approaching optimal lean body mass.
2) Eat smaller meals more often. The body feels less of a need to hold on to fat stores when it: a) it becomes used to being replenished more often, and b) no longer has to store the energy to last for longer periods of time without replenishment.
3) You should be eating at maintenance or higher and exercising your way into a very small deficit rather than eating at a deficit to begin with. Again, this is part of tricking the body into releasing its fat stores. You have to start off with giving the body what it wants and needs before taking a tiny piece of it away.0 -
The reason it is so hard to lose the last few pounds is because your body sees that as an emergency energy storage so it is very reluctant to get rid of that. You have to convince your body it doesnt need that storage. In order to do that you are going to have to add 100 calories or so and see how your body responds. I know it sounds crazy but it almost always works and I can say for certain it worked for me and my team. If you dont gain or lose after 2 weeks up your calories another 100 and see how it responds again.
I know you will disagree but he is correct
Sometimes eating less is not the answer0 -
For me it's lack of resolve...0
-
I have about 5 pounds to lose, I'm 5'2 and want to be at the 118-120 range. I was told my 60 min of cardio 6 days a week was terrible for me and burning my fiber muscles, and I need to start lifting more weight. I already count all my calories and eat healthy, So I think just to switch it up, I'm going to try two or three days of 30 min cardio sessions with a 45min lifting session and the other 3 or 4 days just do cardio, simply because I love cardio and I don't want to cut back on it fully. I love running long distances, so I like to keep my heart rate up for a good while. So I'd try some more lifting and see if that gives you results!0
-
I agree with adding calories. When I hit a wall, it helps to let my body know I'm not trying to starve it to death, so I add calories, and then slowly back off or up my workouts. Does the trick every time and I go back into weightloss mode.0
-
wow just so much wrong in these posts of advice...
Changing exercise, eating less etc is all just wrong...eating less sure will help you lose weight but at what cost...2lbs a week for 10lbs I don't think so.
To the OP when I was at my last 10lbs and it seemed to be stubborn (well last 5) and it was I took a good hard look at my logging...
I hadn't been as diligent with staying in goal and not being diligent with weighing "everything" like sugar in my coffee etc...I was getting lack...mind you I did well 80% of the time but that didn't cut it.
So I buckled down, logged everything by weight for solids, measured my liquids and stayed in goal...and after 2 weeks the weight literally fell off and I changed nothing but my logging...that 20% really made a difference..no change in workouts, no change in calorie goal....none of that bro science.
before I knew it I was 3lbs below goal weight and eating at maitenance.0 -
I'd take a good hard look at your food logging before anything else. Make sure you are in a deficit. Your body will know if it is or not, after all...0
-
It's hard to create a calorie deficit when you're already relatively light. Your body needs less calories to function, so it's very easy to blow your deficit with just one or two high calorie days. You have to be really diligent with your consumption for those last few pounds. I gave up on them and am more focused on lifting heavy and lowering body fat%.
^This. I'm within 10 lbs of "goal" and I'm focusing on lowering my body fat % now and hitting my training/fitness goals.0 -
I got to my goal a week ago and then even a little lower than goal a couple days later. All I can say is I took the whole thing very slowly (started at end of January and made goal mid-July losing 25 lbs) and it wasn't always a linear path. Sometimes I gained a little and sometimes I lost a pound or two in a week. My exercises (mainly lifting weights) remained pretty consistant the whole time.
I did switch some things up during the last 10 weeks but not drastically. As I got closer to goal and things got stuck for a while, I started adding a little more cardio.
Diet wise, I think I started at my maintainance of 2700 and slowly worked my way down to 2000 calories. I decided I don't want to eat less than that (at least not on purpose). I had tried eating lower calories than that last year and I didn't get as lean because I couldn't stick with it as consistantly. This time I was very consistant and the 2000 calories thing lasted for several months. If I wasn't losing all I would do is a little more cardio. Other thing that I did this year which helped a lot was a weekly refeed at maintainince calories. Usually on my hardest workout day of a given week, I'd eat my normal 2000 calories plus 700 calories worth of extra carbs. This carb cycling stuff made me feel better, and seemed to help my metabolism along with mentally keeping me from cheating. I dind't have any 'cheat meals' because I didn't feel like I craved anything. I usually made healthy alternatives to dessert type foods whenever I wanted which also helped in this area.0 -
My last 10 lbs was as easy as the first 100...
All it took was a calorie deficit. Once you know how many calories your body needs to run on a daily basis it's simple.
You need to be 100% accurate on every thing at that point though.0 -
AgreeThe reason it is so hard to lose the last few pounds is because your body sees that as an emergency energy storage so it is very reluctant to get rid of that. You have to convince your body it doesnt need that storage. In order to do that you are going to have to add 100 calories or so and see how your body responds. I know it sounds crazy but it almost always works and I can say for certain it worked for me and my team. If you dont gain or lose after 2 weeks up your calories another 100 and see how it responds again.
I know you will disagree but he is correct
Sometimes eating less is not the answer0 -
how do you know what that is?My last 10 lbs was as easy as the first 100...
All it took was a calorie deficit. Once you know how many calories your body needs to run on a daily basis it's simple.
You need to be 100% accurate on every thing at that point though.0 -
AgreeThe reason it is so hard to lose the last few pounds is because your body sees that as an emergency energy storage so it is very reluctant to get rid of that. You have to convince your body it doesnt need that storage. In order to do that you are going to have to add 100 calories or so and see how your body responds. I know it sounds crazy but it almost always works and I can say for certain it worked for me and my team. If you dont gain or lose after 2 weeks up your calories another 100 and see how it responds again.
I know you will disagree but he is correct
Sometimes eating less is not the answer
Where do you people come from??
