Last 9lbs & feeling discouraged!

Some people has not problem getting off the last 10 pounds. Others do not. Having said that, when you get to the last 10 pounds you want them to come off slowly. I don't know what sort of pounds per week goal you have right now, but I suggest no higher than 1 pound per week, maybe even go down to half a pound. I am currently at about 1 pound a week and I'm in the last 10 pounds point as well. You want to be increasing your calories as you come closer to your goal to provide you body what it needs to burn off that last fat.

Secondly, reduce the long duration cardio and increase the Interval Training. If you don't do strength training of any sort, start now. The last 10 pounds are often a matter of resculpting. Since you seem to be another workout at home person like me, I would suggest starting with body weight strength training, that way you don't have to purchase a lot of equipment to start or join a gym. An excellent book on body weight training is Mark Lauren's "You Are Your Own Gym" I purchased it a while back just to get up to the free shipping category with Amazon, and it was one of the best purchases I have ever made, second only to "Cardio Strength Training" which what the other book I purchased. You may want to move from simple Interval training to High Intensity Interval Training as well or Metabolic Resistance Training (that is what the Cardio Strength Training book is all about). They burn much more fat than long duration cardio. Basically, what you need to do is work at strengthening your muscles. Building them is difficult when eating a calorie deficit unless you are very untrained and unfit. You sound like you are fit, so don't worry about bulking up, unless you have unusual genetics for a woman you will not bulk up, but you will tone up and get lean with strength building exercises more than with cardio. Cardio has its place, but burning off that last fat is not it. You will lose more muscle with cardio that Intervals, HIIT or MRT.

Be patient and don't use just the scale. Measure yourself as well. You may not lose a lot of weight, but if you diligently do strength training with Intervals and a couple of days of Cardio, you will lose that last fat. I have to keep telling myself that as well just so you know. I think the difficulty with the last 10 pounds is that the goal is in site, but you know it will take a lot longer than the first 10 pounds. Remember though, it is only 9 pounds you have left.

Get your body fat percentage checked. Make sure that the weight you're losing is fat and not muscle. Losing muscle due to a deficient caloric intake will lower your metabolism and hinder your success.

You may need to increase your caloric intake to boost your metabolism and feed your muscles what they need to consume fat. It's the only way continued weight loss is going to happen. Simply increasing your exercise will force your body to consume the muscle you work so hard for. I think we're around the same weight. I usually work out around 5 times a week and eat anywhere between 2300 and 2700 calories a day. I recently gained 7 pounds while starting a training program for a triathlon. I increased my caloric intake accordingly. I panicked when I saw the scale climb! However, after checking my body fat and realizing that my percentage hadn't changed, I realized that the 7 pounds was all lean body mass.

Hope this helps!