Anyone else not much to lose but struggling?

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Dannigreen31
Dannigreen31 Posts: 557 Member
in Getting Started
I'm 5'9 and only need to lose 10 pounds. I go to the gym very often and I don't go over the calorie but I'm struggling to shift just these couple of pounds! Any advice would be great. Also any adds. I'm trying to be really motivated! :)
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  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
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    10 lbs is rough. It's the hardest amount to lose, I think. Set your goal to lose 1/2 lb/week, weigh all your food and be patient. Eating that close to your maintenance level means that even small miscalculations can hinder your progress, so weigh and log accurately.
    Be patient. It will happen. You can do this.
  • Dannigreen31
    Dannigreen31 Posts: 557 Member
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    PaytraB wrote: »
    10 lbs is rough. It's the hardest amount to lose, I think. Set your goal to lose 1/2 lb/week, weigh all your food and be patient. Eating that close to your maintenance level means that even small miscalculations can hinder your progress, so weigh and log accurately.
    Be patient. It will happen. You can do this.

    Thankyou! It really is so hard! :(
  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
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    Hang in there. It will happen.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    It's only natural, the less you have to lose, the slower it will come off. (One pound of body fat can only metabolize 31 calories per day.) You have to be even more persistant and accurate and patient. The good thing about this is that you are at a good/normal weight already, and "the last ten" are no big deal, neither for health nor for appearance, in fact it's up to you to decide which those last ten pounds are (=your ultimate goal weight).
  • Nicklebee93
    Nicklebee93 Posts: 316 Member
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    Yes... i'm down to my last 15 pounds. I'm so proud of what i've done but i just want these last couple pounds off me already! :s
  • seanafvet
    seanafvet Posts: 57 Member
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    Remember muscle weighs more then fat. So if you have gained muscle weight that can be the reason behind struggling with the last few lbs. don't let the scale get you down you will achieve your goal just be patient.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    seanafvet wrote: »
    Remember muscle weighs more then fat. So if you have gained muscle weight that can be the reason behind struggling with the last few lbs. don't let the scale get you down you will achieve your goal just be patient.

    This is not true at all. Muscle is more dense than fat but a pound of muscle and a pound of fat both weigh one pound. Besides, if she's eating at a deficit she's not going to be gaining muscle.

    The last few pounds take longer because you have a smaller margin of error with your calories. Without the use of a food scale, it's going to be even harder as well.
  • seanafvet
    seanafvet Posts: 57 Member
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    Who said anything about a pound of fat vs a pound of muscle? The truth is Muscle is denser but it does weigh more then fat if you compare the same size portion of the two. The density of fat is on average about 0.9 g/ml while muscle is on average about 1.1g/ml.
  • amyr271
    amyr271 Posts: 343 Member
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    seanafvet wrote: »
    Who said anything about a pound of fat vs a pound of muscle? The truth is Muscle is denser but it does weigh more then fat if you compare the same size portion of the two. The density of fat is on average about 0.9 g/ml while muscle is on average about 1.1g/ml.

    If she is eating at a deficit then she is unlikely to have gained muscle as you can't create something without any energy
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,238 Member
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    seanafvet wrote: »
    Remember muscle weighs more then fat. So if you have gained muscle weight that can be the reason behind struggling with the last few lbs. don't let the scale get you down you will achieve your goal just be patient.

    No! Just No! It is very difficult to put on muscle, even more so if one is a woman, and even more so if they are eating at a calorie deficit. The OP is not putting muscle on, at least not enough to counteract any fat loss.

    For the original poster, you need to learn patience. A small deficit (half a pound a week) with carefully measuring what you eat, ideally with a digital kitchen scale to the gram and it will come off. It will, however, take time. A good progressive weight lifting program would help as well.
  • Dannigreen31
    Dannigreen31 Posts: 557 Member
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    Thankyou for replies. I do know the last few pounds are the hardest and I have to be very strict. I think sometimes I under eat and my body is holding on for dear life to anything. (Bad I know!)
  • amyr271
    amyr271 Posts: 343 Member
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    dannijordan30 wrote: »
    Thankyou for replies. I do know the last few pounds are the hardest and I have to be very strict. I think sometimes I under eat and my body is holding on for dear life to anything. (Bad I know!)

    Starvation mode is a myth, if you are under eating you will still lose weight, your body doesn't hold on to anything, not enough to make any difference anyway.

    The only way to lose the last few it to makes sure your logging is as accurate as possible.
  • Dannigreen31
    Dannigreen31 Posts: 557 Member
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    amyr271 wrote: »
    dannijordan30 wrote: »
    Thankyou for replies. I do know the last few pounds are the hardest and I have to be very strict. I think sometimes I under eat and my body is holding on for dear life to anything. (Bad I know!)

