Help with last 5 pounds

atthebeach08
atthebeach08 Posts: 63 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have lost 30 pounds in a year and a half. I took it off slow and also as a bonus lost over 22 inches. I have kept this off for 6 months but want an extra 5 pounds to be in my 150's. I'm 5 ft 4in,age 58 and in a size 8 comfortably. I am very happy will my looks but have no wiggle room for weekends away when you just can't eat right. I also have a row machine that I do every other day for about 8 minutes in the morning and 8 in the late afternoon. I have arthritis in my knee's so any extra is tough on me. I can't go out for a 30 minute walk as it has to be short or I am in pain. I also don't want to go below the 1200 calorie to loss the 5 pounds. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Replies

  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,283 MFP Moderator
    since you have arthritis, have you thought about swimming, or just adding in some shorter, easy walks?

    BTW, major congrats on finding yourself in a size 8 jeans. That was my goal size, and I didn't hit a comfortable size 8 until less than 140 pounds. You rock. :)

    Your TDEE as a 58 year old 5'4" woman at 150 pounds (which is less than you weigh now, according to your post) and doing no exercise (sedentary) should be almost 1500 calories per day. How much are you eating now?

    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
  • ashley_144000
    ashley_144000 Posts: 24 Member
    Have you been eating processed foods? Sometimes there are food additives in them that make it impossible to lose weight. The food additives, preservatives and chemicals store up in your fat cells so you can't lose that last 5 pounds. (Even if you diet & excercise) Detoxing & eating whole foods really helped me lose weight and of course lots of water.

    Also, is there be something in your life that's stressful? When were stressed are fat hormones kick on & makes us hold on to fat. I could not lose much weight in college because I was always stressed.

    As far as exercise goes, biking or swimming is suppose to be better for arthritis than walking. (Less pressure on the joints) Also yoga may take the edge off joint pain. Hope this helps!
  • atthebeach08
    atthebeach08 Posts: 63 Member
    Thank you. My weight now is 161.5. My goal weight is 157 as that is what I weighted 25 years ago when I had by first back surgery and felt good and had those 3 pounds of wiggle room for bad days of over eating. I am eating around 1200-1300 each day. Swimming I agree is great or more what I call fast walking in the water but when I get out, everything seems to go to the knee's and the pain is awful. I did try that the first year and went to the row machine. I have gotten down to the 157 mark once and that was at Christmas time and then gained those 5 pounds.
  • atthebeach08
    atthebeach08 Posts: 63 Member
    Ashley, no processed foods aloud in the house and drink 6 to 8 glasses of water a day. But yes...
    I am going through some stress. You could of hit what one of the problems could be. Don't know how to avoid that though :ohwell:
  • ashley_144000
    ashley_144000 Posts: 24 Member
    I'm sorry to hear that your going through some stress. Sometimes it's a waiting game about losing weight. When your stress decreases your stress hormones also decrease then your body will allow you to lose those 5 pounds. It's basically a protective mechanism that are body does when we're stressed. Getting 8 hours (or more) of sleep decreases the stress hormones so we can lose those stubborn pounds. Also meditation, deep breathing & laughing helps decrease those stress hormones. So watch a funny movie & hopefully you can start losing weight again.
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
    Are you able to do any resistance training? Perhaps the use of resistance bands would help build and keep some added muscle and strength? The best thing would be to use light weights (but go the heaviest that you can manage safely, of course) and hopefully progress from there.

    There are resistance bands, kettle bell weights, ankle and wrist weights (that wrap around so you don't need to hold on to them). There are even vests out there that you could get with pockets for weights to add a little weight/resistance onto your body while doing your activities (exercise or normal).

    Maybe building additional muscles will help to lose that stubborn last few pounds.
  • atthebeach08
    atthebeach08 Posts: 63 Member
    Extra weight would add to my knee pressure. Doctor told me 30 pound loss is 120 pounds of pressure off my knee's and I have avoided bone on bone because of the weight loss. So carrying extra weight around would be bad. Not sure about resistant bands but doing Pilates hurts the knees. The row machine builds muscle nicely to the top and sides of my knee and took over 2 inches off the calf and upper thighs. I will get there and I do meditate...thank you everyone for being so nice and helpful.

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