Struggling to lose last 5 pounds!!

yasahmed100
yasahmed100 Posts: 2
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all-I seem to be stuck and can't lose the last 5 pounds. I am watching my calorie count but am also really hungry in the evening. Any advice would be appreciated.

Replies

  • justjennnnn
    justjennnnn Posts: 33 Member
    Sorry I don't have advice but it may be comforting to hear that I am in the same boat! I have lost 25 and am down to the last five but the scale has not budged in 2 months! I would love some pointers too!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Me too. I've lost 24lbs in 4mths, but struggling to lose the last 8lbs
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,059 Member
    Is your loss set to .5lb/week?
    The final pounds are the hardest to shift, and your logging needs to be on point. If you don't have it, buy a food scale so you can have accurate logs of your intake. Your deficit will be smaller, so it needs to be accurate. If you are relying on MFP estimates for your calorie burns, be mindful that they are very generous and may not reflect your actual burn.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Same boat. I have 2.5 pounds to lose. Haven't lost anything in months because I'm just too hungry.
  • yasahmed100
    yasahmed100 Posts: 2
    Thank you for replying. It is reassuring to know it is not just me! Has anyone tried increasing protein intake? Want to know whether that would work?
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited February 2015
    Same boat here. I have 7 to go.. I am actually eating at maintenance (have been for the past 4 weeks and I just re-set my deficit again to start loosing again.

    I keep reading about calorie cycling (or carb cycling) or eating at maintenance for a short period of time and then resetting your deficit might help.. I exercise a lot but not to lose weight.

    I asked the community yesterday and I was told 1) The stall does not exist 2) with the last 5 - 7 pounds just exercise it off... I was totally bummed and I removed my thread I created..

    Anyone have any other ideas, because the stall happened to me. I am 46 years old and I just though I might be too old to be where I want to be (LOL)...
  • kcmccormack
    kcmccormack Posts: 71 Member
    Same boat! From the research I've read and posts on MFP that were actually worth a damn, lol, the closer you get to your goal weight, the more exact you have to be in counting your calories, because your deficit gets smaller, thus you have less wiggle room, and less room for error.

    This post is awesome. Steve is the best at explaining:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/113609/relatively-light-people-trying-to-get-leaner/p1
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited February 2015
    OMG @kcmccormack. I wish I had this yesterday.

    I am sort of on point in my case, because of my exercise I was eating back enough of those calories to be a maintenance with exercise. Thank goodness I did not stop exercising or might have gained some.

    At maintenance, yesterday I created the same percentage deficit (fully aware this will be slower) that I had before but it off a newer BMR and TDEE since I am smaller.

    Also, just for kicks I am increasing my protein like @hasahmed said and actually watching my carbs (I eat moderated amount of carbs now but I am lowering it just a wee bit that is comfortable). I am not lifting or anything like that, but I do HIIT and light strength/calisthenics 5- 6 days a week for about 5 hours total exercise.

    Just trying to get in shape and tone a bit..
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
    As you get lighter, the percentages change which can make it more difficult.

    Example;
    if one weighs 250# and their goal is 200#, they are working on losing 20%
    however once one gets to 210# they are now trying to lose 5%

    Accuracy of calorie counting becomes a much larger issue at the smaller percentage.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    As you get lighter, the percentages change which can make it more difficult.

    Example;
    if one weighs 250# and their goal is 200#, they are working on losing 20%
    however once one gets to 210# they are now trying to lose 5%

    Accuracy of calorie counting becomes a much larger issue at the smaller percentage.

    I kept my deficit the same percentage because I had lost at the same percentage until I got 15 to go and my BMR and TDEE now is not much off at this 15 pounds to go. I am a short person and already not needing a lot of calories "to breath".
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
    Your goal weight is just a number. When you get close to your "goal weight" and things aren't budging, maybe you could start looking at body fat composition. If you've started weight training, your weight will be dramatically different from what you thought it should have been when you started the weight loss journey. The lowest a normal to athletic woman should be 18-25% body fat (that is from one site, another said something different). There are great images that you can find online to see what that body composition looks like.

    My goal weight initially was 135, but with a body comp of 23% bf and I'm at 143, there isn't much more wiggle room to get down that far without sacrificing muscle mass. I'm pretty happy here , but probably can't go below 140 comfortably without that sacrifice. I'm weight training pretty hard at least 2 days per week so I have muscles that I just don't want to lose.

    Just remember, the scale should be only one variable in your decision for your final weight.
  • kcmccormack
    kcmccormack Posts: 71 Member
    gia07 wrote: »
    OMG @kcmccormack. I wish I had this yesterday.

    I am sort of on point in my case, because of my exercise I was eating back enough of those calories to be a maintenance with exercise. Thank goodness I did not stop exercising or might have gained some.

    At maintenance, yesterday I created the same percentage deficit (fully aware this will be slower) that I had before but it off a newer BMR and TDEE since I am smaller.

    Also, just for kicks I am increasing my protein like @hasahmed said and actually watching my carbs (I eat moderated amount of carbs now but I am lowering it just a wee bit that is comfortable). I am not lifting or anything like that, but I do HIIT and light strength/calisthenics 5- 6 days a week for about 5 hours total exercise.

    Just trying to get in shape and tone a bit..


    That post helped me put realistic expectations in order! I think I've lost about .5lbs a week, which has often been masked by water or hormonal fluctuations. But I like how much he simplifies the confusion about this topic. Another great post if you have any questions about what you're doing or want to know how to readjust the track you're on is this one:, (he is friken awesome at answering your questions.)

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/31322697#Comment_31322697

This discussion has been closed.

Categories