    Starvation mode is a myth, if you are under eating you will still lose weight, your body doesn't hold on to anything, not enough to make any difference anyway.

    The only way to lose the last few it to makes sure your logging is as accurate as possible.

    Yeh iv read so much about starvation mode. People going crazy at others because they under ear. I always assumed if you are under eating then u lose..I read so much conflicting stuff it's hard to know.
  • amyr271
    amyr271 Posts: 343 Member
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    dannijordan30 wrote: »
    amyr271 wrote: »
    dannijordan30 wrote: »
    Thankyou for replies. I do know the last few pounds are the hardest and I have to be very strict. I think sometimes I under eat and my body is holding on for dear life to anything. (Bad I know!)

    Starvation mode is a myth, if you are under eating you will still lose weight, your body doesn't hold on to anything, not enough to make any difference anyway.

    The only way to lose the last few it to makes sure your logging is as accurate as possible.

    Yeh iv read so much about starvation mode. People going crazy at others because they under ear. I always assumed if you are under eating then u lose..I read so much conflicting stuff it's hard to know.

    Do you see overweight starving African children in the charity ads? If starvation mode was real then you would.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    dannijordan30 wrote: »
    Thankyou for replies. I do know the last few pounds are the hardest and I have to be very strict. I think sometimes I under eat and my body is holding on for dear life to anything. (Bad I know!)

    You definitely do have to be strict. I am 5'3" and I went from 139 pounds to 109 pounds. Getting from 115 to 109 took me the same amount of time that getting from 139 to 115 did because after taking a week to eat at maintenance, I went back to cutting and slowed my rate of loss to a half pound per week. I just came off of a two month mini-bulk and I'm working on my final cut from 112 to 108 pounds. My food scale is my best friend for achieving this.
  • dbmeyers23
    dbmeyers23 Posts: 39 Member
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    I'm kinda in the same boat...ten pounds would be great but it looks like I'm going to have to get real strict for it to come off. I'm thinking no booze, more veggies and less red meat.
  • Pinkvela
    Pinkvela Posts: 21 Member
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    I only have about 3 pounds left and it's a real struggle. Just when I think I'm getting ahead the weight shifts back up. I'm thinking that a lot of what the numbers on the scale say is just a reflection of the chemical reaction my body has with food. I feel that I'm better off gauging my weight by the way my clothes fit than the number I see on the scale so as not to get discouraged. I'm 5ft4 and every little increment makes a difference for me. I already feel better in my clothes and I feel lighter when I exercise. But I'm starting to lose it will-power wise, I just don't know what to eat anymore. Good thing I did today was to buy a nice digital food scale. It's true what people are saying; the less you have to lose the more accurate you have to be in your measurements. So I'll hang in there if you hang in there :)
  • sammylin13
    sammylin13 Posts: 34 Member
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    Originally I set a goal for 10 pounds too! Getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight was really important to me (plus an extra couple pounds). Now that I'm here (took me about 7 weeks no working out just walking when I can). I'm not thinking I want to lose 5 to 10 more depending on how I feel when I get there because my body changed so much after my son! I must say it wasn't easy and I kept my deficit at 1lb per week and only ate back some of my exercise calories - I use a fitbit. It definitely hasn't been easy and some weeks easier than others. Just keep going! As far as starvation mode I personally feel that your body does store weight if you are eating enough to keep going but not enough to keep your metabolism up - just my thoughts. And as far as muscle and fat "weighing" different, I think what seanafvet was trying to say was you might not be losing weight but you may be gaining muscle and toning up and losing inches - again just my thoughts! Good luck and I added you as a friend!
  • Dannigreen31
    Dannigreen31 Posts: 557 Member
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    sammylin13 wrote: »
    Originally I set a goal for 10 pounds too! Getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight was really important to me (plus an extra couple pounds). Now that I'm here (took me about 7 weeks no working out just walking when I can). I'm not thinking I want to lose 5 to 10 more depending on how I feel when I get there because my body changed so much after my son! I must say it wasn't easy and I kept my deficit at 1lb per week and only ate back some of my exercise calories - I use a fitbit. It definitely hasn't been easy and some weeks easier than others. Just keep going! As far as starvation mode I personally feel that your body does store weight if you are eating enough to keep going but not enough to keep your metabolism up - just my thoughts. And as far as muscle and fat "weighing" different, I think what seanafvet was trying to say was you might not be losing weight but you may be gaining muscle and toning up and losing inches - again just my thoughts! Good luck and I added you as a friend!

    Thankyou for you're advice and the add. I want it gone by my birthday in June so iv got 6 ish weeks. Plenty of time !

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