In no world will eating less then 1200 calories prevent weight loss.. it may not be healthy but it will not prevent it.
A calorie deficit is a calorie deficit.0 -
It's rather simple to understand what your average TDEE or maintenance calories is. You just take your average intake over 4-8 weeks, add in your deficit from weight loss to equal TDEE. For example, I eat 2500 calories a day, I lose 1 lb a week (500 calorie deficit), so I maintain at 3000 calories. Some days it's more, some it's less.. but that is a mathematical average.
how do you know what that is?My last 10 lbs was as easy as the first 100...
All it took was a calorie deficit. Once you know how many calories your body needs to run on a daily basis it's simple.
You need to be 100% accurate on every thing at that point though.0 -
wow just so much wrong in these posts of advice...
Changing exercise, eating less etc is all just wrong...eating less sure will help you lose weight but at what cost...2lbs a week for 10lbs I don't think so.
To the OP when I was at my last 10lbs and it seemed to be stubborn (well last 5) and it was I took a good hard look at my logging...
I hadn't been as diligent with staying in goal and not being diligent with weighing "everything" like sugar in my coffee etc...I was getting lack...mind you I did well 80% of the time but that didn't cut it.
So I buckled down, logged everything by weight for solids, measured my liquids and stayed in goal...and after 2 weeks the weight literally fell off and I changed nothing but my logging...that 20% really made a difference..no change in workouts, no change in calorie goal....none of that bro science.
before I knew it I was 3lbs below goal weight and eating at maitenance.
Pretty much all of this. The problem areas in almost all MFP plateau threads are:
1. Not using a food scale
2. Not consistently logging
3. Over-estimation of calories burned
4. Not giving things enough time.0 -
This. You have to be more diligent with your intake, or else assume that your intake is a little high/you're eating at your maintenance level and just lower your daily intake by 100 calories for a little while. See what it does. That, or try to burn an extra 100 calories a day without changing how you're eating. Give it a few weeks and see what happens. Good luck!It's hard to create a calorie deficit when you're already relatively light. Your body needs less calories to function, so it's very easy to blow your deficit with just one or two high calorie days. You have to be really diligent with your consumption for those last few pounds. I gave up on them and am more focused on lifting heavy and lowering body fat%.0 -
AgreeThe reason it is so hard to lose the last few pounds is because your body sees that as an emergency energy storage so it is very reluctant to get rid of that. You have to convince your body it doesnt need that storage. In order to do that you are going to have to add 100 calories or so and see how your body responds. I know it sounds crazy but it almost always works and I can say for certain it worked for me and my team. If you dont gain or lose after 2 weeks up your calories another 100 and see how it responds again.
I know you will disagree but he is correct
Sometimes eating less is not the answer
Where do you people come from??
In no world will eating less then 1200 calories prevent weight loss.. it may not be healthy but it will not prevent it.
A calorie deficit is a calorie deficit.
I see you interpreted my answer not as it was intended.
I find this happens mostly because my focus is on lowering BF% and not "losing weight" Go ahead eat 900 calories a day and dont drink water you will Lose weight I apologize for my confusion.0 -
Adding calories will not help the OP lose weight if she is stalling, it sounds like she's eating at maintenance. She has to either cut calories, or add activity.
OP....do not listen to the "add more calories" nonsense. Eating less than you burn = weight loss. Eating the same as you burn = maintenance. Eating more than you burn = weight gain. You're maintaining now, so eating more would equal weight gain.0 -
With each pound you lose, the remaining pounds you want to lose become a higher percentage of your total weight. Losing 10 lbs when you're 100 overweight is much easier than losing 10 lbs when you're only 15 overweight. As you get closer to your goal weight, you need to be more diligent, eating smarter calories (which is my biggest issue) or adding more activity.0
-
I find it's usually just a matter of patience and careful logging (or continue lax logging but aim lower). E.g., if you think you're racking up 500/day deficits but you've lost 1-2 lbs. in a month, you're probably only achieving half the deficit you think you are, which isn't too bad considering it's only a few hundred calories and you've got estimates of input and burn both able to contain errors. So continue losing 1-2 lbs/month aiming for 500/day deficit, or tighten up your logging, or aim for 800/day deficit knowing you're probably missing half of it and may achieve 400/day and lose at least a little faster-- 3 lbs./month. But when you do that latter you can't freak out over the number because it'll probably be low looking.0
-
It's hard to create a calorie deficit when you're already relatively light. Your body needs less calories to function, so it's very easy to blow your deficit with just one or two high calorie days. You have to be really diligent with your consumption for those last few pounds. I gave up on them and am more focused on lifting heavy and lowering body fat%.
Pretty much this...I would also add that in many cases, people don't actually have that weight to lose...it's just that they set some arbitrary number for themselves without really understanding that number or understanding whether that particular number is/was reasonable as a goal. Often, at this point it's a matter of body composition more than it is needing to lose more Lbs.0 -
When you get within a "normal" weight for your body you're cutting it super close if your deficit is low. Tipping over in calories in just a cookie here or an extra helping of mac & cheese there can blow your deficit clear out the water.
I think the key to the "last 10 pounds" for a lot of people is to attack them with the same ferocity you did the previous pounds. I actually disagree with the common advice that you should set your loss down to .5 pound a week when you're that close to goal. For those who are super, duper diligent everyday, on point about every morsel that enters their system, and who have nailed down their TDEE with near perfect precision that will work. But if a person is lacking even marginally in one of those categories it can be the rail thin difference between molasses losing and just maintaining.
I'm more of the school of hit those last pounds as hard, if not harder, than you did previous poundage, hit goal, and do a slow ease into maintenance. I personally would hate to cut it so close on the last 10 lbs that I end up like scores of other people who've been "trying" to lose the last 10 pounds for years or even decades.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 427 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions